Haha yes it could potentially play out that way, however I've only stayed with friends or family, so they already know my name, plus I always talk to them about the possibility of charging at their house when we're arranging the trip weeks before to know what our options are. I wouldn't want to show up at someone's house with minimal battery charge and not end up being able to charge at their house and be stranded.
@@ElectricTechAdventures I was gonna ask you if you can find a Y splitter, but not having one seems to be a good way to prevent charging and turning on the dryer at the same time. What about those chargers that plug into 2 110v outlets? 😏
@@yangmagic0703 I have never looked into a Y splitter for something like a nema 14-50 outlet and I would agree that it's probably best not to use one because it would be a lot easier to over utilize the circuit. While charging, electric vehicles pull everything the circuit has to offer. The devices that allow you to charge at 240 volts and 12 amps utilizing standard 120 volt 15 amp circuits as long as they are plugged into two different circuits could make sense in some situations but it also requires some trial and error to see if you can make sure that they are on separate circuits and often times requires extension cords to ensure that they are on separate circuits and is probably more trouble than it's worth for most people. That's potentially a lot of wires strung around for still not charging very fast.
When your friends/family ask about the impact of you charging your car to their electricity bill, how do you explain it in layman’s terms? Like would you say “it’s just like me keeping my phone charged at your house?”
@@332louis I roughly quantify it by asking what their price per kWh is (which they NEVER know) then when they say they don't know I say "well in Utah where I live the average price is 10 cents per kWh" (which makes the math real easy) and I explain that the most my vehicle's battery can store is about 75 kWh (yes it's an 85D, but the usable capacity is 77.5 and it has 6% battery degradation so I round to 75 kWh) which at 10 cents per kWh is $7.50 and since I won't arrive completely empty most likely it'll be somewhat less than that. When they hear such a low number they are never concerned. I always offer to pay for the actual amount I consume (since at the end of the charge before unplugging the car it shows how many kWh were consumed during that charge cycle on the center screen) and they always decline and just say thanks for visiting. And for what it's worth it's not like keeping my phone charged at their house quantity wise. It's FAR more electricity than all my phone could consume unless I stayed at their house for months.
I'm a brand new owner and finding difficult to charge. I am thrilled with what you just shared! The extension is the key for me! I appreciate your video more than you know. Of course, now I will seek out more of your Videos. Thanks again!
One addition I would suggest, a NEMA 5-20 adapter for when a garage or outdoor 120V outlet (including the GFIC you show at RV parks) will accommodate. That improves the 120V charging rate enough to cut many hours off the two days at 4 mph you might have to endure. 16 A instead of 8-10A
I've considered getting the 5-20 adapter, but it's still so slow! In an ideal scenario (minimal voltage drop) the 5-15 charge rate is 1.44 kW (12 amps x 120 volts), whereas the 5-20 is 1.92 kW (16 amps x 120 volts) charge rate. If I were to put 70 kWh into my Model S 85D it would take 48 hours with the 5-15 (2.02 days) or 36 hours with the 5-20 (1.52 days). I've found real world is less speedy due to voltage drop, the other electronics in the car always pulling a little energy, and just simple losses while charging (120 volts isn't very efficient). The gen 1 Tesla mobile connector adapter costs $45 from Tesla and I haven't yet had a situation where having the 5-20 would have been the fastest charging option. I pay attention to where I see 5-20 outlets and they're not common in households, they're more common in commercial buildings. Any time the 5-20 has been an option there's been a faster option such as all the adapters I listed in this video. If there was a place where I knew I'd be able to use the 5-20 then I'd probably have it, but it's too slow to bother having it on hand just in case. I typically do my research ahead of going there and I seek out any 240 volt source I can first, then lower my expectations and potentially my itinerary accordingly. For instance last summer I drove into rural Illinois (Nauvoo) where I was far from any supercharger. I was however going to be there for 2 days and I was able to charge up to 98% in Bethany, MO, then go to Nauvoo, IL and charge there on a 5-15 outlet for 40 hours before heading to the supercharger in Iowa City, IA. It worked just fine, but I certainly needed all that time. They didn't have any 5-20 outlets in that home. One of these days I need to make a video about that trip...so don't forget to subscribe so you'll get notified when I upload that video! ;)
Interesting. I have ordered a model Y. Rather than purchasing Tesla's "bag of adapters" for the Gen 2 mobile charger ($220 at the time of this comment), I could just get the 14-50 adapter for the mobile charger ($35) and then a welding extension cord and adapters for the end of that. Probably could out cheaper and have a longer cord. Let me price out all that... Drawing too much amperage for a circuit should cause the breaker to break before the wires get hot enough to start a fire. That is the breaker's job. Your video was the best video I have seen on this topic so far. Nice job!
Thanks for the positive feedback! Yes it's the breakers job to cut off the power if you exceed the amperage and it heats up, but certainly double check everything and don't rely on that to save you. If the breaker fails to trip then you are likely to cause a fire, or at minimum melt something. I have the 30 foot extension cord and it combined with the 20 foot cord for the mobile connector make up 50 feet of cord that can handle the full 32 amps / 240 volts of the gen 2 mobile connector and anything less than that depending on what other adapters you use. It's a much more versatile system, but also has danger if you don't pay attention to what you're plugging in to and how many amps the car is pulling. I've linked all the adapters and the extension cord that I use in the description of this video for your convenience. :) Thanks for watching!
Having multiple "beefy" extension cords was not appealing. So I ordered a 3 foot NEMA 5-15P/5-20P to 14-50R 120V adapter from EVSE. Now I can use my single NEMA 14-50 extension cord for everything, including household plugs.
Right, which is exactly what this video is all about. I have a collection of 5 adapters that all adapt to my NEMA 14-50 extension cord with many others I could get and they all utilize the one beefy extension cord.
Your Tesla plug adapters that came with the vehicles have a recall on them.. You can tell by the black ends are recalled and the Gray ends are the newer ones.
I had never heard of this recall before seeing your comment. Just now I googled "Tesla mobile connector recall" and this URL was the first search result www.tesla.com/support/adapter-recall which shows that yes three of Tesla's gen 1 mobile connector adapters have a recall out for them, but the only two I own are the 5-15 and 14-50 and both of those are not part of the recall. Thanks for bringing this potential recall to my attention.
Great video! Lots of homes have a 40 amp circuit breaker for the Nema 14-5R (for range). It is allowed in the NEC. In fact it is required when the 14-50r is connected to an 8 gauge nm cable. For 50Amp the 6-3 nm cable (Romex) is required ( or #8 THHN, but that needs to be in a conduit) It’s pretty common to use #8 nm cable for the range circuit. Really it’s a simple way to cut cost during construction, and it’s almost never an issue for operating a range.
Glad it was helpful! After I recorded this video Tesla added the option to adjust the amps the Tesla is pulling from the app. I use that functionality multiple times a day as I adjust how many amps my Tesla is pulling from my travel trailer's solar electrical system.
Thank you for this. It’s exactly what I was looking for as I’m preparing for long road trips from the East Coast to the West Coast. My Model Y should arrive in March 2022.
This is the most informative video that I’ve watched so far. This really helps. I live in Queens NY and the closest chargers to me are super chargers which aren’t recommend for everyday use. I do have the option of using my Washing machine outlet along with the extension cord and adapter. I wanted to know if that could be used as my daily charger? Or let’s say my once a week for a complete charge? I don’t drive often and I’m picking up my MY next week.
Yes absolutely you could use an adapter and extension cord like I've shown to charge your Model Y on a regular basis. If the extension cord needs to go through a doorway then keep in mind it is very thick and that door will not be able to close completely. If that doorway is trying to keep a conditioned area heated or cooled then that might be a problem from a heating or air conditioning perspective. There is a device I've heard of called the dryer buddy that you can plug in your car charger and your dryer and the device will detect when the dryer is drying and will prioritize it over the car but when the dryer is not going then the car will have electricity. If it is inconvenient to switch from the dryer to the Tesla then I would probably do it only on an is needed basis charging the car up to 90% and then running it down to somewhere like 50% before plugging it back in. My set up is super convenient to plug in and I still do it this way running it down to 50% over the course of a couple of days and then charging it up to 90% periodically.
@@ElectricTechAdventures awesome, thank you for the response. I would say my setup would require me to remove the washing machine. I’ll go along with your recommendation. I appreciate it so much. Please keep creating these informative content.
@@mikewill94_ One time when I was charging from a outlet behind a stove in a kitchen what I did was I would plug in the extension cord to the outlet and use it to charge the car and then when the car was done charging overnight I would coil up the extension cord near the stove and then plug the stove into the end of the extension cord so that I did not have to keep pulling the stove out and back in. You might consider doing that with your dryer.
@@ElectricTechAdventures mine is easily accessible. But if there’s a problem with consistently removing it then I’d consider that option. I followed you on Twitter a while ago. I can show you there my option and you can let me know what you think. I’m not able to dm you until you’ve followed back.
I've watched a bunch of this on this subject. Yours is the best so far. I wondered if there are any other adapters needed for other charging networks other than the J1772.
Yes you could also get the Tesla to CHAdeMO adapter, but it's $450 and in my opinion probably not worth the price, unless you have a specific use case you need it for. I've driven tens of thousands of miles on road trips and never once would have used one if I'd had it. I know people use it, but I wouldn't just buy one to have it. Plus it's super bulky. There's also the CCS standard, but I have no experience with that and I suspect it's a similar situation to CHAdeMO.
OMG...Thanks for posting this and placing the links below. Im getting my first (used) Tesla S and kinda wondered what extra cables and stuff I need for my home till I get a charging station set up in my garage...looks like this would be good to have for the car as a backup and like you said road trips...thanks again!
Thank you so much for all the details. I'm planning a road trip with the MY and was a bit concerned that my final destination doesn't have a supercharger but now I feel a lot better.
It's just a matter of time using your Tesla and you'll be well versed. It's important to understand some basics about power referring to Watts of electricity and most commonly in the Trails world referred to as kilowatts (1000 Watts). It's also important to understand what a kilowatt hour is vs kilowatt. Congratulations on your purchase!
I'd like to get a 15 foot extension cord for our 240 Volt Nema 14-50 outlet but my wife won't hear of it. Reviews on Amazon say it is very heavy, unwieldy, and hard to wind up. It likely would not fit into the front trunk (the frunk, or is it fronk) For us, that extension cord would mean we don't have to reverse the Model 3 into the garage to charge. But...she says, no worries, I'm pretty good at reversing the car! It takes wisdom to know that you can't win an argument with your wife! 😜😂😎 Also, on the Tesla forums, people have been debating the safety of extension cords for years. One user made a useful comment: 240V 50amp extension cord allowing no more than 1V drop Up to 23 ft maximum with 6 AWG. Very confusing to order; on Amazon one seemed just right till I saw the fine print that it is for 125 Volts, not 240!
The 30 foot extension cord linked in my video description and again here amzn.to/2IqmpqJ is what I use and it fits just fine in the frunk along with my OneWheel, the Tesla mobile connector, air pump, tire patch kit, and many other things. The Model 3 frunk is smaller than my Model S, but I'm sure it'll hold this extension cord just fine. It is a thick extension cord but it gets the job done and any adult should be able to handle it just fine. The main issue with extension cords is people not getting one with thick enough wires. In that case pay attention to the gauge and that's not available then look at how many amps it supports and it needs to be able to handle 50 amps. The voltage the car receives is very flexible and isn't a concern. If the gauge of wire is not thick enough then the voltage will drop due to heating of the wire etc... I've used my mobile connector WITH the linked to above 30 foot extension cord many times to completely charge my car at a continuous 40 amps and around 240 volts overnight and it works just fine and never even gets warm. The difference between 120 volts and 240 volts in the United States is that there are two hot wires rather than 1. There shouldn't be a commercially available extension cord for NEMA 14-50 that isn't capable of 240 volts. It'll have 4 wires. Ground, common, two hot wires. If it is rated for 50 amps then you're good. Having an extension cord isn't a danger and shouldn't be a concern and it opens up more possibilities which outlets you can reach and thus charge from. I always take my extension cord on trips along with my adapters outlined in this video and it gives me great peace of mind knowing I can charge my car with electricity from just about all electrical outlets I've come across in the United States.
I personally use the Inteset EV Extension cables that i bought on amazon. not many of these cables on the market are made in the US. luckily inteset is...
I'll have my car near the end of May. I proactively picked up a 5-20 and 14-50 adapter, and a 5-20 extension cord (with 5-15 adapter so I don't have to carry two cords if a 5-20 plug isn't available). Other adapters I will get if needed.
I am able to use my NEMA 14-50 extension cord for charging my car from a standard household outlet. I outline that solution in my next video which is going to publish this Friday April 16th 2021. Having plentiful adapters is definitely very liberating when on trips getting electricity from varied sources. I know plenty of people that just stick to superchargers and we did that for our first couple of trips but I have found it's really fun to find all the varied ways I can charge my car!
@@ElectricTechAdventures Yep, that would definitely work too. You can always use a cord rated for more current...it's just using one rated for less current when you run into issues. I didn't get a 14-50 extension cord, just the adapter for the charger included with the car. 5-15 and 5-20 outlets seem to be in more out of the way places you can't park right next to (necessitating the cord). 14-50 plugs are normally in RV parks where you can park right next to them. I'm sure there are exceptions though. I just wanted to cover the most common situations I find myself in to start out with...then if necessary I can add more cords/adapters in the future. The 5-20 extension cord will be useful immediately as my apartment complex has these in the garages and on the outside of the buildings. I expect to rarely use the 14-50 plug but I got it in cases of emergency.
@@StormsparkPegasus Yes I agree using a larger gauge wire is never a problem. What I'm referring to is when you adapt from a 120 volt source to the Tesla mobile connector 240 volt adapter it will not work if you use a regular adapter meant for RVs for instance. The wires have to be configured in the adapter to work for a Tesla where the hot and common wires are wired differently than what an RV needs. I've charged from a standard household outlet a number of times, but it's quite slow so the majority of the time I'm able to reach a 240 volt power source and fully charge the car overnight most of the time. It is a good idea while on road trips to have the ability to charge from a standard household outlet as it's the most universally available and in a pinch might be needed. However with proper planning and following the guidance of the software in the car I've never been stranded. You know, like in a gas car you know your range and drive/fuel it accordingly.
