SOS need help charging in lake Charles / Eunice / Lafayette

[Timmygp]

Guys - I drove back in to lake Charles to see about my storm damaged house. My display shows Lafayette supercharger still being down — can anyone confirm this?? I am charging on a 110 at a friends house at 3 mph and I’m stuck - need 188 miles to get to Houston ———-

 

[F14Scott]

Do you have any 240V adapters for your mobile connector?

Do you have any heavy duty extension cords?

Are you near a dryer or electric stove you wouldn't mind temporarily disabling to cannibalize for their pigtails?

 

[user212_nr]

The mobile charger takes 12A at 120v when plugged into a standard outlet.

You can can upgrade that to 12A at 240 volts by cutting two standard extension cords and joining them together in a very particular way. I can post instructions on that if you are willing. It will join the cord to two separate outlets where the voltage between them is 240v, the same as 6-15 outlet. You would get about 3x the amount of charge, and draw exactly 2x the amount of power.

Also, you can look around for L2 charging and drive there when you have range.

Also, in reference to the supercharger, it might have its power restored soon enough. Go in an ICE car with your friend and check out the surrounding location.

 

[F14Scott]

The mobile charger takes 12A at 120v when plugged into a standard outlet.

You can can upgrade that to 12A at 240 volts by cutting two standard extension cords and joining them together in a very particular way. I can post instructions on that if you are willing. It will join the cord to two separate outlets where the voltage between them is 240v, the same as 6-15 outlet. You would get about 3x the amount of charge, and draw exactly 2x the amount of power.

Also, you can look around for L2 charging and drive there when you have range.

Also, in reference to the supercharger, it might have its power restored soon enough. Go in an ICE car with your friend and check out the surrounding location.

I see where you are heading, and it is similar to my idea. My question is, if he has no 6-20 adapter for his UMC, will the UMC accept the two phase 240V voltage?

 

[BrownOuttaSpec]

Have you tried www.plugshare.com It looks like there are a few L2 chargers in the area but not sure if they are online:

PlugShare - Find Electric Vehicle Charging Locations Near You
McDonald's
625 E. Prien Lake Rd, Lake Charles LA 70605
+1 337-478-5622
One dual-Level 1 and 2 charging station, ChargePoint RFID card required.


PlugShare - Find Electric Vehicle Charging Locations Near You
Home2 Suites by Hilton Lake Charles
1200 W Prien Lake Rd, Lake Charles, LA 70601, USA
Parking: Free

PlugShare - Find Electric Vehicle Charging Locations Near You
Candlewood Suites Lake Charles South
1101 W Prien Lake Rd, Lake Charles, LA 70601, USA
+1 337-478-9889
Guest use only (maybe maybe call and ask nicely?)

 

[F14Scott]

Also, there's a Valero in Vinton, 25 miles west of Lake Charles that has a Tesla and a J1772 L2 charger. 5 hours there would get you home.

Lots of other L2 chargers on the way to Houston, too. Use the Plugshare app.

 

[user212_nr]

I see where you are heading, and it is similar to my idea. My question is, if he has no 6-20 adapter for his UMC, will the UMC accept the two phase 240V voltage?

Yes, it takes only the number of amps from the plug, the voltage is measured internally.

I've done it with another branded charger, but people here have done it with the UMC.

 

[F14Scott]

Yes, it takes only the number of amps from the plug, the voltage is measured internally.

I've done it with another branded charger, but people here have done it with the UMC.

So, my idea was to connect the two hot leads of an appliance pigtail to the extension cord hot, neutral to neutral, and ground to ground. Next plug the pigtail into the 14-30 or 14-50. Then, since we don't need the adapter per your information, plug the 5-15 UMC adapter into the Franken-cord. The UMC would still pull 12 amps as designed, and it would just happily pass them along at 240V. And, assuming the extension cord was 10 or 12 Guage and not ridiculously long, it would be fine. Is this line of thinking correct?

 

[user212_nr]

Also, there's a Valero in Vinton, 25 miles west of Lake Charles that has a Tesla and a J1772 L2 charger. 5 hours there would get you home.

Lots of other L2 chargers on the way to Houston, too. Use the Plugshare app.

View attachment 582084

I like the L2 charging idea. I thought of it after the extension cord stuff, probably would not have written it otherwise.

All he needs to do is go 25-40 miles and find himself an L2 plug, make sure he has the J1772 adapter. Wait 5 hours and problem is solved.

He's been quiet all day, so I tend to think that he found the supercharger and it was working and hes been driving home.

So, my idea was to connect the two hot leads of an appliance pigtail to the extension cord hot, neutral to neutral, and ground to ground. Next plug the pigtail into the 14-30 or 14-50. Then, since we don't need the adapter per your information, plug the 5-15 UMC adapter into the Franken-cord. The UMC would still pull 12 amps as designed, and it would just happily pass them along at 240V. And, assuming the extension cord was 10 or 12 Guage and not ridiculously long, it would be fine. Is this line of thinking correct?

It would work, but I wouldn't consider an appliance pigtail to be an expendable resource. They are hard to find and need skills to replace. Also, it would be hot-hot hot-neutral. Otherwise you are back at 120v. It provides still 12A, so no advantage that it is a 30A or 50A outlet.

Outlets on odd/even numbered breakers have 240v between them, so all that is needed is an extension cord or two. They can be quite cheap, but not free.

 

[smatthew]

So, my idea was to connect the two hot leads of an appliance pigtail to the extension cord hot, neutral to neutral, and ground to ground. Next plug the pigtail into the 14-30 or 14-50. Then, since we don't need the adapter per your information, plug the 5-15 UMC adapter into the Franken-cord. The UMC would still pull 12 amps as designed, and it would just happily pass them along at 240V. And, assuming the extension cord was 10 or 12 Guage and not ridiculously long, it would be fine. Is this line of thinking correct?

Close.....
You wouldn't connect the neutral from the 14-50 pigtail. Only need neutral for 120V. For 240 you need both hots, and a ground.
Not the best idea, but it would work. You'd be simulating using the NEMA6-15 adapter. But what happens when someone tries to use this extension cord?
PS: If you really want to do this, don't get a pigtail. Go to Home Depot. Get a 14-50 plug end, a foot of 8/3 SOOW, and a 5-20 socket end. Now you have an adapter that doesn't require you to destroy an extension cord. And if you leave off the neutral pin on the 14-50 plug it will work in 14-30 and 14-50 sockets. PLEASE MARK THE ADAPTER "EV USE ONLY"

 

[Timmygp]

Appreciate all the help - all of lake charles will not have power for weeks, the Valero in Fenton did not have power either. I just charged on a 110 for 2 1/2 days In eunice la to get enough power to get to Houston.
I have learned on Facebook that the Lafayette supercharger Is now working, but only has 2 stations working out of the 6. Tesla needs to really get on fixing the Lafayette 4 down stations. For anyone traveling on I -10 from Lafayette to Houston is around 220 miles With lake charles being down for weeks and total traffic gridlock, it will be tight.
Anyway - I made the 14 hour drive from Louisiana to New Mexico to hang out at my folks house until things get back to somewhat normal.
When I bought my Tesla I never anticipated a power outage of this magnitude. Now don’t get me wrong, if I could go back in time I would certainly still by the model 3, I love the car!!