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Using Existing Nema 14-50 Power Outlet to charge Model 3 Performance

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The car comes with the charger you need.
...except that it didn't.
Unfortunately the UMC was not included with the vehicle (odd as I get the impression the previous owner was meticulous and would have included it)
These bother me, when owners sell an electric car and decide to keep the charging cable that is supposed to go with it.
 
The car comes with the charger you need. Just get the 14-50 end for your charge for $45 on the Tesla website.
The UMC was not included with the vehicle. The dealer is buying me a new one but they are not stocked in the Tesla store so it had to be ordered. Unfortunately it looks like it will take some time for it to be delivered from Tesla as the 14-50 connector has already shipped but no status on the UMC itself.
 
Just one more data-point. I've found the Tesla connector supplied with the vehicle works just fine. I use it both when in AZ and when the car is in it's carport on Cape Cod.

Rich

AZ garage.
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On Cape Cod.
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...except that it didn't.

These bother me, when owners sell an electric car and decide to keep the charging cable that is supposed to go with it.
Now I am actually one of those folks that, when buying or selling something used, likes having all the original accessories intact, and even the original box.

But to be fair, the notion of including a 24' long beefy cable in the car at all times for mobile charging is rapidly becoming antiquated, and I would not be surprised if Tesla as a cost-cutting move soon stops including the UMC as standard equipment, it's not essential equipment for most folks anymore. So I guess what I'm saying is, really how much longer will it be that EV's are "supposed" to come with a mobile L2 charging cable? Tesla could fashion an L1 something much cheaper and smaller that's basically a glorified extension cord with some signaling circuitry on one end, to be used only in true emergencies from the nearest 120V outlet, to limp home.

Most folks here are not actually using the included UMC as a mobile charger but rather as a fixed EVSE at home - those folks could be asked to buy it from the shop, much as any other EVSE. And as a mobile emergency backup, as @volty25 has decided to use it, it's already tertiary to Superchargers/L3 first and then J1772/L2 charging stations second. We haven't kept the UMC in either Tesla for daily driving for years now, and have also forgotten to pack it on our last few road trips as well.

I'm know I'm speaking as an entitled Californian, but $6.5 billion coming in the new federal infrastructure bill will soon equalize things nationwide.
 
Most folks here are not actually using the included UMC as a mobile charger but rather as a fixed EVSE at home

Based on my reading here, its probably the exact opposite of that, in fact. Most folks use the included mobile charger. As for "how long will tesla continue to include it", they should include the mobile charger with the "standard connector for a home in the area" with the car, forever, in my opinion.

Not including the mobile connector along with at least the basic adapter that will plug into your home, is like buying a fridge and having to buy the power plug separately, or buying a laptop and not getting the charger with it.
 
Thank you for the heads up on this. I'll have to investigate my need for CHAdeMO adapter. Has anyone else found a need for it?
My initial reason for buying the Tesla CHAdeMO adapter was because my workplace installed several ChargePoint stations for use by employees. Most of them were the Level 2 type (~20 miles range per hour charge rate) but they also installed two DC Fast Charge (DCFC) stations. Problem is that they had CCS and CHAdeMO plugs. ChargePoint (or maybe Samsung) included the Tesla CHAdeMO adapter with each station by wire-tying it to the stand, so it wouldn't easily "walk away". At first the Model 3 could not use the CHAdeMO adapter until a software updated allowed it,, about a year after I got my car (Model S and X didn't have that problem). So I wanted to have a backup adapter in case there was a problem with the ones at work and to also allow me to use the CHAdeMO chargers available with other networks.

There's a very long thread about CHAdeMO use here:

edit: I should mention that CHAdeMO is a dying outlet, mostly because Nissan was really the only one using it. My understanding is that future Leafs will transition to CCS. That said, I think you can still find many CHAdeMO stations out in public. I use one near my house which has a cheaper rate ($0.19/kWh) than a Tesla Supercharger ($0.21). If you use Electrify America, ChargePoint or EVgo apps you can see where these stations are located by adjusting the filters to see which outlets are displayed on their respective maps.
 
This is incredibly strange and contradictory.
Most folks here are not actually using the included UMC as a mobile charger but rather as a fixed EVSE at home
Yes. I've been using mine that way for over 7 years.
But to be fair, the notion of including a 24' long beefy cable in the car at all times for mobile charging is rapidly becoming antiquated, and I would not be surprised if Tesla as a cost-cutting move soon stops including the UMC as standard equipment, it's not essential equipment for most folks anymore. So I guess what I'm saying is, really how much longer will it be that EV's are "supposed" to come with a mobile L2 charging cable?
...which is why this is confusing and makes no sense. You just said people USE that cable. This is an important part of the car. It needs to be included when the car is built and sold new, and it needs to be passed along to the next owner, so they can use it for their charging. Not offering it would be evil and annoying. Why would you think it shouldn't be there anymore? That is an important home charging device.
 
