New UMC?

[mknox]

Interesting. When I used the new 14-50 adapter on the old cord set, it presented with an error and the charging port glowed red. The old 14-50 adapter on the new cord set seemed to work fine at 40amps.

Interesting. I'll go back and check again. What I did was lay the two UMCs out and tried the three 14-15 adapters that I now have. I tried the new 14-50 on my old UMC, but didn't bother with the two others since I already knew they worked with it. I then tried all three adapters on the new UMC. Maybe I missed one combination.

The existing UMC that I had is a newer model as it was replaced not that long ago. I've had, I think, three UMCs since getting the car due to failures. Maybe new(er) UMCs will work with the new 32 amp adapter, but not older ones??

 

[hingisfan]

Got mine yesterday. Sweet to have a backup/one always in the trunk. I charge with one everyday. I was charging at 35 amps, but maybe now I'll drop down to 32, lots of time while I'm sleeping anyway, and probably easier on the hardware.

 

[Judge Advocate]

Got mine yesterday. Sweet to have a backup/one always in the trunk. I charge with one everyday. I was charging at 35 amps, but maybe now I'll drop down to 32, lots of time while I'm sleeping anyway, and probably easier on the hardware.

You are supposed to return the old one in the same box the new one came in.
Otherwise they will charge you for it.

 

[wayner]

You are supposed to return the old one in the same box the new one came in.
Otherwise they will charge you for it.

It isn't clear that they can charge you for it since you (or we) didn't ask for it in the first place.

 

[hingisfan]

You are supposed to return the old one in the same box the new one came in.
Otherwise they will charge you for it.

I highly doubt they bill me for something I didn't order. Especially without notice in writing.

 

[MorrisonHiker]

I highly doubt they bill me for something I didn't order. Especially without notice in writing.

In the States, if a company sends you a product that you didn't order, you don't have to pay for it or return it. Is it the same in Canada?

Also, since you already own the UMC purchased with the car, it's yours and you shouldn't have to return it. Now if they offered a bounty or reward for returning it, they might get a better return rate.

 

[mknox]

In the States, if a company sends you a product that you didn't order, you don't have to pay for it or return it. Is it the same in Canada?

Yes, I believe it is the same in Canada.

 

[MartinG]

Folks if you're concerned about reducing your charging time at home, you're probably driving too much and/or not sleeping enough.

But if you do use the new adapter, you will sleep better, knowing that you're not pushing the limit on your house electrical wiring.

Did you install the plug yourself? Did you use the correct gauge of wire? Did you perhaps think it was a 40A circuit and didn't do the job correctly? If you bought a house with a 14-50 plug in the garage, was it installed by a qualified electrician or by the previous owner (because in Ontario, it's my understanding that an owner can do his own electrical wiring). Then there all the cottagers who try to plug into their range plug, probably running a wire through the window. You know who you are! Stop all the bellyaching and return the old adapter and UMC!

Or install a wall charger, like I did

 

[mknox]

But if you do use the new adapter, you will sleep better, knowing that you're not pushing the limit on your house electrical wiring.

I believe the UMC was revised due to it's own internal capabilities, not that of the house wiring.

...was it installed by a qualified electrician or by the previous owner (because in Ontario, it's my understanding that an owner can do his own electrical wiring).

An owner can do his/her own wiring, but you must take out a permit with the ESA first, and it is subject to inspection by an ESA inspector.

 

[decibel]

how charge rate effects efficiency

One negative is that at lower charge rates, it takes more electricity to obtain the same amount of charging. From this data, it appears that most of the difference occurs when charge rates are below 6kw, and thus the move from 40 amps to 32 amps will result in a relatively small increase in electricity consumption at moderate temperatures.

Though at lower temperatures, as more power is required to heat the battery less power is available for charging, the 40 vs 32 amp comparison is potentially shifted onto the steep part of the efficiency curve.

