CCS Adapter for North America

[RayK]

Is Chademo still being useful? I can’t find anyone near me that not comes together with CCS, a much faster option.

I'm in San Jose and I use my CHAdeMO adapter almost every time I charge my car (2018 LR RWD). The Santa Clara Valley Water District HQ near me has two ChargePoint DCFC CCS/CHAdeMO stations. I believe that one of them is still not for public use during the weekdays (employees only I guess) but the other is available for public use. The driving factor is the $0.19kWh cost, in addition to me not having charging at home. Urban Superchargers near me are $0.29 / $0.58 so I spend a little extra time charging a bit slower; I'm retired and really have nowhere to go in a hurry. If the ChargePoint station is busy (or broken) I'll go and Supercharge but I haven't had to do that for some time.

On a couple of recent trips to Southern Oregon (Brookings and Ashland) the CHAdeMO adapter came in handy. Rather than spend a couple of hours at the L2 stations, there were EVCS stands that were free.

I've already received the Tesla CCS adapter from South Korea and just waiting to get some incentive to install the Gen4 ECU and bundle of wires. Given that wherever there's a CHAdeMO handle, there's also a CCS one too, I'll may relegate the CHAdeMO adapter to bottom of the sub trunk in favor of the CCS adapter when I get everything installed. Then again, I should probably continue using the CHAdeMO adapter in order to get my money's worth out of it.

 

[MP3Mike]

Then again, I should probably continue using the CHAdeMO adapter in order to get my money's worth out of it.

I guess being retired your time isn't worth much, as you should be able to charge significantly faster using the CCS adapter at most sites.

You could always recover some of the CHAdeMO adapter cost by selling it once you have the CCS setup and working.

 

[RayK]

I guess being retired your time isn't worth much, as you should be able to charge significantly faster using the CCS adapter at most sites.

You could always recover some of the CHAdeMO adapter cost by selling it once you have the CCS setup and working.

Yeah, but I'm at the point right now that DC charging is de rigueur for me since I don't have home charging. I'd rather DC charge at a slow rate (~45kW) with the CHAdeMO, than "full speed" using CCS.

 

[Limited]

Or free, like it has been in CA for like a week now? I've been milking it as much as I can

This is over now, isn't it?

 

[Metaljug]

This is over now, isn't it?

Yes. I tried charging today at EA and was billed normally.

 

[FalconFour]

I'm a bit sad that I had to be the one to point it out (I very much "got the message" from TMC admin-ship that I should shut up about CCS retrofits... so I'm just here sparsely now), but yeah, CCS retrofits are registered with Tesla as "compatible", evidently. I just ordered mine today, because there'll always be someone to pass my Korean adapter on-to, just like I did with the Ukrainian adapter that started it all.

Logging-in to order just worked - no message about needing a retrofit. In a truly astonishing orchestra of back-end/front-end cooperation, it seems Tesla is able to automatically register the upgraded ECU (no hacking required anywhere along the way), and the site gave me no error despite having a 2018 Model 3 - just a clear, plain ordering process.

For anyone wondering: yes, you can do the retrofit, today, now (in fact, ... 6 months ago now?), and it works flawlessly. Probably shouldn't point-out how - it should be pretty easy to find.

 

[tps5352]

Given that the Model 3 now supports the CHAdeMO adapter, is the idea of a CCS adapter dead? I would love to get a CCS adapter that was smaller, cheaper and supports 150kW for my 3, spending $600CAD on a CHAdeMO that is huge and only supports 50kW seems to be a waste.

Are Tesla working on a CCS adapter for North America?

Elon: Your wish is my command...Just three years later.

 

[Jeremy3292]

The owners manual appears identical to the Korean version. My guess is they are the exact same adapter. I ordered one just to see and already got my shipping notification also.

 

[srs5694]

Then again, I should probably continue using the CHAdeMO adapter in order to get my money's worth out of it.

I guess being retired your time isn't worth much, as you should be able to charge significantly faster using the CCS adapter at most sites.

I can't speak to @RayK's case, but there are times when a ~50kW maximum charge rate is preferable to a ~250kW maximum charge rate. Specifically, this is the case if you know you'll be stopped for long enough that a faster charge will end well before you're done doing what you want to do. For instance, if I were to want to charge while having an un-rushed meal (at a sit-down restaurant, say, not a fast-food joint), then a charge via the CHAdeMO adapter might be well-timed for finishing about when I'm done eating, whereas a V3 Supercharger might finish and start complaining that I need to move the car or pay idle fees (and maybe be hated by other drivers, if the site's busy) when I was mid-meal. Personally, when I'm on a road trip I prefer quicker dining experiences; but for somebody who relies on DC fast charging for day-to-day driving experiences, this scenario could be a common one.

 

[cusetownusa]

The owners manual appears identical to the Korean version. My guess is they are the exact same adapter. I ordered one just to see and already got my shipping notification also.

I have the Korean one and it does look identical and hopefully it is as I don't want to spend another $250. lol

 

[Jeremy3292]

I have the Korean one and it does look identical and hopefully it is as I don't want to spend another $250. lol

It will be easy to sell the other one on here to whoever wants it. Many people can't even order one still bc their cars aren't compatible. I'll be happy to sell the other one for what I paid for it to a member here vs $1,000 like on eBay. I just got another one to compare bc I'm curious.

 

[MarcG]

if the CCS adapter being sold here in the US is identical to the one sold in Korea, which has been around for a while, we might be wondering: “why now”?

Well, this could very well be coincidental, but the timing is curiously aligned with Tesla starting to install Superchargers with CCS plugs to open them up to EVs from other manufacturers

 

[MP3Mike]

Well, this could very well be coincidental, but the timing is curiously aligned with Tesla starting to install Superchargers with CCS plugs to open them up to EVs from other manufacturers

Really? Where have they started this? (I know there are 4 sites planned in California, but none of them are planned to open before near the end of 2023.)

