Next best option vs. a 14-50 outlet?

[Oloron]

Short version of the question: What is the best option for charging at 30 amps or less?

Longer version: We are getting a Model X later this year, so I've started the process of getting a 14-50 outlet in the garage. That will be very easy for us given our current electric service. I am also expecting to get a Model 3 when it comes out in a couple years. Given that the electrician was coming out and working anyway I figured I'd just have him put two 14-50's in the garage, so that we could park the X easily on either side of the garage now and it would be future-proofed for an eventual second electric car.

Unfortunately, after our electrician looked at things, we only have 80 amps of capacity free without having to upgrade electrical panel(s). We'll definitely put in the one 14-50 for now, but there was another option I was curious about.

I'm considering putting in two 240V outlets - one 14-50 and one 6-15. This would mean no electrical upgrades needed, easy cable runs, and we can use the Tesla UMC adapter for the 6-15. The downside is obviously the slower charge rate on the 6-15. The Model X will mostly be used for errands around town (kids, shopping, etc.). It will get used for less than 20 miles a day and spends at least 15-20 hours a day in the garage. The 6-15 charge rate of 6-7 miles per hour should be sufficient on average for it.

Anyone have experience with using a 6-15 for charging? Also, we could go up to 30 amps for that outlet, are there any good Tesla-approved options for something between a 6-15 and a 14-50?

 

[trils0n]

Unfortunately, the NEMA 14-30 adapter seems to be discontinued. That would be your 30 amp solution. Perhaps a local service center still has one in stock. Might be worth checking before you get the outlet installed.

 

[beths11]

Unfortunately, the NEMA 14-30 adapter seems to be discontinued. That would be your 30 amp solution. Perhaps a local service center still has one in stock. Might be worth checking before you get the outlet installed.

You can find everything you need here: NEMA 14-50R to 14-30P or 14-50P Adapter

 

[Oloron]

You can find everything you need here: NEMA 14-50R to 14-30P or 14-50P Adapter

Thanks - I assume using that would mean having to set the car to draw at 24 amps so it wouldn't overload the circuit?

 

[trils0n]

You can find everything you need here: NEMA 14-50R to 14-30P or 14-50P Adapter

Please be careful using those adapters -- the car will believe it is plugged into a 14-50, so you will have to manually dial down to 24 amps to use safely on a 14-30.

 

[jaguar36]

I would have the electrician put in large enough gauge wire such that in the future if you got your panel upgraded you could switch it to a 14-50 outlet.

Of course you could then just switch the outlet and the breaker, or just the outlet to a 14-50 and either just set the car to only draw 24 amps, or just draw the full 40 and assume you won't have all the loads on at the same time...

 

[Oloron]

Hmm - too bad that the 14-30 was discontinued. That would have been perfect.

 

[bollar]

Perhaps a 30amp J1772 like this one from Clipper Creek is the best solution: ClipperCreek, Inc. Announces 24 Amp Level 2 Charging Station for $499 - ClipperCreek Blog

 

[ThosEM]

You could put in a standard electric dryer outlet and make or buy an adapter from that to a NEMA 14-50 outlet. I made such an adapter from parts obtained at Home Depot because my vacation home had an accessible dryer outlet.

 

[TexasEV]

You could put in a standard electric dryer outlet and make or buy an adapter from that to a NEMA 14-50 outlet. I made such an adapter from parts obtained at Home Depot because my vacation home had an accessible dryer outlet.

Yes, but as noted above he would have to manually dial down the amps every time. Not a good long-term solution.

 

[Oloron]

Thanks everyone!

Yes, I'd like a solution to just plug in and let the car do it's thing vs. having to adjust settings every time. Good to know that there used to be a "native" 30 amp solution and that there is the current Clipper Creek J1772 30 amp model. Given that, I'm thinking we'll just wait until we actually need a second charging solution and see what the best solution is at that point. I would be very surprised if a 30 amp (24 amp actual) solution wouldn't be more than ample for us, so probably better to wait for an actual good solution vs. an awkward compromise now. (As much as I generally like to just get this sort of thing take care of once and for all)

 

[Rocky_H]

I’ll clarify that just a little bit: If everything is running normally, you don’t have to manually dial the amps down every time. The vehicle will store the amp setting at that location, so it will automatically use it again whenever you plug in there. The problem comes if something does not run normally. If it loses that memorized setting for some reason, like semi-frequently happens from a software update, then it may forget your manual setting of amps. It will just see the 14-50 adapter and try to charge at 40A again, which is overloading your circuit. I’ve seen several reports here in the forum of it resetting like that for various reasons.


