Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

The case for 120V 15A (12A) charging

This site may earn commission on affiliate links.
I found this table somewhere on the tesla.com site and then made my own version (see second screenshot) specifically for the Model 3 and km/h taking into account the cheaper time-of-use pricing we have in Ontario from 7pm - 7am on weekdays.

17.7km of range per hour is actually pretty good in my opinion from a plain old wall plug; good enough for most daily commutes anyway.

Screen Shot 2018-05-30 at 11.47.58 PM.png

Screen Shot 2018-05-30 at 11.49.36 PM.png
 
NEMA_Gen2.png
https://shop.tesla.com/content/dam/tesla/CAR_ACCESSORIES/MODEL_3/CHARGING_ADAPTERS/NEMA_Gen2.png

The last 2 here are 120v. My primary charger is a relocated 14/30 outlet (socket for electric dryer option that was never used). I get exactly 17/mi/hr as the chart says.

i just bought a 5-20 adapter for a gen 1 charger as the conference I'm at only has that option. Though looking at this chart it seems it's not really giving me much more than 5-15 (though on a 5-15 today I was getting 4/mi hr (gen 1 charger). Anyone find a 5-20 helped a lot more than a 5-15?
 
Last edited:
  • Informative
Reactions: Dr. J
I found this table somewhere on the tesla.com site and then made my own version (see second screenshot) specifically for the Model 3 and km/h taking into account the cheaper time-of-use pricing we have in Ontario from 7pm - 7am on weekdays.

17.7km of range per hour is actually pretty good in my opinion from a plain old wall plug; good enough for most daily commutes anyway.

I may be wrong about this, but I think the Tesla chart is for 15A breaker on a 240V circuit, so a standard wall plug would be 120V, about half the power output.

Agree. Chart is for a 15 amp breaker on a 240 V circuit using the Tesla wall connector. Not a 15 amp 120 V circuit.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Muskol
NEMA_Gen2.png
https://shop.tesla.com/content/dam/tesla/CAR_ACCESSORIES/MODEL_3/CHARGING_ADAPTERS/NEMA_Gen2.png

The last 2 here are 120v. My primary charger is a relocated 14/30 outlet (socket for electric dryer option that was never used). I get exactly 17/mi/hr as the chart says.

i just bought a 5-20 adapter for a gen 1 charger as the conference I'm at only has that option. Though looking at this chart it seems it's not really giving me much more than 5-15 (though on a 5-15 today I was getting 4/mi hr (gen 1 charger). Anyone find a 5-20 helped a lot more than a 5-15?

On a 5-15, my S will report 3-4MPH... I calculated it at around 3.5 and the voltage differences at certain locations will make it round up or down on th display.

On a 5-20 (we have 'em at work), the car reports 5, and that's indeed about what I get.
 
Even if your math was right, this is not specific to Canada.

Canadian and US electrical systems are virtually identical. It applies in Canada.

In Ontario in winter you’re not going to get 3 miles/ hr plugged into 120V 15A overnight. In fact you’ll be lucky to not lose range.

Depends if you start with a warm battery or not. A couple of years ago, I was on a road trip and plugged in to a 120 volt outlet at a hotel as soon as I got there. I had just pulled off the highway after a long drive, and it was well below freezing. I was hoping just to sort of maintain my charge overnight but was surprised to find in the morning that I had increased my charge by 3 miles (5 km) per hour.
 
Even if your math was right, this is not specific to Canada.

Canadian and US electrical systems are virtually identical. It applies in Canada.



Depends if you start with a warm battery or not. A couple of years ago, I was on a road trip and plugged in to a 120 volt outlet at a hotel as soon as I got there. I had just pulled off the highway after a long drive, and it was well below freezing. I was hoping just to sort of maintain my charge overnight but was surprised to find in the morning that I had increased my charge by 3 miles (5 km) per hour.

I think he is referencing the post being on the Canada page


Also - for the OP: I have my HPWC on my barn - shared on Plugshare. I use my UMC and NEMA 5-15R adapter in my garage, when I come home, every night after work. I only need 40-50 KM, so I leave every day fully, or nearly fully charged. I really only use my HPWC after or before a long trip
 
I found this table somewhere on the tesla.com site and then made my own version (see second screenshot) specifically for the Model 3 and km/h taking into account the cheaper time-of-use pricing we have in Ontario from 7pm - 7am on weekdays.

17.7km of range per hour is actually pretty good in my opinion from a plain old wall plug; good enough for most daily commutes anyway.

View attachment 305086

From the Tesla table, if you change mph to km, the numbers will look right. I got 5 km/h for my X.
 
I'm not a daily driver. While I wait for the condo to install a charger, I've been able to scrape some 120v 15amp power from plugs in the public side of the parking lot. It's not terrible. I get 1% per hour, 24% all day, it's not terrible during warmer months.
 
There's a number of reasons why the minimum really isn't enough. The batteries can be cold in the winter time (as many others have posted) or hot in the summer (which drains the battery in the attempt to get the pack to an ideal temperature), you will have a net drain if you use things like pre-conditioning, you short change yourself if you do any driving that exceeds the amount the car charges overnight and you limit your ability to be flexible if you are dependent upon a range close to that overnight threshold. Obviously, you may be limited to what you can do depending upon where you live as well as whether you are in close proximity to some kind of secondary charger or not.

There's a number of posts in this forum that relates to charging. I'd advise you read them before purchasing.