I"m confused. About to pick up my first Tesla Model 3 LR is 30 days!! Can I use my existing 5-10R with the included cable in the trunk IF, I buy just an adapter? Thanks!
@@chezchezchezchez I've never seen a 5-10 plug. A google search shows something that looks like a regular 120V outlet, but it's apparently only 10 amps? Which means you can only pull 8 amps continuously? That's going to be some mighty slow charging.
This video opens lots of possibilities and many more EV miles. Can you also review Parkworld 61544 Combiner please? From what I see on Amazon reviews, it's successfully charged Tesla Y.
I can see the advantage of the Parkworld 61544 being able to plug into two different standard household outlets that are on separate circuit breakers to charge at double speed. However double a very slow speed is not all that much faster. I've found when I'm on road trips I'm usually able to access a 240 volt outlet such as a dryer outlet, an electric stove outlet, welder outlet etc... Those are FAR faster than this could be. Plus finding two standard household outlets that are on two different circuits may not be too terribly difficult, but maxing out two circuits in many houses means no other devices can be used on those circuits and in my experience in normal life people don't want to be restricted in not using electricity and the circuit ends up getting tripped. You could obviously pull down the amps etc... In short it's a bit of a hassle to use this type of device and I haven't yet found it to be necessary to purchase one.
I like how driving electric vehicles allows charging from varied convenient locations, however that also brings additional complexity considering all of the various types of electrical circuits. Once you understand that though there's a lot of options out there!
J1772 extension cord may be much more useful than 14-50 extension cord. If you are plugging into a dryer outlet, it keeps your charger inside and the extension cord outside instead of the other way around. If dryer plug has issues and your charger can detect heat like mine and shot itself off, with this setup, you are more protected than charger being away from dryer plug. If you are on the road and a charging station is ICEd, you can use it to plug in away from the charger.
I agree that is a good solution except that if you are using a Tesla mobile connector you would have to use a Tesla to j-1772 adapter at the beginning of the extension cord and then you'd have to use the j-1772 to Tesla adapter at the other end of it. Obviously you could use a third party mobile connector that is native j-1772 and then you'd only have to use one adapter to go into the Tesla. At the time I made this video there was no Tesla extension cord which there is on the market now from at least one company that I have seen. I like that there are increasing options for this space. Eventually electric vehicle charging infrastructure will be pretty ubiquitous and these varied adapters and extension cords will probably no longer be needed but it's going to be a while yet I predict.
@@ElectricTechAdventures You have a point. My EV and charger are non Tesla so I didn't think of that. For us, back up plans are even more important than Tesla guys. You have a charging network you can count on. I am counting on the wife's ICE for serious travel and hopefully by the time her car dies, charging infrastructure will be a bit more reliable. Great video. Didn't mean to sound critical.
@@Tooradj No criticality detected. :) Thanks for commenting and offering additional suggestions that others may find useful. There's certainly no one way that it has to be done. I just wanted to show people what I've found to work well for me and that you don't have to be restricted to just the 20 feet of the Tesla mobile connector.
Commercial is 208v due to 3 phase power delivery, phase to phase is only 208v. European type 2 connectors are superior due to the fact that they can take all 3 phases of power to charge. The j1772 only allows for split phase or 2 legs of 3 phase.
Great video with a lot of useful information. Have you ever thought of getting a 6-15 or 6-20 adapter to charge at hotel rooms? I've been looking for videos of that on UA-cam but haven't found any. Most of the hotel window AC units (PTAC units) plug into a NEMA 6-20 or 6-15 outlet at 240V. As long as you'd be willing to sacrifice running the hotel room AC for a few hours, you could get up to 3.8 kW charge rate. It would be cool if you could cover that, since it might be the best option for 240V if you are staying at a remote hotel.
I've never run into either the 6-15 or 6-20 outlets myself, although it's possible I've overlooked the outlets that the hotel window AC units are using. The biggest drawback besides not being able to use AC is having to run a heavy duty extension cord from the Tesla to outlet. Hotels are just usually not friendly to that and the extension cord is too thick to be able to shut the door on it so you'd have to run it out the window and leave the window open enough, and have the screen not be in the way. Plus you'd need to try to avoid other tenants not tripping on the cord etc... Generally in a public space like a hotel I'll look for a discrete outlet on the outside of the building and I sometimes find a standard NEMA 5-15 outlet. Generally I don't stay in a whole lot of hotels, and if I do I try to book a hotel that has EV charging, and that's in the same city as a supercharger as backup in case the hotel lied (happens) or it's occupied or broken. As much as possible on trips I stay at friends or families homes, or an Airbnb and generally I'm able to reach a NEMA 14-30, 10-30 or 14-50 inside their house somewhere. I also have a 5-50 adapter for wielding outlets but I've only run into that in two locations. Dryer outlets are typically the most accessible since they're often located near the garage/driveway. I stayed in a house this summer (I haven't made the video about that trip yet) where I had to drive into the back yard to reach the dryer outlet, but I did and it worked fine!
The NEMA code is stating for continues load for 3 hours or more the circuit should be sized to run at a maximum of 80%. The real reason for sizing the circuit to be only at 80% for a continues load is to reduce power loss in the in-premises wiring not fire risk. The real reason the car may back down charging to 80% the rated maximum of a connection might be that it is not a nice continues resistive load and cheap breaker box circuit breakers can be finicky.
You are the first person to comment saying that 80% rule is not due to fire risk but is for reducing power loss. I'm not entirely sure what the reasoning is but I agree that circuit breakers can be finicky so Tesla will have less risk of people being upset from tripped circuit breakers if they just pull 80%. My car is capable of pulling 80 amps when it is on a 100 amp circuit so the difference between say 40 amps going down to 32 amps is negligible as far as my car is concerned.
@@ElectricTechAdventures Really its the NEC code 2:03 (national electrical code) NEMA is the national electrical manufactures association. I'm an electrical engineer and have done home wiring with county inspector since a teenager back in the 1970s. Nothing in my college EE classes has anything to do with home wiring or the National Electrical Code. The issue of running maximum current for a home circuit is that is causes the wires to run warm waisting electrical power and lowering the voltage at the devices being suppled electricity. Its not that its OK to run at maximum capacity for 2 hours 59 minutes and becomes a safety issue if it goes over 3 hours. iIs because there is a cost consideration of whether if it can be justified to raze the cost of in-situ electrical wiring for lower cost of operation of the device by waisting less electricity in wire loss. Three hours and more is a way of describing a continues load. If installing a home charger connection for a BEV I'd pick the largest wiring I could justify to reduce line loss likely sized a lot larger than 80% capacity, but on the road I'd think I want the fastest charging I can reliably get out of what's available. It's hard to engineer power inverters to pull current like a smooth resistance load. If the car charger was pulling current close to that of a smooth resistant load it should be able to run at the maximum the circuit is rated for, but there would be more line loss. Disregarding the lost power in the wires running at 100% capacity instead of 80% is 100/80 = 1.25 or 25% faster charging. I don't want to be tripping breakers at somebody else's breaker box. I'd try this out on my home system first. The in car charger may present a non normal load and not be able to run at the rated maximum for a circuit breaker.
@@douglasengle2704 interesting, thanks for your insight. It sounds like then in brief if I'm not too concerned about efficiency then I could actually charge at the circuit maximum for the entire charge cycle of the vehicle especially if I am in a hurry and would like it to charge quickly. To avoid tripping circuit breakers perhaps lowering an amp or two from the maximum might be wise. When I installed my electric vehicle charger I used 6 gauge wire where the spec called for 8 gauge wire. I put a 50 amp breaker on it and I regularly charge at 40 amps. In my case pulling 40 amps is already way below that wire's capacity. The NEMA 14-50 receptacle is probably the weak link in that case.
@@ElectricTechAdventures I really liked your practiced setup for charging your Tesla at most situation you'd come across and eliminating extra connections that have work arounds! I don't own a Tesla, but my brother-in-law just got a Model Y dual motor. It's a bit of large Christmas present, but I'm going to talk it over with my sister to see if the NEMA 14-50 30-foot extension cord with a 4-prong dryer to 14-50R adapter cable, you've shown, would be something he'd be interested in. It is really hard to come up with presents for him because he can buy about anything, but presents that are high quality, empowering, highly practical, and require some configuration setup by me (added value) such as this, really work. It's hard to put a genuine enthusiastic smile on a mid 50s man and a surprise Christmas present like that might do it! Thank you for your painstaking research and practice for hugely increasing the charging connection options for BEVs!
Thanks! Your brother-in-law sounds a bit like me. When I purchased my Model S I was probably the most excited I've ever been in my entire life. From a vehicle perspective it has a lot going for it that I love like technology, efficiency, cheap operation costs (especially with unlimited free supercharging), saves time on maintenance, driving performance, safety etc... The biggest drawback is we can't go to remote areas such as Central Utah camping in the middle of nowhere because there's no electricity out there. We have gone to remote areas to a campground with electrical service, but we can't go boondocking. Also now that we have a travel trailer we want to take it camping so the Model S stays home. The next most excited time I'll be in my life is when we take delivery of the Cybertruck! I'll be able to run it through its paces, especially while towing our travel trailer and I'll finally be able to know for myself whether or not it's going to be able to tow my travel trailer a useful distance. I'm excited to test how much use the extra solar energy from our trailer will be for the truck while we're camping. In any case thanks again for your information and experience and I hope this charging solution is helpful! I know it has been for me.
Do you have the link to the NEMA 14-30P to 14-50R adapter shown in the video that has a few inches of cord between the plugs? That seems valuable if it is a tight fit behind the dryer etc. The version you linked has the right prongs, but is a rigid mold. Thanks! brian
The one I had linked to previously in my video description was no longer available, so I swapped it out for the rigid mold type you just saw. I just looked up again the one I have and it looks like it'll be back in stock on March 19th so I'll swap out my video description link again back to it. Here it is for you. amzn.to/3cjRya5
The extension cord from Camco is rated to be used outside. If it's heavily raining it would be a good idea to keep it up off the ground though. It's not designed to be immersed in water, but rain is fine. I've used mine during rain just fine, but as with any electrical extension cord it's wise to keep the connection points off the ground.
How is the 6-20 better? With the 6-20 I can't charge from receptacles that are higher than 20 amps. I've used this setup to charge from many friends and families homes and typically I am able to reach their dryer outlet (either NEMA 10-30 or 14-30) which is a 30 amp circuit. The second most common receptacle I've found in people's homes is the 14-50 which is a 50 amp circuit. I can always transfer fewer amps than the rated max of the wire, but never more for the hours it takes to charge an EV.
Hi Anthony. Thanks so much for putting this video together! I have a MY and will be taking her camping in a month. I like the set up you have and would like to do the same thing but the camp ground just told me they only had sites with a 20 amp outlet available. I'm planning on getting the extension cord you recommended. What connector would you recommend for a 20 amp outlet?
I'm glad my video was helpful for you! I've figured out how to use the 50 amp extension cord in charging from a regular 15 amp household outlet but it requires combining two adapters together. Let me explain. (Side note, you said the campground electrical pedestal is 20 amp and I searched for a 20 amp to 50 amp (NEMA 5-20 to 14-50) and couldn't find anything online and when searching for a 15 amp to 50 amp none of them work for a Tesla based on the reviews. I ran into this issue when searching for my TT-30 adapter because when you're adapting from 120 volt electrical sources to a 240 volt plug the adapter needs to be configured as a Tesla needs it (the hot wires can't be connected together). The TT-30 adapter that I mentioned in my video does work and is designed for a Tesla which you can see on Amazon here amzn.to/3s6F4bT and I purchased a 15 amp (NEMA 5-15) to TT-30 adapter here amzn.to/3wxB2MW which I then connect to the 30amp to 50 amp adapter (TT-30 to NEMA 14-50) and that works successfully. This 15 amp plug will work in the 20 amp outlet that the campground has, but if you want that additional 5 amps you can use this adapter instead amzn.to/3wDkgfc That may seem silly, but I couldn't find any adapters that go straight from 15 amp to 50 amp that don't have the hot wires bonded together which cancels out the voltage for a Tesla mobile connector and it errors out. Since the TT-30 adapter is wired correctly it works to adapt to it, then go to the 50 amp extension cord and Tesla mobile connector. I have a video I'm working on editing right now where I illustrate using this two adapter solution on a trip. I hope to publish that video next week.
@@ElectricTechAdventures Wow thanks so much for putting in the time to figure this out! I would have never figured this out. I look forward to your next video.
Here's my next video ua-cam.com/video/n-LeUSQQrh8/v-deo.html where I show the recent trip we went on where I used the large extension cord to charge from a standard household outlet.
Like all your videos, this one is inexplicably helpful. You answered every question I have had about how to charge other than Superchargers and even provided the links! I have one dumb question - once my car is charged up at a nearby Supercharger or at home buy whatever amperage charging is available to the limit I set and I want to not drive my car for a month, can I just leave it plugged into the 15amp/120volt outlet and the car will keep itself "topped off"? What is the right thing to do in this case? Thank You! NOTE: The links do not take you to the two black adapters you showed in the video. The two dryer outlet adapters. Can you please explain which of the small grey ones in the links correspond to the two black ones in the video? Thank you.
Yes you're correct that leaving it plugged in will keep the battery set to within a few percent of your specified battery state of charge. In my Model S I've found that the standby loss is a couple percent per day and when it gets down a few percent below the charge limit I've set it'll then charge it back up to that charge limit. The general recommendation is if you're going to be away from a long period of time that you set the charge limit percentage to somewhere between 50-75% and leave it plugged in. It might be a good idea to check on the car through the phone app about once a month to ensure that the circuit breaker the car is plugged into doesn't trip and allow the car to fully discharge. After making this video the charging adapters I purchased have either changed design (colors) or become unavailable and I've had to select alternatives to recommend that aren't the exact one I have. The NEMA 10-30 adapter is typically for dryer outlets in homes built prior to 1996, and the NEMA 14-30 for homes 1996 and newer. That's a general guideline, since people could potentially install whatever in homes, that's just when the code changed. The key is the pin configuration of the adapters. If you're trying to charge from a particular outlet it might say what it is on the front of it, or you can take a picture of it and compare it to a point of reference like this www.hmoob.in/wiki/NEMA_connector
@@ElectricTechAdventures Thank you. I purchased the grey one through your link figuring it is overall smaller in size than the black ones in your video. It just took some research to make sure I purchase the correct one for my pre '66 dryer outlet. Thanks!
