Concerns about Tesla to non-Tesla charging adapters

[DavidM]

Quote Originally Posted by DavidM View Post
There is nothing worse than planning to charge my Model S overnight at a hotel and arriving to find two Chevy Volts plugged into the only L2 chargers. It's because of that that I will book a hotel with Tesla destination chargers instead of a public charger.

Has this actually happened or is it just a hypothetical? They haven't sold very many Volts and they charge fully in 3 hours on Level 2 charging.

Yes. This has actually happened, a few times at different hotels. About 18 months ago, before Tesla's Destination Charging network took off (on the east coast). At hotels, EV drivers typically plug in for the night. They don't come out and move their car at 11pm.

There is a shopping plaza near me with a single J1772 charger. Every day, the same Volt is parked there and plugged in from 9 to 5. I'm assuming he works in the shopping plaza. Fortunately, I never need public charging (locally). But if I were a Leaf driver, that sort of thing would be annoying.

 

[mknox]

Tesla wanted something a bit more elegant; easy to plug in.

I notice that there is no Destination Chargers in Europe on the Tesla site, but there do appear to be quite a few in China and Japan.

I'm not sure, but I believe Japan uses the same connector as North America... is this correct? But I thought China uses the same Mennekes Type 2 connector that they use in Europe. If that is so,how does Tesla restrict the use of their Destination Chargers to Tesla only over there?

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Yes. This has actually happened, a few times at different hotels. About 18 months ago, before Tesla's Destination Charging network took off (on the east coast). At hotels, EV drivers typically plug in for the night. They don't come out and move their car at 11pm.

There is a shopping plaza near me with a single J1772 charger. Every day, the same Volt is parked there and plugged in from 9 to 5. I'm assuming he works in the shopping plaza. Fortunately, I never need public charging (locally). But if I were a Leaf driver, that sort of thing would be annoying.

That's an annoying problem everywhere. There is one Tesla HPWC at a mall near me, and there is almost always a grey Model S parked at it for hours. I like the idea of dedicating 2 parking spots per charging station (I did that at my office) so that if one car is done, another can pull in and switch the connector over. I leave a note on my dash that says "Okay to Unplug" in case someone comes in and needs a charge. I note that this works with my J1772 stations because the handle doesn't lock to the adapter, but would be a problem with a HPWC.

 

[Tedkidd]

I like the idea of dedicating 2 parking spots per charging station (I did that at my office) so that if one car is done, another can pull in and switch the connector over. I leave a note on my dash that says "Okay to Unplug" in case someone comes in and needs a charge. I note that this works with my J1772 stations because the handle doesn't lock to the adapter, but would be a problem with a HPWC.

Be nice if Tesla had a remote "unlock charge port" button, or a setting that automatically unlocked it when you hit your target charge.

 

[mknox]

Be nice if Tesla had a remote "unlock charge port" button, or a setting that automatically unlocked it when you hit your target charge.

Yeah. I suppose you could unlock the car via the app if someone texted you, but that would unlock all the doors too, so not desirable. Looking at my app right now, there is an "Open Port" button on the Charge screen, but my car is currently not plugged in. I think that changes to Start/Stop Charging when it's plugged in. Maybe it unlocks the port too when you hit Stop Charging, but I am not sure. Another thing to test when I get home with my HPWC.

 

[Noel Ingle]

Just get these cards to hang on your plug to share the charging infrastructure in the spirit of brotherhood and goodness. It has a spot for your phone number.
Take Charge and Go | Learn how to get and into an Electric Vehicle I never ever lock my Leaf plug.

 

[hcsharp]

Be nice if Tesla had a remote "unlock charge port" button, or a setting that automatically unlocked it when you hit your target charge.

Amen. Especially the last part of your sentence. No charge connector should ever be locked to your car because it may need to be removed quickly in an emergency. I don't mean to start another controversial conversation, and I know there are inconsiderate people out there who unplug people when they shouldn't, but there's nothing more annoying than a full car locked to a charger when you desperately need to plug in. I look forward to what mknox finds out with his test.

 

[DavidM]

It's possible to unplug a J1772 from a Tesla, but not a UMC, or an HPWC or a Supercharger cable. The J1772 disconnects from the adapter. As I recall, owners were concerned about possible theft of the UMC cable or adapter, or a discourteous person unplugging you before your necessary charge was completed. Both are valid concerns.

If you arrive at your hotel with 25 miles of range and you plug into a HPWC (40A). You should expect a full battery in the morning to continue your journey and stay on schedule. A range charge would probably require 9 hours at 40A. If another EV owner had the ability to unplug you after 2 or 3 hours, your morning woudn't be very pleasant. That's another reason I gravitate to hotels with HPWCs. One is good, but two are better.

