Home made charging adapters

[iamsohai]

So if a neutral pin is not needed and I was planning on making a 20ft extension so I can plug in at my brother's when I visit could I save weight on getting 10/3 wire?

 

[FlasherZ]

So if a neutral pin is not needed and I was planning on making a 20ft extension so I can plug in at my brother's when I visit could I save weight on getting 10/3 wire?

You need 6/3 if you're going to extend a 50 amp, 10/3 if you're going to extend a 30 amp. You can get 6/3 or 10/3 and save some weight, but be sure you label that cable very well, "FOR TESLA CHARGING ONLY", and/or clip the neutral prong & fill in the extension receptacle's neutral socket with epoxy so that someone doesn't plug an RV into it and blow up their appliances.

 

[Cosmacelf]

So if a neutral pin is not needed and I was planning on making a 20ft extension so I can plug in at my brother's when I visit could I save weight on getting 10/3 wire?

It isn't clear what kind of plug you are plugging into?

 

[Puyallup Bill]

Use 6/3 and a 14-50 plug and socket. As Flasher suggests, remove the neutral prong and fill the neutral socket with epoxy. Now your extension cord can be used with either a 14-50 (RV Park, Stove) or a 14-30 (dryer) outlet.

 

[iamsohai]

You need 6/3 if you're going to extend a 50 amp, 10/3 if you're going to extend a 30 amp. You can get 6/3 or 10/3 and save some weight, but be sure you label that cable very well, "FOR TESLA CHARGING ONLY", and/or clip the neutral prong & fill in the extension receptacle's neutral socket with epoxy so that someone doesn't plug an RV into it and blow up their appliances.

I notice that 10/3 is rated at 300v. I'm assuming that should be ok.

 

[FlasherZ]

I notice that 10/3 is rated at 300v. I'm assuming that should be ok.

10/3 SJOOW is rated 300V, that's the "junior" rating, or lighter-duty (it's still called "heavy duty"). It will still work. 10/3 SOOW, which I recommend, is rated 600V and is called "extra heavy duty".

 

[landover]

I'm making a 6-20 outlet connecting to a 5-20. My question is does the white wire just not get connected because if it was connected it would be at 20amps because it is 220 right?

 

[Cosmacelf]

I'm making a 6-20 outlet connecting to a 5-20. My question is does the white wire just not get connected because if it was connected it would be at 20amps because it is 220 right?

Not sure at all what you are asking. Are you saying you are wiring up (to an electrical panel) a 6-20 receptacle?

 

[landover]

Not sure at all what you are asking. Are you saying you are wiring up (to an electrical panel) a 6-20 receptacle?

Sorry, no Im making an adapter for the the 5-20 plug (witch I just bought from Tesla) to make it work for the male end of the 6-20 (220) plug for hotel A/C. but when it would be plugged in it would have two hots and one ground. and going to the Tesla it would have one hot, one neutral, and one ground. Would I just connect my neutral wire to the other side of the 110 on the 6-20?

Thanks

 

[Cosmacelf]

Sorry, no Im making an adapter for the the 5-20 plug (witch I just bought from Tesla) to make it work for the male end of the 6-20 (220) plug for hotel A/C. but when it would be plugged in it would have two hots and one ground. and going to the Tesla it would have one hot, one neutral, and one ground. Would I just connect my neutral wire to the other side of the 110 on the 6-20?

Thanks

Yes. The ground goes to the ground, and the other two wires go to the two hots on the 6-20. Doesn't matter which goes to which for this adapter.

 

[tezco]

Just a reminder that if you are depending on the S to reduce it's charging rate to an amount less than that set by the particular adapter (by setting a maximum charge current on the console), be sure to check this setting before each charge, and after software updates. Some of us are experiencing spontaneous resets of this setting. Unwelcome change in charging rate

 

[Cosmacelf]

While this was a bug in previous software releases, it looks like that thread points to a display feature, not an actual charging at a higher rate bug.

But yes, always check when you are charging in a new setting that it is in fact charging at the rate you think it should be! Safety first.

 

[tezco]

While this was a bug in previous software releases, it looks like that thread points to a display feature, not an actual charging at a higher rate bug.

Sparrow seems to think that his charging cable gets hot when the charge rate switches back to 80A. I haven't been able to check with my data logger since I've only had this happen once so far, but others have reported that this reset happens randomly and repeatedly. This happened to me on my most recent firmware update, so the problem currently remains active as far as I am concerned. Unfortunately this means I have to wake up the car to examine the setting if I haven't plugged in the car immediately after I get home. Hopefully the setting doesn't change between the time you get home and the start of a delayed charging cycle as set by the charging timer.

 

[jerry33]

I've seen the number revert to 80 amps on the settings screen, but whenever I've watched the charging, it's always at the 32 amps I've set it to. To me this seems to be a display artifact--at least on my car (5.9)

 

[Sparrow]

My theory with respect to the car charging at the maximum 80 amp rate instead of the programmed 14 amp rate is that when the car wakes up to charge it gets confused as to where it is and ultimately does not believe it is in my garage so it defaults to the maximum rate of the EVSE it is attached to. To support this theory if i look on my navigation map I do see 6 charging spots (including my garage) within a half mile of my house, 5 of which are not my garage.

 

[rdverb]

good aggregation - thank you

 

[Alketi]

@Cosmacelf Thank you for the terrific compilation. I do have one question, and I'm probably misunderstanding something, so apologies in advance.

At the end of the document where you discuss building an extension cord you say:

Alternatively, you can build your own extension cord. Since the Tesla UMC completely ignores the neutral connection, building your own cord has the advantage that you can build it with three wires instead of four used in the cords above (just connect the two hots and the ground). This will make your extension cord lighter and less unwieldy. To make your own, I would just head to your local home improvement store and buy 6-3 SOOW cord.

But, doesn't a 6/3 cord have a neutral?

Did you mean to say buy a 6/2 SOOW cord, or am I misunderstanding the nomenclature?

Thanks again.

 

[pchilds]

6-3 SO cable has 3 wires green, white and black. Unlike most other cable on SO cable the ground is counted.

 

[Alketi]

6-3 SO cable has 3 wires green, white and black. Unlike most other cable on SO cable the ground is counted.

Ah that explains it -- SO cable counts ground, which means this picture from Amazon is actually showing 6/4 cable (evidenced by the same picture also being reused in their 100ft 6/4 offering).

Thanks.

 

[LightC]

Hey guys, I made this PDF document a little while ago and posted it over on the Tesla Motors forums. I recently updated it to include a new adapter I found as well as a plug identification sheet. If you need to make your own charging adapter for the Model S, this should help you on your way. http://cosmacelf.net/Home Made Adapters.pdf

Thanks for creating this.

I had a quick question. You mentioned in the PDF that you can modify a 10-50 plug to work with both the 10-30 and 10-50 receptacles.
Can you also do this mod to the 10-30 plug by using a hacksaw to remove the left side of the top pin?

I have a 10-30 cord and want to make it work for both receptacles.