Yes you should! I researched electric vehicles in earnest starting in early 2017 as I was working on installing solar on my house and determining the correct size considering the extra power an EV would need. I identified pretty quickly that Tesla had the only viable vehicle for a full on gas car replacement, but I couldn't afford it yet so I got the Nissan LEAF for my commuter car to work and we kept our gas car for the family car we'd take on trips. Then in 2019 after a lot of additional research I managed to purchase the 2015 Model S 85D we have now and we still love it!
Great video, very informative. I have just one question, you mention the cable and circuit breaker are 50 amps, in order to get the 80% recommended setting of 40 amps to the car. But how about the 30 amp adapter? Doesn't that limit the setup to 24 amps?
Yes you're correct. With any Tesla you can adjust the amperage in 1 amp increments in the car charging screen starting at 1 and going up to 40. Some of the EVSEs max out at 32 amps.
I am sorry for this stupid question but i am not very knowledgeable when it comes to charging. So what do i look for when I open up the panel? Does it say what amp? Thank you
In the breaker panel, typically on the door is where the labels are written. See ua-cam.com/video/hL0jpxYlHpM/v-deo.html or at time stamp 6:21 where I talk about this question. The breaker panel labels have numbers next to them, and over on the breaker panel those numbers are pressed into the metal next to each switch. They're often hard to see. Then on the breaker itself, often on the tip of the switch is a number and that's the maximum number of amps that circuit is designed to handle.
@@ElectricTechAdventures hey i would like to say thank you so much for the video but im a littel confused too. in the mark that u said 6;21 and the breaker is pointed it shows 30 on both of them but you said it ran off of 40. are these two different occasions because it seems like u would be running 24 amps to charge since the breaker has 30 on it. Just trying to clarify so i know what im looking for and what i need to buy at the end of the month
@@pritch2121 I'm glad the video is helpful for you. What I meant is that the outlet type (pin configuration) was a NEMA 14-50 which per the NEMA standard means it should be a 50 amp circuit breaker which would enable me to charge at 40 amps (80% continuous load). However the home builder installed a 40 amp breaker (probably because they wanted to cheap out on thinner cheaper wiring) so I have to lower the charge rate to 32 amps. Does that make sense?
I used the Osmo pocket to record this video. Most of my videos are recorded with the Osmo pocket. I use the a6600 for pictures primarily, but I also use it for video in certain situations where I need to be able to zoom, in low light, or it's just the camera I have in my hand in the moment I need to get a shot real quick. Even though the a6600 has in-body image stabilization it still doesn't hold a candle to how steady the Osmo pocket is! In my video which is scheduled to publish this Friday June 4th I recorded most of the video with the a6600 due to the need to zoom and you'll notice the video is more shaky unfortunately.
Oh crap. I’m a new Tesla owner. I went to a super charging station. I was curious if I could up the amps and did on the app. I wish I could remember what it was set out to reverse my actions.
Superchargers are level 3 DC fast chargers and the car determines the amps and volts. You can only adjust the amps when you are charging from a level 1 or level 2 AC source. If you go look at the AC charge rate in the car it will show you the amps but the mobile app only shows it when you are plugged in.
@@CurieBohr preconditioning the batteries is a speed thing, if you navigate to the supercharger the car will do it automatically. If you don't navigate then it'll just take longer to charge.
I have a 2021 Tesla X. What configurations of cords and adaptors should I pick up for camping and cross country travel. Are they any different than the ones I had for my 2016 Tesla X. I think things have changed on the newer X. I appreciate your discussion.
The only thing that's changed that I know of is your mobile connector now maxes out at 32 amps instead of 40 amps. All the adapters I've outlined in this video still should work just fine.
Oh and also your X didn't come with the NEMA 14-50 adapter for the gen 2 mobile connector that came with your X so you'll want to buy one of those from Tesla then I recommend buying the extension cord and adapters I have linked in my video description.
@@ElectricTechAdventures Thank you. I visit relatives in Utah and find that chargers are few and far between. I fill up in Twin Falls coming from Vancouver, WA and make it to Trememton. Visit in Ogden and have to go to S. SLC to fill up or Nephi. It’s crazy there. They need one in Ogden and near the airport and down around Provo, Orem. Thank you. Kenn
@@kennstinchfield4218 I completely agree. They've had a couple Superchargers pending in Utah like in Provo and Draper for years and they keep just delaying the expected date. Super ridiculous. It's a good thing their vehicles are so amazing, and their charging network is still the best.
My portable charger that came with the car has a 20amp plug for regular house outlet. I want to to plug that into a 30amp outlet at the campgrounds. So I need to got from 110v 20amp charger to a 30amp rv campground adapter. This is the adapter I'm looking for?
The standard plug that comes with the mobile connector from Tesla is the NEMA 5-15 plug which is only 15 amps, but yes they do sell a NEMA 5-20 adapter that connects to the Tesla mobile connector. Rather than adapting from the TT-30 30 amp to NEMA 5-20 20 amp connector I'd do what I outlined in my video and just get the official Tesla NEMA 14-50 adapter then build out your adapters to all adapt from various plugs to the NEMA 14-50 so that you can utilize the heavy duty NEMA 14-50 extension cord. So I'd recommend getting this adapter amzn.to/3ppEEgv and using it with your official Tesla NEMA 14-50 adapter, but you have to make sure to manually lower the amps that the car is pulling down to 24 amps.
How about using the Tesla mobile charger with a full suite of plug types and then just using a Tesla charger extension cord? Basically, put the extension downstream of the Tesla mobile charger rather than upstream of it.
There is no such thing as an extension cord with the Tesla connector at either end from what I can tell from searching online. If you know of one let me know. I would have done just that if I had found one to buy. Because I haven't found one I built out this solution as outlined in the video and it has worked quite well so I don't think it really matters that Tesla doesn't provide one.
@@mdrudholm Thanks for the tip. The link is www.evseadapters.com/products/tesla-extension-cord/ for anyone else who might be interested. This is a new cord that wasn't an option when I was looking for a solution and made this video. The 30 foot NEMA 14-50 extension cord I purchased was $110 (but is now $139) whereas this Tesla extension cord is $365 for the 30 foot version. The cheapest version is $335 for 10 feet. My solution is cheaper but you have to adjust the amps manually.
@@ElectricTechAdventures It is a pretty expensive cord, but that's offset somewhat by the fact that the Tesla plug ends are about $35 each, which is cheaper than most adapters, so if you buy a full suite of them, it kind of balances out. I'll probably order one to replace the 6 gauge 10-30 to 14-50 40-foot extension cord I bought years ago for my Roadster UMC.
The adapters that I've purchased were $29.70, $32.20, $42.99, $29.70 which is about the same as the Tesla adapters which are $35 each. The big advantage of the Tesla extension cord is that it can be used at destination chargers that have been "ICED" meaning there is gas car in the parking spot.
very helpful video. I just bought a new tesla and plan to charge it at work. the charger at my workplace reads EV230PDR which is a 30 amp level 2 charger. How many amps should I charge it at?
Congratulations on your purchase! If you're plugging into an official level 2 EVSE (it sounds like you are) then you shouldn't have to adjust the amps manually, however it should be pulling 24 amps on a 30 amp electrical circuit. It might be on a larger circuit however and maybe 30 is already 80% which an EVSE would automatically adjust to. My video is all about plugging the Tesla mobile connector into varied outlets using non-official adapters and that's why I showed you have to lower the amperage manually.
@@zunairmushtaq5888 feel free to subscribe if you haven't already and I have some additional trips I'll be publishing videos about eventually where we charge at varied locations.
@@zunairmushtaq5888 I just googled EV230PDR and the first result is this page www.se.com/us/en/product/EV230PDR/evlink-level-2-pedestal-mounted-dual-7.2kw-exterior-charging-station/ which is an official electric vehicle charging station so you don't need to adjust the amperage when plugging this into your car.
@@ElectricTechAdventures I think it's a safety thing. Now they assume all regular outlets are 15a, so 12a max, and nema 14-50 is 40a so 32a max. I think it also allows them to use thinner cheaper wiring.
@@ItsBinhRepaired I agree that a likely reason that they changed it to 32 amps that it's a cheaper solution. I'm not 100% sure what components are specifically cheaper but just that overall the connector is cheaper. And now they don't even include it with the purchase of the car so I wish that they would supply higher powered mobile connectors again.
@@ItsBinhRepaired I understand amperage and required wire gauges, I suspect there's also other components that are cheaper. It's just pure speculation based on Tesla making a change that doesn't make a whole lot of sense otherwise in my opinion. My Models S also has dual onboard chargers so I can charge up to 80 amps, except Tesla doesn't make those high powered wall connectors anymore. :(
Good video. Some adapters’ info says for use with a Tesla so it sounds like some equivalent NEMA adapters aren’t compatible with Tesla? What’s different about those made to work with Tesla’s? Thanks.
You're correct that some adapters have to be designed specifically for an electric car and others don't. The difference comes into play when the adapter is adapting from 120 volts to 240 volts. The way the wires are connected inside the plug are different from what an RV/Travel Trailer need vs what an electric car like a Tesla needs. Of all the adapters that I showed in my video the only electric vehicle specific adapter that I showed was the TT-30 to NEMA 14-50 adapter. The other adapters were all meant for 240 volts and are basic adapters that could be used by an RV or Tesla.
Thanks for the reply. I'm putting together my shopping list for adapters and an extension cord now. Since I already have a 6-50 outlet in my garage for a welder, I'm thinking of using that as a base with the extension cord and get adapters to fit 6-50 for other outlets. I have the 14-50 and 6-50 adapters from Tesla already. Thanks.
@@dajo4349 that makes sense and is specked to handle maximum amperage so that is good. I've never looked for extension cords that are 6-50, they might be harder to find than 14-50 since 14-50 is used by RVs.
@@ElectricTechAdventures I came across ACWORKS.COM that has many adapters and power cords including one with 6-50 at both ends. They also have adapters for sale at Home Depot. acworks.com/products/6-50-ev-welder-extension-cord?variant=2131648839695
@@dajo4349 one thing to consider is since the 6-50 only has three wires if you ever wanted to use the extension cord for an appliance that requires four wires you would not be able to versus if you got a nema 14-50 extension cord it can go down to three wires or four wires.
The part that is confusing is connecting the cord that comes with my Tesla (120 volt) to your heavy #6 cord for 240 volt...I don't get it, how can you run that much current through the Tesla cord that comes with the car if that is only good for 110 Volt?
To my understanding all Tesla mobile connectors support up to 240 volts. Mine certainly does and it is the Gen 1 mobile connector and I am sure that the Gen 2 mobile connector also supports 240 volts. Also you said how can it support that much current but then you are talking about voltage and those are two different things. The Gen one mobile connector can support up to 40 amps and the Gen 2 mobile connector can support up to 32 amps. The heavy duty 50 amp extension cord that I use in my video can obviously easily support both of those. The reason why the Tesla cord is thinner is because it uses more finely stranded wire which is more expensive and their outer sheathing is holding the wires tighter together.
Hi. I am planning to get a Tesla. I was wondering that can you use a 110 to 220 step up transformer to charge a Tesla. You plug in the transformer to a 110 outlet and then plug the Tesla cable to the 220 output of the transformer. The transformer usually cost around $50. Thanks.
I'm no electrical engineer, but if you start with say 110 volts 15 amps and use a transformer to double the voltage, then basic electronics dictates that your amps will halve. Which means you'll still be getting the same number of Watts, but I believe your efficiency will be higher due to the higher voltage. Overall I don't think it's worth the effort. It might be 10-15% more efficient, but it's not going to double your charging speed or anything like that. What's really important is to increase the voltage AND current (amps) which will then charge the car much faster. Also from what I've read Teslas require a pure sine wave, so make sure this transformer isn't outputting a modified sine wave.
The conversation usually goes something like this. "I'd be happy to pay you for the electricity", "no don't worry about it, it's not very much, we're just happy you came into visit." No one has ever taken me up on the offer to pay for the electricity. When the discussion does get into how much money the electricity is worth I asked them for what their retail rate for electricity is and they usually don't know and so I usually offer that maybe around 10 cents is average and makes the math easy and explain that my car can hold up to around 85 kilowatt hours and that that would be $8.50 worth of electricity.
You have to ask the owner where the breaker panel is and look at the switches and generally the 240 volt circuits are labeled as being for the dryer or the stove or range or something to that effect. You could potentially plug your mobile connector into the outlet and then you could turn off the breaker that you think goes to it to verify that it is indeed the correct breaker (the mobile connector light will turn off when the breaker turns off) then if you have verified it then you see how many amps that breaker can support and then you adjust the amps in the Tesla to be 80% of that maximum and then you plug in the other end of the mobile connector into your Tesla and start charging.
Is it possible to use the Tesla 50 amp connector to convert to the 30 amp RV outlet? I'm asking because I already have both. We have the model Y and pull our camper with it. I saw a video or read somewhere that you cannot use an RV 50 to 30 conversion on a Tesla charger. I'm afraid to "test it out".
I'm not 100% sure what you mean in your first sentence. The Tesla 50 amp connector would be a NEMA 14-50 outlet which is the equivalent of an RV colloquialism of 50 amp. I think you are saying that you have a adapter from the NEMA 14-50 connector to the TT30 RV connector. But why would you use that if you could just plug the Tesla directly into the 50 amp outlet? You can charge a Tesla off of a TT30 campground outlet with an adapter from TT30 to 50 amp but it has to be specifically wired for Tesla's like this one amzn.to/3X4eqAe
@@ElectricTechAdventuresThank you for your info. The reason for the conversion question is because I have a 25 foot extension cord of the 30 amp RV plug. Usually the electrical connection is set further back at the campsite so I can't plug in the car without an extension cord which is why we use the standard 12 amp household outlet to plug our car in with that extension cord. I have the 14-50 tesla plug but not the TT30 adapter. By the way I can't believe how informative this one video is about charging your car and I added your recommendation of that plug from Amazon to the cart. I think that's exactly what I need!
