Ah thanks. I guess I can always grab my charger if I go to my friends places out of town or something. I was just afraid of unplugging it too many times.
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Model 3 - How do I charge at Home?
- Thread starter Tezla1
- Start date
Ah thanks. I guess I can always grab my charger if I go to my friends places out of town or something. I was just afraid of unplugging it too many times.
davewill
Active Member
If you're not unplugging it on a regular basis (say one or more times a week), I wouldn't worry about it.
gilscales
Banned
Use the Hubbell 14-50 outlet that Tesla recommends as it is rated for industrial duty, much better build quality with heavier contacts than the general duty rated outlets available at big boxscores for 10% of the price, for a continuous 32A draw this is well advised in my view, well worth the extra $70 to $80 in my book
Here is another thread that shows the vulnerability of lesser rated outlets
PSA. Another melted NEMA 14-50 receptacle
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roblab
Active Member
Maybe where you live. My insurance company knows that me installing an outlet is OK in Napa County without a permit. The permit and the "inspection" often does nothing to protect you from a short in the outlet, but CIRCUIT BREAKERS do. Let's not get excited.
roblab
Active Member
Oh, dang!
Here I've been using a cheap outlet from Home Depot for TWELVE YEARS, six with RAV4EV, six more with Teslas. Never even popped the CIRCUIT BREAKER (which is your protection). Never gets warm, even. Melted receptacles happen from short circuits, sloppy wiring. Even expensive receptacles.
Sounds like scare tactics. Not worth the extra money, "in my book".
gilscales
Banned
That's good news and i'm glad you have never had a problem but there is no way in hell a $10 general duty outlet is even close in quality as a $90 industrial duty outlet and breakers can and do fail at times so just extra protection, any outlet can be damaged by a loose connection which generates heat and that looks like what has happened in this case but the cheaper made and less heavy duty area of the connection would be more prone to fail (loosen) and that does not even take into account the better contact area for the plug so its still money well spent.
Eno Deb
Active Member
In case of damage, your insurance company will do everything they can to wiggle out of paying you.
But they do protect you from being liable for damages in case something does happen.
I don’t know about you, things don’t always go as neatly planned in my life. Might stop at friends house and decide to go somewhere at the moment. Might go somewhere straight from work. Might meet my wife somewhere and swap cars. Oops she just left with no UMC.
And what is she going to do with the UMC? Stop at a RV Park? Plug into a 120V outlet on the outside of a store? No, she’ll plug it in when she gets home, same as if you left it hanging on the wall. If she’s going somewhere and really needs to charge she’ll stop at a supercharger. Remember this is a 310 mile car. Even in the winter and charging to 90% you have at least 230 mile range. How much do you or you your wife drive around during the day? Or do you not charge it to 90% each night?
Eno Deb
Active Member
How often have you actually used the UMC away from your home in the last, say, two years? With the charging infrastructure we now have, there is rarely a use for the UMC. Unless you make a roadtrip through remote areas, you are much more likely to encounter and use a supercharger, destination charger, or a public L2 charger. And hopefully we'll soon get even more fast charging options with a CCS adapter like the one they announced in Europe ...
I’m using my mobile connector at a beach house in the Outer Banks right now. Using the 14-30 adapter on the dryer plug with the cord run out the window. Not much for public charging infrastructure down this way and the closest Supercharger is 150 miles away in a 25 MPH head wind (yesterday, that is; tomorrow will be 30 MPH tail wind).
roblab
Active Member
Just trying to put some common sense into this. We are not using this for an industrial situation. Yes, scary things happen, and insurance companies are sure to tell you all the fringe cases, things that "can" happen, "can" fail, but in real life, the chances are way lower than .1% I would bet. As most people will not plug and unplug more than once a week, those cheap general duty outlets are exactly built for this. I have dozens of friends who have that cheap outlet and have used it for years. To charge their cars.
If, IF, it has problem, the circuit breaker will disconnect. NO drama. And I'm wondering if you made sure all your outlets in your house are "industrial" duty outlets. ???
That said, if you are one to over-insure their house, car, etc., just because, you know, there is a chance they may burn, or fall down on each other in an earthquake, then go for it. I've only been around a few years and I've never noticed these "Can Happen"s hitting anyone I've known. Probably no one you've known either. But, yes, it can happen. Then you buy another cheap outlet and make sure you tighten the connections (which is another thing I haven't done in twelve years -- amazing I'm still alive).
Eno Deb
Active Member
Enjoy.
FYI, Plugshare shows a whole row of L2 chargers along the banks. And Tesla is about to open a supercharger in Point Harbor. 
We are in Avon. One of those pins is for guests of an inn and another is at a beach house. Other options are hanging out in Waves or at the Hatteras ferry dock for hours. Pass.Enjoy.
Eno Deb
Active Member
Yeah, but I'm kind of impressed that you could easily do without the UMC if you wanted even in this remote location. Once the supercharger is open it will be really convenient. I should go there again sometime soon (last time was >10 year ago, beautiful area).We are in Avon. One of those pins is for guests of an inn and another is at a beach house. Other options are hanging out in Waves or at the Hatteras ferry dock for hours. Pass.
Oh, for sure. We were prepared to survive on regular 120 volt and the public charging stations if we couldn’t reach a 240 volt outlet at the house. Luck was on our side and we haven’t had to think twice about charging, thanks to our collection of adapters.Yeah, but I'm kind of impressed that you could easily do without the UMC if you wanted even in this remote location. Once the supercharger is open it will be really convenient. I should go there again sometime soon (last time was >10 year ago, beautiful area).
Spectacular time of year down here. This is my first time in the off-season and it definitely won’t be the last.
gilscales
Banned
Don't have earthquake insurance so i'm livin on the edge!, pulling 32A to 40A continuously on 240v is more akin to an industrial load than a temporary draw even to 15A or 20A on 120V so no industrial 120v outlets in my house, I am an general contractor and have been remodeling homes for about 20 years, the amount of bad breakers and outlets that over heated showing burned and melted contact areas is more than .1% by a long shot, there are a lot of known problem brand breakers running without problems (now) Zinsco, Stab-Lok, Pushmatic, etc..., and think how many years these were run before any known problems existed, Loose connections happen for many reasons (using a wire size to close to max draw causing excessive heat and larger expansions and contractions, cheap terminals which can generate excess heat, using aluminum wire) Loose connections or a plug/outlet that overheats can cause a fire without tripping a perfectly good breaker as it would take some time for the excess heat to travel the length of the wire to trip the breaker, I have found charred studs on several occasions where a hot connection in an outlet box burned through the box to the stud, it really is more common than you would think, my opinion is different than yours when it comes to this based on my passed experience
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