Mobile charging for Australia

[lennier]

The mobile charger has just become available with a 10 amp pigtail, but with appropriate adapters ( when they become available) will be able to give 10 kW maximum. At the moment I believe because of the restriction to 10 amps or 2.4 kW, they are still supplying the wall connector. They have just issued all of us, as as I know with a free UMC. Adapters will probably come at a cost, but we will see. Accordingly I would expect that new orders will in the short term come with both. You might want to check that with the people in St Leonards.

Chatting with James it sounded like they would be going out free to at least current delivered cars, in delivery order. He didn't imply a cost to me "when" I get one but we'll see. Frankly at this sort of level I really think Tesla should supply at least wall charger and UMC with common adaptors as standard across the board. If you start wanting more exotic stuff then sure make it chargeable, but the basic ability to charge your car effectively at home and on the road should really be part of the package for an EV I think.

 

[istevens]

I just sent a note to Mitch and he confirmed that we will all receive one of these, in delivery order. They are currently in short supply so the expectation set for me (I got my model S a week ago) is May/June.

 

[omniwolf]

Thanks to all who responded.
Can i just get clear on my third point - With this "UMC" i can plug into a standard Australian household wall plug and charge?

?

 

[meloccom]

Thanks to all who responded.
Can i just get clear on my third point - With this "UMC" i can plug into a standard Australian household wall plug and charge?

?

Yes, with the Tesla UMC you can plug into a 10A GPO and charge at about 13 Km\h.

 

[Dborn]

Did just that today. Slow, but it works

 

[miimura]

Did just that today. Slow, but it works

US household socket is only good for 7km/h. That is painfully slow. So, your most common electrical socket is significantly more useful than ours.

 

[Dylanpete]

About a month ago I did quite a bit of work studying the different solutions from Europe for mobile charging and selected a number of commercial EVSE Charge Controllers that were capable of handling single phase and 3 phase.
It's my intention to share the findings for the benefit of the Tesla community in Australia and I do also hope that Tesla can quickly provide us a UMC that is capable of 3 phase 32 Amp.
I have uploaded an Excel worksheet on my dropbox that I will keep available for a couple of weeks: Dropbox - TMC via Google Drive Comparison and ranking of EVSE Power Controller or EVSE Smart Power Controller.xlsx
During my trip from Bribie Island to Canberra and back I have enjoyed the use of 2 of these EVSE charge controllers, see article: Tesla Model S in Australia: Breaking the shackles and conquering new frontiers : Renew Economy

 

[Ampfibian]

Hi All, I have been following this thread along to try and ascertain what the main issue is for connecting your Tesla to a standard 10A outlet. I am involved in range of products that make a 15 to 10 amp adaption possible, but from what I am reading, this is possibly not the only issue as there is also a difference in plug top that needs to be overcome first (I may be wrong)? Could someone please explain to me exactly what the issue's are when needing to connect to a standard 10amp wall socket? And even with connecting to 15A power?
Also, just a couple of questions for @meloccom , Does that little pig tail lead in your cord set have a 10A or 15A plug top on it? Does the socket of that same lead have a current rating marked on it?

 

[Zoltrix77]

Hi All,

New to the forum, but have a question on mobile charging. Sorry if this has been answered before.

I know the Australian Tesla UMC currently only has available a 10A 1phase pigtail, but should a three phase one become available, does anyone know if it will work without a neutral? Reason being, that a hell of a lot of three phase sockets across Australia are only 4 pin and not 5. Requiring a neutral would sure reduce the amount of suitable sockets. And what of third party solutions, do those require neutral also?

regards,

Adam.

 

[Dborn]

Since the supplied unit is the sam as the European supplied one, and they have 3 phase, my guess would be to check out the European configuration for your answer.

 

[MDK]

should a three phase one become available, does anyone know if it will work without a neutral? Reason being, that a hell of a lot of three phase sockets across Australia are only 4 pin and not 5. Requiring a neutral would sure reduce the amount of suitable sockets. And what of third party solutions, do those require neutral also?Adam.

Unfortunately Tesla implemented 3-phase charging by having a bank of 3 chargers (each wired from one of the phases to neutral) inside each "charger module" in the car
That means the Tesla UMC and third-party solutions all need neutral to be wired to the socket.

Read Dylanpete's Breaking the shackles and conquering new frontiers article on the post before yours, where his gracious hosts had an electrician rewire their 3phase socket so he could continue his epic journey.

 

[Zoltrix77]

Unfortunately Tesla implemented 3-phase charging by having a bank of 3 chargers (each wired from one of the phases to neutral) inside each "charger module" in the car
That means the Tesla UMC and third-party solutions all need neutral to be wired to the socket.

Read Dylanpete's Breaking the shackles and conquering new frontiers article on the post before yours, where his gracious hosts had an electrician rewire their 3phase socket so he could continue his epic journey.

I assumed as much, just wanted to make sure. As a sparky, I'll be doing my bit to make sure all 3-PH sockets have 5 pins (and 5 conductors!), at least ones which are in reach or a car spot anyway.

It will be interesting to see what other connectors will be available for the Tesla UMC, one would hope a 15A and 20A flat pin, 32A round industrial and 20A 3-PH. Each of which allowing the appropriate current for the plug type.

Adam.

 

[Dborn]

The Europe red adaptor for the Models has 5 pins. Therefore, so will ours.. Confirmed by looking at a photo of the device.