@@Eireannach Gotcha, ya I agree often the mobile connector's 20 feet is insufficient and that's why I got the NEMA 14-50 extension cord, then I get the different adapters to adapt to it as I outlined in this video. I'm glad it's helping you out. Happy charging!
Thanks for your video. Did you build your own heavy duty extension cord or purchase it? I have a 5-20 in my back yard but I would need another 50 feet to reach to the front of the house.
I purchased the heavy duty yellow extension cord from Amazon www.amazon.com/dp/B0024ECIP0?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_dt_b_product_details and it's capable of 50 amps at 240 volts with the connections at either end being NEMA 14-50p (plug) to NEMA 14-50r (receptacle). If you want to use the NEMA 5-20 in your back yard you'd need to have an extension cord that's at least 12 gauge. If you used a regular 12 gauge NEMA 5-15 extension cord you'd need a 5-15 to 5-20 adapter or something since the pin configuration is different. Or if you were to continue the pattern I laid out in this video you'd just use the NEMA 14-50 adapter on the Tesla mobile connector plugged into the heavy duty extension cord I linked to above then on the end of that you'd need an adapter from NEMA 5-20r to NEMA 14-50r. I also have a NEMA 5-20 in my shed but I have had no reason to use the full 20 amp capability because I also installed a NEMA 14-50 receptacle in my garage which is what I regularly charge from which is obviously far faster. If you can't add a faster outlet closer to your car and you're going to be in this situation long term AND you could really use a little faster charge rate it might be worth considering getting a 5-20 adapter. Just don't leave that expensive heavy duty extension cord out in the weather long term, especially at the connection points at either end, don't let them get wet.
Wonderfully informative! I have one slightly off-topic question. My new Tesla wall charger is 18' in length, but at times, like when I must park outside, it is a little short. Does anyone make a 6-8' Tesla charging cable extender?
I don't think so, not that I've heard of anyway. Such a cable would have to be very thick because someone might use it at a supercharger and run a LOT of current through it. I wish Tesla sold such a cable though because there are times when it would be really nice to have a longer cable at superchargers like when towing. Thanks for watching and don't forget to subscribe!
A standard household outlet is a NEMA 5-15 which is 120 volts at 15 amps. I would guess you have a heat pump dryer if it's capable of operating on so little energy. I'm no expert on dryers, but in my experience clothing dryers typically use a 240 volt 30 amp outlet. Does your dryer exhaust air outside? I believe heat pump dryers don't and the water in the clothing is condensed into liquid and pumped down the drain that the washing machine uses.
@@ElectricTechAdventures Thank you for the reply. My dryer exhaust air outside. I checked the switch in the electrical panel and I see its using a 20 amp
One question, if I use the 50amp nema 6-50 extension 75ft from the third floor to the first floor there is a 25ft drop from top to bottom will there be any problems? I set the charger to 32amp, it will only use 70%, the extension is a 6 cable that can withstand 50amp.
I'll start with a disclaimer that I'm not an electrician. :) I use my 30 foot extension cord combined with the 25 foot EVSE and there's no problems so you should be fine, but you should still monitor your setup and more importantly make sure your connections don't get hot. The 25 foot drop shouldn't matter as long as the cord is appropriately supported. The bigger concern is heat buildup from loose connections so initially pay attention to how warm the plug/junctions are. Since the wire is rated for 50 amps, but the EV mobile connector can only pull up to 80% of that at 40 amps you're not at the max of the wire's capabilities when charging your EV.
@@ElectricTechAdventures Thank you very much for the answer, I am going to use the Tesla mobile charger, which is the maximum of 32 amp, but from there it will not go, and I have seen many people telling me that from the third floor to the first floor, since there is a fall, there can be problems and I know other comments that they have done it for more than 8 months with the Tesla charger at 32amp and from the highest floor with 100ft and nothing has happened to them from their apt.
No you can't close regular doors on either extension cord, but you can close a garage door on them. The NEMA 14-50 extension cord is quite a bit thicker than the Tesla EVSE cord and because the Tesla cord is always the last few feet to the car it's always the one that the garage door is shutting on and it handles it no problem. I've closed many a garage door on it with no ill effects. For what it's worth it is not good to close a regular door on most any extension cord except maybe flat Christmas tree cords which is obviously useless for an EV. For this reason if the extension cord is being snaked into the home (such as to plug into their dryer outlet) then the door between the garage and the house will have to be left open the width of the extension cord. So far that hasn't been a big deal, and even in situations of extreme temperature differentials like cold of winter or super hot summers it probably isn't a huge energy cost for the hours that the EV is charging.
Hi Anthony, Perhaps you'd like to do a follow-up review showing our 3rd party Tesla adapters that connect directly to the UMC just like the OEM adapters. For example, the TT-30 Tesla Gen 1 adapter here: www.evseadapters.com/products/tt-30-adapter-for-tesla-model-s-and-x-gen-1/
I could do a video about it. My first thought the video would be centered around what are the advantages of this adapter that connects directly to the mobile connector vs the one I have in this video that adapts to the NEMA 14-50 plug. The first obvious answer is simply that this will automatically adjust the amperage to 24 instead of having to do it manually. However this has the disadvantage of not being able to use a NEMA 14-50 extension cord if the TT-30 outlet is farther away than the mobile connector can reach.
@@ElectricTechAdventures Yes, being able to use a 14-50 extension cord is certainly an advantage of using a TT-30 to 14-50 adapter. We're currently designing a Tesla extension cord which would go between the charger and the car, so you can use any adapters with it - it should be available this fall.
A Tesla connector extension cord would be very awesome! I'm guessing it wouldn't work for supercharging. Is that right? It would be very useful though being able to for instance reach a destination charger that has been ICEd or many other situations. I'd love to be able to test that extension cord this fall if you'd like.
@@ElectricTechAdventures We'll make two versions - one for level 2 charging at up to 50A, and one for supercharging. Send me an email, evseadapters at gmail and I'll keep you posted.
@@ElectricTechAdventures I also got a welder 6-50 to 14-50 because that's what my parent's house had. I was surprised it let me turn a 10-30 to 14-50 because it loses the ground and the neutral for 120v I think with the way I turn the 10-30 to 6-50 to 14-50. The reason I did that was the 10-30 to 6-50 was only like $16 and I already had the 6-50 to 14-50.
Good question. I had never heard of Type G so I googled it just now and I see it's a European based plug that can go up to 13 amps. I'm unfamiliar with the types of adapters that come with Teslas in Europe, but it seems to me like your mobile connector might have come with the type G by default. I'm guessing that since Teslas in the USA come with the NEMA 5-15 adapter which is the basic household outlet that goes up to 15 amps. If your mobile connector is gen 2 and Tesla didn't give you an adapter then perhaps you need to purchase this adapter. shop.tesla.com/en_gb/product/united-kingdom-adapter but if you need to use an extension cord as I outlined in my video then I'm afraid I'm not the best source for that. The gen 2 mobile connector can handle up to 32 amps (at least in the USA) so you'd need to research what outlet type goes up to at least 32 amps then get that mobile connector adapter and an extension cord to that spec then other adapters that adapter to that extension cord as I outlined in my video.
@@ElectricTechAdventures thanks for the info. so I'm assuming any standard extension u have in the house won't work. I really I'm clueless. and that's why I haven't orderedy Tesla yet. I'm guessing I should call an electrician and ask them to sell me an extension for this purpose ?
@@xKyriakoZ It sounds like you're referring to how to best charge a Tesla at your house. In that situation I do recommend you talk to an electrician about your options and have them install an outlet in your garage area for this purpose. My video is more for temporary situations like when your traveling and you need to charge from varied outlets during your travels. You wouldn't want to have a thick extension cord running into your house on an ongoing basis. If you live there and can make modifications to it then it's far better to install a high powered outlet in the garage or near it. You could then use the mobile connector that comes with all Teslas to charge your car from that outlet. Some people have an electrician install an EVSE (Electric Vehicle Standard Equipment) such as Tesla's shop.tesla.com/en_gb/product/gen-3-wall-connector in their garage that is hard wired rather than going through a receptacle. The reason for doing that is primarily because you can pull higher amperage (charge faster) when hard wired than when going through an outlet. The drawback is because it's hard wired you can't just unplug it from the receptacle and easily take it with you if you move. This type of installation you typically wouldn't need to take with you on a road trip since you'd also have the mobile connector that comes with the car for road trips. Personally I installed a JuiceBox Pro 40 amzn.to/30LO51W that plugs into a NEMA 14-50 outlet in my garage and the Tesla mobile connector that came with the car remains in the frunk in case I need it when I'm traveling.
@@ElectricTechAdventures yes indeed what i care the most about is home charging. but here in cyprus there are less than 20 teslas. and less than 20 charging stations. so basically ill be charging at my house or at the house im visiting/passing by what i need is the easiest way for both. i was thinking about just using a good charger with extension (im still confused, is faster charging about the charger being good as well? or just about amps/volts/EVSE?) if i need to (or if its worth to) install EVSE ill have to ask several electricians to find one since i told you people in my country are clueless about electric cars. but if it isnt all that worth and i can get a 20%-80% charge within 10 hours without EVSE ill definitely prefer that so i can use it at other houses easily as well. thanks a lot for the info. its been a week im researching and cant find much or understand it enough.
@@xKyriakoZ The speed is simply a matter of Power or Watts which is volts x amps. The quality of the charger is more how long it'll last or how well it works with how stiff the cable is (cheaper cables are often stiffer) or other elements of using the device. I'd recommend just starting out with an electrician installing a higher power outlet in your garage. A quick google search of Cyprus says your Type G outlet is 230 volts and 13 amps at 50 Hertz. www.worldstandards.eu/electricity/plugs-and-sockets/g/ so you'd need to have I think a European CEE 32A 6h Type 023 outlet installed by an electrician so that you can use an adapter like this one evchargers.com.au/product/varplug-to-mobile-connector-gen2/ or perhaps this one www.evseadapters.com/products/european-cee-32a-blue-commando-caravan-mains-adapter-for-tesla-model-s-x-3-gen-2/ or the official one from Tesla shop.tesla.com/en_gb/product/blue-adapter---16a_32a- which as you can see can go up to 32 amps 230 volts which is fast enough to recharge your car overnight.
If you'd like to see how to use the heavy duty extension cord shown in this video with 120 volt standard household circuits watch this video here ua-cam.com/video/n-LeUSQQrh8/v-deo.html where I do just that. Also there is now a Tesla extension cord available from www.evseadapters.com/products/tesla-extension-cord/ which is a new cord that wasn't an option when I was looking for a solution and made this video. My solution using the 30 foot NEMA 14-50 extension cord is cheaper but you have to adjust the amps manually.
Haha the first many road trips we experienced in our Tesla we just used Superchargers for the vast majority of charging. One trip was 2,500 miles. I've really enjoyed the increased versatility being able to charge from varied sources though. Certainly not required for most people.
"Hey my name is Greg, thanks for having me in your home. Now I gotta ask, where is your dryer at?"
Haha yes it could potentially play out that way, however I've only stayed with friends or family, so they already know my name, plus I always talk to them about the possibility of charging at their house when we're arranging the trip weeks before to know what our options are. I wouldn't want to show up at someone's house with minimal battery charge and not end up being able to charge at their house and be stranded.
@@ElectricTechAdventures I was gonna ask you if you can find a Y splitter, but not having one seems to be a good way to prevent charging and turning on the dryer at the same time. What about those chargers that plug into 2 110v outlets? 😏
@@yangmagic0703 I have never looked into a Y splitter for something like a nema 14-50 outlet and I would agree that it's probably best not to use one because it would be a lot easier to over utilize the circuit. While charging, electric vehicles pull everything the circuit has to offer. The devices that allow you to charge at 240 volts and 12 amps utilizing standard 120 volt 15 amp circuits as long as they are plugged into two different circuits could make sense in some situations but it also requires some trial and error to see if you can make sure that they are on separate circuits and often times requires extension cords to ensure that they are on separate circuits and is probably more trouble than it's worth for most people. That's potentially a lot of wires strung around for still not charging very fast.
When your friends/family ask about the impact of you charging your car to their electricity bill, how do you explain it in layman’s terms? Like would you say “it’s just like me keeping my phone charged at your house?”
@@332louis I roughly quantify it by asking what their price per kWh is (which they NEVER know) then when they say they don't know I say "well in Utah where I live the average price is 10 cents per kWh" (which makes the math real easy) and I explain that the most my vehicle's battery can store is about 75 kWh (yes it's an 85D, but the usable capacity is 77.5 and it has 6% battery degradation so I round to 75 kWh) which at 10 cents per kWh is $7.50 and since I won't arrive completely empty most likely it'll be somewhat less than that. When they hear such a low number they are never concerned. I always offer to pay for the actual amount I consume (since at the end of the charge before unplugging the car it shows how many kWh were consumed during that charge cycle on the center screen) and they always decline and just say thanks for visiting. And for what it's worth it's not like keeping my phone charged at their house quantity wise. It's FAR more electricity than all my phone could consume unless I stayed at their house for months.
I'm a brand new owner and finding difficult to charge. I am thrilled with what you just shared! The extension is the key for me! I appreciate your video
more than you know. Of course, now I will seek out more of your Videos. Thanks again!