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Just one more data-point. I've found the Tesla connector supplied with the vehicle works just fine. I use it both when in AZ and when the car is in it's carport on Cape Cod.
I expect the Tesla UMC should be fine for my needs. However I may buy the home charging station to use at home and place the UMC in the car so I'll have it available in the event I want to charge somewhere other than home. I don't want to have to put the UMC in the car every time I may need it so having something dedicated to the car would be preferable. Given the slight different in cost, and it appears a 30% rebate from the government, the home charging station seems reasonable.

Speaking of UMC I spoke with the dealer today about picking up the check for it. While ordering the UMC I also ordered the 14-50 adapter. The dealer agreed to cover the cost of the adapter too as he said it would be easier to get a check cut for the entire invoice instead of just the UMC. Sometimes corporate bureaucracy works in ones favor.
 
edit: I should mention that CHAdeMO is a dying outlet, mostly because Nissan was really the only one using it. My understanding is that future Leafs will transition to CCS. That said, I think you can still find many CHAdeMO stations out in public. I use one near my house which has a cheaper rate ($0.19/kWh) than a Tesla Supercharger ($0.21). If you use Electrify America, ChargePoint or EVgo apps you can see where these stations are located by adjusting the filters to see which outlets are displayed on their respective maps.
I swear I didn't post this before just reading this just now:

 
I expect the Tesla UMC should be fine for my needs. However I may buy the home charging station to use at home and place the UMC in the car so I'll have it available in the event I want to charge somewhere other than home. I don't want to have to put the UMC in the car every time I may need it so having something dedicated to the car would be preferable. Given the slight different in cost, and it appears a 30% rebate from the government, the home charging station seems reasonable.

Speaking of UMC I spoke with the dealer today about picking up the check for it. While ordering the UMC I also ordered the 14-50 adapter. The dealer agreed to cover the cost of the adapter too as he said it would be easier to get a check cut for the entire invoice instead of just the UMC. Sometimes corporate bureaucracy works in ones favor.
They should cover the cost of the missing J1772 adapter as well, as it is also included with every car. It is an important backup to carry while traveling. Some hotels/motels even offer onsite J1772 stations so you can charge overnight.

Your need for additional adapters will become evident over time.
 
They should cover the cost of the missing J1772 adapter as well, as it is also included with every car. It is an important backup to carry while traveling. Some hotels/motels even offer onsite J1772 stations so you can charge overnight.

Your need for additional adapters will become evident over time.
At this point I am going to consider it a wash (I am surprised it doesn't come with the UMC kit I ordered from Tesla). I prefer to have the 14-50 adapter over the J1772 adapter as I will have a lot more use for it. At this time I don't expect to use this car as a long distance trip car. Before purchasing I ensured there are Super Chargers which would be available for the longer trips I may make with it. For anything beyond that I intend to use my Outback. That said I will probably pick up the J1772 adapter in the near future as a just in case. I am seeing the proliferation of adapters with the recommendations from this thread alone :D

At this moment my largest concern is when will the UMC ship.
 
The J1772 adapter would come in handy if your workplace installs EVSE. Most likely they will be L2 systems which will have a J1772 plug. You can get the adapter from the Tesla Shop for $95 or check eBay where they can be had for $50-$70. Note that there are two designs (at the moment); one which in the middle of the adapter lacks a "lip" (older) and the other which does have a lip (newer). They are functionally identical and it would only matter if you decide to get a locking collar so that people can't disconnect your car from the charger.

tesla_j1772_adapters.jpg
 
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ClipperCreek is a really lousy solution unless the OP's other car uses the clunky J1772 charge connector. And if the intent is to avoid electricians they'd still be limited to 32A on that 40A breaker so they might as well just use the much cheaper Tesla Mobile Connector so the valuable J1772 adapter can stay in the car.

Clipper Creek labels its EVSEs by the breaker needed. OP can buy the 50 Amp 14-50 plug model, pop in a 50 Amp breaker and be good to go with 40 Amps to the car. This presumes that the electrical panel load can take another 10 Amps

Another choice that works out the same way is to buy a Grizzl-E, or another EVSE vendor with the same setup.

