It IS possible to charge at 24A from a 120V TT-30 plug...

[Cottonwood]

I'm VIN 37 with an "A" battery. I can confirm that with a TT-30 to 14-50 adapter (the correct Tesla variety), my charge rate at 120 Volts is limited to 20 Amps.

I can also confirm that if the neutral and line are not connected the way the UMC expects 120 Volts, then the UMC complains with 4 red light flashes and won't charge. 4 flashes indicates "Ground Lost" so I guess the UMC expects ground to be close in Voltage to the assumed Neutral for 120 Volts. I have a home made multi-adapter extension cord that swapped L1 and L2 by accident. I corrected the swap and the UMC charged my MS at 120 Volts/20 Amps just fine with the adapter feeding the extension cord, feeding the UMC, feeding the MS...

 

[earcandy]

I'm VIN 3340, with a B Battery, and get the same results.

The owner at Point of Rocks Campground in Prescott, AZ likes the idea of electric cars, but only has a couple 50 amps available, so I settled for a 30 amp just so I could test out my TT-30, since it wasn't too urgent. In the name of experimentation!

 

[dutch]

Any Tesla Model S with dual chargers will charge up to 80 amps with ANY J1772 charge station, yes. Tesla is 100% compatible with J1772, or "Type 1" in Europe.

The only thing extra required is the adaptor to physically plug it in. That adaptor is supplied with every USA delivered car.

Wait "any" J1772? Also ones that are only30 amps like the Blink EV chargers? Also how do I know if our Tesla has dual chargers, my husband bought it and he is quick in ordering stuff and can't remember if he ordered dual chargers. I just checked and our car is currently charging on the Tesla HPWC at 240 Volt - 50 Amp. The car is set at 50 amp max., can I try and set the car to 70 amps to see if we have dual chargers or will that trip the circuit breaker.

 

[Cosmacelf]

He meant any J1772 charge station that can deliver more than 40 amps. If the charge station can only deliver 30 amps, then having dual chargers will not allow you to charge at greater than 30 amps from the station.

If you are drawing 50 amps from an HPWC, then you do in fact have dual chargers. The maximum you can charge at with a single charger is 40 amps from an AC charging station.

Whether or not you can charge at more than 50 amps depends on how the HPWC was installed. At installation, the electrician sets a dip switch inside the HPWC which limits its output to anywhere from 40 amps to 80 amps, depending on what kind of breaker he used. You can also limit current draw inside the car using the touchscreen. Someone might have just dialed down the current on your touchscreen to 50 amps for some reason.

 

[dutch]

He meant any J1772 charge station that can deliver more than 40 amps. If the charge station can only deliver 30 amps, then having dual chargers will not allow you to charge at greater than 30 amps from the station.

If you are drawing 50 amps from an HPWC, then you do in fact have dual chargers. The maximum you can charge at with a single charger is 40 amps from an AC charging station.

Whether or not you can charge at more than 50 amps depends on how the HPWC was installed. At installation, the electrician sets a dip switch inside the HPWC which limits its output to anywhere from 40 amps to 80 amps, depending on what kind of breaker he used. You can also limit current draw inside the car using the touchscreen. Someone might have just dialed down the current on your touchscreen to 50 amps for some reason.

Thanks, this is what is going on. We are planning a big road trip from Eugene Oregon to Amherst Mas and back again, figuring out where to best charge. I will contribute to plug share and post findings here. Will our Tesla with dual chargers automatically set the amp higher when encountering a charger over 40 amps or do I need to set it higher in the car? Can I ever set it too high and cause damage to the car?

 

[Cosmacelf]

No, you can't set it too high when using either the Tesla UMC with Tesla adapters or a J1772 charging station. The Tesla UMC adapters and the J1772 charging station has a mechanism to tell the car the maximum current draw it can give, so the car auto limits to that amount regardless what you ask it to do in the touchscreen.

In general, the car will try to draw at the maximum amount the charging station (or Tesla adapter) allows when you are charging at a new location, but it never hurts to check and potentially raise up the amount via touchscreen.

The touchscreen max amps setting is location aware meaning it'll remember what it was set at the last time you charged at a particular location and reset itself to that amount until or unless you change it.

 

[Cosmacelf]

For such a long road trip, I would highly recommend buying all the Tesla charge adapters that you don't already have. Of course, find hotels that you can charge overnight at...

 

[dutch]

For such a long road trip, I would highly recommend buying all the Tesla charge adapters that you don't already have. Of course, find hotels that you can charge overnight at...

Yea, doing that, actually overnighting at RV camps, one only has 30 amp and my 30 amp adapter will come in today. Going to test that one this weekend. Any suggestions for taking extension cords, I was thinking a 30 feet cord for emergency for the newer version dryer outlet or is it better to go with the old style dryer outlet. Should I set the amp lower when using an extension cord?. I figure that an extension cord for a normal 110V outlet isn't worth it after the voltage drop on the cord.

 

[Cottonwood]

Yea, doing that, actually overnighting at RV camps, one only has 30 amp and my 30 amp adapter will come in today. Going to test that one this weekend. Any suggestions for taking extension cords, I was thinking a 30 feet cord for emergency for the newer version dryer outlet or is it better to go with the old style dryer outlet. Should I set the amp lower when using an extension cord?. I figure that an extension cord for a normal 110V outlet isn't worth it after the voltage drop on the cord.

30 Amp RV outlets are only 120 Volts and will only give you a charge rate of 5-7 mph, almost not worth it; if you are going to spend the night at an RV Park really try to find 50 Amp service, and if possible, a cabin. A 50 Amp RV outlet is at 240 Volts and that will give you 28 mph charge rate, much more interesting.

