Proud newb owner has a quick question.. Please help.

[joonrhee]

Good morning,

So I took delivery of Model 3 last Sunday and had an appointment with an electrician to install a 14-50 outlet. Today, I found out we have a 10-30 outlet already that is not being used. So for the moment, I cancelled the electrician appointment and ordered the Tesla 10-30 adapter from ebay. I am not 100% sure if the outlet is perfectly functioning (if anyone can take a look at the photos and see if the set up looks proper?), but I have to guess it is. It is located right behind our dryer which doesn't use this outlet.

Assuming this outlet is working properly, I'm thinking I would need a 10-30 extension cord because I wouldn't want the brick to hang in the air and also probably need little more length to get to my charging port.

I bought this adapter.
Tesla Model S/X/3 Gen 2 NEMA Adapter, NEMA 6-15, OEM, NEW (SKU 1104933-00-B) | eBay

Which of the below extension cords should be appropriate?
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00SOYBTAE/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/Conntek-SB10...i=B00SOYBQXE&refRID=QAMRFNB6FZ7DG94JB11R&th=1

And what is the difference between 10-30 and 10-30P?

If you senior owners can share some insights, I'd greatly appreciate it. Thank you!

 

[P85_DA]

Which model 3 did you get ? 10-30 will yield you 24a provided wiring his sized correct ..

I would first make sure wire size is proper ..if you plan on using the UMC the most you could get on a 14-50 is 32a ....I’m not a fan of extension cords as you do lose efficiency the UMC should be long enough if the outlet is in your garage ..

 

[joonrhee]

Which model 3 did you get ? 10-30 will yield you 24a provided wiring his sized correct ..

I would first make sure wire size is proper ..if you plan on using the UMC the most you could get on a 14-50 is 32a ....I’m not a fan of extension cords as you do lose efficiency the UMC should be long enough if the outlet is in your garage ..

I got the Standard Range Plus model which is the base model. I'm sorry for my ignorance, but what is UMC? Are you referring to the Mobile Connector?

 

[P85_DA]

Yes it’s the mobile connector ..you will be fine with 10-30 just make sure wire size is proper for 24a continuous load ..

 

[joonrhee]

May I ask how to check for proper wire size? And do you know what is the difference between 10-30 and 10-30p extension cords? The links are in my original post.. Sorry again for asking dumb questions..

 

[P85_DA]

You want a 10-30p.. wire size can be checked by removing outlet ..you want minimum 8/4 wire and I couldn’t see ur box but u want a 30a breaker as well .. link below has a lot of good info
FAQ: Home Tesla charging infrastructure Q&A

 

[davewill]

While either of those extension cords will likely work, I really think it's a bad idea to depend on an extension cord for daily charging. Just too many ways for things to go wrong. In your shoes, I would do one of two things.

1. Have the electrician move the 10-30 closer to the car. --OR--
1a. Bite the bullet and have a 14-50 put in at the location you actually need it.

2. Send your mobile connector to Tony at QuickChargePower to have the cord lengthened.
Tesla UMC extension

Either of those will be much safer than an extension cord.

 

[Runt8]

I would file "pulling out the outlet to check the wire gauge" under the "over-abundance of caution" column in this case. It's highly unlikely that anyone would install a 10-30 plug meant for a dryer on anything other than a 30A circuit with appropriately sized wire. If this were my house I would use it with no concerns (although I would end up moving it to the garage in order to not need an extension cord).

 

[P85_DA]

I would file "pulling out the outlet to check the wire gauge" under the "over-abundance of caution"

Agree .. I have seen some with 10/4 wire .. probably still ok but this is continuous load(24a) ..personally would want min 8/4

 

[brkaus]

Both of your extension cords are the same, except one has a rubber skin on the wire.

If I’m reading the part numbers correctly (RU vs SB)

 

[joonrhee]

First, thank you all for your kind inputs and concerns.

1. This outlet is in our garage and yes I can actually charge the car without using any extension cords. I just wanted the luxury of having enough slacks and not needing to change parking side, but I will disregard using any extension cords per your advisories. By the way, this is our owned home..
2. I am really not good with any electricity, so wouldn't want to mess with opening the outlet and checking for wire size..

I'm thinking of just trying using it after receiving the Gen 2 NEMA Adapter 10-30 adapter, and see where I go from there. If I get anywhere near 22 miles per hour, that would be totally awesome. Certainly beats the current 5 miles per hour charge..

 

[davewill]

... I just wanted the luxury of having enough slacks and not needing to change parking side, but I will disregard using any extension cords per your advisories. ...

How little slack is there? The cord should be mostly on the floor. If it will be mostly in the air, You either need more slack or some way to support the weight of the cord.

 

[joonrhee]

How little slack is there? The cord should be mostly on the floor. If it will be mostly in the air, You either need more slack or some way to support the weight of the cord.

Fortunately I can have the cord sitting on the floor. I'm just worried that the adapter brick on UMC might be hanging in the air. Do you guys know any solution for this? Any support to have the adapter brick sitting on some shelf?

 

[P85_DA]

Fortunately I can have the cord sitting on the floor. I'm just worried that the adapter brick on UMC might be hanging in the air. Do you guys know any solution for this? Any support to have the adapter brick sitting on some shelf?

Amazon has a few .. also a ladder hook works too

 

[joonrhee]

Amazon has a few .. also a ladder hook works too

I think ladder hooks should work fine. Thank you!

 

[Avid]

@joonrhee, you could just use a bungee cord, here is my version of brick support.

 

[brkaus]

Some people use a bike water bottle holder for the brick.

 

[StellarRat]

Amazon has a few .. also a ladder hook works too

I'm using the same hooks my ladder is hanging from. Works great. It is fortunate the car's charging port, the ladder, and the breaker box (easy plug install) were all on left side of my garage. I can park head in and everything is right at hand for charging. The only downside is having to duck under the charging cable if I need to get into my car while it's plugged in and charging.

 

[StellarRat]

I think ladder hooks should work fine. Thank you!

Make sure they go into a stud!

 

[joonrhee]

Thanks again everyone for your kind suggestions. I actually do have bungee cords, so will use that until I finalize on permanent solution.