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Puyallup Bill
Member
How many contacts on the current dryer cord? If four, and the dryer outlet is NEMA 14-30, you can remove the neutral prong from the Tesla supplied 14-50 adapter and it will fit in the 14-30 socket. The neutral is not used by the UMC.
If it really is a 50 Amp circuit, then good to go. If it is a more common 30 Amp circuit, then you must dial the Tesla down to 24 Amps.
Yeah, be careful - the various 14-30, 14-50, 10-30 plugs can all look similar. There is no "standard" dryer plug. Common ones are a 14-30 4 pin plug and a 10-30 three pin plug. Both are 30 amp 240V. You say the circuit has over 50+ amps? I'm not sure what you mean by that - is the dryer plug breaker 50 amps? Or the entire service panel has 50+ amps?
If this dryer plug is within 20 feet of the Tesla, you should be able to buy an appropriate adapter here:
http://shop.teslamotors.com/collections/model-s-charging-adapters
If this dryer plug is within 20 feet of the Tesla, you should be able to buy an appropriate adapter here:
http://shop.teslamotors.com/collections/model-s-charging-adapters
I bought a 14-50 to 14-30 adapter here (friend's house has a 14-30 dryer plug).
EVSEadapters.com: Electric vehicle adapter cables - charge your Tesla Model S faster, anywhere
EVSEadapters.com: Electric vehicle adapter cables - charge your Tesla Model S faster, anywhere
I didn't see any documentation on the website about protecting against 40A pull on a socket rated for less. Was there any with your purchase?
Yup, I might.
I'm kind of hoping for FlasherZ to chime in one of these days with a recommended supplier of such adapters that "does all the right things" (fuses or whatever) to make such adapters as safe as possible.
Puyallup Bill
Member
Why? Just remove the 14-50 neutral prong and the 14-50 now fits 14-30, 14-50, and 14-60. You will not hurt the UMC, as it doesn't care about neutral.
If the dryer socket is old and is 10-30, then you need an adapter to get to 14-50.
But again, using the Tesla 14-50 UMC adapter, you must dial down to the appropriate current - 24 Amps for a 30 Amp dryer circuit.
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I beg to differ. 14-30 is pretty much the standard dryer outlet, not 14-50. 14-50 is the common electric stove outlet in household wiring.
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I beg to differ. The 14-30, not the 14-50 is the pretty much standard dryer connection. The Neutral pins are quite different. The 14-50 is commonly used for electric stoves in residential wiring.
bollar
Disgruntled Member
Since this is your home, I think the best solution is replacing the 14-30 with a 14-50 receptacle and replacing the dryer cord with a 14-50 range cord.
Although the risk is theoretical, running 40 amps through a plug rated at 30 amps seems like a bad idea and a fire risk.
This presumes the circuit AND the wiring are properly rated for 50 amps.
Although the risk is theoretical, running 40 amps through a plug rated at 30 amps seems like a bad idea and a fire risk.
This presumes the circuit AND the wiring are properly rated for 50 amps.
Babylonfive
Power12
I strongly suggest that no one clips the pin on their Tesla converter. Either buy a 14-30 converter (safest) or else buy a 'dogbone' from Camco (check Amazon), and cut or trim the pin there.
IN ALL CASES when converting a rated connector to a smaller rated connector type (in this case 50A converted down to 30A or lower), you MUST reset your car charging value to adhere to the limits of that connector!!
Example: cutting or trimming a pin on a 14-30 or 10-30 converter would yield a connection to a 30A circuit, where your max draw should be 80% of that: 24A. But, your UMC only knows that it's connected through a 14-50 plug end -- these UMC plug-end connectors tell the UMC how much current to draw, so the car will try to charge at 40A. If you don't adjust the car to 24A it will overload the circuitry, and if any part of the protection system (breakers) fails, this could lead to a fire.
In all cases converters are possibilities for danger, so its been recommended to always mark any "converter" cable with a quite visible tab reminding the user to reset their charging value, and to only use with the EV it was designed for.
Props to FlasherZ for all the great exposure on these subjects and more.
Just bought the same one...see below
The UMC cord is just 18 feet. And the key is you have to measure from the charge port on the car. This weekend I drove over 200 miles each way and stayed at my sister in law's place. Her NEMA 14-30 outlet was less than 18' from the passenger side rear quarter panel of my car when I backed in, but it was about 22' from the driver's side rear quarter panel leaving me 3-4' short of being able to plug in with my UMC and the Tesla 14-30 adapter. I had no 14-50 to 14-30 adapter for my 30' NEMA14-50 extension cord at the time (just ordered, see above).
So, if you're going to a new location, it's worth asking for measurements and a floor plan ahead of time or you'll be stuck with 120v charging as I was.
To be safe, I ordered one of these, as well... http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BHGY930/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
The dryer plug is just inside the house, by the garage door.
The dryer plug is just inside the house, by the garage door.
Yea, I ordered a slightly different one that is 5' longer and $5 less expensive:
Amazon.com: Camco RV 55195 50 AMP 30 Extension Cord with Handle: Automotive
bollar
Disgruntled Member
Because he wants to charge at 40 Amps, not 24 Amps. Does the 14-30 adapter not automatically reduce the maximum Amps allowed?
The shorter 25' Conntek extension cord might be a nicer one - it is 10 pounds lighter (20 versus 30), and I know that the Camco one is very stiff and hard to unroll as I bought it too. If I had to do it over again, I think I'd try the Conntek one. By the way, you can build your own adapters if you want. I wrote this document as a distillation of info found on these forums: http://cosmacelf.net/Home Made Adapters.pdf
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Actually, I don't think we know what the OP is really trying to do - his original post is not clear, and he hasn't come back to this thread.
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Actually, I don't think we know what the OP is really trying to do - his original post is not clear, and he hasn't come back to this thread.
bollar
Disgruntled Member
Maybe your concerns will be heard louder than mine, posted earlier in this thread. I think the OP's intent is clear.
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