Your other comment about not buying a J-1772 EVSE misses some of the trade-offs:
  • You are not putting yourself into a Tesla only garden
  • Visitors with non Tesla cars can charge
  • It is easy to leave the J-1772 adapter attached day to day, and just install a Tesla holster
My take: if OP is keen to charge at 48 Amps then buy the Tesla hard-wired EVSE and expect to pay $$ for the installation unless it is DIY. If 40 or 32 Amps to the car is good enough then consider the trade-offs and use whatever makes you happy.
 
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The J1772 adapter would come in handy if your workplace installs EVSE. Most likely they will be L2 systems which will have a J1772 plug. You can get the adapter from the Tesla Shop for $95 or check eBay where they can be had for $50-$70. Note that there are two designs (at the moment); one which in the middle of the adapter lacks a "lip" (older) and the other which does have a lip (newer). They are functionally identical and it would only matter if you decide to get a locking collar so that people can't disconnect your car from the charger.
Thank you for bringing the difference to my attention as I was unaware of it. I did check Ebay and it appears BIN asking prices are right at $65.

There are a couple of public charging stations in the parking garage at work however I am, even prior to COVID, a remote worker so I rarely go into the office. If I need to it's only 10 miles away.

This is probably a little off topic but the primary reason for buying a Volt was to familiarize myself with electric driving and how it would fit into my driving patterns. The Volt, with its 53 mile EV range, fit 90% of my driving requirements. I think I put all of 8 gallons of gas into it the three years I owned it. Most of which was because the car runs the ICE engine, at least for a few minutes, when the temperature dropped below 15 degrees. It also periodically starts the ICE engine for maintenance purposes. So the majority of gas consumption was for things outside of my control.

The above is slightly misleading because, for longer driving which I did do while owning the Volt, I took my X5. Essentially the Volt was my around town (~90%) vehicle where the X5 was my longer distance (~ 10%) vehicle. With the ~300 mile range of the Model 3 I can essentially use it for almost 100% of my driving needs (I rarely make roads trips). I do have a use case where I might be pushing the range of the Model 3 during the winter months: Visiting my family in the mountains. The round trip is approximately 200 miles which should easily fit into the 300 mile range, at least in the summer time. With the Volt I observed an approximate decrease in range of approximately 25%. If that's true for the Model 3 then I would be getting nervous as that would drop it down to approximately 225 miles.

There are several solutions to this issue. The first being that I can charge at my families place. Currently 120 volts but they're willing to install a 240 volt outlet to charge. The second, and likely more practical, is to stop at a Super Charger along the way. It would add a few minutes to the drive but 30 minutes would be acceptable. Or, as I will do this weekend, I'll just take my Outback.

Under just about every scenario I don't see myself needing to use a public charging station that is not a Tesla Super Charing station. I'll probably get the adapter just to have it in the event I will need it. But right now it's not a priority.
 
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Clipper Creek labels its EVSEs by the breaker needed. OP can buy the 50 Amp 14-50 plug model, pop in a 50 Amp breaker and be good to go with 40 Amps to the car. This presumes that the electrical panel load can take another 10 Amps

Another choice that works out the same way is to buy a Grizzl-E, or another EVSE vendor with the same setup.

Your other comment about not buying a J-1772 EVSE misses some of the trade-offs:
  • You are not putting yourself into a Tesla only garden
  • Visitors with non Tesla cars can charge
  • It is easy to leave the J-1772 adapter attached day to day, and just install a Tesla holster
My take: if OP is keen to charge at 48 Amps then buy the Tesla hard-wired EVSE and expect to pay $$ for the installation unless it is DIY. If 40 or 32 Amps to the car is good enough then consider the trade-offs and use whatever makes you happy.
No DIY for this kind of thing for me. Thankfully I have a friend who is an electrician and he is the one who installed the 240 volt Nema 14-50 socket and he's agreed to install the Tesla Home Charging station if I move forward with it.

Since I need to get something to charge my car at home I decided to go with the UMC / 14-50 adapter. That way I could just plug it into my existing outlet. Unfortunately I have no idea when Tesla will ship the UMC (the 14-50 adapter has already shipped and will be here Friday). I suspect I could probably get the charging station before the UMC.
 
This is probably a little off topic but the primary reason for buying a Volt was to familiarize myself with electric driving and how it would fit into my driving patterns. The Volt, with its 53 mile EV range, fit 90% of my driving requirements. I think I put all of 8 gallons of gas into it the three years I owned it.
I am really happy to hear this. When I first heard the Volt was coming out, I was thinking of this very situation. I had hoped a lot of people would do this very thing: wanting to try out electric but wanted the gas backup. And then I was hoping they would discover that they had barely put any gas in it over the next several months and realize their driving patterns really worked for this, especially if the electric range was 200 or so miles, and finally make the full switch to electric.