I'm glad it helps! Feel free to subscribe to get notified when I upload more videos
One addition I would suggest, a NEMA 5-20 adapter for when a garage or outdoor 120V outlet (including the GFIC you show at RV parks) will accommodate. That improves the 120V charging rate enough to cut many hours off the two days at 4 mph you might have to endure. 16 A instead of 8-10A
I've considered getting the 5-20 adapter, but it's still so slow! In an ideal scenario (minimal voltage drop) the 5-15 charge rate is 1.44 kW (12 amps x 120 volts), whereas the 5-20 is 1.92 kW (16 amps x 120 volts) charge rate. If I were to put 70 kWh into my Model S 85D it would take 48 hours with the 5-15 (2.02 days) or 36 hours with the 5-20 (1.52 days). I've found real world is less speedy due to voltage drop, the other electronics in the car always pulling a little energy, and just simple losses while charging (120 volts isn't very efficient).
The gen 1 Tesla mobile connector adapter costs $45 from Tesla and I haven't yet had a situation where having the 5-20 would have been the fastest charging option. I pay attention to where I see 5-20 outlets and they're not common in households, they're more common in commercial buildings. Any time the 5-20 has been an option there's been a faster option such as all the adapters I listed in this video. If there was a place where I knew I'd be able to use the 5-20 then I'd probably have it, but it's too slow to bother having it on hand just in case. I typically do my research ahead of going there and I seek out any 240 volt source I can first, then lower my expectations and potentially my itinerary accordingly. For instance last summer I drove into rural Illinois (Nauvoo) where I was far from any supercharger. I was however going to be there for 2 days and I was able to charge up to 98% in Bethany, MO, then go to Nauvoo, IL and charge there on a 5-15 outlet for 40 hours before heading to the supercharger in Iowa City, IA. It worked just fine, but I certainly needed all that time. They didn't have any 5-20 outlets in that home. One of these days I need to make a video about that trip...so don't forget to subscribe so you'll get notified when I upload that video! ;)
Many nema 5-15 cables use 16 and 18 gauge wires rather than 14 that’s required for full speed basic.
One of the most useful Tesla videos ever. Thanks!
Thanks!
Interesting. I have ordered a model Y. Rather than purchasing Tesla's "bag of adapters" for the Gen 2 mobile charger ($220 at the time of this comment), I could just get the 14-50 adapter for the mobile charger ($35) and then a welding extension cord and adapters for the end of that. Probably could out cheaper and have a longer cord. Let me price out all that...
Drawing too much amperage for a circuit should cause the breaker to break before the wires get hot enough to start a fire. That is the breaker's job.
Your video was the best video I have seen on this topic so far. Nice job!
Thanks for the positive feedback! Yes it's the breakers job to cut off the power if you exceed the amperage and it heats up, but certainly double check everything and don't rely on that to save you. If the breaker fails to trip then you are likely to cause a fire, or at minimum melt something. I have the 30 foot extension cord and it combined with the 20 foot cord for the mobile connector make up 50 feet of cord that can handle the full 32 amps / 240 volts of the gen 2 mobile connector and anything less than that depending on what other adapters you use. It's a much more versatile system, but also has danger if you don't pay attention to what you're plugging in to and how many amps the car is pulling. I've linked all the adapters and the extension cord that I use in the description of this video for your convenience. :) Thanks for watching!
A very useful video for a new Tesla owner. Thank you much! -Trav
Having multiple "beefy" extension cords was not appealing. So I ordered a 3 foot NEMA 5-15P/5-20P to 14-50R 120V adapter from EVSE. Now I can use my single NEMA 14-50 extension cord for everything, including household plugs.
Right, which is exactly what this video is all about. I have a collection of 5 adapters that all adapt to my NEMA 14-50 extension cord with many others I could get and they all utilize the one beefy extension cord.
Very informative...I didn't know about the 80% limitation. Thx!
@@leeng661 I'm glad it was helpful!
Your Tesla plug adapters that came with the vehicles have a recall on them.. You can tell by the black ends are recalled and the Gray ends are the newer ones.
I had never heard of this recall before seeing your comment. Just now I googled "Tesla mobile connector recall" and this URL was the first search result www.tesla.com/support/adapter-recall which shows that yes three of Tesla's gen 1 mobile connector adapters have a recall out for them, but the only two I own are the 5-15 and 14-50 and both of those are not part of the recall. Thanks for bringing this potential recall to my attention.
Great video!
Lots of homes have a 40 amp circuit breaker for the Nema 14-5R (for range). It is allowed in the NEC. In fact it is required when the 14-50r is connected to an 8 gauge nm cable.
For 50Amp the 6-3 nm cable (Romex) is required ( or #8 THHN, but that needs to be in a conduit)
It’s pretty common to use #8 nm cable for the range circuit. Really it’s a simple way to cut cost during construction, and it’s almost never an issue for operating a range.
Thanks for the clarifications!
GREAT video and info... especially the "changing" the amps on your Tesla!
Glad it was helpful! After I recorded this video Tesla added the option to adjust the amps the Tesla is pulling from the app. I use that functionality multiple times a day as I adjust how many amps my Tesla is pulling from my travel trailer's solar electrical system.
Thank you for this. It’s exactly what I was looking for as I’m preparing for long road trips from the East Coast to the West Coast. My Model Y should arrive in March 2022.
Glad it was helpful, and congratulations on your soon to be arrival!
This is the most informative video that I’ve watched so far. This really helps. I live in Queens NY and the closest chargers to me are super chargers which aren’t recommend for everyday use. I do have the option of using my Washing machine outlet along with the extension cord and adapter. I wanted to know if that could be used as my daily charger? Or let’s say my once a week for a complete charge? I don’t drive often and I’m picking up my MY next week.
Yes absolutely you could use an adapter and extension cord like I've shown to charge your Model Y on a regular basis. If the extension cord needs to go through a doorway then keep in mind it is very thick and that door will not be able to close completely. If that doorway is trying to keep a conditioned area heated or cooled then that might be a problem from a heating or air conditioning perspective. There is a device I've heard of called the dryer buddy that you can plug in your car charger and your dryer and the device will detect when the dryer is drying and will prioritize it over the car but when the dryer is not going then the car will have electricity. If it is inconvenient to switch from the dryer to the Tesla then I would probably do it only on an is needed basis charging the car up to 90% and then running it down to somewhere like 50% before plugging it back in. My set up is super convenient to plug in and I still do it this way running it down to 50% over the course of a couple of days and then charging it up to 90% periodically.
@@ElectricTechAdventures awesome, thank you for the response. I would say my setup would require me to remove the washing machine. I’ll go along with your recommendation. I appreciate it so much. Please keep creating these informative content.
@@mikewill94_ One time when I was charging from a outlet behind a stove in a kitchen what I did was I would plug in the extension cord to the outlet and use it to charge the car and then when the car was done charging overnight I would coil up the extension cord near the stove and then plug the stove into the end of the extension cord so that I did not have to keep pulling the stove out and back in. You might consider doing that with your dryer.
@@ElectricTechAdventures mine is easily accessible. But if there’s a problem with consistently removing it then I’d consider that option. I followed you on Twitter a while ago. I can show you there my option and you can let me know what you think. I’m not able to dm you until you’ve followed back.
@@mikewill94_ I'm now following you on Twitter.
I've watched a bunch of this on this subject. Yours is the best so far. I wondered if there are any other adapters needed for other charging networks other than the J1772.
Yes you could also get the Tesla to CHAdeMO adapter, but it's $450 and in my opinion probably not worth the price, unless you have a specific use case you need it for. I've driven tens of thousands of miles on road trips and never once would have used one if I'd had it. I know people use it, but I wouldn't just buy one to have it. Plus it's super bulky. There's also the CCS standard, but I have no experience with that and I suspect it's a similar situation to CHAdeMO.
@@ElectricTechAdventures Thanks for that answer. That is exactly what I wanted to know.
OMG...Thanks for posting this and placing the links below. Im getting my first (used) Tesla S and kinda wondered what extra cables and stuff I need for my home till I get a charging station set up in my garage...looks like this would be good to have for the car as a backup and like you said road trips...thanks again!
Congratulations on getting an awesome vehicle! I'm glad I could help.
Thank you so much for all the details. I'm planning a road trip with the MY and was a bit concerned that my final destination doesn't have a supercharger but now I feel a lot better.
That's great I'm glad to hear it!
Awesome I'm so lost!! Just bought a Tesla model 3 Thursday and still waiting for them or Tesla to transfer ownership so I'm learning all kinds!!
It's just a matter of time using your Tesla and you'll be well versed. It's important to understand some basics about power referring to Watts of electricity and most commonly in the Trails world referred to as kilowatts (1000 Watts). It's also important to understand what a kilowatt hour is vs kilowatt. Congratulations on your purchase!
I'd like to get a 15 foot extension cord for our 240 Volt Nema 14-50 outlet but my wife won't hear of it. Reviews on Amazon say it is very heavy, unwieldy, and hard to wind up. It likely would not fit into the front trunk (the frunk, or is it fronk) For us, that extension cord would mean we don't have to reverse the Model 3 into the garage to charge. But...she says, no worries, I'm pretty good at reversing the car! It takes wisdom to know that you can't win an argument with your wife! 😜😂😎 Also, on the Tesla forums, people have been debating the safety of extension cords for years. One user made a useful comment: 240V 50amp extension cord allowing no more than 1V drop
Up to 23 ft maximum with 6 AWG. Very confusing to order; on Amazon one seemed just right till I saw the fine print that it is for 125 Volts, not 240!
The 30 foot extension cord linked in my video description and again here amzn.to/2IqmpqJ is what I use and it fits just fine in the frunk along with my OneWheel, the Tesla mobile connector, air pump, tire patch kit, and many other things. The Model 3 frunk is smaller than my Model S, but I'm sure it'll hold this extension cord just fine. It is a thick extension cord but it gets the job done and any adult should be able to handle it just fine. The main issue with extension cords is people not getting one with thick enough wires. In that case pay attention to the gauge and that's not available then look at how many amps it supports and it needs to be able to handle 50 amps. The voltage the car receives is very flexible and isn't a concern. If the gauge of wire is not thick enough then the voltage will drop due to heating of the wire etc... I've used my mobile connector WITH the linked to above 30 foot extension cord many times to completely charge my car at a continuous 40 amps and around 240 volts overnight and it works just fine and never even gets warm. The difference between 120 volts and 240 volts in the United States is that there are two hot wires rather than 1. There shouldn't be a commercially available extension cord for NEMA 14-50 that isn't capable of 240 volts. It'll have 4 wires. Ground, common, two hot wires. If it is rated for 50 amps then you're good. Having an extension cord isn't a danger and shouldn't be a concern and it opens up more possibilities which outlets you can reach and thus charge from. I always take my extension cord on trips along with my adapters outlined in this video and it gives me great peace of mind knowing I can charge my car with electricity from just about all electrical outlets I've come across in the United States.
@@ElectricTechAdventures thx much!
I personally use the Inteset EV Extension cables that i bought on amazon. not many of these cables on the market are made in the US. luckily inteset is...
great video thank you waiting for my model y just bought all your cables thank you brother.
I'll have my car near the end of May. I proactively picked up a 5-20 and 14-50 adapter, and a 5-20 extension cord (with 5-15 adapter so I don't have to carry two cords if a 5-20 plug isn't available). Other adapters I will get if needed.
I am able to use my NEMA 14-50 extension cord for charging my car from a standard household outlet. I outline that solution in my next video which is going to publish this Friday April 16th 2021. Having plentiful adapters is definitely very liberating when on trips getting electricity from varied sources. I know plenty of people that just stick to superchargers and we did that for our first couple of trips but I have found it's really fun to find all the varied ways I can charge my car!
@@ElectricTechAdventures Yep, that would definitely work too. You can always use a cord rated for more current...it's just using one rated for less current when you run into issues. I didn't get a 14-50 extension cord, just the adapter for the charger included with the car. 5-15 and 5-20 outlets seem to be in more out of the way places you can't park right next to (necessitating the cord). 14-50 plugs are normally in RV parks where you can park right next to them. I'm sure there are exceptions though. I just wanted to cover the most common situations I find myself in to start out with...then if necessary I can add more cords/adapters in the future. The 5-20 extension cord will be useful immediately as my apartment complex has these in the garages and on the outside of the buildings. I expect to rarely use the 14-50 plug but I got it in cases of emergency.
@@StormsparkPegasus Yes I agree using a larger gauge wire is never a problem. What I'm referring to is when you adapt from a 120 volt source to the Tesla mobile connector 240 volt adapter it will not work if you use a regular adapter meant for RVs for instance. The wires have to be configured in the adapter to work for a Tesla where the hot and common wires are wired differently than what an RV needs. I've charged from a standard household outlet a number of times, but it's quite slow so the majority of the time I'm able to reach a 240 volt power source and fully charge the car overnight most of the time. It is a good idea while on road trips to have the ability to charge from a standard household outlet as it's the most universally available and in a pinch might be needed. However with proper planning and following the guidance of the software in the car I've never been stranded. You know, like in a gas car you know your range and drive/fuel it accordingly.
I"m confused. About to pick up my first Tesla Model 3 LR is 30 days!!
Can I use my existing 5-10R with the included cable in the trunk IF, I buy just an adapter?
Thanks!
@@chezchezchezchez I've never seen a 5-10 plug. A google search shows something that looks like a regular 120V outlet, but it's apparently only 10 amps? Which means you can only pull 8 amps continuously? That's going to be some mighty slow charging.
Great Video! I have an extension cord for my Model 3 as well. It works great!!!
I'm glad to hear it!
This video opens lots of possibilities and many more EV miles. Can you also review Parkworld 61544 Combiner please? From what I see on Amazon reviews, it's successfully charged Tesla Y.
I can see the advantage of the Parkworld 61544 being able to plug into two different standard household outlets that are on separate circuit breakers to charge at double speed. However double a very slow speed is not all that much faster. I've found when I'm on road trips I'm usually able to access a 240 volt outlet such as a dryer outlet, an electric stove outlet, welder outlet etc... Those are FAR faster than this could be. Plus finding two standard household outlets that are on two different circuits may not be too terribly difficult, but maxing out two circuits in many houses means no other devices can be used on those circuits and in my experience in normal life people don't want to be restricted in not using electricity and the circuit ends up getting tripped. You could obviously pull down the amps etc... In short it's a bit of a hassle to use this type of device and I haven't yet found it to be necessary to purchase one.
