Which adapters are in your car kit?

[sdorn]

I would recommend you swap out the outlet for something you can get a standard EVSE for. Clipper Creek makes a variety of 16 AMP EVSE's that might work with the existing wiring and breaker. Using J1772 sets the amps automatically - no wife intervention needed.

@peakay: You should know there is some pain in the assery involved with using a J1772 adapter as your daily charger. First of all you probably want to get two adapters so you can leave one attached to the charger and one in the car in case you ever need to use a public J1772 charger. Second, removing the charger from the charge port when using the J1772 adapter requires some nuance. I know my wife would have screamed and complained multiple times if I'd made her try and unplug the car when the J1772 was plugged into it. It is much more convenient to use a Tesla solution (either the UMC or a HPWC).

As soon as my Leaf gets turned in off its lease I am planning to have an HPWC installed and hopefully upgrade my circuit from 40 amps to 50 or more. Until then I've found using the UMC with the adapter I mentioned above from evseadapters.com as a great solution over the J1772 charger I was using before. I haven't had any issues with the charge amperage resetting or anything like that.

 

[davewill]

I also had my Leaf EVSE upgraded to 240v, and I've used it to charge my Tesla with the J1772 adapter several times. It worked just fine, although it only charged at something like 12-15 amps. ...

I suspect you had a 2013 or later model. It's only the '11 and '12 ones that are not compatible.

 

[sdorn]

I suspect you had a 2013 or later model. It's only the '11 and '12 ones that are not compatible.

Yep, 2015.

 

[Rocky_H]

I have a HPWC in my garage that I put a 14-50 plug on the end and set the dip switches to 50 amps but I set the car to 42 amps (so each 40 amp charger only draws 21 amps -- the old dual 40 amp chargers that split the load). I've never had a software update change the setting. I've also never had any glitches change the settings in the two plus years of daily charging this way. YMMV.

Changing the topic, but also dealing with adaptors, I recently bought the Tesla Nema 5-20 adaptor. Then I made an adaptor by buying a Nema 5-20 receiver at Home Depot and I put a Nema 5-15 regular household plug on the other end. This allows me to draw 16 amps from a regular household outlet instead of 12 amps. I know, it's wrong, and I don't recommend anyone do this, but it works for me. So far, no fuses have blown and no fires (knock wood). I only use it occasionally.

Wow, you sure do play fast and loose with overdrawing circuits. In the first paragraph, you have your wall connector mis-configured and are drawing 42 amps continuously from an outlet that is only supposed to support up to 40 amps continuous load. And in the second, you are drawing 16A from a 15A circuit! Brave and foolhardy.

 

[Az_Rael]

@peakay: You should know there is some pain in the assery involved with using a J1772 adapter as your daily charger. First of all you probably want to get two adapters so you can leave one attached to the charger and one in the car in case you ever need to use a public J1772 charger. Second, removing the charger from the charge port when using the J1772 adapter requires some nuance. I know my wife would have screamed and complained multiple times if I'd made her try and unplug the car when the J1772 was plugged into it. It is much more convenient to use a Tesla solution (either the UMC or a HPWC

Eh, I havent had trouble with it and I am doing it daily. You just have to use two hands - one to push the button, and the other on the adapter when you remove it once the light turns light blue. My husband figured it out pretty quickly as well. Biggest downside is my car doesnt have the auto close charge door, so I have to open it on the console or with the key vs pushing on the door.

It is a good idea to buy 2 adapters so you can leave one on the EVSE.

I just figured if @peakay wasnt looking at installing a wall charger for some reason, that J1772 would give him the simplest safest operation vs third party adapters and setting amps in the car.

 

[Canuck]

Wow, you sure do play fast and loose with overdrawing circuits. In the first paragraph, you have your wall connector mis-configured and are drawing 42 amps continuously from an outlet that is only supposed to support up to 40 amps continuous load. And in the second, you are drawing 16A from a 15A circuit! Brave and foolhardy.

And I practice insurance defence law so I have seen more than my fair share of fires from overloaded circuits -- so really I should know better.

But to be fair to me, the 14-50 outlet I had installed in my garage is a very short run to the fuse box (on the garage wall) and I'm not even close to overheating those wires or box by adding 2 more amps (to 42 amps) for a 50 amp fuse. There's more chance of a fire by putting 40 amps through the Tesla 40 amp charger (which are liquid cooled -- and I'm only putting 21 amps through each) than from the 2 additional amps from the fuse to the plug.

As to the additional 4 amps that I am pulling with the 5-20 adaptor, it's on a dedicated fuse that only serves this outlet outside of the electrical room at my office. I open the door and flick the fuse to this one off when I am not charging...

This is the other side of that outlet:

Straight to the fuse box in less than a couple of feet. I often head to my cabin straight from work and I need all the amps I can get as fast as I can get them. I could install a 14-50 but the 5-20 works fine. I own the office building, and my home and office building insurance policies do not contain an anticoncurrent causation clause. I also would never risk anyone's life. It's a concrete and steel building with nothing to catch fire despite the fact that the wires/box don't heat up enough to cause a fire.

