-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
Super Charger Adapter for US cars in Europe
- Thread starter randvegeta
- Start date
K-MTG
Sunshade Captain of TMC
I did not know that cars built for the Japanese market came with the proprietary TS02 connecter like US-spec cars. very interesting!
i'm still interested in an adapter for supercharging a US-Spec car in Europe. I now have hope that it can be reverse engineered.
YAY.
Phillip L
Gas Passer
I read in another thread that You You Xhe, the generous fellow who toured the US and Canada, showing people his Model 3 and giving test drives, was planning on taking his Model 3 to Europe to do the same thing. Tesla has advised him against it, and now I understand why because of this thread. Without Supercharging it would not be feasible for him.
I'm still interested in such an adapter. I may never need same -- I may go for a used euro-spec car when I do finally start spending enough time in Greece to make Tesla ownership feasible, but the prospect of shipping over an 8 year old US Spec car that is running well for a few thousand dollars still appeals to me.
I'll try to shed some light on this issue. I'm from The Netherlands (Amsterdam).
In most European countries we pay a fee for the type of grid connection. In The Netherlands the standard connection is:
- 1 phase, 230V 40 amps
or
- 3 phase, 230V 25 amps.
There are other options available, such as 3 phase, 32 amps, 64 amps or even higher. But those kind of connections come with high monthly rates. So in a normal home you will either find 1 phase 40 amps or 3 phase 25 amps. Besides the fixed connection fee ofcourse we also pay for the actual usage (kWh's used).
You _could_ charge with 1 phase, 32 amps with a 40 amp connection. However, this would mean you cannot use an electrical oven, use a vacuum cleaner or turn on your dishwasher. As that would exceed the 40 amps together with your car and would blow your main fuse. Especially in older homes these are often not user replaceable/restorable and you will have to get the utility company to restore power.
32 Amp domestic outlets are rare and I think it is safe to say you will not find them in any domestic location. They are usually only used for heavy machinery or construction sites and sometimes for electrical cooking (but then its actually 2x16 tied together). So there is not an easy way to hook your charger to a European 40 amp grid connection. You will most likely have to make modifications to the panel and add a 32 amp breaker.
For EV charging we mostly use 3 phase, 16 amps (11kW). Recent Tesla's in Europe can do AC charging at 17 kW max (which is 3 phase, 25 amps). I
You might find 32 amp 3-phase public charging spots but they are rare. So in reality you will most likely be charging at 230Vx16A = ~3.6 kW. Especially when you charge at a domestic location such a holiday home.
There are some other things to consider:
- Be aware that we use 50Hz here. i dont know if the onboard Tesla charger in a US car can charge on a 50 Hz grid, as in the US 60 Hz is used.
- Tesla does not provide _any_ service to a US car in Europe and vice versa. No warranty, no service, nothing.
- You will not be able to use Superchargers, as they have a different connector here than in the US.
I am aware of the lack of service for US Spec cars shipped overseas. But I intend to ship the car over after 8 years of ownership so warranty becomes a moot point. I am also aware of the 50 vs 60 Hz difference. I'm nearly certain that the onboard charger can handle either "frequency" (if that is the right word).
There are at least a handful of US-Spec cars in Europe so I know it can be done.
I don't know exactly what the power coming into my home in Athens, but it is a modern home -- newly renovated in 2002 -- and it is on the larger side compared to homes and apartments in the city. I am therefore reasonably confidant that there is ample power coming into the house.
honestly the only hiccup I foresee is that if it is 3-phase power b/c my US Spec car can use only 1 phase that I might be limited to 230 V x 16 amps.
but my daily commute is very short, I will have a dedicated charger in the garage, so 10 miles an hr of charge should be sufficient to replenish the rated range for my driving needs each night.
I've checked the specsheet for the US HPWC and it seems that it can indeed charge on a 50 Hz (frequency is correct) grid. So it should work if 230x16 is okay for you. For most commutes this should be sufficient..
Regarding service.. Warranty might not be an issue, but as far as I am aware Tesla does not service US specs cars and you cannot get parts for it. So basically if something happends, you cannot get it fixed as Tesla will not sell you the parts and even if you have the parts Tesla wont install them.
Althought European law states that other car repair shops should be able to carry out repairs for any car brand, Tesla seems to work around this law by simply not selling the parts to anyone but the owner of the car. I think this will iron out in the long run, maybe after a lawsuit or two, but this is currently still an issue as far as I am aware.