I don’t have a problem using those kinds of adapter cables from a 50 to a 30 now and then when traveling, but it’s not a very good permanent solution at home to use every day.


I tend to like @bollar’s suggestion of just putting in a J1772 wall unit on a 30A circuit. It will be a good solid solution, and since the J1772 unit tells the car what current level to use, there is no manually adjusting or worrying about it accidentally overdrawing the circuit.

 

[linkster]

1. The discontinued UMC 14-30s are available if you're willing to dig around a bit. (I have been using one of these wonderful adapters for 3 yrs/60,000 miles with a 80 and 160-mile commutes)
2. Since you stated that your new X will be used for around town, a 5-20 will be more than adequate providing approx. 125 miles/day
3. I purchased the 6-15 on day one of availability. This will provide ~9mi/hr. however, have your electrican mount your single gang workbox with a 6-20 receptacle sideways as this UMC adapter is oriented 90 degrees (i know it's just plum CRAAZEE!!) so that the brick doesn't strain the charge cable.

Tesla will most certainly have to re-issue 14-30s and add 6-20s, 6-30s for the masses when the 3 ships as many new owners that live in condos, towne-condos, tiny huts (like me), multi-EV owners such as yourself, just do not have the load calcs to support 40, 48, 72, and 80a charging.


Good-Luck

 

[jerry33]

Yes, but as noted above he would have to manually dial down the amps every time. Not a good long-term solution.

And besides dialing it down, he'd have to check every time because it sometimes changes back to the default. This is rare, but it isn't zero. It's okay to do this when charging at someone's house, but not at home other than on a very temporary basis.

 

[gmtom1]

Do you have a dryer in the garage that's reasonably near the vehicle? If so, a simple fix is to have the electrician move the dryer plug up higher on the wall and use a 10-30 adapter from Tesla. Unfortunately, they don't seem to have them online anymore, but as an earlier post mentioned, I suspect TM will make more adapters available soon.

I normally charge off a 110V/5-15 every night (I don't have a far commute in the S), but on occasion, I use the dryer outlet after a longer trip. It charges at ~15 mi/hr and I've never had any issues over the past 3 years.

 

[ThosEM]

Yes, but as noted above he would have to manually dial down the amps every time. Not a good long-term solution.

My memory is getting foggy, but I think the scheduler remembers the preferred current limit as well as the time to charge...?

 

[TexasEV]

My memory is getting foggy, but I think the scheduler remembers the preferred current limit as well as the time to charge...?

You're right, it is supposed to, but it's not something I would trust given the potential consequences of a failure. I would check it each time.

 

[gmontem]

You're right, it is supposed to, but it's not something I would trust given the potential consequences of a failure. I would check it each time.

Yeah I wouldn't trust the car remembering the setting correctly. I noticed even on my S that the Dolby 7.1 setting would reset once in a while. If it can't get that one right....

 

[LobosPac]

I have a 10-30p outlet and plug a J1772 charger into it for my Volt. I also installed a separate 14-50 for my MX (delivery at the end of the month!). The J1772 is an Ebusbar BEV-H02A10 EV Charger Level 2, 240 Volt / 17amp ($300 on Amazon). The nice thing about the 17amps is I'm not worried about maxing out the panel with both the MX and Volt going at the same time. I'd like to replace the Volt with a model 3, but my wife has severe range anxiety

 

[FlasherZ]

Yeah I wouldn't trust the car remembering the setting correctly. I noticed even on my S that the Dolby 7.1 setting would reset once in a while. If it can't get that one right....

Not only this, but sometimes the navigation system thinks you're at a different address. Most of the time my home gets recognized as its proper address, e.g., 120 Any Street. Yet sometimes when i come home, it'll be off slightly - the most popular being 136 Any Street. (+16 from my address). The car will save different current settings for both of those.

You can never rely upon the charge current being retained. Immediately following an upgrade I've seen it reset to 80A again and immediately start to charge. If I were using one of those adapters, I would experience an overload of the circuit. Not a good thing to do, even with the protection of breakers and fuses.