Perhaps it's still "foolhardy" but probably safer than crossing the street and I do that too.

 

[DMC-Orangeville]

I have a HPWC in my garage that I put a 14-50 plug on the end and set the dip switches to 50 amps but I set the car to 42 amps (so each 40 amp charger only draws 21 amps -- the old dual 40 amp chargers that split the load). I've never had a software update change the setting. I've also never had any glitches change the settings in the two plus years of daily charging this way. YMMV.

Changing the topic, but also dealing with adaptors, I recently bought the Tesla Nema 5-20 adaptor. Then I made an adaptor by buying a Nema 5-20 receiver at Home Depot and I put a Nema 5-15 regular household plug on the other end. This allows me to draw 16 amps from a regular household outlet instead of 12 amps. I know, it's wrong, and I don't recommend anyone do this, but it works for me. So far, no fuses have blown and no fires (knock wood). I only use it occasionally.

Man, I believe you should really re-think this situation. I know you re-posted that the cable runs are short. But long-term overcurrent degrades the wire's' insulation, and can create hot spots at connection points. Better safe than not. As well, a fuse or breaker will allow for a slight overload without tripping, but long term can degrade the overcurrent device as well - meaning that when you need it, it may not work as designed.

Please consider not overloading

 

[davewill]

...
Straight to the fuse box in less than a couple of feet. I often head to my cabin straight from work and I need all the amps I can get as fast as I can get them. I could install a 14-50 but the 5-20 works fine. I own the office building, and my home and office building insurance policies do not contain an anticoncurrent causation clause. I also would never risk anyone's life. It's a concrete and steel building with nothing to catch fire despite the fact that the wires/box don't heat up enough to cause a fire.

Perhaps it's still "foolhardy" but probably safer than crossing the street and I do that too.

Insurance???? What about lives? You're kidding yourself. Any kind of construction can burn. There are always enough flammable materials around. If the distance is so damned short, why not install the proper sized circuit?

 

[GSP]

@Canuck,

As davewill points out, it should not be expensive to upgrade your office 5-15 to a 5-20. Please consider this.

If the outlet is not needed for 120 V loads you could install a 6-20 outlet instead, and enjoy 240 V charging and preconditioning. I would make a 6-15p to 5-20r adapter. This could be used with either 6-15 or 6-20 outlets and the appropriate UMC adapter (5-15 or 5-20) to get the correct pilot signal for the circuit.

GSP

 

[n2mb_racing]

And I practice insurance defence law so I have seen more than my fair share of fires from overloaded circuits -- so really I should know better.

But to be fair to me, the 14-50 outlet I had installed in my garage is a very short run to the fuse box (on the garage wall) and I'm not even close to overheating those wires or box by adding 2 more amps (to 42 amps) for a 50 amp fuse. There's more chance of a fire by putting 40 amps through the Tesla 40 amp charger (which are liquid cooled -- and I'm only putting 21 amps through each) than from the 2 additional amps from the fuse to the plug.

As to the additional 4 amps that I am pulling with the 5-20 adaptor, it's on a dedicated fuse that only serves this outlet outside of the electrical room at my office. I open the door and flick the fuse to this one off when I am not charging...

View attachment 215263

This is the other side of that outlet:

View attachment 215264

Straight to the fuse box in less than a couple of feet. I often head to my cabin straight from work and I need all the amps I can get as fast as I can get them. I could install a 14-50 but the 5-20 works fine. I own the office building, and my home and office building insurance policies do not contain an anticoncurrent causation clause. I also would never risk anyone's life. It's a concrete and steel building with nothing to catch fire despite the fact that the wires/box don't heat up enough to cause a fire.

Perhaps it's still "foolhardy" but probably safer than crossing the street and I do that too.

If you have 12awg wire and a 20a breaker, you can upgrade the outlet to NEMA 5-20. Better still, if the run is 12 awg, you can add a double pole 240v 20a breaker and swap the outlet for a NEMA 6-20. Then you'll get 11 mph charging for less than $50 in parts.

Plus, any 240v charging is much more efficient than 120v, so you'll save on your electric bill. It's 90% and up vs less than 70% efficient. It adds up!

 

[Canuck]

What about lives?

I mentioned "lives" in my post.

There are always enough flammable materials around.

Not always. BC Fire Dept. Causation Reports read "materials first ignited". I've read hundreds of them (that's the first section I go to in order to determine liability), as well as countless expert reports by fire investigators. Electrical fires need flammable materials to spread. In my case, there's metal crossbeams, gyprock and stucco. I bet I've read more fire causation reports than 99.9% of people. I know the risks. I also get spot checked by the Fire Dept. They tell me my building is in the best condition, and among the safest of the ones they inspect. We have no extension cords that are crammed behind filing cabinets like most offices, no overloaded circuits, a fire safety plan, holding areas for wheelchairs by staircases, and the list goes on. No lives are at risk. The wires don't get nearly hot enough to start a fire to the metal and stucco that are not flammable materials.

But thank you, @GSP and @n2mb_racing for the alternative of going to 240 volt. It's a 20 amp breaker but I don't know the wire size. I am going to take a look and go to 240 to get the faster charging if it's 12 awg, which I suspect it is.

