Wall charge ranging from 2 - 4 mi /hr?

[camalaio]

In your equations for 12 and 9 amps how are you converting from W to MPH? I know the conversion factor is 1/244.9, but where is that stated and is that how the conversion is done? 997@/224.9 = 4.07. Is that right?

Sorry, my bad. It comes from where I said this, but I didn't show that part in the equation:

And then divides it by a Wh/mi constant that the car is rated for (its efficiency) to represent it in miles per hour. Pulling a random one since I don't know what model you have, let's say that's 245Wh/mi

The constant varies by which model year, how many motors, etc.

 

[brjr]

also worth pointing out that its probably worth picking up a heavy duty outlet rather than using the garbage at the big box stores.

my $5 NEMA 6-20 outlet from the orange big box store got pretty damn warm and had a decent amount of voltage drop when charging, replaced with a $30 industrial outlet from Grainger electrical supply and now the plug is just slightly warmer than ambient with little to no voltage drop between the car and the electrical panel.

$5 big box store electrical outlets aren't designed for continuous duty.

I have replaced outlets before. Will this be the same procedure? Looks the same as $5 big box only heavy duty?

 

[SageBrush]

I have replaced outlets before. Will this be the same procedure? Looks the same as $5 big box only heavy duty?

Yep, although if you want the higher ampacity you need to be sure that the wire is fat enough

 

[smartypnz]

Probably don't need to say this.... but there is this other person in my household who loves to leave the seat heater on during the night. Won't mention her name, but it reminded me of the problem when she had to use my M3 for the day while her MS was getting the computer upgrade. I don't daily drive as much as she, so I charge on the 120v (she uses the destination charger for her 60+ mile one way commute).
When I came out the next morning and unplugged mine, very little increase in capacity AND an extremely warm seat.

Anyway, kill the accessories when charging. We have really bad fluctuations in voltage levels at night (not caused by us - PG&E will dispute that but I have paper graph records). Anyway, being aware of it, we have learned to live with it by lowering her Amperage level.

 

[Xambler]

I consistently got 5-6 mph charging with the standard 15 amp 120 v adapter...and that was going through a 40’ extension cord as well. It is crucial that you don’t use an outlet with something else already drawing current on it and very important that you use an extension cord capable of handling 15 amps...they are a bit expensive. Also make sure sentry mode and ac or heat isn’t on if you are sitting in the car watching the screen to see charge rate.

In both our homes, though, I put in a 14-30 circuit (about $80 for wire, socket, conduit). 22-23 mph charge consistently that way is plenty fast for overnight charging. Much much easier to snake 30 amp wiring and connect it up than 50 amp capable wiring...and a bit cheaper.

 

[scottwith1t]

I have replaced outlets before. Will this be the same procedure? Looks the same as $5 big box only heavy duty?

Pretty much

Make sure the terminals are screwed nice and tight, and don't pinch the plastic wire covering at all or it'll heat up and potentially be a fire hazard over time. The box might have a diagram of how much wire should be exposed prior to insertion into the terminals.

You'll notice the difference the first time you attempt to plug/unplug something in the heavy duty unit, much tighter connection.

 

[brjr]

Pretty much

Make sure the terminals are screwed nice and tight, and don't pinch the plastic wire covering at all or it'll heat up and potentially be a fire hazard over time. The box might have a diagram of how much wire should be exposed prior to insertion into the terminals.

You'll notice the difference the first time you attempt to plug/unplug something in the heavy duty unit, much tighter connection.

Thanks very much! I will probably have an electrician do it to make sure it gets done right. And i'll keep an eye on the work

 

[Kevin-rf]

Worth noting, if you are going to change the outlet, it might also be a loose wire in the breaker. Might be worth putting in a new breaker (same size).

If the existing breaker and outlet is 20a and not 15a it would be worth getting a NEMA 6-20 adapter for your mobile adapter.

If none of that makes sense, talk to an electrician.

 

[scottwith1t]

Thanks very much! I will probably have an electrician do it to make sure it gets done right. And i'll keep an eye on the work

Its not rocket surgery, just a couple of screws and potentially stripping a little bit of wire if necessary.

Worth noting, if you are going to change the outlet, it might also be a loose wire in the breaker. Might be worth putting in a new breaker (same size).

If the existing breaker and outlet is 20a and not 15a it would be worth getting a NEMA 6-20 adapter for your mobile adapter.

If none of that makes sense, talk to an electrician.

I'd say more importantly, verify the wire installed in the wall and don't rely on the plug or breaker. White (14 gauge) and you're limited to a 15 amp circuit, but if they were kind enough to install yellow (12 gauge) you're good for 20 amp. I'd also verify with the gauge written on the actual wire.

Checking breakers won't help if the breaker installed is incorrect (as I found in my house!)

a NEMA 6-20 is probably the best bang for the buck in terms of charging one of these things provided the wiring is already in place. I got lucky in that they wired 2 of my outlets in my garage together and then off to the electrical panel with 12 gauge, so I just wired one directly to the panel as a normal 5-15 and then the other closest to the car became the only one on the circuit, one double poll breaker later and 15 mile per hour charging is achieved. Extremely easy.