 

[Zoltrix77]

The Europe red adaptor for the Models has 5 pins. Therefore, so will ours.. Confirmed by looking at a photo of the device.

Yeah, I saw that too, but thought all sockets/plugs in the EU may have had neutral pins regardless of whether the connecting equipment needed it or not. After further investigation on the net, they do infact have 4 pin plugs sockets also.

As a sparky, I'll do my bit for making sure that as all 3ph sockets installed under my watch have 5 pins (and 5 conductors behind them!), well, at least ones with on cooee of a parking spot!

Adam.

 

[miimura]

About a month ago I did quite a bit of work studying the different solutions from Europe for mobile charging and selected a number of commercial EVSE Charge Controllers that were capable of handling single phase and 3 phase.
It's my intention to share the findings for the benefit of the Tesla community in Australia and I do also hope that Tesla can quickly provide us a UMC that is capable of 3 phase 32 Amp.

Like the European UMC, the Australian one is limited to 16A 3-phase (11kW) as confirmed by the clear picture by TesAus earlier in this thread. The promised 3-phase High Power Wall Connector will get you up to 32A 3 Phase (22kW), when it is eventually released.

 

[brewster]

About a month ago I did quite a bit of work studying the different solutions from Europe for mobile charging and selected a number of commercial EVSE Charge Controllers that were capable of handling single phase and 3 phase.
It's my intention to share the findings for the benefit of the Tesla community in Australia and I do also hope that Tesla can quickly provide us a UMC that is capable of 3 phase 32 Amp.
I have uploaded an Excel worksheet on my dropbox that I will keep available for a couple of weeks: Dropbox - TMC via Google Drive Comparison and ranking of EVSE Power Controller or EVSE Smart Power Controller.xlsx
During my trip from Bribie Island to Canberra and back I have enjoyed the use of 2 of these EVSE charge controllers, see article: Tesla Model S in Australia: Breaking the shackles and conquering new frontiers : Renew Economy

When you traveled from Port Macquarie to Sydney a distance you indicated as about 390 km with some km left, do you recall how many km you had left and what was your estimated speed for this journey and what was the weather like?
I'm interested because I live about 365 km from the Richmond charger, but will have a less range Model S - P85D.

 

[Dylanpete]

When you traveled from Port Macquarie to Sydney a distance you indicated as about 390 km with some km left, do you recall how many km you had left and what was your estimated speed for this journey and what was the weather like?
I'm interested because I live about 365 km from the Richmond charger, but will have a less range Model S - P85D.

A picture tells a thousand words...I took this picture when I just started charging at the SC in the Star Casino and it shows a range of 73 km with already 31 km added at the SC spot so consequently I did have 42 km range left at arrival there.

- - - Updated - - -

When you traveled from Port Macquarie to Sydney a distance you indicated as about 390 km with some km left, do you recall how many km you had left and what was your estimated speed for this journey and what was the weather like?
I'm interested because I live about 365 km from the Richmond charger, but will have a less range Model S - P85D.

Sorry, I should have resized that picture but accidentally hit the quick reply tab...
Weather was +/- 25 C, no ugly winds and I recall I drove 100 km/h as a max

 

[WhiteStar]

Thank you for that...incredibly relevant info for me! It confirms that I should wait for some Superchargers. With only 42km left, add some wind & rain and, dare I say it, anxiety may ensue.

 

[meloccom]

Hi All, I have been following this thread along to try and ascertain what the main issue is for connecting your Tesla to a standard 10A outlet. I am involved in range of products that make a 15 to 10 amp adaption possible, but from what I am reading, this is possibly not the only issue as there is also a difference in plug top that needs to be overcome first (I may be wrong)? Could someone please explain to me exactly what the issue's are when needing to connect to a standard 10amp wall socket? And even with connecting to 15A power?
Also, just a couple of questions for @meloccom , Does that little pig tail lead in your cord set have a 10A or 15A plug top on it? Does the socket of that same lead have a current rating marked on it?

Hi David,
I have ended up with 2 Mobile Connectors, a Clipper Creek 15 Amp device and the Tesla Universal Mobile Connector that has exchangeable "pig tails" for from 10 Amp up do 16 Amp 3 phase. Currently I only have the 10 Amp Pigtail and Tesla tells me the other pigtails are coming soon!
I probably wouldn't have ordered the Clipper Creek unit if I knew the Tesla UMC was so close but even saying that the CC unit is very nicely constructed and IP66 whilst the Tesla UMC is likely no better than splash proof, IP44 I think.
So these will do me for now as I'm not aware of any easily accessible places with anything greater than 15 Amps.
If I had my wish however It would be that someone made a compact adapter so I could charge my Tesla off some of the Chargepoint stations with a J1772 connect cable. Aussie Model S come with a Mennekes Type 2 charge port the same as European Model S. In the USA Tesla have made a compact adapter from J1772 to the Tesla propriety charge port that they fit to USA spec Model S but they don't seem interested in making the same thing for European and Australian Model S.
The other thing that I would be interested in would be a waterproof plastic cover for the joint where the pigtail adapter of my Tesla UMC, you can see pictures of it in a previous post of mine.

 

[Dylanpete]

Thank you for that...incredibly relevant info for me! It confirms that I should wait for some Superchargers. With only 42km left, add some wind & rain and, dare I say it, anxiety may ensue.

Also please note that we did use the AC all the way but in range mode.
We had 2 potential other sites where we could eventually make a stop and charge but were confident enough to do the trip without such stop.