Charging via NEMA 6-20 adapter :)

yobigd20 · Jun 25, 2014

So I bought a NEMA 6-20 adapter to use the only high voltage plug at the train station I use (for those of you that know my riduculous commute, I just switched back taking the train instead of driving in and out of manhattan daily. I got tired of it after a year as honestly it was just too much stress, and btw I am at 50.4k miles).

The train station has like 4 or 5 NEMA 5-20 sockets which get a measly 3mi/hr if you are using the 5-15 adapter. I have the 5-20 adapter but haven't use it yet. Anywho, the train station is like 50 miles from my house and 10 hours at 3mi/hr doesn't even make up my commute there let alone there and back. Tesla doesn't have a 6-20 adapter yet so I bought this: NEMA 14-50R to 6-20P Adapter

Now I know technically anyone could take this adapter since its in a public garage. so I kind of just hacked something together using zip ties and tucked it away. I manually set the car to pull 16amps before I plugged it in. Now I get a very nice 11/mph charge rate. Very happy! That covers my complete commute to/from the train station so I no longer need to charge at home. Yey! pics below

GSP · Jun 25, 2014

You may want to consider a 6-20 to 5-20 adapter instead of using the 14-50. Mark the adapter "Tesla charging only!" so no one uses it to fry a 120 V appliance.

That way the car will default to 16 Amps. This will be helpful if a software glitch or reset causes the car to use the default setting instead of your programmed 16 A.

GSP

CmdrThor · Jun 25, 2014

What is wrong with charging at home?

TonyWilliams · Jun 25, 2014

I would make the adaptor that already signals 16 amps, because a tripped breaker (the first time you forget to dial down the amps) won't make EV friends.

mitch672 · Jun 25, 2014

Tony is correct. Also, if/when the breaker does trip, you'll probably have a hard time finding out how to get it reset, it will probably take days to get reset, if not weeks. We are talking government here... I would go with the 6-20 to 5-20 custom made adapter, so it will always signal "16A" to the Model S. Also, why not charge at home? It hardly seems worth the effort/risk of your UMC being stolen/vandalized in a public garage...

scaesare · Jun 25, 2014

I also question not charging at home if it's just to avoid paying for your own electricity.

I'm of the opinion that, while we are still in the Charging Wild West Frontier, we need to be as cooperative and judicious in the use of scarce public charging resources as possible. If you don't need to use a public charge station, why tie it up for the poor soul who's 200 miles from home?

I view things like charing provided as a benefit of employment or part of what a hotel offers differently... but even with the latter I'd only use it if I needed the range... not just because I could avoid paying for electricity at home or to take advantage of a 'reserved' parking space...

RandyS · Jun 25, 2014

I've seen a couple of examples of people charging like this in public around here, plugging into an available receptacle in a parking garage or lot that was made for occasional use by the property manager to do maintenance or run some equipment, etc. Eventually someone that manages the facility will notice the car plugged in every day and they'll just shut off the circuit...

If you're really drawing 3800 watts for 8-9 hours a day, that's not a trivial amount of electricity every month that you're asking the train station to provide for free.

Cosmacelf · Jun 25, 2014

I agree that using your 5-20 adapter with a 6-20 adapter is better, but the car does remember preset charge rates per location, so it'll default to 16a at the train station. Having said that, one GPS glitch and not paying attention one day will be bad. So, just pay attention to the charge setting every day.

As far as the charge used, it amounts to $5/day. $110/month, $1320/year. Meh. Whatever.

CmdrThor · Jun 25, 2014

Cosmacelf said:
As far as the charge used, it amounts to $5/day. $110/month, $1320/year. Meh. Whatever.

This is very much not Meh. Whatever. It is more like theft. Has the OP asked for permission to plug in to the outlet? If not he shouldn't be surprised to find the outlet shut off one day, or worse yet a police officer waiting for him when he returns. A LEAF driver in Atlanta was arrested for plugging into a school's outlet without asking permission. As a community, we need to be doing things the right way and not be freeloaders.

Cosmacelf · Jun 25, 2014

Well, take it up with the OP, but it sounded to me like those plugs were meant for commuters to use. Maybe originally intended for block heaters, but intended for commuters nonetheless. The picture of the 6-20 plug looks like it is in a public parking space.

yobigd20 · Jun 25, 2014

CmdrThor said:
This is very much not Meh. Whatever. It is more like theft. Has the OP asked for permission to plug in to the outlet? If not he shouldn't be surprised to find the outlet shut off one day, or worse yet a police officer waiting for him when he returns. A LEAF driver in Atlanta was arrested for plugging into a school's outlet without asking permission. As a community, we need to be doing things the right way and not be freeloaders.

These are charging stations for electric cars. Not some random outlet. It is not theft. I'm not that stupid. I would never plug into a random outlet without permission.

