Tesla mobile charger vs non-Tesla charger

[Michael Y]

I recently rented an EV while my MYLR is in the shop, and I picked up a charger off Craiglist so I can charge from home.
I like that it has a 28' cord, so I can charge when the wife parks the car nose-in, so I was thinking about switching to this instead of my Tesla charger from now on.
Are there any concerns with daily charging via a third-party charger?

 

[Cosmacelf]

It'll work with the Tesla J1772 adapter.

 

[Michael Y]

It'll work with the Tesla J1772 adapter.

I'm just wondering if the OEM Tesla Mobile Charge provides better/safer charging. Like maybe the 3rd party charger makes the battery hotter or uses a different flavor of electrons or something.

 

[Rocky_H]

Like maybe the 3rd party charger makes the battery hotter or uses a different flavor of electrons or something.

Those are hilarious, but no.

I'm just wondering if the OEM Tesla Mobile Charge provides better/safer charging.

They won't do anything different for the car, but sometimes cheaper ones don't have as many protections for keeping themselves operating safely. For instance, the Tesla one does have a temperature sensor in the head of the plug that is pressed up against the outlet. If it detects the outlet is getting really hot, it will stop and send a signal to the car of an overheat condition, where the car will display that as an error message. So the Tesla cord does have some nice protective safety sensing methods that cheaper ones usually would not have to help if something goes wrong. But if everything is operating normally, nah, not really any difference.

 

[QtownTaxiGreg]

The Schumacher electrons come with a side of sauerkraut.

 

[CobaltLights]

I see that unit charges up to 16 amps. Depending upon the type of connection you were using with your Mobile Connector (e.g., NEMA 14-30 or 14-50), you might be seeing significantly longer charge times, as the Tesla unit can charge at up to 32 amps.

 

[Michael Y]

I see that unit charges up to 16 amps. Depending upon the type of connection you were using with your Mobile Connector (e.g., NEMA 14-30 or 14-50), you might be seeing significantly longer charge times, as the Tesla unit can charge at up to 32 amps.

I have a 20amp circuit, and usually charge at 18amps. So 16amps is not that bad for me.

Mostly just want to make sure there's no potential harm from using non-Tesla equipment.

 

[Cosmacelf]

I have a 20amp circuit, and usually charge at 18amps. So 16amps is not that bad for me.

Mostly just want to make sure there's no potential harm from using non-Tesla equipment.

FYI, you should only be charging at 16A on a 20A circuit, that’s the maximum rating for a continuous load like EV charging.

Is it a 120V circuit or 240V?

 

[Michael Y]

FYI, you should only be charging at 16A on a 20A circuit, that’s the maximum rating for a continuous load like EV charging.

Is it a 120V circuit or 240V?

240V. I've been doing 18A... probably need to drop it down to 16.

 

[stopcrazypp]

240V. I've been doing 18A... probably need to drop it down to 16.

That's another difference, if you buy the Tesla mobile connector, you can buy different adapter heads. 240V and 20A, presumably that is a NEMA 6-20? Tesla sells a 6-20 adapter and the Mobile Connector will automatically set the 16A limit when that adapter is plugged into it:

https://shop.tesla.com/product/gen-2-nema-adapters

This will reduce the chances of forgetting to manually set a limit.

 

[tga]

I have a 20amp circuit, and usually charge at 18amps. So 16amps is not that bad for me.

Mostly just want to make sure there's no potential harm from using non-Tesla equipment.

Are you using the Schumacher SC1455 in your original post? That clearly states it's 16A delivered on a 20A circuit. It should not offer/allow your car to draw 18A.

If you are pulling 18A, you are overloading the circuit and the breaker should trip. If the breaker does not trip, it is likely defective. THIS IS A FIRE RISK!!!

So, to answer your original question, no there is no risk to damaging your CAR charging with a third party charging station vs a Tesla UMC or Wall Connector. All are just glorified extension cords with a relay to turn power on/off. AC power is AC power.

However, in this case, it seems you are overloading your circuit (18A continuous on a 20A circuit). There is no risk to your car. The risk is to your house and your life.

 

[holmgang]

FYI limiting 16A continuous use on a "20A" circuit relates to the national electric code

https://eepower.com/technical-articles/national-electrical-code-basics-sizing-and-protecting-branch-circuit-conductors/

 

[Rocky_H]

240V. I've been doing 18A... probably need to drop it down to 16.

You're glossing over something that is a really big deal. Something is badly misconfigured somewhere in your setup. Your equipment should NEVER allow you to go over 16A on a 20A circuit!

If you are pulling 18A, you are overloading the circuit and the breaker should trip. If the breaker does not trip, it is likely defective. THIS IS A FIRE RISK!!!

Yes, exactly. This setup needs something fixed ASAP. If you can show us what you are using with pictures, we may be able to identify where the problem is and give suggestions on what part needs to be changed.

 

[Cosmacelf]

You're glossing over something that is a really big deal. Something is badly misconfigured somewhere in your setup. Your equipment should NEVER allow you to go over 16A on a 20A circuit!

Yes, exactly. This setup needs something fixed ASAP. If you can show us what you are using with pictures, we may be able to identify where the problem is and give suggestions on what part needs to be changed.

He’s probably using some kind of adapter and manually setting the current.