 

[Jeremy3292]

if the CCS adapter being sold here in the US is identical to the one sold in Korea, which has been around for a while, we might be wondering: “why now”?

Well, this could very well be coincidental, but the timing is curiously aligned with Tesla starting to install Superchargers with CCS plugs to open them up to EVs from other manufacturers

That and supply chain. South Korea is a small, small market compared to NA. Likely a testing ground for many things also since they are one of the few who use CCS1 outside of NA.

My hope is Tesla is also just going to make new sites V4 with CCS and then slowly retrofit the old V2/V3 stations over a longer period of time (it will likely take awhile anyways). That way there isn't a massive influx of CCS cars into the superchargers. It is slowly and gradually over time they are phased in as they are continually building new sites and making the network denser at the same time. It was different in Europe bc everyone had CCS2 to begin with.

 

[texas_star_TM3]

That and supply chain. South Korea is a small, small market compared to NA. Likely a testing ground for many things also since they are one of the few who use CCS1 outside of NA.

My hope is Tesla is also just going to make new sites V4 with CCS and then slowly retrofit the old V2/V3 stations over a longer period of time (it will likely take awhile anyways). That way there isn't a massive influx of CCS cars into the superchargers. It is slowly and gradually over time they are phased in as they are continually building new sites and making the network denser at the same time. It was different in Europe bc everyone had CCS2 to begin with.

my guess is that NEW charging installs or charger updates will be CCS compatible to make them eligible for infrastructure funding $. I don't see Tesla spending their own $ or voluntarily upgrading older chargers with CCS compatibility when Tesla installed them on their own $.

This is all about getting funding access from the infrastructure bill...

 

[Jeremy3292]

my guess is that NEW charging installs or charger updates will be CCS compatible to make them eligible for infrastructure funding $. I don't see Tesla spending their own $ or voluntarily upgrading older chargers with CCS compatibility when Tesla installed them on their own $.

This is all about getting funding access from the infrastructure bill...

Yes, I agree. New SuC can be CCS compatible...that's totally fine with me. That leaves plenty of SuC already built that are still Tesla only. And if they continue building them so rapidly, the network will eventually be dense enough to not matter.

I think I read previously that Tesla was going to receive $0 funding to update old SuC. Only funding to build new ones.

 

[texas_star_TM3]

Yes, I agree. New SuC can be CCS compatible...that's totally fine with me. That leaves plenty of SuC already built that are still Tesla only. And if they continue building them so rapidly, the network will eventually be dense enough to not matter.

I think I read previously that Tesla was going to receive $0 funding to update old SuC. Only funding to build new ones.

exactly. and new installs are additional and I'm ok with sharing them with CCS vehicles ... heck - the latest chargers here in Texas are now 20+ stall installations - less of an issue with overcrowding.

 

[generalmilk]

I'm in San Jose and I use my CHAdeMO adapter almost every time I charge my car (2018 LR RWD). The Santa Clara Valley Water District HQ near me has two ChargePoint DCFC CCS/CHAdeMO stations. I believe that one of them is still not for public use during the weekdays (employees only I guess) but the other is available for public use. The driving factor is the $0.19kWh cost, in addition to me not having charging at home. Urban Superchargers near me are $0.29 / $0.58 so I spend a little extra time charging a bit slower; I'm retired and really have nowhere to go in a hurry. If the ChargePoint station is busy (or broken) I'll go and Supercharge but I haven't had to do that for some time.

On a couple of recent trips to Southern Oregon (Brookings and Ashland) the CHAdeMO adapter came in handy. Rather than spend a couple of hours at the L2 stations, there were EVCS stands that were free.

I've already received the Tesla CCS adapter from South Korea and just waiting to get some incentive to install the Gen4 ECU and bundle of wires. Given that wherever there's a CHAdeMO handle, there's also a CCS one too, I'll may relegate the CHAdeMO adapter to bottom of the sub trunk in favor of the CCS adapter when I get everything installed. Then again, I should probably continue using the CHAdeMO adapter in order to get my money's worth out of it.

But in your use case shouldn’t you now just use CCS and charge faster? Also once people realize CHAdeMO is obsolete, you won’t get your money back via selling.

 

[generalmilk]

I can't speak to @RayK's case, but there are times when a ~50kW maximum charge rate is preferable to a ~250kW maximum charge rate. Specifically, this is the case if you know you'll be stopped for long enough that a faster charge will end well before you're done doing what you want to do. For instance, if I were to want to charge while having an un-rushed meal (at a sit-down restaurant, say, not a fast-food joint), then a charge via the CHAdeMO adapter might be well-timed for finishing about when I'm done eating, whereas a V3 Supercharger might finish and start complaining that I need to move the car or pay idle fees (and maybe be hated by other drivers, if the site's busy) when I was mid-meal. Personally, when I'm on a road trip I prefer quicker dining experiences; but for somebody who relies on DC fast charging for day-to-day driving experiences, this scenario could be a common one.

Ah I guess there is use case to charge slower….

In fact, 50kw is well below 1c for most Tesla cars, so it is also healthier for the battery.

I hope they let you limit kw for DCFC to 50kw, but of course they would like you to charge as fast as possible and be gone as soon as possible

 

[RayK]

But in your use case shouldn’t you now just use CCS and charge faster? Also once people realize CHAdeMO is obsolete, you won’t get your money back via selling.

Yeah, but I'm at the point right now that DC charging is de rigueur for me since I don't have home charging. I'd rather DC charge at a slow rate (~45kW) with the CHAdeMO, than "full speed" using CCS.