 

[jerry33]

1. Why does the charge range/flicker between 2 - 4 miles per hour? Is it because of current throughout my home? I am using a standard 120 v wall socket for now. The Model 3 screen shows amp ranging from 9-2 / 12 amp.
2. I read somewhere that even replacing the wall socket with better hardware could help.
Occasionally the monitor says i have a bad extension cord (nope) or poor connection. Sometimes not usually. Why could that be?
3. Is it healthiest to charge the battery more often? Like every night?

1. The circuit is not dedicated. Any other appliance will reduce the charge rate.
2. Unlikely unless you install a dedicated circuit, in which case you should install a 14-50 which will charge faster and more efficiently for about the same installation cost.
3. Yes. The manual says to plug in whenever possible. Just treat it like an iPhone, plug it in whenever you can.

 

[Kandiru]

OP you reminded me of a joke from my old country.

Electrification started in earnest in the 1950ies in the Soviet Block, the engineer is in front of the entire village to answer questions, near the end an elder raises his hand and asks "OK, I understand about the light, but how does the kerosene travel through those narrow pipes?"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To help OP, all outlets in the USA can only draw 80% of the nominal amperage by law, here are the levels of charging:

AC (triphase) charging:
===================
=Level 1= 15A/12A, your basic wall plug. Someone above mentioned 20A home outlet, NEMA 5-20 are rare, though I have sine wave voltage regulators for my reference audio system sporting these.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
=Level 2= (220V) at home or J1772 destination charging, 40A/32A (Nema 14-50 for Tesla UMC) or 80A/64A (for hardwiring Tesla HPWC with two dedicated 40A circuits, but pray if you have 200A grid power to a large home with two air conditioners). Also a variety of about 15 different outlets from hotel AC to weld shop, those of us from the early days still carry adapters in the trunk with a long extension cord (PlugShare was also a must).

DC (monophasic) charging:
=====================
=Level 3= found at Tesla Superchargers, and DC Fast stations with CCS and ChadeMo adapters. Tesla offers a ChadeMo adapter but not a CCS Type 1 (a J1772 with two DC terminals at the bottom, fugly and big) due to fierce competition with non-Tesla EVs in the US, not to be confused with the European CCS Type 2 adapter (no J1772 top, just three plus two DC terminals) which now comes standard on European Teslas. Liquid cooled in v.3 Superchargers as heat dissipation with DC charging is tremendous. ChadeMo will hang around another ten years as it slowly phased out after Nissan decided to transition to CCS this year, or earlier as air cooled Leaf batteries die young.

I hope this helps, owed it to you after the sarcasm

 

[brjr]

OP you reminded me of a joke from my old country.

Electrification started in earnest in the 1950ies in the Soviet Block, the engineer is in front of the entire village to answer questions, near the end an elder raises his hand and asks "OK, I understand about the light, but how does the kerosene travel through those narrow pipes?"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To help OP, all outlets in the USA can only draw 80% of the nominal amperage by law, here are the levels of charging:

AC (triphase) charging:
===================
=Level 1= 15A/12A, your basic wall plug. Someone above mentioned 20A home outlet, NEMA 5-20 are rare, though I have sine wave voltage regulators for my reference audio system sporting these.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
=Level 2= (220V) at home or J1772 destination charging, 40A/32A (Nema 14-50 for Tesla UMC) or 80A/64A (for hardwiring Tesla HPWC with two dedicated 40A circuits, but pray if you have 200A grid power to a large home with two air conditioners). Also a variety of about 15 different outlets from hotel AC to weld shop, those of us from the early days still carry adapters in the trunk with a long extension cord (PlugShare was also a must).

DC (monophasic) charging:
=====================
=Level 3= found at Tesla Superchargers, and DC Fast stations with CCS and ChadeMo adapters. Tesla offers a ChadeMo adapter but not a CCS Type 1 (a J1772 with two DC terminals at the bottom, fugly and big) due to fierce competition with non-Tesla EVs in the US, not to be confused with the European CCS Type 2 adapter (no J1772 top, just three plus two DC terminals) which now comes standard on European Teslas. Liquid cooled in v.3 Superchargers as heat dissipation with DC charging is tremendous. ChadeMo will hang around another ten years as it slowly phased out after Nissan decided to transition to CCS this year, or earlier as air cooled Leaf batteries die young.

I hope this helps, owed it to you after the sarcasm

This helps a lot if an electrician will understand

 

[Fernand]

If you are using an extension cord, make sure it's decent. This one in 50ft isn't expensive, uses 12 gauge wire, and has been delivering at 12 amps without significant voltage drop.

Don't look at the car's display when you start charging at 120v, it fluctuates for a while for no reason if I'm in the car. Look at the phone app or the car display from outside with the windows closed after you get out of the car. I get a consistent 12amps and 5 miles/hr, and we have Superchargers nearby, so I never bothered installing a 220v circuit.
.