Need some experts! Just ordered today!

[Jordan0301]

Hi guys! New here and especially to charging and all things electric. Just got my VIN today so now onto the next steps and could use your help.

This plug is in my garage, I've heard its a L6-30r.

Question 1: is that correct?

Question 2: what's the recommended course of action? Some have said adapter to a different kind and lower amp on car. Some have said otherwise. Consider me novice when it comes to all this and talk me through thoughts if you have a moment.

Cheers!

 

[ecarfan]

If you Google L630R you should see that appears to be what you have
l6-30r plug - Google Search

You can buy an adaptor for that kind of plug here L6-30P to 14-50R EV Adapter, 30A, 250V | EVSE Adapter Cord

To use that adaptor, attach the NEMA 14-50 adaptor that came with your Tesla to the plug end of the Tesla UMC, then plug the adaptor into it, then plug the adaptor into the receptacle shown in your photos.

Do you know the amperage of the circuit your L6-30 receptacle is connected to? I suggest you set the car to charge at 20A and see if your circuit can handle that.

I am not an electrician or an electrical expert. I have bought various adaptors for my Tesla and used them successfully.

 

[mblakele]

FAQ: Home Tesla charging infrastructure Q&A is a great place to start.

Definitely check the circuit: it may not be wired for the full 30A. Sometimes shop circuits will use a 30A plug but the circuit will only be 20A. It's up to you to set a safe limit on current, using the car's charger settings. If you don't do that, you could trip a breaker or even start a fire. Once you know how much current the circuit is rated for, take 80% of that: for example 24A on a 30A circuit or 16A if it's 20A. That's the safe draw for charging.

Even 16A is enough for most commutes: about 12 rated miles/hr, or almost 100 rated miles from an 8 hr charge.

 

[TexasEV]

An adapter is OK for occasional use while traveling, but I would strongly encourage you not to use it for daily charging. You should have an appropriate permanent installation. Ideally you should have an electrician install a new 50 amp circuit (NEMA 14-50) and decommission this one. If that's not possible, and your L6-30 is really on a 30A circuit, you could have a HPWC installed on that circuit and set it to output 24A. Either way, you want a circuit that the car will draw the proper amps from automatically and not use a kludge with an adapter that you have to check the amps each time you plug in.

 

[Electric700]

Welcome to the forum Jordan0301!

I think that's good advice the others posted, especially about the Wall Connector which may be the best long-term solution.

Once you receive it, enjoy your Tesla!

 

[Boatguy]

Jordan0301 - since you are new to electricity here are a couple of things to consider.

- Different postings in these forums will talk in amps, volts and watts. Without getting too technical, the simple math is that Amps x Volts = Watts. Most US homes have what is nominally called "220v", but may in fact range from 203v to 250v (mine is 240-245v). But at a supercharger (aka SC) you may see 300-400v so 300a would produce 90kW - 120kW.

- The car battery is DC, the charger in the car converts AC to DC. The only exception to this is at a Supercharger or CHAdeMO charger which both put out DC and bypass the charger in the car. The supplied "charger" (aka UMC) or wall charger (HPWC) have a little bit of smarts to control the flow of electricity, but do not do any conversion from AC to DC.

- This is something you really want to get right, not a place to skimp. Your house and family could be at risk. Every plug connection is a weak point in the electrical path. Ideally the only plug is the one into your MS. You will also find it a bit of pain to use the supplied charger (UMC) for daily charging, though there are certainly people who use it for daily charging.

- The circuit breaker protects the wire and prevents it from becoming a heating element (think toaster) that would burn down your house. The circuit breaker is sized to the wire and wire run length to protect the wire and your house.

- Continuous use like charging the car should never use more than 80% of the rated capacity. So as others have pointed out, with a 30a circuit you would want to set the charger to be limited to 24a, IF your outlet is fed by a wire that can actually handle 30a.

- You didn't say which charger you had, but assuming a new MS without the larger charger option, then it will max out at 48a (so nominally 48 x 220v ~ 10,000 watts aka 10kW).

- Based on the picture you posted, it looks like this is in your garage, probably not too far from main electrical panel the way most homes are built. I strongly recommend hiring a good electrician who could, in order of time/cost and preferred solution:

a) verify the wire size and adjust the circuit breaker if needed so you can use an adapter.

b) replace your current wiring with larger wiring that would allow a 60a circuit to a 14-50 outlet so you can use the supplied charger without an adapter.

c) install an HPWC with a new 60a circuit.