Great video and links! Extra touch to include weights 😁
Glad it was helpful and thanks for watching!
Great video! Thank you for the attention to detail! :)
Thanks for the positive feedback! Feel free to subscribe for future tips and to see our Tesla adventures!
Incredible idea man. Very informative! Thanks 🙏🏾
Thanks for the positive feedback and thanks for watching!
I have several really long marine cords, but of course they are yet another completely different type of plug.
Sad day
I just got a model Y and of course I’m looking to charge it in places other than a supercharger
I like how driving electric vehicles allows charging from varied convenient locations, however that also brings additional complexity considering all of the various types of electrical circuits. Once you understand that though there's a lot of options out there!
J1772 extension cord may be much more useful than 14-50 extension cord. If you are plugging into a dryer outlet, it keeps your charger inside and the extension cord outside instead of the other way around. If dryer plug has issues and your charger can detect heat like mine and shot itself off, with this setup, you are more protected than charger being away from dryer plug. If you are on the road and a charging station is ICEd, you can use it to plug in away from the charger.
I agree that is a good solution except that if you are using a Tesla mobile connector you would have to use a Tesla to j-1772 adapter at the beginning of the extension cord and then you'd have to use the j-1772 to Tesla adapter at the other end of it. Obviously you could use a third party mobile connector that is native j-1772 and then you'd only have to use one adapter to go into the Tesla. At the time I made this video there was no Tesla extension cord which there is on the market now from at least one company that I have seen. I like that there are increasing options for this space. Eventually electric vehicle charging infrastructure will be pretty ubiquitous and these varied adapters and extension cords will probably no longer be needed but it's going to be a while yet I predict.
@@ElectricTechAdventures You have a point. My EV and charger are non Tesla so I didn't think of that. For us, back up plans are even more important than Tesla guys. You have a charging network you can count on. I am counting on the wife's ICE for serious travel and hopefully by the time her car dies, charging infrastructure will be a bit more reliable.
Great video. Didn't mean to sound critical.
@@Tooradj No criticality detected. :) Thanks for commenting and offering additional suggestions that others may find useful. There's certainly no one way that it has to be done. I just wanted to show people what I've found to work well for me and that you don't have to be restricted to just the 20 feet of the Tesla mobile connector.
Commercial is 208v due to 3 phase power delivery, phase to phase is only 208v. European type 2 connectors are superior due to the fact that they can take all 3 phases of power to charge. The j1772 only allows for split phase or 2 legs of 3 phase.
Thanks for the insight!
Thank you for this video.
Thanks for the feedback!
Very good traveling setup. I appreciate you sharing this information.
Glad it was helpful!
I also got a dangerous solution that combines two 120v 5-15 to make a 14-50. My breaker is 20a, so I charge at 15a, 16a if in a rush.
Danger is generally mitigated by knowledge in my experience. Conversely simple things can be dangerous to ignorant people.
@@ElectricTechAdventures true. I use two smart switches to turn them on at the same time to avoid backflow through the cable.
Great vid! Very informative!
Great video with a lot of useful information. Have you ever thought of getting a 6-15 or 6-20 adapter to charge at hotel rooms? I've been looking for videos of that on UA-cam but haven't found any. Most of the hotel window AC units (PTAC units) plug into a NEMA 6-20 or 6-15 outlet at 240V. As long as you'd be willing to sacrifice running the hotel room AC for a few hours, you could get up to 3.8 kW charge rate. It would be cool if you could cover that, since it might be the best option for 240V if you are staying at a remote hotel.
I've never run into either the 6-15 or 6-20 outlets myself, although it's possible I've overlooked the outlets that the hotel window AC units are using. The biggest drawback besides not being able to use AC is having to run a heavy duty extension cord from the Tesla to outlet. Hotels are just usually not friendly to that and the extension cord is too thick to be able to shut the door on it so you'd have to run it out the window and leave the window open enough, and have the screen not be in the way. Plus you'd need to try to avoid other tenants not tripping on the cord etc... Generally in a public space like a hotel I'll look for a discrete outlet on the outside of the building and I sometimes find a standard NEMA 5-15 outlet. Generally I don't stay in a whole lot of hotels, and if I do I try to book a hotel that has EV charging, and that's in the same city as a supercharger as backup in case the hotel lied (happens) or it's occupied or broken. As much as possible on trips I stay at friends or families homes, or an Airbnb and generally I'm able to reach a NEMA 14-30, 10-30 or 14-50 inside their house somewhere. I also have a 5-50 adapter for wielding outlets but I've only run into that in two locations. Dryer outlets are typically the most accessible since they're often located near the garage/driveway. I stayed in a house this summer (I haven't made the video about that trip yet) where I had to drive into the back yard to reach the dryer outlet, but I did and it worked fine!
Great video!
Thanks!
The NEMA code is stating for continues load for 3 hours or more the circuit should be sized to run at a maximum of 80%. The real reason for sizing the circuit to be only at 80% for a continues load is to reduce power loss in the in-premises wiring not fire risk. The real reason the car may back down charging to 80% the rated maximum of a connection might be that it is not a nice continues resistive load and cheap breaker box circuit breakers can be finicky.
You are the first person to comment saying that 80% rule is not due to fire risk but is for reducing power loss. I'm not entirely sure what the reasoning is but I agree that circuit breakers can be finicky so Tesla will have less risk of people being upset from tripped circuit breakers if they just pull 80%. My car is capable of pulling 80 amps when it is on a 100 amp circuit so the difference between say 40 amps going down to 32 amps is negligible as far as my car is concerned.
@@ElectricTechAdventures Really its the NEC code 2:03 (national electrical code) NEMA is the national electrical manufactures association. I'm an electrical engineer and have done home wiring with county inspector since a teenager back in the 1970s. Nothing in my college EE classes has anything to do with home wiring or the National Electrical Code. The issue of running maximum current for a home circuit is that is causes the wires to run warm waisting electrical power and lowering the voltage at the devices being suppled electricity. Its not that its OK to run at maximum capacity for 2 hours 59 minutes and becomes a safety issue if it goes over 3 hours. iIs because there is a cost consideration of whether if it can be justified to raze the cost of in-situ electrical wiring for lower cost of operation of the device by waisting less electricity in wire loss. Three hours and more is a way of describing a continues load.
If installing a home charger connection for a BEV I'd pick the largest wiring I could justify to reduce line loss likely sized a lot larger than 80% capacity, but on the road I'd think I want the fastest charging I can reliably get out of what's available. It's hard to engineer power inverters to pull current like a smooth resistance load. If the car charger was pulling current close to that of a smooth resistant load it should be able to run at the maximum the circuit is rated for, but there would be more line loss. Disregarding the lost power in the wires running at 100% capacity instead of 80% is 100/80 = 1.25 or 25% faster charging.
I don't want to be tripping breakers at somebody else's breaker box. I'd try this out on my home system first. The in car charger may present a non normal load and not be able to run at the rated maximum for a circuit breaker.
@@douglasengle2704 interesting, thanks for your insight. It sounds like then in brief if I'm not too concerned about efficiency then I could actually charge at the circuit maximum for the entire charge cycle of the vehicle especially if I am in a hurry and would like it to charge quickly. To avoid tripping circuit breakers perhaps lowering an amp or two from the maximum might be wise. When I installed my electric vehicle charger I used 6 gauge wire where the spec called for 8 gauge wire. I put a 50 amp breaker on it and I regularly charge at 40 amps. In my case pulling 40 amps is already way below that wire's capacity. The NEMA 14-50 receptacle is probably the weak link in that case.
@@ElectricTechAdventures I really liked your practiced setup for charging your Tesla at most situation you'd come across and eliminating extra connections that have work arounds! I don't own a Tesla, but my brother-in-law just got a Model Y dual motor. It's a bit of large Christmas present, but I'm going to talk it over with my sister to see if the NEMA 14-50 30-foot extension cord with a 4-prong dryer to 14-50R adapter cable, you've shown, would be something he'd be interested in. It is really hard to come up with presents for him because he can buy about anything, but presents that are high quality, empowering, highly practical, and require some configuration setup by me (added value) such as this, really work. It's hard to put a genuine enthusiastic smile on a mid 50s man and a surprise Christmas present like that might do it! Thank you for your painstaking research and practice for hugely increasing the charging connection options for BEVs!
Thanks! Your brother-in-law sounds a bit like me. When I purchased my Model S I was probably the most excited I've ever been in my entire life. From a vehicle perspective it has a lot going for it that I love like technology, efficiency, cheap operation costs (especially with unlimited free supercharging), saves time on maintenance, driving performance, safety etc... The biggest drawback is we can't go to remote areas such as Central Utah camping in the middle of nowhere because there's no electricity out there. We have gone to remote areas to a campground with electrical service, but we can't go boondocking. Also now that we have a travel trailer we want to take it camping so the Model S stays home. The next most excited time I'll be in my life is when we take delivery of the Cybertruck! I'll be able to run it through its paces, especially while towing our travel trailer and I'll finally be able to know for myself whether or not it's going to be able to tow my travel trailer a useful distance. I'm excited to test how much use the extra solar energy from our trailer will be for the truck while we're camping. In any case thanks again for your information and experience and I hope this charging solution is helpful! I know it has been for me.
Good info, thanks!
I am from Tajikistan in our city one phase 220V as installing nema
2 faza 380v
Do you have the link to the NEMA 14-30P to 14-50R adapter shown in the video that has a few inches of cord between the plugs? That seems valuable if it is a tight fit behind the dryer etc. The version you linked has the right prongs, but is a rigid mold.
Thanks!
brian
The one I had linked to previously in my video description was no longer available, so I swapped it out for the rigid mold type you just saw. I just looked up again the one I have and it looks like it'll be back in stock on March 19th so I'll swap out my video description link again back to it. Here it is for you. amzn.to/3cjRya5
When charging outside, is the extension cord or connectors safe when exposed to rain or snow?
The extension cord from Camco is rated to be used outside. If it's heavily raining it would be a good idea to keep it up off the ground though. It's not designed to be immersed in water, but rain is fine. I've used mine during rain just fine, but as with any electrical extension cord it's wise to keep the connection points off the ground.
Thank you for the information! :)
No problem, thanks for watching!
The 10-30 doesn’t have a ground at all. It’s 2 live and a neutral.
You’re better off using a 6-20 extension cord and adapting to 5-15, 5-20, and 6-15 as your secondary solution.
How is the 6-20 better? With the 6-20 I can't charge from receptacles that are higher than 20 amps. I've used this setup to charge from many friends and families homes and typically I am able to reach their dryer outlet (either NEMA 10-30 or 14-30) which is a 30 amp circuit. The second most common receptacle I've found in people's homes is the 14-50 which is a 50 amp circuit. I can always transfer fewer amps than the rated max of the wire, but never more for the hours it takes to charge an EV.
Hi Anthony. Thanks so much for putting this video together! I have a MY and will be taking her camping in a month. I like the set up you have and would like to do the same thing but the camp ground just told me they only had sites with a 20 amp outlet available. I'm planning on getting the extension cord you recommended. What connector would you recommend for a 20 amp outlet?
I'm glad my video was helpful for you! I've figured out how to use the 50 amp extension cord in charging from a regular 15 amp household outlet but it requires combining two adapters together. Let me explain. (Side note, you said the campground electrical pedestal is 20 amp and I searched for a 20 amp to 50 amp (NEMA 5-20 to 14-50) and couldn't find anything online and when searching for a 15 amp to 50 amp none of them work for a Tesla based on the reviews. I ran into this issue when searching for my TT-30 adapter because when you're adapting from 120 volt electrical sources to a 240 volt plug the adapter needs to be configured as a Tesla needs it (the hot wires can't be connected together). The TT-30 adapter that I mentioned in my video does work and is designed for a Tesla which you can see on Amazon here amzn.to/3s6F4bT and I purchased a 15 amp (NEMA 5-15) to TT-30 adapter here amzn.to/3wxB2MW which I then connect to the 30amp to 50 amp adapter (TT-30 to NEMA 14-50) and that works successfully. This 15 amp plug will work in the 20 amp outlet that the campground has, but if you want that additional 5 amps you can use this adapter instead amzn.to/3wDkgfc That may seem silly, but I couldn't find any adapters that go straight from 15 amp to 50 amp that don't have the hot wires bonded together which cancels out the voltage for a Tesla mobile connector and it errors out. Since the TT-30 adapter is wired correctly it works to adapt to it, then go to the 50 amp extension cord and Tesla mobile connector. I have a video I'm working on editing right now where I illustrate using this two adapter solution on a trip. I hope to publish that video next week.
@@ElectricTechAdventures Wow thanks so much for putting in the time to figure this out! I would have never figured this out. I look forward to your next video.
Here's my next video ua-cam.com/video/n-LeUSQQrh8/v-deo.html where I show the recent trip we went on where I used the large extension cord to charge from a standard household outlet.
Like all your videos, this one is inexplicably helpful. You answered every question I have had about how to charge other than Superchargers and even provided the links! I have one dumb question - once my car is charged up at a nearby Supercharger or at home buy whatever amperage charging is available to the limit I set and I want to not drive my car for a month, can I just leave it plugged into the 15amp/120volt outlet and the car will keep itself "topped off"? What is the right thing to do in this case? Thank You! NOTE: The links do not take you to the two black adapters you showed in the video. The two dryer outlet adapters. Can you please explain which of the small grey ones in the links correspond to the two black ones in the video? Thank you.
Yes you're correct that leaving it plugged in will keep the battery set to within a few percent of your specified battery state of charge. In my Model S I've found that the standby loss is a couple percent per day and when it gets down a few percent below the charge limit I've set it'll then charge it back up to that charge limit. The general recommendation is if you're going to be away from a long period of time that you set the charge limit percentage to somewhere between 50-75% and leave it plugged in. It might be a good idea to check on the car through the phone app about once a month to ensure that the circuit breaker the car is plugged into doesn't trip and allow the car to fully discharge. After making this video the charging adapters I purchased have either changed design (colors) or become unavailable and I've had to select alternatives to recommend that aren't the exact one I have. The NEMA 10-30 adapter is typically for dryer outlets in homes built prior to 1996, and the NEMA 14-30 for homes 1996 and newer. That's a general guideline, since people could potentially install whatever in homes, that's just when the code changed. The key is the pin configuration of the adapters. If you're trying to charge from a particular outlet it might say what it is on the front of it, or you can take a picture of it and compare it to a point of reference like this www.hmoob.in/wiki/NEMA_connector
@@ElectricTechAdventures Thank you. I purchased the grey one through your link figuring it is overall smaller in size than the black ones in your video. It just took some research to make sure I purchase the correct one for my pre '66 dryer outlet. Thanks!