OP, could you describe your set up in more detail? What kind of receptacle are you using? Adapters? Hard to give good advice without knowing all the details.

 

[davewill]

A lot of those style EVSEs can be configured for different charging rates. I originally thought that the OP probably configured the EVSE for 18a, instead of 16a and that they could reconfigure it properly, then everything should be safe and sane.

However, looking at the info for the SC1455, it sure looks like it should be set for 16a all the time (not configurable), despite the fact it comes with an adapter for a NEMA 5-15 plug. That would suggest that the OP's is malfunctioning and advertising MORE than 16a. If that's the case, I'd get rid of the thing as fast as I could.

 

[Michael Y]

He’s probably using some kind of adapter and manually setting the current.

OP, could you describe your set up in more detail? What kind of receptacle are you using? Adapters? Hard to give good advice without knowing all the details.

When I'm charging my Tesla with the mobile charger, I set it to 18amp using the Tesla app. I've actually set it to 19amp once, just seeing if the breaker would trip. I now wonder what would happen if I accidentally set it to 25 or 30 amps. I'm glad I started this thread. I didn't realize how dangerous 18amp could be.

The Schumacher SC1455 (which I'm using to charge my Ioniq 5 rental) does say it's 240v 16amp. So I assume that's safe enough -and may be a reason to switch from my Tesla charger to that, until I get an upgraded circuit?

 

[Cosmacelf]

When I'm charging my Tesla with the mobile charger, I set it to 18amp using the Tesla app. I've actually set it to 19amp once, just seeing if the breaker would trip. I now wonder what would happen if I accidentally set it to 25 or 30 amps. I'm glad I started this thread. I didn't realize how dangerous 18amp could be.

The Schumacher SC1455 (which I'm using to charge my Ioniq 5 rental) does say it's 240v 16amp. So I assume that's safe enough -and may be a reason to switch from my Tesla charger to that, until I get an upgraded circuit?

So what kind of plug are you using off your Tesla Mobile Connector? Presumably it isn't the correct plug for your 240V receptacle and you are using an adapter in between? Because a Tesla Mobile Connector would normally set the correct amperage if you aren't using a third party adapter in between.

 

[tga]

When I'm charging my Tesla with the mobile charger, I set it to 18amp using the Tesla app. I've actually set it to 19amp once, just seeing if the breaker would trip. I now wonder what would happen if I accidentally set it to 25 or 30 amps. I'm glad I started this thread. I didn't realize how dangerous 18amp could be.

The Schumacher SC1455 (which I'm using to charge my Ioniq 5 rental) does say it's 240v 16amp. So I assume that's safe enough -and may be a reason to switch from my Tesla charger to that, until I get an upgraded circuit?

I think we're all a little confused here. You're talking about 2 different charging setups, but it isn't clear what you're plugged into.

Can you give us more details? Are you using the same plug for each? What is the size of the plug's circuit breaker? Do you know the type of plug, or can you post a picture? What adapter are you using on the Tesla mobile charger?

Here's the source of my confusion:

• The SC1455 has a 6-20 plug (20A, 240V). This means it can supply 16A at 240V.
• The SC1455 includes a 6-20 receptacle to 5-15 adapter to allow the user to plug into a 15A, 120V outlet. It appears to still offer 16A at 120V in this situation, which means a car will overload a standard 15A circuit.
• The Tesla mobile charger has a 6-20 adapter, but it wouldn't let you set the charge current to 18 or 19A, (or anything above 16A).

What adapter are you using with the mobile charger?

 

[Michael Y]

I think we're all a little confused here. You're talking about 2 different charging setups, but it isn't clear what you're plugged into.

Can you give us more details? Are you using the same plug for each? What is the size of the plug's circuit breaker? Do you know the type of plug, or can you post a picture? What adapter are you using on the Tesla mobile charger?

Here's the source of my confusion:

• The SC1455 has a 6-20 plug (20A, 240V). This means it can supply 16A at 240V.
• The SC1455 includes a 6-20 receptacle to 5-15 adapter to allow the user to plug into a 15A, 120V outlet. It appears to still offer 16A at 120V in this situation, which means a car will overload a standard 15A circuit.
• The Tesla mobile charger has a 6-20 adapter, but it wouldn't let you set the charge current to 18 or 19A, (or anything above 16A).

What adapter are you using with the mobile charger?

Ok, sorry for the confusion. I own a MYLR, which I've been charging with the mobile charger and the adapter that came with it.
While my MYLR is in the shop, I rented a Ioniq 5, and bought the SC1455 for charging that. I had to buy the yellow adapter (NEMA 14-50P to 5-15R 5-20R 6-15R 6-20R) to plug in the SC1455.
So what I'm gathering, in order to be safe, I need to either stick with the SC1455, or buy a 6-20 for my Tesla Charger, correct?
I really appreciate your time and input on this.

 

[Cosmacelf]

So you have a NEMA 14-50 surface mount receptacle (the black thing in the first picture) connected to a 20A circuit with a 20A circuit breaker? Why? That actually isn’t up to electrical code. Normally you’d use a NEMA 6-20 receptacle with a 20A breaker.

But yes, if you used a Tesla 6-20 adapter instead of the 14-50 adapter, it would automatically set the current to 16A.