will tesla accept 120V 50A?

[CharlesR]

My only higher amp outlet in my garage is a NEMA 5-50, which is 120V 50a, and while tesla doesn't make an adapter for this outlet, I found this one. Any reason I wouldn't get a faster charge using this? or any particular reason I shouldn't use this adapter at all?

 

[Sophias_dad]

That adapter should be fine

 

[Benito1283]

Perhaps at some point it would be worth looking into repurposing the neutral wire into the other hot and making it a 240V 10-50 circuit. All you'd need is a 2-pole 50A breaker, a 10-50 receptacle, and an adapter like this. And maybe an electrician. But it would be vastly more efficient and you'd likely recoup your costs if you plan to be there awhile.

 

[TomB985]

The limiting factor is that the Mobile Connector can only push 32A to the car. The fact that you have to get an aftermarket battery suggests that the car won't recognize the higher output.

This is from the owner's manual for the Mobile Connector. There' only one 120v option there. I think you'd be limited to 12A because the connector would have no way of knowing that the plug was rated otherwise.

 

[Benito1283]

I think you'd be limited to 12A because the connector would have no way of knowing that the plug was rated otherwise.

That's an interesting point. But you'd think aftermarket adapters over 15A wouldn't even be made if there was no way for the mobile connector to take advantage of higher current.

The reviews on the 10-50 adapter I linked suggest it works just fine for faster charging (assuming the 32A max).

 

[fiehlsport]

Teslas will do 24A 120V using an aftermarket TT-30 adapter, and that isn't on the spec sheet. They also sell a 5-20 adapter for 16A 120V charging.

They can possibly do more, I would try it using the 14-50 adapter on the UMC, then adapt the 14-50 to the 5-50 and see what the UMC delivers. You might be able to get 32A @ 120V. It's not a certified J1772 amp/voltage combo, but neither is 24A @ 120V, and people have been using that at campsites for years.

Edit: Looks like 32A 120V is a thing!

Charging 120V @ 32A

Not sure when you'd ever do this out in the wild, but in case you are curious, it works. The highest current 120V outlet you are likely to encounter would probably be 120V @ 24A at TT-30 camper outlets. There's an adapter for those outlets that works. I'm curious to know if the UMC will accept...

teslamotorsclub.com

 

[ucmndd]

It will work fine.

 

[ATPMSD]

Perhaps at some point it would be worth looking into repurposing the neutral wire into the other hot and making it a 240V 10-50 circuit.

I agree repurposing is a good idea. The NEMA 5-50 is a hot-neutral-ground, The NEMA 10-50 you suggest is hot-hot-neutral, with no ground. To use this he would need to check the wire size of the ground to ensure it is capable of being a load wire. I suggest a better choice is a NEMA 6-50 with hot-hot-ground.

And Tesla makes an adapter for the 6-50.

 

[CKwik240]

Teslas will do 24A 120V using an aftermarket TT-30 adapter, and that isn't on the spec sheet. They also sell a 5-20 adapter for 16A 120V charging.

They can possibly do more, I would try it using the 14-50 adapter on the UMC, then adapt the 14-50 to the 5-50 and see what the UMC delivers. You might be able to get 32A @ 120V. It's not a certified J1772 amp/voltage combo, but neither is 24A @ 120V, and people have been using that at campsites for years.

Edit: Looks like 32A 120V is a thing!

Charging 120V @ 32A

Not sure when you'd ever do this out in the wild, but in case you are curious, it works. The highest current 120V outlet you are likely to encounter would probably be 120V @ 24A at TT-30 camper outlets. There's an adapter for those outlets that works. I'm curious to know if the UMC will accept...

teslamotorsclub.com

I can confirm it will pull 32A. Plugged in a 14-50 to TT-30 adapter at an RV site and forgot to lower the limit to 24A. It was drawing 32A at 120V for a few hours before it tripped the breaker.

 

[TomB985]

I love being wrong about this! 32A is a heckuva lot better than 12.

 

[GSP]

@CharlesR

5-50 outlets (120 V) must be super rare to find in the wild. On the other hand, 6-50 (240 V) outlets are very common to find in garages since they are used for welders and other shop gear. The two are mirror images of the other, with the wide and narrow blades positions swapped. You may want to double check to see if your outlet is really a 6-50. If it is on a double pole breaker then it is a 240 V 6-50 outlet.

6-50:

5-50:

NEMA 14 30 | NEMA 5 15 | StayOnline

StayOnline has created the NEMA Straight Blade Reference Chart so you can learn about NEMA configurations, such as NEMA 14 30 and NEMA 5 15. Contact us today!

www.stayonline.com

GSP

 

[Rocky_H]

while tesla doesn't make an adapter for this outlet, I found this one.

I didn't know they made one for 5-50, but EVSEAdapters makes great stuff, and those ones that are built to plug directly in as if they are an OEM adapter are a really great product line they came out with. So yes, that would be the best ideal option to use the outlet as it is.

For a couple of other notes agreeing with others: The car's charging system helpfully doesn't care about a voltage difference of whether its plug type is "intended" for one type but is plugging into a source that is the other type, so switching between 120V or 240V plug types all works perfectly fine. The car will detect and use whichever it is. Matching the amps is the most important thing to set the current correctly and not risk overdrawing something. It won't matter in this particular case, though, since the cable can only draw 32A maximum.

And the last thing would be if you wanted to switch the outlet over to something more common, a 6-50 would be the appropriate one to do. 10-XX series outlets have been forbidden from new installation since 1996.

 

[Acps110]

Perhaps at some point it would be worth looking into repurposing the neutral wire into the other hot and making it a 240V 10-50 circuit. All you'd need is a 2-pole 50A breaker, a 10-50 receptacle, and an adapter like this. And maybe an electrician. But it would be vastly more efficient and you'd likely recoup your costs if you plan to be there awhile.

A 10-50 hasn’t been code since the mid-1990s, over 25 years ago. OP can’t install an outlet that hasn’t been up-to-code in this century, and it is irresponsible for you to suggest that. Next you’ll be telling him that is perfectly fine to install knob-and-tube wiring to charge his Tesla.

He could install a code-compliant NEMA 6-50 with 2 hots and a safety ground, instead.

 

[Benito1283]

A 10-50 hasn’t been code since the mid-1990s, over 25 years ago. OP can’t install an outlet that hasn’t been up-to-code in this century, and it is irresponsible for you to suggest that. Next you’ll be telling him that is perfectly fine to install knob-and-tube wiring to charge his Tesla.

He could install a code-compliant NEMA 6-50 with 2 hots and a safety ground, instead.

You're right; my mistake. I saw that 10-50 receptacles are available to buy at big box stores so I assumed it was legal in some circumstances to install one. 6-50 is the way to go.

I did however use knob-and-tube wiring on my 30 amp charging circuit I recently installed and everything works just fine.

 

[ATPMSD]

10-50 receptacles are available to buy at big box stores so I assumed it was legal in some circumstances to install

I believe it is legal as a replacement for an existing 10-50 outlet, but not for a new installation.