If you're charging at night when most of your big home consumers are off (ovens, hair dryers, pool pump, A/C) you shouldn't have to increase the capacity of your main panel.

Good luck and enjoy your MS!

 

[TexasEV]

Two comments to boatguy's excellent post--
1. It's not a pain to use the UMC for daily charging. I keep it plugged in and have the cord hanging on a hook next to the outlet. The only time I unplug it and take it with me is for an out of town trip. There is no reason to take it with you routinely.
2. The circuit for a 14-50 outlet is 50A, not 60A. That's what the 50 stands for. The UMC will draw 40A from it.

 

[Boatguy]

2. The circuit for a 14-50 outlet is 50A, not 60A. That's what the 50 stands for. The UMC will draw 40A from it.

That begs two questions:

1) Do the UMC's with the refreshed cars which have 48a chargers still only support 40a? I.E., Tesla did not upgrade the UMC when they upgraded the onboard chargers?

2) The 14-50 will not support a continuous 48a? That outlet must also be de-rated to 40a for continuous usage? In other words, in a 60a circuit, the 14-50 would be the weak link?

 

[S'toon]

That begs two questions:

1) Do the UMC's with the refreshed cars which have 48a chargers still only support 40a? I.E., Tesla did not upgrade the UMC when they upgraded the onboard chargers?

2) The 14-50 will not support a continuous 48a? That outlet must also be de-rated to 40a for continuous usage? In other words, in a 60a circuit, the 14-50 would be the weak link?

Most commonly available circuit breakers are rated to carry no more than 80% of their nominal rating continuously (3 hours or more) (NEC Art. 100). 100%-rated circuit breakers are manufactured for and may carry 100% of their nominal rating continuously.

 

[TexasEV]

That begs two questions:

1) Do the UMC's with the refreshed cars which have 48a chargers still only support 40a? I.E., Tesla did not upgrade the UMC when they upgraded the onboard chargers?

2) The 14-50 will not support a continuous 48a? That outlet must also be de-rated to 40a for continuous usage? In other words, in a 60a circuit, the 14-50 would be the weak link?

That's right, the UMC did not change. Neither did the rule of drawing 40A max from a 50A circuit. The 14-50 UMC adapter still sets the car to draw 40 amp. The only extra benefit of 48A charger is when charging with HPWC or other high amp level 2 charger. Tesla explains this very clearly on its charging web page.

 

[mikeash]

A 48A UMC would need a 14-60 plug to run at full capacity. Could be done, along with other UMC upgrades for the higher amperage, but I suspect it's not worth the effort for Tesla. After all, they offered an 80A charging option from the beginning, but never offered more than 40A with the UMC.

For anyone with a 48A charger, I wouldn't sweat the difference. 40A is plenty to get you fully charged overnight. You're looking at ~29MPH versus ~35MPH charging, not particularly significant.

 

[davewill]

You have a few choices.

The ClipperCreek LCS-30P will plug into that outlet directly.

The GE Durastation has a jumper setting for 30a circuit that will work with that circuit, but you'd have to either hard-wire it, or add a plug to it yourself.

You'd have to use the J1772 adapter that comes with the car with either of those, but there'd be no messing around with adapters or manually setting the charge rate in the car. The HPWC can also be set to work with that circuit, but like the Durastation will not just plug in.

 

[Rocky_H]

2) The 14-50 will not support a continuous 48a? That outlet must also be de-rated to 40a for continuous usage? In other words, in a 60a circuit, the 14-50 would be the weak link?

I didn't see this second question being addressed very fully. On a 60A circuit, it is NEVER allowed to have a 14-50 outlet on that circuit. It's against code and very dangerous.

 

[Boatguy]

I didn't see this second question being addressed very fully. On a 60A circuit, it is NEVER allowed to have a 14-50 outlet on that circuit. It's against code and very dangerous.

That makes sense. I guess it's moot anyway. Since the UMC will only draw 40a, a 50a circuit is sufficient.

 

[CHG-ON]

I agree with minimizing adapter use. Every time you add another connection in the chain, you run the risk of power loss, excessive heat and in the worst case, arcing. if you can, spend the time and money for a 50 AMP circuit. Keep a simple, straight and clean connection. You won't regret it.

And congrats!!!