Personally I would sell the car in US and buy a used European Tesla in Europe.
Regarding service.. Warranty might not be an issue, but as far as I am aware Tesla does not service US specs cars and you cannot get parts for it. So basically if something happends, you cannot get it fixed as Tesla will not sell you the parts and even if you have the parts Tesla wont install them.
Althought European law states that other car repair shops should be able to carry out repairs for any car brand, Tesla seems to work around this law by simply not selling the parts to anyone but the owner of the car. I think this will iron out in the long run, maybe after a lawsuit or two, but this is currently still an issue as far as I am aware.
Personally I would sell the car in US and buy a used European Tesla in Europe.
It's just a 32A adapter. European grid is 230VAC when single phase, so it would be 230V * 32A * 85% = 6.25kW into the battery. Recharging 60kWh would take 9.6 hours.
Adapters are apparently not a good idea. The one in the photo was a DIY, but I have spoken to a few guys about this and apparently there are some issues around getting the current required onto pins.
The Menekes has 5 pins, whereas the Tesla proprietary is only 3. For super charging in EU, 2 become positive and 2 become negative, whereas in the US you only have 1+ and 1-. So joining them is a little tricky to do safely.
But you can actually change the charge port on the car. So I have a US import, but if I want to fork out about 3 - 5k EUR, I could get the port changed, as well as get all the software updated to the EU version.
Interestingly enough, my car already has a 3 phase charger installed. It's just only using 1 phase. So I could even use the type 2 charge points at full speed if needed. So the only thing I need to do is change the charge port and update the car's software and it's good to go.
But since there are no superchargers here, and I have a Chademo adapter which I use regularly, it's not exactly worth while YET.
Is this a service Tesla offers? In EU? or should it be done before shipping the car over?
if it was only EURO 3,000-5,000 I would do it in a heartbeat. I head somewhere that someone in Switzerland paid closer to EURO 30,000 to convert his US Spec car to Europe/Middle East/Asia Spec. at that price point, it is not worth it for me. Better to buy in Europe outright and be done.
There are no superchargers in Greece *YET* so I am in no rush to find enable European SuperCharger access.
This is about DC charging a US Type 1 model at a Tesla Type 2 Supercharger in Europe. This is the most important adapter for every US- model driver in Europe, who otherwise has to use ChaDemos in order to travel in Europe. And this is a pain in the neck, because
they belong to at least 50 different entities, from most of which you need to get a charging card in order to use any of their Chademos.
So Please please please, Friends tell me where I can get this or a similar DC- Adapter
So Please please please, Friends tell me where I can get this or a similar DC- Adapter
Tesla will do it for you for an extortionate fee. They don't want you to convert your 'out of region' cars. They normally suggest you send your car back to region, sell it, and buy another one.
But the US and EU cars are near identical, so changing the parts around is not difficult at all. But you need to get hold of the parts, which is the tricky part. Tesla won't sell them to you, so you normally need to obtain them from a salvage car.
The main thing you need is the charge port itself.
Despite my car being from the US, it actually has a 3-phase charger inside already. Not all US cars do, so you need to check for this. But if you have a 3-phase charger already, then you only really need the port. Otherwise, you need to buy one.
The type-2 charge port is quite a bit bigger than a standard US Tesla connector. So the hole in the body panel will be the wrong shape/size. You will either need to cut a bigger hole, or get an EU spec rear quarter panel. Cutting a hole is cheaper and probably easier, but you obviously cannot change your mind.
Once the charge port is connected, you can flash the car with EU software, and it will be just like a full EU spec car, and will work on superchargers. But of course you also having access to Type 2 44kw AC public chargers, and can charge from an EU 3-phase outlet.
You cannot buy these, and it would probably be highly unsafe to use one. Even if it could work safely, it would probably be much slower as I suspect the current would drop down to a point where the cables would not heat up too much.
I do not know this for a fact, but I suspect that the plug is cut from an old chademo adapter, and then 'mounted' to an EU socket. The communications will all be the same so it should work, but the chademo cable probably cant support the same current, and so it would heat up. Tesla probably monitor the voltage, which will drop if the cable starts getting too warm, and then reduce the current. Either that or it would be potentially dangerous... Just my speculation here so I could be completely wrong.
You're better of just converting the car.
Similar threads
