Dual 120V to NEMA 14-50 adapter

Yes, search for quick220 or steambrite dual 120v. You can make your own too, and someday I might post a document about doing that, but it is a bit involved to make one.

Be aware that these dual 120v converters all have the limitation that neither receptacle can be GFCI protected which eliminates exterior plugs, kitchen plugs, and many garage plugs. Also, of course, you have to find two receptacles that are not only on different circuit breakers, but on different 120v legs of the electrical panel.

Juice box won't help. Check out your plugs, you don't want to be stringing extension cords around as a permanent solution. Supposedly in CA there is a state law that requires property owners to allow for the install of EV chargers, maybe Florida has something similar.

And one must be careful as an electrician should wire all plugs the same way (black wire hot) because the reality in AC it does not matte,r some people are not consistent. So when you you plug both together there is a chance you cross wires for a nice pop. Unless you have done a lot of wiring and know how to test first I would not recommend doing this.

Yes, that's why making a dual 120v adapter is involved. You need to use at least two relays (my design uses three) for safety otherwise you'll have problems even if the receptacles are wired correctly. Just wiring things together will result in one of your 120v PLUGS having live 120v on it when you are plugged into the UMC and the other 120v plug is plugged in. That's a big hairy shock hazard.

Anyone tried Quick 220? Does it work? I travel a lot and interested to find if this works.

Just a quick note that you really won't find these devices for sale readily because of their danger. They violate many provisions of the electrical codes and present an issue for safety grounding because they connect to two different, non-parallel branch circuits.

You can make them work, but in the case of a wiring failure, you can electrocute someone even with all the bells-and-whistles safety relays in the device.

I don't get it.. we're talking about using these kinda cheap half assed solutions to charge our Teslas? Are you kidding me? Spend the little extra to actually get a good setup. It's worth spending a bit extra to make sure things are done correctly.

I just installed a 14-50 on the side of my house using 6AWG wire based on a 50a draw over 50ft (25ft to the receptacle, 20ft UMC). Only cost me about $200 in parts.

rdrcrmatt said:

I don't get it.. we're talking about using these kinda cheap half assed solutions to charge our Teslas? Are you kidding me? Spend the little extra to actually get a good setup. It's worth spending a bit extra to make sure things are done correctly.

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Try reading the first post and maybe you'll get it: "This would seem to be a better choice rather than plugging into the standard 120V alone when other faster charging options are not readily available, such as at a friend's or relative's house."

rdrcrmatt said:

I don't get it.. we're talking about using these kinda cheap half assed solutions to charge our Teslas? Are you kidding me? Spend the little extra to actually get a good setup. It's worth spending a bit extra to make sure things are done correctly.

I just installed a 14-50 on the side of my house using 6AWG wire based on a 50a draw over 50ft (25ft to the receptacle, 20ft UMC). Only cost me about $200 in parts.

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No doubt. These are solutions typically used when travelling to occasional places that don't have any other better electrical source.

A 240V outlet is protected by a double pole breaker where both poles trip together. If you try to cheat and use individual single pole breakers by bridging between two 120V outlets you can create various safety problems. For example, you trip one breaker but the other is still closed. Now your device might be keeping the tripped branch energized since the other breaker is still closed.

boilerbots said:

A 240V outlet is protected by a double pole breaker where both poles trip together. If you try to cheat and use individual single pole breakers by bridging between two 120V outlets you can create various safety problems. For example, you trip one breaker but the other is still closed. Now your device might be keeping the tripped branch energized since the other breaker is still closed.

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You have the same issue if you just unplug one side. The device has to shut down both branches the moment one side is interrupted - that's pretty much the only thing that a Quick220 does for a living, besides being a fancy extension cord.

Wow, I am surprised that the Quick220 is actually UL listed, has some safety interlocks (relay) and a double pole breaker. This is very different then the suggestion earlier about making your own. Of course 120V outlets are typically shared circuits so it is hard to know how many amps you might be able to pull without tripping a circuit, where 240V outlets are typically dedicated circuits (at least in a home).

boilerbots said:

Wow, I am surprised that the Quick220 is actually UL listed, has some safety interlocks (relay) and a double pole breaker. This is very different then the suggestion earlier about making your own. Of course 120V outlets are typically shared circuits so it is hard to know how many amps you might be able to pull without tripping a circuit, where 240V outlets are typically dedicated circuits (at least in a home).

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It was tested against UL1012 ("power units other than class 2"), meaning a simple power supply device. It has not been tested for anything else. Scope is here and the TOC for the standard is here.

I note that Intertek put up a blurb about the discussion where it says this:

C. UL, CSA, OSHA, and the Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratories concern themselves with the safety of products that are brought into the home or business. The NEC (National Electrical Code) addresses the permanent wiring of buildings and other facilities. In general, if it is in the walls or a permanent part of the facility, NEC defines how to do it safely. If you can plug it in, then UL, CSA, OSHA and the testing laboratories address product safety.

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While most of this is correct, in one key case, it is absolutely incorrect. The NEC does not just refer to infrastructure wiring of buildings and other facilities. It also handles the way that loads are interfaced to the system. You can't use a receptacle and a plug to get around NEC rules. This is a gray area, of course, but the local code compliance officer (AHJ) will be the judge.

boilerbots said:

Wow, I am surprised that the Quick220 ... has some safety interlocks (relay) and a double pole breaker. This is very different then the suggestion earlier about making your own.

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If you make your own, you NEED to use relays to protect against shock hazards when only one plug is plugged in (which is every time you use it since you can't plug/unplug both plugs at the same time). You shouldn't just wire things together. A dual-120V device is stretching things potentially to the breaking point, so DEFINITELY use at your own risk!

If the 120vac outlets are on a 15amp breaker, you are only going to get the usual 12 amps on each leg, so 24 amps total.
Welding supply places have a box for doing this, as on-site welders really need 240vac.

wcalvin said:

If the 120vac outlets are on a 15amp breaker, you are only going to get the usual 12 amps on each leg, so 24 amps total.
Welding supply places have a box for doing this, as on-site welders really need 240vac.

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Technically no. You can still draw 12 amps max, only at 240vac. However, watts go from 1.44kw to 2.88kw.

Hometheatremaven said:

Try reading the first post and maybe you'll get it: "This would seem to be a better choice rather than plugging into the standard 120V alone when other faster charging options are not readily available, such as at a friend's or relative's house."

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Ahh, so burn down the friend or relative's house instead of your own .. brilliant!