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NEMA 5-20 option?

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Hi everybody; first post.

I took stock of my garage situation and have determined that installing a 240V / 50A NEMA
14-50 outlet (40A effective) is not economically viable. However,
installing a NEMA 5-20 outlet (16A effective) would not only be viable,
but would charge the Model S 33% faster than the standard NEMA 5-15
outlet (12A effective, or 5 mi/hr). It may not be a huge difference, but
that difference adds up to 20 miles over the course of a 12-hour
overnight charge.

Does anybody know if NEMA 5-20 is an option for the Model S charger, and
what the downsides or caveats are? NEMA 5-20 is listed for the Tesla
Roadster, but not the Model S.
 
5-20 is NOT available. I'll try to remember to see if I can up the amperage while on the 5-15 but I doubt it. I've let Tesla know it would be nice to have. They're prioritizing which adapters to make based on demand, so let them know if you want it.
 
I just tested with the 5-15 on my Model S (software 1.9.11). While it defaults to 12A, it *does* let you dial it up to 15. Not the 16 you can get with 5-20 but if you have a 20A circuit it looks like you can safely increase it to 15A.
 
It was a shared plug in the complex and I didn't want to risk tripping anything so I didn't let it continue for more than a few seconds. When I have access to a 120V plug that I know is dedicated, I can give it another shot and see ...
 
"Your Delivery Experience Specialist will offer you a choice of 240 volt outlet adapters when you take delivery."

Does this mean TM will provide just one, or two if needed. I have two homes, one with a newly installed 14-50 and a 10-30 dryer plug I plan to use in the second home.

They give you a 5-15, 120V adapter and one 240V adapter. I asked for two 240 adapters, a 14-50 and a 6-50 and they gave both to me.

Because there is a 10-30 in my hangar, I asked to order one of those adapters. Even though the 10-30 is on the web site, as of now, it does not exist in the Tesla parts system and I couldn't order one for now. Its pretty easy to make a cheater cord for the 10-30p to 14-50r, but be aware that the 10-30 does not have a ground, only a neutral, so the ground pin on the 14-50 won't have a place to connect. In my cheater cord, I connected the ground in the 14-50 to neutral. This is not good practice according to current electrical code, but its my cheater cord for me to use, and I felt that it was safer than not connecting the ground at all. BTW, your dryer plugged into the 10-30 connects ground to neutral. Make your own decisions. Also, when you use the cheater cord, you will have to manually limit the Model S to 24 Amps via the 17" controls. Luckily, it remembers the location and you only have to do that once.
 
At this point I'm not sure if my winter place has a 10-30 or 14-30 dryer plug. If it is a 14-30, do you think that adapter is available from Tesla? I'm going down there next week so will know for sure then. And my "S" (P83) is not due until we return the first of December.

If the install was within the last 20 years or so, it is probably a 14-30. See Charging Model S and click on the "Adapter Guide" tab. The 14-30 is listed by Tesla so if not available now, it will hopefully be available someday.

The only difference between the 14-30 and the 14-50 is the shape of the neutral pin. See NEMA 14 connector Because the Model S UMC does not use the neutral of a 240V connection, and if you are brave, you can just cut the neutral pin off of your 14-50 adapter; it will then fit in a 14-50 and 14-30 receptacle. As with the cheater cord, you will have to manually tell the S to only use 24 Amps at locations where you plug into a 14-30.

Good Luck!
 
If the install was within the last 20 years or so, it is probably a 14-30. See Charging Model S and click on the "Adapter Guide" tab. The 14-30 is listed by Tesla so if not available now, it will hopefully be available someday.

The only difference between the 14-30 and the 14-50 is the shape of the neutral pin. See NEMA 14 connector Because the Model S UMC does not use the neutral of a 240V connection, and if you are brave, you can just cut the neutral pin off of your 14-50 adapter; it will then fit in a 14-50 and 14-30 receptacle. As with the cheater cord, you will have to manually tell the S to only use 24 Amps at locations where you plug into a 14-30.

Good Luck!

NEC 1996 is when the ground requirement was introduced, and adoption is generally 3 years behind in most jurisdictions, so anything built after 1999ish should have 14-30. My 1991 home has a 10-30 for a dryer outlet.
 
Who knows? I sent the ownership email a polite email about this and other charging adapters a few weeks ago and essentially got a form letter reply. Every single popular consumer company has products that people want to adapt/change/extend. That's why you have cell phone jailbreaking, etc. For now, all we can do is make our own adapters...
 
Who knows? I sent the ownership email a polite email about this and other charging adapters a few weeks ago and essentially got a form letter reply. Every single popular consumer company has products that people want to adapt/change/extend. That's why you have cell phone jailbreaking, etc. For now, all we can do is make our own adapters...

which really isn't all that hard at all. I've made plenty for my RV in odd situations.
 
The thing that bothers/concerns me the most is setting the amperage manually prior to charging. What happens if you forget, or are lazy? (I am more interested in the lazy part :biggrin: )

It would be nice if someone, i.e., an aftermarket vendor, could figure out what pins or electronics are built into the Mobile Connector adapters to signal the maximum amperage for that adapter, so that different adapters could be made.