Good information. I need to do some research before purchasing an EV
Yes you should! I researched electric vehicles in earnest starting in early 2017 as I was working on installing solar on my house and determining the correct size considering the extra power an EV would need. I identified pretty quickly that Tesla had the only viable vehicle for a full on gas car replacement, but I couldn't afford it yet so I got the Nissan LEAF for my commuter car to work and we kept our gas car for the family car we'd take on trips. Then in 2019 after a lot of additional research I managed to purchase the 2015 Model S 85D we have now and we still love it!
@@ElectricTechAdventures would you purchase another leaf if that was all your budget allowed? Thanks and have a good one from west Tennessee
@@hphillips7425 I would, as long as my use case was within it's range.
Great video, very informative. I have just one question, you mention the cable and circuit breaker are 50 amps, in order to get the 80% recommended setting of 40 amps to the car. But how about the 30 amp adapter? Doesn't that limit the setup to 24 amps?
Yes you're correct. With any Tesla you can adjust the amperage in 1 amp increments in the car charging screen starting at 1 and going up to 40. Some of the EVSEs max out at 32 amps.
Great vid! Thank you 😊!
Thanks for the positive feedback!
I am sorry for this stupid question but i am not very knowledgeable when it comes to charging. So what do i look for when I open up the panel? Does it say what amp? Thank you
In the breaker panel, typically on the door is where the labels are written. See ua-cam.com/video/hL0jpxYlHpM/v-deo.html or at time stamp 6:21 where I talk about this question. The breaker panel labels have numbers next to them, and over on the breaker panel those numbers are pressed into the metal next to each switch. They're often hard to see. Then on the breaker itself, often on the tip of the switch is a number and that's the maximum number of amps that circuit is designed to handle.
@@ElectricTechAdventures hey i would like to say thank you so much for the video but im a littel confused too. in the mark that u said 6;21 and the breaker is pointed it shows 30 on both of them but you said it ran off of 40. are these two different occasions because it seems like u would be running 24 amps to charge since the breaker has 30 on it. Just trying to clarify so i know what im looking for and what i need to buy at the end of the month
@@pritch2121 I'm glad the video is helpful for you. What I meant is that the outlet type (pin configuration) was a NEMA 14-50 which per the NEMA standard means it should be a 50 amp circuit breaker which would enable me to charge at 40 amps (80% continuous load). However the home builder installed a 40 amp breaker (probably because they wanted to cheap out on thinner cheaper wiring) so I have to lower the charge rate to 32 amps. Does that make sense?
I have a quick question. In this video, did you use DJI Osmo or Sony Alpha A6600? Thanks!
I used the Osmo pocket to record this video. Most of my videos are recorded with the Osmo pocket. I use the a6600 for pictures primarily, but I also use it for video in certain situations where I need to be able to zoom, in low light, or it's just the camera I have in my hand in the moment I need to get a shot real quick. Even though the a6600 has in-body image stabilization it still doesn't hold a candle to how steady the Osmo pocket is! In my video which is scheduled to publish this Friday June 4th I recorded most of the video with the a6600 due to the need to zoom and you'll notice the video is more shaky unfortunately.
Oh crap. I’m a new Tesla owner. I went to a super charging station. I was curious if I could up the amps and did on the app. I wish I could remember what it was set out to reverse my actions.
Superchargers are level 3 DC fast chargers and the car determines the amps and volts. You can only adjust the amps when you are charging from a level 1 or level 2 AC source. If you go look at the AC charge rate in the car it will show you the amps but the mobile app only shows it when you are plugged in.
@@ElectricTechAdventures I had a warning that I didn’t precondition the batteries. So I ran the heater and then tried to speed it up. Oops.
@@CurieBohr preconditioning the batteries is a speed thing, if you navigate to the supercharger the car will do it automatically. If you don't navigate then it'll just take longer to charge.
Well done……thanks
Thanks for the positive feedback!
I have a 2021 Tesla X. What configurations of cords and adaptors should I pick up for camping and cross country travel. Are they any different than the ones I had for my 2016 Tesla X. I think things have changed on the newer X. I appreciate your discussion.
The only thing that's changed that I know of is your mobile connector now maxes out at 32 amps instead of 40 amps. All the adapters I've outlined in this video still should work just fine.
Oh and also your X didn't come with the NEMA 14-50 adapter for the gen 2 mobile connector that came with your X so you'll want to buy one of those from Tesla then I recommend buying the extension cord and adapters I have linked in my video description.
@@ElectricTechAdventures Thank you. I visit relatives in Utah and find that chargers are few and far between. I fill up in Twin Falls coming from Vancouver, WA and make it to Trememton. Visit in Ogden and have to go to S. SLC to fill up or Nephi. It’s crazy there. They need one in Ogden and near the airport and down around Provo, Orem. Thank you. Kenn
@@kennstinchfield4218 I completely agree. They've had a couple Superchargers pending in Utah like in Provo and Draper for years and they keep just delaying the expected date. Super ridiculous. It's a good thing their vehicles are so amazing, and their charging network is still the best.
My portable charger that came with the car has a 20amp plug for regular house outlet. I want to to plug that into a 30amp outlet at the campgrounds. So I need to got from 110v 20amp charger to a 30amp rv campground adapter. This is the adapter I'm looking for?
The standard plug that comes with the mobile connector from Tesla is the NEMA 5-15 plug which is only 15 amps, but yes they do sell a NEMA 5-20 adapter that connects to the Tesla mobile connector. Rather than adapting from the TT-30 30 amp to NEMA 5-20 20 amp connector I'd do what I outlined in my video and just get the official Tesla NEMA 14-50 adapter then build out your adapters to all adapt from various plugs to the NEMA 14-50 so that you can utilize the heavy duty NEMA 14-50 extension cord. So I'd recommend getting this adapter amzn.to/3ppEEgv and using it with your official Tesla NEMA 14-50 adapter, but you have to make sure to manually lower the amps that the car is pulling down to 24 amps.
How about using the Tesla mobile charger with a full suite of plug types and then just using a Tesla charger extension cord? Basically, put the extension downstream of the Tesla mobile charger rather than upstream of it.
There is no such thing as an extension cord with the Tesla connector at either end from what I can tell from searching online. If you know of one let me know. I would have done just that if I had found one to buy. Because I haven't found one I built out this solution as outlined in the video and it has worked quite well so I don't think it really matters that Tesla doesn't provide one.
@@ElectricTechAdventures EVSEadapters makes them, in various lengths.
@@mdrudholm Thanks for the tip. The link is www.evseadapters.com/products/tesla-extension-cord/ for anyone else who might be interested. This is a new cord that wasn't an option when I was looking for a solution and made this video. The 30 foot NEMA 14-50 extension cord I purchased was $110 (but is now $139) whereas this Tesla extension cord is $365 for the 30 foot version. The cheapest version is $335 for 10 feet. My solution is cheaper but you have to adjust the amps manually.
@@ElectricTechAdventures It is a pretty expensive cord, but that's offset somewhat by the fact that the Tesla plug ends are about $35 each, which is cheaper than most adapters, so if you buy a full suite of them, it kind of balances out. I'll probably order one to replace the 6 gauge 10-30 to 14-50 40-foot extension cord I bought years ago for my Roadster UMC.
The adapters that I've purchased were $29.70, $32.20, $42.99, $29.70 which is about the same as the Tesla adapters which are $35 each. The big advantage of the Tesla extension cord is that it can be used at destination chargers that have been "ICED" meaning there is gas car in the parking spot.
very helpful video. I just bought a new tesla and plan to charge it at work. the charger at my workplace reads EV230PDR which is a 30 amp level 2 charger. How many amps should I charge it at?
Congratulations on your purchase! If you're plugging into an official level 2 EVSE (it sounds like you are) then you shouldn't have to adjust the amps manually, however it should be pulling 24 amps on a 30 amp electrical circuit. It might be on a larger circuit however and maybe 30 is already 80% which an EVSE would automatically adjust to. My video is all about plugging the Tesla mobile connector into varied outlets using non-official adapters and that's why I showed you have to lower the amperage manually.
@@ElectricTechAdventures thank you for explaining. you are awesome
@@zunairmushtaq5888 feel free to subscribe if you haven't already and I have some additional trips I'll be publishing videos about eventually where we charge at varied locations.
@@zunairmushtaq5888 I just googled EV230PDR and the first result is this page www.se.com/us/en/product/EV230PDR/evlink-level-2-pedestal-mounted-dual-7.2kw-exterior-charging-station/ which is an official electric vehicle charging station so you don't need to adjust the amperage when plugging this into your car.
@@ElectricTechAdventures
Yup. That's exactly what it is. You are definitely my favorite UA-camr already
Sucky thing is the new chargers only give you 32 max :(
Agreed, step backwards. If I could find another gen 1 mobile connector (like I already have) I would but it as backup.
@@ElectricTechAdventures I think it's a safety thing. Now they assume all regular outlets are 15a, so 12a max, and nema 14-50 is 40a so 32a max. I think it also allows them to use thinner cheaper wiring.
@@ItsBinhRepaired I agree that a likely reason that they changed it to 32 amps that it's a cheaper solution. I'm not 100% sure what components are specifically cheaper but just that overall the connector is cheaper. And now they don't even include it with the purchase of the car so I wish that they would supply higher powered mobile connectors again.
@@ElectricTechAdventures the wires are thinner. Don't have to have a think wiring because the lower max amperage.
@@ItsBinhRepaired I understand amperage and required wire gauges, I suspect there's also other components that are cheaper. It's just pure speculation based on Tesla making a change that doesn't make a whole lot of sense otherwise in my opinion. My Models S also has dual onboard chargers so I can charge up to 80 amps, except Tesla doesn't make those high powered wall connectors anymore. :(
Good video. Some adapters’ info says for use with a Tesla so it sounds like some equivalent NEMA adapters aren’t compatible with Tesla? What’s different about those made to work with Tesla’s? Thanks.
You're correct that some adapters have to be designed specifically for an electric car and others don't. The difference comes into play when the adapter is adapting from 120 volts to 240 volts. The way the wires are connected inside the plug are different from what an RV/Travel Trailer need vs what an electric car like a Tesla needs. Of all the adapters that I showed in my video the only electric vehicle specific adapter that I showed was the TT-30 to NEMA 14-50 adapter. The other adapters were all meant for 240 volts and are basic adapters that could be used by an RV or Tesla.
Thanks for the reply. I'm putting together my shopping list for adapters and an extension cord now. Since I already have a 6-50 outlet in my garage for a welder, I'm thinking of using that as a base with the extension cord and get adapters to fit 6-50 for other outlets. I have the 14-50 and 6-50 adapters from Tesla already. Thanks.
@@dajo4349 that makes sense and is specked to handle maximum amperage so that is good. I've never looked for extension cords that are 6-50, they might be harder to find than 14-50 since 14-50 is used by RVs.
@@ElectricTechAdventures I came across ACWORKS.COM that has many adapters and power cords including one with 6-50 at both ends. They also have adapters for sale at Home Depot. acworks.com/products/6-50-ev-welder-extension-cord?variant=2131648839695
@@dajo4349 one thing to consider is since the 6-50 only has three wires if you ever wanted to use the extension cord for an appliance that requires four wires you would not be able to versus if you got a nema 14-50 extension cord it can go down to three wires or four wires.
The part that is confusing is connecting the cord that comes with my Tesla (120 volt) to your heavy #6 cord for 240 volt...I don't get it, how can you run that much current through the Tesla cord that comes with the car if that is only good for 110 Volt?
To my understanding all Tesla mobile connectors support up to 240 volts. Mine certainly does and it is the Gen 1 mobile connector and I am sure that the Gen 2 mobile connector also supports 240 volts. Also you said how can it support that much current but then you are talking about voltage and those are two different things. The Gen one mobile connector can support up to 40 amps and the Gen 2 mobile connector can support up to 32 amps. The heavy duty 50 amp extension cord that I use in my video can obviously easily support both of those. The reason why the Tesla cord is thinner is because it uses more finely stranded wire which is more expensive and their outer sheathing is holding the wires tighter together.
Hi. I am planning to get a Tesla. I was wondering that can you use a 110 to 220 step up transformer to charge a Tesla. You plug in the transformer to a 110 outlet and then plug the Tesla cable to the 220 output of the transformer. The transformer usually cost around $50. Thanks.
I'm no electrical engineer, but if you start with say 110 volts 15 amps and use a transformer to double the voltage, then basic electronics dictates that your amps will halve. Which means you'll still be getting the same number of Watts, but I believe your efficiency will be higher due to the higher voltage. Overall I don't think it's worth the effort. It might be 10-15% more efficient, but it's not going to double your charging speed or anything like that. What's really important is to increase the voltage AND current (amps) which will then charge the car much faster. Also from what I've read Teslas require a pure sine wave, so make sure this transformer isn't outputting a modified sine wave.
Also if you purchase a brand new Tesla feel free to use my referral code in the description of all my videos to get 1,000 free supercharger miles.
How do you work out payment to friends and family? I just ordered a Tesla yesterday.
The conversation usually goes something like this. "I'd be happy to pay you for the electricity", "no don't worry about it, it's not very much, we're just happy you came into visit." No one has ever taken me up on the offer to pay for the electricity. When the discussion does get into how much money the electricity is worth I asked them for what their retail rate for electricity is and they usually don't know and so I usually offer that maybe around 10 cents is average and makes the math easy and explain that my car can hold up to around 85 kilowatt hours and that that would be $8.50 worth of electricity.