This graph is based on roadster data and was copied from http://www.saxton.org/tom_saxton/2013/12/roadster-ctp.html

 

[ccharleb]

Folks if you're concerned about reducing your charging time at home, you're probably driving too much and/or not sleeping enough.

But if you do use the new adapter, you will sleep better, knowing that you're not pushing the limit on your house electrical wiring.

It depends... I just worked a night shift at my job, and my wife took the car to go to work when I came back...

About pushing limits, we have to remember that this change, for now, seems to be Canada related only. If the UMC was really unsafe at 40a, it would be problematic in the Stats also...

 

[mknox]

About pushing limits, we have to remember that this change, for now, seems to be Canada related only. If the UMC was really unsafe at 40a, it would be problematic in the Stats also...

Maybe it is, but no one has pushed the issue yet. As I understand it, the UMC was not UL certified because Tesla believes, as a component of the car, it fell under other regulations and didn't require it. We had a similar issue with utility electricity meters here in Ontario. In both cases, they technically didn't require UL certification, but problems such as the SaskPower smart meter fires and the Toronto Tesla garage fire raised the issue to the level of the safety authorities who likely pushed for UL testing and certification. There is very little (and often no) difference between UL and ULc (for Canada) standards, so if push ever does come to shove in the US, and they have to put the US UMC through certification testing, I would expect the same result.

 

[mknox]

Interesting. I'll go back and check again. What I did was lay the two UMCs out and tried the three 14-15 adapters that I now have.

Re-checked and indeed the new 14-50 adapter will NOT work with the old UMC cable set. The UMC light itself just turned red. I didn't even bother trying to plug it in to the car. Must have missed that, or mixed up adapters when I tried it the first time. What I did find is that the old 14-50 adapter will work with the new UMC cable set. There must be something in the new UMC cable set that allows it to recognize the new 32 amp adapter.

 

[Aussie Bob]

I called Tesla when I received my UMC parcel and was told the change was due to Ontario Govt regulations. Presume if we continue to use the old one, and we have problems of any kind, then it is our responsibility and not Tesla's

 

[mknox]

I called Tesla when I received my UMC parcel and was told the change was due to Ontario Govt regulations. Presume if we continue to use the old one, and we have problems of any kind, then it is our responsibility and not Tesla's

Always bugs me when they say "government". It was likely the Electrical Safety Authority pushing the change.

I wish Tesla had been more straightforward about what was going on. The accompanying letter talks about how Tesla is "continually innovating and updating" , "creating a better ownership experience" and are "providing a new and improved mobile connector". Any recall I've experience in the past was accompanied by an explanation of the deficiency or defect along with an explanation of the remedy, and was not made out to sound like some wonderful thing the company was doing for me. Not a huge deal in my mind, but it would be nice to know what was really going on.

 

[Canuck]

I called Tesla when I received my UMC parcel and was told the change was due to Ontario Govt regulations. Presume if we continue to use the old one, and we have problems of any kind, then it is our responsibility and not Tesla's

Too bad since that means we in BC won't be getting a spare one.

 

[Peter_M]

Has anyone in Ontario got a new UMC in the past couple of weeks? I never got one, so I'm wondering if this was really a limited trial rollout.

 

[Doug_G]

Not me.

 

[mknox]

Has anyone in Ontario got a new UMC in the past couple of weeks? I never got one, so I'm wondering if this was really a limited trial rollout.

Tesla has been less than transparent about what is going on. If it was an ESA ordered recall, I can't see how it could be anything less than every single UMC being replaced. Could just be an inventory issue. Not sure, but they may have stats from the car showing who is using their UMC daily (vs. a HPWC or J1772 station) and prioritized those owners first.

- - - Updated - - -

Not me.

So much for my theory. I believe you use a UMC, do you not?

 

[Doug_G]

So much for my theory. I believe you use a UMC, do you not?

Every day.

I really don't think they can tell what you are using. Their chargers use J1772 signalling. They can't tell a UMC from an HPWC dialed back to 40A from a Clipper Creek or whatever.