 

[Tedkidd]

Both good points, I think ideally it"d be optionally lockable. I had 1000 2 sided vinyl tags made up similar to the pic Noel posted which I give to other ev'ers. They indicate opportunity/OK to unplug, or necessity charging.

If it's your personal evse, having your $5-800 device lock to the car is piece of mind.

I use a padlock so mine doesn't walk away. Also, at 3.3 max and 70 mile range, if I'm breaking out the charger, I need every kWh I can get.

curious what mknox finds out.

 

[TEG]

Some J1772 plugs can be locked to the socket with a luggage lock...

 

[Tedkidd]

Some J1772 plugs can be locked to the socket with a luggage lock...

That's what I use to secure my EVSEupgrade evse. Not convenient at all.

 

[hcsharp]

Yeah. I suppose you could unlock the car via the app if someone texted you, but that would unlock all the doors too, so not desirable. Looking at my app right now, there is an "Open Port" button on the Charge screen, but my car is currently not plugged in. I think that changes to Start/Stop Charging when it's plugged in. Maybe it unlocks the port too when you hit Stop Charging, but I am not sure. Another thing to test when I get home with my HPWC.

I tested this today. The only way to release the connector is to stop charging (if it's not already) and unlock the car. It seems silly to have to unlock your car just to remotely let someone remove the connector from your car.

 

[DavidM]

I tested this today. The only way to release the connector is to stop charging (if it's not already) and unlock the car. It seems silly to have to unlock your car just to remotely let someone remove the connector from your car.

We charge our Model S at home 90% of the time. I can't imagine the great need for remotely unlocking the charge port. I don't bother with opportunity charging. I'd rather let a Leaf or a Volt have the opportunity at a Level 2 public station. But on the rare case that I need to charge at a public station, I'll go to the car and move it when I'm done. I really don't want someone else removing the connector from my car. In my experience, in most cases, nobody else can charge at the plug you are using, unless you move your car anyway.

 

[scaesare]

We charge our Model S cars at home 90% of the time. I can't imagine the great need for remotely unlocking the charge port. I don't bother with opportunity charging. I'd rather let a Leaf or a Volt have the opportunity at a Level 2 public station. But on the rare case that I need to charge at a public station, I'll go to the car and move it when I'm done. I really don't want someone else removing the connector from my car. In my experience, in most cases, nobody else can charge at the plug you are using, unless you move your car anyway.

As I pointed out elsewhere: conflating frequency of need with criticality of need to discount the importance of something is false reasoning.

I'd likely not often need remote port unlock either. But if having it prevented me from having to get dressed at a late/inconvenient hour to go remove the charge cable for another person needing to charge, a valet, etc... without having to unlock the rest of my car, then that ability on the rare occasion would be pretty valuable to me.

 

[mknox]

I tested this today. The only way to release the connector is to stop charging (if it's not already) and unlock the car. It seems silly to have to unlock your car just to remotely let someone remove the connector from your car.

I was about to post this myself. I tested it too and found the same thing. I had wondered/hoped that the app button would change to "Unlock Port" after you hit "Stop Charging" or if the car had stopped by itself. You can completely unlock the car, but this seems unwise from a distance and in (for example) a hotel parking lot.

 

[yobigd20]

Adapter that allows any EV to use the Tesla proprietary HPWC

I guess it was only a matter of time until some folk reverse engineered it and made an adapter that allows any EV to use Tesla's HPWC...

BMW i3 Charging On Tesla HPWC - Video

 

[msnow]

But is it legal?

 

[scaesare]

There's much ado about this in another thread.

Assuming the adapter is engineered well/safely, and Tesla doesn't determine it's infringed on their patents, I think it's likely useful.

Of course, I'd expect/hope people would do it with permission from the HPWC owner... just as I made sure to ask permission of the Nissan dealer who accommodated me on their L2 station.

 

[FlasherZ]

Discussion here:

Photo evidence: Tesla Adapter to J-Plug (on a Mercedes B-Class EV!)!)

Concerns about Tesla to non-Tesla charging adapters

There are two concerns / arguments going on:

* Should it be ok / does Tesla intend for destination chargers to be used for other EV's?

* Is the engineering of this adapter safe? One particular element was a focus on the "pins" in the inlet, and concern as to whether they might damage the "sleeves" on HPWC connectors so that cars that use the HPWC in the future get extremely hot due to worn connections.

If you have interest, you may want to take up the conversation there.

 

[Chickenlittle]

I guess it was only a matter of time until some folk reverse engineered it and made an adapter that allows any EV to use Tesla's HPWC...

BMW i3 Charging On Tesla HPWC - Video

I do not understand the issue. I have no problem with tesla selling more HPWC Musk himself would like more EVs sold.

 

[yobigd20]

If you have interest, you may want to take up the conversation there.

thanks, i couldn't find threads when i searched but i guess I wasn't using the right search keywords