Oh and congratulations on your purchase!
Before charging my Tesla, how do I verify breaker size in someone's circuit breaker panel?
You have to ask the owner where the breaker panel is and look at the switches and generally the 240 volt circuits are labeled as being for the dryer or the stove or range or something to that effect. You could potentially plug your mobile connector into the outlet and then you could turn off the breaker that you think goes to it to verify that it is indeed the correct breaker (the mobile connector light will turn off when the breaker turns off) then if you have verified it then you see how many amps that breaker can support and then you adjust the amps in the Tesla to be 80% of that maximum and then you plug in the other end of the mobile connector into your Tesla and start charging.
Is it possible to use the Tesla 50 amp connector to convert to the 30 amp RV outlet? I'm asking because I already have both. We have the model Y and pull our camper with it. I saw a video or read somewhere that you cannot use an RV 50 to 30 conversion on a Tesla charger. I'm afraid to "test it out".
I'm not 100% sure what you mean in your first sentence. The Tesla 50 amp connector would be a NEMA 14-50 outlet which is the equivalent of an RV colloquialism of 50 amp. I think you are saying that you have a adapter from the NEMA 14-50 connector to the TT30 RV connector. But why would you use that if you could just plug the Tesla directly into the 50 amp outlet? You can charge a Tesla off of a TT30 campground outlet with an adapter from TT30 to 50 amp but it has to be specifically wired for Tesla's like this one amzn.to/3X4eqAe
@@ElectricTechAdventuresThank you for your info. The reason for the conversion question is because I have a 25 foot extension cord of the 30 amp RV plug. Usually the electrical connection is set further back at the campsite so I can't plug in the car without an extension cord which is why we use the standard 12 amp household outlet to plug our car in with that extension cord. I have the 14-50 tesla plug but not the TT30 adapter. By the way I can't believe how informative this one video is about charging your car and I added your recommendation of that plug from Amazon to the cart. I think that's exactly what I need!
@@Eireannach Gotcha, ya I agree often the mobile connector's 20 feet is insufficient and that's why I got the NEMA 14-50 extension cord, then I get the different adapters to adapt to it as I outlined in this video. I'm glad it's helping you out. Happy charging!
Thanks for your video. Did you build your own heavy duty extension cord or purchase it? I have a 5-20 in my back yard but I would need another 50 feet to reach to the front of the house.
I purchased the heavy duty yellow extension cord from Amazon www.amazon.com/dp/B0024ECIP0?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_dt_b_product_details and it's capable of 50 amps at 240 volts with the connections at either end being NEMA 14-50p (plug) to NEMA 14-50r (receptacle). If you want to use the NEMA 5-20 in your back yard you'd need to have an extension cord that's at least 12 gauge. If you used a regular 12 gauge NEMA 5-15 extension cord you'd need a 5-15 to 5-20 adapter or something since the pin configuration is different. Or if you were to continue the pattern I laid out in this video you'd just use the NEMA 14-50 adapter on the Tesla mobile connector plugged into the heavy duty extension cord I linked to above then on the end of that you'd need an adapter from NEMA 5-20r to NEMA 14-50r. I also have a NEMA 5-20 in my shed but I have had no reason to use the full 20 amp capability because I also installed a NEMA 14-50 receptacle in my garage which is what I regularly charge from which is obviously far faster. If you can't add a faster outlet closer to your car and you're going to be in this situation long term AND you could really use a little faster charge rate it might be worth considering getting a 5-20 adapter. Just don't leave that expensive heavy duty extension cord out in the weather long term, especially at the connection points at either end, don't let them get wet.
Wonderfully informative! I have one slightly off-topic question. My new Tesla wall charger is 18' in length, but at times, like when I must park outside, it is a little short. Does anyone make a 6-8' Tesla charging cable extender?
I don't think so, not that I've heard of anyway. Such a cable would have to be very thick because someone might use it at a supercharger and run a LOT of current through it. I wish Tesla sold such a cable though because there are times when it would be really nice to have a longer cable at superchargers like when towing. Thanks for watching and don't forget to subscribe!
@@ElectricTechAdventures Thank you! I just subscribed 👍
@@arthurkurtz2448 Awesome, thanks!
Is that cord flexible? thx
It's flexible enough for such a thick cable. I'd categorize it as medium flexibility. It's plenty flexible enough to coil up, carry around and use.
Thanx!
If you feel that hauling 34 pounds of charging stuff is too heavy just leave your youngest daughter with your neighbor. Just kidding.
😂
Enjoyed your informative video, thanks.
I don't think all dryer uses NEMA plugs. Mine looks like a standard 120 volt outlet
A standard household outlet is a NEMA 5-15 which is 120 volts at 15 amps. I would guess you have a heat pump dryer if it's capable of operating on so little energy. I'm no expert on dryers, but in my experience clothing dryers typically use a 240 volt 30 amp outlet. Does your dryer exhaust air outside? I believe heat pump dryers don't and the water in the clothing is condensed into liquid and pumped down the drain that the washing machine uses.
@@ElectricTechAdventures Thank you for the reply. My dryer exhaust air outside. I checked the switch in the electrical panel and I see its using a 20 amp
@@ArpanPatel84 You could also have a gas dryer (uses natural gas to do the heating).
One question, if I use the 50amp nema 6-50 extension 75ft from the third floor to the first floor there is a 25ft drop from top to bottom will there be any problems? I set the charger to 32amp, it will only use 70%, the extension is a 6 cable that can withstand 50amp.
I'll start with a disclaimer that I'm not an electrician. :) I use my 30 foot extension cord combined with the 25 foot EVSE and there's no problems so you should be fine, but you should still monitor your setup and more importantly make sure your connections don't get hot. The 25 foot drop shouldn't matter as long as the cord is appropriately supported. The bigger concern is heat buildup from loose connections so initially pay attention to how warm the plug/junctions are. Since the wire is rated for 50 amps, but the EV mobile connector can only pull up to 80% of that at 40 amps you're not at the max of the wire's capabilities when charging your EV.
@@ElectricTechAdventures Thank you very much for the answer, I am going to use the Tesla mobile charger, which is the maximum of 32 amp, but from there it will not go, and I have seen many people telling me that from the third floor to the first floor, since there is a fall, there can be problems and I know other comments that they have done it for more than 8 months with the Tesla charger at 32amp and from the highest floor with 100ft and nothing has happened to them from their apt.
Make sure there are no sharp edges at the top where the weight of the cable rests. Inspect it periodically for any problems.
Can you close the door on these beefier cords?
No you can't close regular doors on either extension cord, but you can close a garage door on them. The NEMA 14-50 extension cord is quite a bit thicker than the Tesla EVSE cord and because the Tesla cord is always the last few feet to the car it's always the one that the garage door is shutting on and it handles it no problem. I've closed many a garage door on it with no ill effects. For what it's worth it is not good to close a regular door on most any extension cord except maybe flat Christmas tree cords which is obviously useless for an EV. For this reason if the extension cord is being snaked into the home (such as to plug into their dryer outlet) then the door between the garage and the house will have to be left open the width of the extension cord. So far that hasn't been a big deal, and even in situations of extreme temperature differentials like cold of winter or super hot summers it probably isn't a huge energy cost for the hours that the EV is charging.
Hi Anthony, Perhaps you'd like to do a follow-up review showing our 3rd party Tesla adapters that connect directly to the UMC just like the OEM adapters. For example, the TT-30 Tesla Gen 1 adapter here: www.evseadapters.com/products/tt-30-adapter-for-tesla-model-s-and-x-gen-1/
I could do a video about it. My first thought the video would be centered around what are the advantages of this adapter that connects directly to the mobile connector vs the one I have in this video that adapts to the NEMA 14-50 plug. The first obvious answer is simply that this will automatically adjust the amperage to 24 instead of having to do it manually. However this has the disadvantage of not being able to use a NEMA 14-50 extension cord if the TT-30 outlet is farther away than the mobile connector can reach.
@@ElectricTechAdventures Yes, being able to use a 14-50 extension cord is certainly an advantage of using a TT-30 to 14-50 adapter. We're currently designing a Tesla extension cord which would go between the charger and the car, so you can use any adapters with it - it should be available this fall.
A Tesla connector extension cord would be very awesome! I'm guessing it wouldn't work for supercharging. Is that right? It would be very useful though being able to for instance reach a destination charger that has been ICEd or many other situations. I'd love to be able to test that extension cord this fall if you'd like.
@@ElectricTechAdventures We'll make two versions - one for level 2 charging at up to 50A, and one for supercharging. Send me an email, evseadapters at gmail and I'll keep you posted.
Great, a Tesla extension cord has been a much requested item. I'll send you an email and thanks for keeping me posted!
I basically did the same thing as you haha
It's a great solution!
@@ElectricTechAdventures I also got a welder 6-50 to 14-50 because that's what my parent's house had. I was surprised it let me turn a 10-30 to 14-50 because it loses the ground and the neutral for 120v I think with the way I turn the 10-30 to 6-50 to 14-50. The reason I did that was the 10-30 to 6-50 was only like $16 and I already had the 6-50 to 14-50.
After making this video I also got the 6-50 because we went to someone's house that had that outlet.
what about type G outlets? what do i use there?
Good question. I had never heard of Type G so I googled it just now and I see it's a European based plug that can go up to 13 amps. I'm unfamiliar with the types of adapters that come with Teslas in Europe, but it seems to me like your mobile connector might have come with the type G by default. I'm guessing that since Teslas in the USA come with the NEMA 5-15 adapter which is the basic household outlet that goes up to 15 amps. If your mobile connector is gen 2 and Tesla didn't give you an adapter then perhaps you need to purchase this adapter. shop.tesla.com/en_gb/product/united-kingdom-adapter but if you need to use an extension cord as I outlined in my video then I'm afraid I'm not the best source for that. The gen 2 mobile connector can handle up to 32 amps (at least in the USA) so you'd need to research what outlet type goes up to at least 32 amps then get that mobile connector adapter and an extension cord to that spec then other adapters that adapter to that extension cord as I outlined in my video.
@@ElectricTechAdventures thanks for the info. so I'm assuming any standard extension u have in the house won't work. I really I'm clueless. and that's why I haven't orderedy Tesla yet. I'm guessing I should call an electrician and ask them to sell me an extension for this purpose ?
@@xKyriakoZ It sounds like you're referring to how to best charge a Tesla at your house. In that situation I do recommend you talk to an electrician about your options and have them install an outlet in your garage area for this purpose. My video is more for temporary situations like when your traveling and you need to charge from varied outlets during your travels. You wouldn't want to have a thick extension cord running into your house on an ongoing basis. If you live there and can make modifications to it then it's far better to install a high powered outlet in the garage or near it. You could then use the mobile connector that comes with all Teslas to charge your car from that outlet.
Some people have an electrician install an EVSE (Electric Vehicle Standard Equipment) such as Tesla's shop.tesla.com/en_gb/product/gen-3-wall-connector in their garage that is hard wired rather than going through a receptacle. The reason for doing that is primarily because you can pull higher amperage (charge faster) when hard wired than when going through an outlet. The drawback is because it's hard wired you can't just unplug it from the receptacle and easily take it with you if you move. This type of installation you typically wouldn't need to take with you on a road trip since you'd also have the mobile connector that comes with the car for road trips. Personally I installed a JuiceBox Pro 40 amzn.to/30LO51W that plugs into a NEMA 14-50 outlet in my garage and the Tesla mobile connector that came with the car remains in the frunk in case I need it when I'm traveling.
@@ElectricTechAdventures yes indeed what i care the most about is home charging. but here in cyprus there are less than 20 teslas. and less than 20 charging stations. so basically ill be charging at my house or at the house im visiting/passing by
what i need is the easiest way for both. i was thinking about just using a good charger with extension (im still confused, is faster charging about the charger being good as well? or just about amps/volts/EVSE?)
if i need to (or if its worth to) install EVSE ill have to ask several electricians to find one since i told you people in my country are clueless about electric cars. but if it isnt all that worth and i can get a 20%-80% charge within 10 hours without EVSE ill definitely prefer that so i can use it at other houses easily as well.
thanks a lot for the info. its been a week im researching and cant find much or understand it enough.
@@xKyriakoZ The speed is simply a matter of Power or Watts which is volts x amps. The quality of the charger is more how long it'll last or how well it works with how stiff the cable is (cheaper cables are often stiffer) or other elements of using the device. I'd recommend just starting out with an electrician installing a higher power outlet in your garage. A quick google search of Cyprus says your Type G outlet is 230 volts and 13 amps at 50 Hertz. www.worldstandards.eu/electricity/plugs-and-sockets/g/ so you'd need to have I think a European CEE 32A 6h Type 023 outlet installed by an electrician so that you can use an adapter like this one evchargers.com.au/product/varplug-to-mobile-connector-gen2/ or perhaps this one www.evseadapters.com/products/european-cee-32a-blue-commando-caravan-mains-adapter-for-tesla-model-s-x-3-gen-2/ or the official one from Tesla shop.tesla.com/en_gb/product/blue-adapter---16a_32a- which as you can see can go up to 32 amps 230 volts which is fast enough to recharge your car overnight.
If you'd like to see how to use the heavy duty extension cord shown in this video with 120 volt standard household circuits watch this video here ua-cam.com/video/n-LeUSQQrh8/v-deo.html where I do just that.
Also there is now a Tesla extension cord available from www.evseadapters.com/products/tesla-extension-cord/ which is a new cord that wasn't an option when I was looking for a solution and made this video. My solution using the 30 foot NEMA 14-50 extension cord is cheaper but you have to adjust the amps manually.
The more you verify your EV won’t start a fire the more they will worry you will - George Washington
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I got a Tesla didn’t know I’d need become a certified electrician to keep the car going...Yikes...
Haha the first many road trips we experienced in our Tesla we just used Superchargers for the vast majority of charging. One trip was 2,500 miles. I've really enjoyed the increased versatility being able to charge from varied sources though. Certainly not required for most people.
Great video. This answered a lot of questions for me. Thank you!
I'm glad to hear it, thanks for watching!
Informative, thanks.
I'm glad to hear it, thanks for watching!