 

[supratachophobia]

It's a known technical incompatibility. The old Nissan 120v EVSE pilot signal only swings between 0v and 12v rather than -12v to 12v. I had one of these upgraded for 240v (as I suspect @peakay does), and had to sell it when I got the Rav4 EV, which has a Tesla drivetrain.



You can use the 5-20 adapter for the UMC, and make yourself an L6-20p to 5-20r adapter, and get full 240v 16a charging. Unfortunately, Tesla doesn't make a 240v 20a adapter.

I mentioned "lives" in my post.



Not always. BC Fire Dept. Causation Reports read "materials first ignited". I've read hundreds of them (that's the first section I go to in order to determine liability), as well as countless expert reports by fire investigators. Electrical fires need flammable materials to spread. In my case, there's metal crossbeams, gyprock and stucco. I bet I've read more fire causation reports than 99.9% of people. I know the risks. I also get spot checked by the Fire Dept. They tell me my building is in the best condition, and among the safest of the ones they inspect. We have no extension cords that are crammed behind filing cabinets like most offices, no overloaded circuits, a fire safety plan, holding areas for wheelchairs by staircases, and the list goes on. No lives are at risk. The wires don't get nearly hot enough to start a fire to the metal and stucco that are not flammable materials.

But thank you, @GSP and @n2mb_racing for the alternative of going to 240 volt. It's a 20 amp breaker but I don't know the wire size. I am going to take a look and go to 240 to get the faster charging if it's 12 awg, which I suspect it is.

Can you still get the two sideways prong adapter from Tesla? It's the 240v 15/20amp one that air-conditioners use.

 

[Rocky_H]

We have no extension cords that are crammed behind filing cabinets like most offices, no overloaded circuits,

Except for the ones you just SAID you are overloading! Sorry, dude (not sorry), but you totally set yourself up for that one.

 

[Cosmacelf]

Sorry to bump this back up, but have a question. We recently got a CPO Model S and I was planning on using our 2012 Leaf EVSE, but it is incompatible. In our garage, we have a Nema L6-20P outlet and I'd like to use the Tesla charge cord with this.

I see that this adapter quoted above will work, my questions...

- Can i make this fool-proof/wife proof with regard to setting the amp draw to 16 amps "permanently" in the car so that she never has to think about it and I can rest easy that it will never start to 'over-draw" and create a fire hazard in our home?

- when we supercharge, will it charge at full rate on the supercharger and save the 16 amp max setting for when we return home or do we have to change settings each time?

Our breaker panel is 2-3 years old as we replaced it when we got rooftop solar and the wiring was run new to this outlet from the panel. I just want a solution that I don't have to lay awake at night and worry.

Thanks!

The most elegant option is to buy a Tesla HPWC (newer version) and set the internal dip switches to indicate you have a 20A circuit. This way you get to keep the UMC in the car at all times. No adapters needed.

The second best option is to build your own L6-20 to NEMA 5-20 adapter and use the Tesla 5-20 adapter.

The car will always use the correct amperage setting in either case.

Let me know if you have questions building the adapter.

 

[Chuq]

Seeing this thread pop up again reminded me of this post from @RichardMcN - last year he circumnavigated Australia in his Model S (as you can imagine, going through many remote and lowly populated areas!) This was his arsenal of plugs:
Anticlockwise Adventure!

The entire thread is fascinating, to Aussies and non-Aussies alike!

 

[tga]

In addition to the standards:

10-30
14-30
6-50
5-20
(and testers)

View attachment 215222

View attachment 215223

Where'd you find that cool bag?

 

[scaesare]

Where'd you find that cool bag?

Was taking a trip a couple of years ago and opened a seldom-used suitcase and it was a little travel bag that had come as part of a cheap luggage set. It had those little elastic straps in that seemed perfect for that adapters, and sure enough they fit nicely.

With the little plastic and mesh zippered compartments, I suspect it was a little shaving kit bag originally...

 

[supratachophobia]

Where'd you find that cool bag?

I use a poker chips case. Looks like a tiny nuclear launch code briefcase

 

[Az_Rael]

I also ordered a J1772 extension cord (Amazon.com: JLONG - 40 Amp, 20ft, J1772 extension cable: Car Electronics).

This adapter just came in handy for me this week. I use a clipper creek J1772 EVSE left over from my Volt for daily charging. This week I am having to park in the driveway due to some rennovations and my EVSE won't reach that far. My J1772 extension allowed me to extend the reach of my Level 2 EVSE to be able to charge in my driveway. It worked perfectly with the Tesla adapter with no errors.

So if anyone is considering this, it does work with a Tesla.


So far I have used my Chademo adapter and my J1772 extension which isn't too bad for only having the car a few months. Next I need to use my 14-30 and my heavy duty extension cord and my kit will be fully utilized

 

[DarkMatter]

If the breaker in the panel is 20A and the electrician was competent then yes, it's 12 gauge wire. Time to get a 6-20 installed and make a new adapter cable. The permit will probably cost you the same as the supplies and electrician time.