thesmokingman
Active Member
Yea, excruciatingly slow and the efficiency is the pits. It's even worse in colder climates as there's not enough power to pre-condition so it'll take even longer lol.
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Thoughts and experience of 110 volt charging
- Thread starter hsfrank
- Start date
Yeah, but that's the time to reach the set charge. If you get 30 miles of charge a night and drive 31 miles a day (for example), you could go many months without using anything else. And a no-driving day or two on a random weekend will top you up.
If you don't have it already, it is definitely worth spending $35 for the 5-20 adapter.
AC Traction
Member
I have a gen 3 wall connector in my garage wired for 48A charging. I don't end up needing to use it much unless I'm doing more driving than just commuting, mainly because I have a few free charging options at work. My commute is 28 miles round trip. My work parking garage has a number of free L2 EVSE's, but they're nearly always full of Leafs, Bolts and PHEV's. They'll also drop to 16A at 208V if someone is on the adjacent EVSE.
There are also a number of parking spaces with a 5-15 receptacle that are nearly always available. I can net about 11kWh from one of those during a normal eight hour workday which will cover my 28 mile round trip, plus a bit more. If all I do is drive to work and do a few short errands after work, that eight hours every day on 120V fulfills my workweek driving needs.
There are also a number of parking spaces with a 5-15 receptacle that are nearly always available. I can net about 11kWh from one of those during a normal eight hour workday which will cover my 28 mile round trip, plus a bit more. If all I do is drive to work and do a few short errands after work, that eight hours every day on 120V fulfills my workweek driving needs.
I mean to be 100% safe talk to an electrician but if an actual electrician installed that 20amp breaker I would think you could use a 5-20 outlet. If you can get to the wiring in the wall you might check that the wiring is 20amp rated but again if an electrician did it than it must be (?). Also Tesla's are pretty good at detecting overloaded circuits and reducing the amps they draw to reduce the load. The 5-15 outlet I am using, my Tesla often drops from the normal 12amps down to 9amps because of lower than expected voltage... for various reasons.
You also have to consider what else is being powered on that 20 amp circuit. In my case I have a 20 amp circuit that powers half of my kitchen, including the refrigerator and a toaster oven, that also has a receptacle in the garage, directly behind the kitchen wall.
I used to charge my PHEV using 120V/12A charging for about 6 months using that receptacle with no issue. I installed a new 5-15 receptacle because the original receptacle was old. I later realized I could have changed it to a 5-20 but by then my need to charge using the 120V circuit went away once I had a 240V/50A circuit and NEMA 14-50 receptacle installed in my garage. Still, if I ever needed to charge using that 120V receptacle again I would not change it to 5-20, would not charge beyond 120V and 12 amps because the refrigerator is on the circuit.
I just realized that the garage opener is on the same circuit. It could be a problem since they have high surge watts.
A standard 1/2 HP opener should not be an issue. The opener motor is only operating for ~10 seconds per cycle. If the springs are good and the door is properly balanced you can raise or lower the garage door with just one finger. The garage door motor does not have to work very hard, should not pull anywhere near its rated maximum amperage. Startup amperage would not trip the breaker.
We've driven our MY over 4k miles so far, and except for road trips where Superchargers are an absolute necessity, all of our charging has been on the 120v mobile charger at home. We've not had an issue keeping the car at between 30-80% SOC, as we normally don't drive more than 20-40 miles/day. And once my wife picks the kids up in the afternoon from school, we tend not to go out again until the next morning, when we drive them to school. That means about 15 hrs of charging each day, which comes out to roughly 15-20% added SOC. And that's enough to keep the car charged.
If we install the wall charger, the quotes I've been getting are at least $2k plus the $450 for the unit itself. I'm not sure we will ever recoup the lost efficiency of 120V charging.
If we install the wall charger, the quotes I've been getting are at least $2k plus the $450 for the unit itself. I'm not sure we will ever recoup the lost efficiency of 120V charging.
Not that it changes the cost that much but the standard for garage outlets IMHO should be a NEMA 14-50 (oven/clothes drier plug). It is like $50 vs $450 and I think every EV out there can charge from it maybe requiring an adapter plug. The electrical install cost should be the same as an EV charger.
If you are sure that you have 12/2 romex then yes you can. If you are not sure, just take out the current outlet and see if the wire behind it is yellow or white? If white then you cannot replace the 5-15 with 5-20. But if you have yellow wire then you can. I have seen in my sisters home that they had 20 AM breaker, yellow wire but the outlets were 5-15. Sometimes electricians do that to save cost. But its a code violation or at least the inspector should fail it.
If you have white wire, then that 20 AMP breaker is a serious fire hazard and should be replaced immediately.
No it isn't. On multiple outlet branch circuits, the 20A circuits can use a mix of 15 or 20 amp receptacle types according to 210.21(B)(3)
Can you put a 15 amp rated receptacle on a 20 amp circuit? Wenatchee Home Inspector | NCW Home Inspections, LLC
Can you put a 15 amp rated receptacle on a 20 amp circuit? “Building Code Of The Day”Question:Can you put a 15 amp rated receptacle on a 20 amp circuit? Answer: Yes, if it is duplex type receptacle.
www.ncwhomeinspections.com
We just have standard 15 amp plugs with an outside receptacle over them. Seems to work ok.
TAYMAC N3R Polycarbonate Clear 1-Gang Weatherproof Flip Cover for Outdoor Outlet, UFAST 16-in-1 , 1-Pack MM110C - The Home Depot
AC Traction
Member
To clarify, yellow jacketing on romex signifies 12AWG wire. Wire insulation in romex will always be black, white and sometimes additionally red. Older homes built before 2000 or so will have white jacketed 12/2 and 14/2 romex, in which case you'll want to have a closer look to be sure it's 12/2.
Bottom line, yellow jacketing guarantees there is 12/2 (20A ampacity) wire at that receptacle. Double check in the panel to be sure that circuit also has 12/2 romex at that end as well. On the other hand, white jacketing does not guarantee 14/2 in older homes.
You are right. I just realized that you can always downgrade because the wiring will support that without any hazard. So even though its not a code violation, the building inspectors do object to electricians mixing 15 Amp outlets on 20 Amp circuits as it can cause potential confusion. I am still not sure why they even do that. What is the advantage of putting a 15 Amp receptacle on a 20 Amp circuit except to save a few $$ (cost).
A Hubbell 14-50 receptacle costs almost $100; a GFCI circuit breaker is now required for ~$90 to $130. A licensed electrician is going to charge $250 or more. The Mobile Connector now costs $230. Total cost is going on $700.
GalacticHero
M3-AWD+
Concur. My breaker panel is on the outside wall of my garage. Having an electrician install the 14-50 receptacle cost me $600 at the beginning of 2020. I'm in Denver. The new circuit used up the rest of the available amperage of my breaker box, but there was just enough margin.
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