As for charging at home vs train station, I'm already paying for the parking garage monthly which includes the electric vehicle charging. Why would I charge at home if I don't need to? It's not freeloading when you are already paying for it. Everyone here makes it sound you should never ever use a charging station even if you are paying for it but can get by without it. Why should I pay more at home when I am already paying for it at the station??

scaesare · Jun 25, 2014

yobigd20 said:
As for charging at home vs train station, I'm already paying for the parking garage monthly which includes the electric vehicle charging. Why would I charge at home if I don't need to? It's not freeloading when you are already paying for it. Everyone here makes it sound you should never ever use a charging station even if you are paying for it but can get by without it. Why should I pay more at home when I am already paying for it at the station??

I've already given my reason for the opinion I hold: We aren't yet in the period where a there are an abundance of charging options. I feel it's prudent thing to do to use them judiciously.

I'd certainly be grateful if the guy who could easily get to and from the train station on less than a 50% charge didn't soak up one of the few available charge spots when I arrived with my family and had a 150 mile trip home... regardless of if we both paid to park there fore the day.

It's the same reason I don't use the public charges that several local businesses have installed... I don't live too far away and therefore don't need them whereas somebody else might. This despite some of them being in prime parking locations...

CmdrThor · Jun 25, 2014

yobigd20 said:
These are charging stations for electric cars. Not some random outlet. It is not theft. I'm not that stupid. I would never plug into a random outlet without permission.

As for charging at home vs train station, I'm already paying for the parking garage monthly which includes the electric vehicle charging. Why would I charge at home if I don't need to? It's not freeloading when you are already paying for it. Everyone here makes it sound you should never ever use a charging station even if you are paying for it but can get by without it. Why should I pay more at home when I am already paying for it at the station??

My bad, I made a poor assumption and came to faulty conclusions. Further I derailed your thread regarding your adapter, I apologize.

Carry on the discussion of the merits of your adapter vs other options.

yobigd20 · Jun 25, 2014

scaesare said:
I've already given my reason for the opinion I hold: We aren't yet in the period where a there are an abundance of charging options. I feel it's prudent thing to do to use them judiciously.

I'd certainly be grateful if the guy who could easily get to and from the train station on less than a 50% charge didn't soak up one of the few available charge spots when I arrived with my family and had a 150 mile trip home... regardless of if we both paid to park there fore the day.

It's the same reason I don't use the public charges that several local businesses have installed... I don't live too far away and therefore don't need them whereas somebody else might. This despite some of them being in prime parking locations...

In one sense I agree with you. When we get to the point where free charging stations are scarce, then I would probably leave the space open. But here on east coast it is actually still very rare to see electric cars charging anywhere. Out of the 6 charging spots at the station , 4 out of 5 days of the week I'm the only one using it. The rest are always open. One day of the week I may see a Leaf or a Volt charging on one of the 5-20 plugs. In 3 years I've never seen anyone on the 220v before except for me today

scaesare · Jun 26, 2014

That sees like a reasonable stance as well...

linkster · Jun 26, 2014

GSP said:
You may want to consider a 6-20 to 5-20 adapter instead of using the 14-50. Mark the adapter "Tesla charging only!" so no one uses it to fry a 120 V appliance.

That way the car will default to 16 Amps. This will be helpful if a software glitch or reset causes the car to use the default setting instead of your programmed 16 A.

GSP

+1

If we could just get Tesla to offer a UMC 6-20 and a UMC L6-30 adapter and bring back the 6-50 we could reduce the usage of aftermarket adapters.

more UMC adapters = less custom/home-made adapters = fewer failure points = safer charging = higher TSLA

yobigd20 · Jun 26, 2014

linkster said:
+1

If we could just get Tesla to offer a UMC 6-20 and a UMC L6-30 adapter and bring back the 6-50 we could reduce the usage of aftermarket adapters.

more UMC adapters = less custom/home-made adapters = fewer failure points = safer charging = higher TSLA

agree completely. I wish Tesla made official adapters for these.

Park2670 · Jun 26, 2014

If I could pay to park, and charge my car daily I would do the same. Especially if they are all empty making those not driving EVs think they are waste of good spots and money.

yobigd20 · Jun 26, 2014

Park2670 said:
If I could pay to park, and charge my car daily I would do the same. Especially if they are all empty making those not driving EVs think they are waste of good spots and money.

True that. If anything I'm helping market the car and EVs in general.

miimura · Jun 26, 2014

linkster said:
+1

If we could just get Tesla to offer a UMC 6-20 and a UMC L6-30 adapter and bring back the 6-50 we could reduce the usage of aftermarket adapters.

more UMC adapters = less custom/home-made adapters = fewer failure points = safer charging = higher TSLA

While I agree with this, they need to fundamentally redesign the adapter interface so that it is more durable and has more margin for slightly increasing resistance over time. IMHO, the adapter pins should be the same size as the NEMA 14 plug blades. THEN, design a whole array of new adapters for the new UMC.

Charging via NEMA 6-20 adapter :)

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