If you get a 12 gauge or larger extension cord for 120 Volt outlets, you can at least get 3 mph and it works fine.

A 30 Amp extension cord for a dryer is lighter than a 50 Amp extension cord for an RV outlet, and is probably all you need. Get either a new 14-30 or old 10-30 cord, and make or have someone make an adapter to plug into the other; a 10-30 cord will be lighter because it has one less wire, and the 14-30P to 10-30R adapter that goes with it is safer. Older houses generally have 10-30's and newer houses generally have 14-30's. A 30' or so cord is probably what you need. The laundry room is often close to the garage and makes a great place to grab some Joules for your jewel; 17 mph charging can add up.

Enjoy!

 

[Cosmacelf]

30A RV plugs are actually called TT-30 plugs. Tesla does not make an adapter for it. And they are indeed only 120V, giving you about 8 mph of charging. They work fine for overnight use, assuming you don't need a full charge. You would have to make your own adapter though. Instructions for that adapter and more are available here:

http://cosmacelf.net/Home%20Made%20Adapters.pdf

Obviously, if you can find an RV park that has 50 amp connections (those are 240V), then that is better.

Based on the poll results, it seems that there is about an equal amount of dryer plugs out there that are NEMA 14-30 and NEMA 10-30. So if you are planning on charging at a dryer plug, you need both adapters, and probably an extension cord since unless the dryer is in the garage, your 20' UMC cord won't reach.

 

[tiblot]

30A RV plugs are actually called TT-30 plugs. Tesla does not make an adapter for it. And they are indeed only 120V, giving you about 8 mph of charging. They work fine for overnight use, assuming you don't need a full charge. You would have to make your own adapter though. Instructions for that adapter and more are available here:

http://cosmacelf.net/Home Made Adapters.pdf

Obviously, if you can find an RV park that has 50 amp connections (those are 240V), then that is better.

Based on the poll results, it seems that there is about an equal amount of dryer plugs out there that are NEMA 14-30 and NEMA 10-30. So if you are planning on charging at a dryer plug, you need both adapters, and probably an extension cord since unless the dryer is in the garage, your 20' UMC cord won't reach.

Yeah that's correct. @24Amps, you'll pull 8 MPH.

However, many cars older than 2014 seem to only charge @ 20amps, pulling something like 5-6 MPH.

 

[fluxemag]

Finally got to try out my custom made 14-50 to TT-30 adapter that I built from instructions on this site. I didn't need to charge really, but was at my parents' camp site nearby and wanted to give it a shot. I was limited to 20A like many others. I have a 40kwh car delivered in May 2013. Everything appeared to be fine, but then charging stopped after about 30 minutes and it said contact Tesla service, with the charge port red. I unplugged, plugged back in and got another few minutes before it stopped again. The TT-30 wasn't quite plugged all the way into the outlet, so I secured it better and things worked until I left a few hours later. Not sure if it was related/temperature type issue. At least I have the option to use it in a pinch, but not really all that useful at 6mph.

 

[GuyHall]

It appears that EVSEAdapters makes a NEMA 14-50R to TT-30P RV Plug Adapter. One review indicated success: "
"Worked fine for me. I had no 20 amp limitation from my Tesla S. Set to 24 amps, I get a solid 14 km/h charge rate (8,75 miles/hours)."
http://mon.pq.org/depot/monpq_534f1f95de45d.jpg

I think this info may have been lost as this string has grown.

EVSEAdapters makes this adapter for the TT-30 plugs. I just finished the T5:Tesla Tijuana To Tundra Tour, much of which was in upper BC, the Yukon and Alaska. I had more than 15 RV stops with most of them NOT having 50 amp (14-50) service. The most common was the 30A (TT-30, 110V). service. If you are going to use RV parks, this adapter is a must. It's also small and packs well. Here are pics from two of the campgrounds.

The only drawback is that the combined weight of the 14-50 and TT-30 adapters may be too heavy for the socket and you may need to find something to prop it up or wrap the cord over the top of the mount.

Remember that the TT-30 adapters sold for RVs will not give you the extra power this adapter does.

 

[Cottonwood]

I think this info may have been lost as this string has grown.

EVSEAdapters makes this adapter for the TT-30 plugs. I just finished the T5:Tesla Tijuana To Tundra Tour, much of which was in upper BC, the Yukon and Alaska. I had more than 15 RV stops with most of them NOT having 50 amp (14-50) service. The most common was the 30A (TT-30, 110V). service. If you are going to use RV parks, this adapter is a must. It's also small and packs well. Here are pics from two of the campgrounds.

The only drawback is that the combined weight of the 14-50 and TT-30 adapters may be too heavy for the socket and you may need to find something to prop it up or wrap the cord over the top of the mount.

Remember that the TT-30 adapters sold for RVs will not give you the extra power this adapter does.

Wow! At 7 mph charge rate, it takes 30 hours to get 210 range miles of charge. Did you stay 2 nights at these places before heading on to the next location?

 

[GuyHall]

Wow! At 7 mph charge rate, it takes 30 hours to get 210 range miles of charge. Did you stay 2 nights at these places before heading on to the next location?

Sometime's that's the best you've got. I'd typically get 9 miles of range per hour on 24A. 15 hours overnight gave me 135 miles, enough to my next stop which might have 50A, 210V sites. Or I'd be coming through town and my next stop was barely within my range, so I'd stop for 2 hours to add 18 insurance miles.

Guy

 

[Tripple_T]

OK, since we last talked about the TT-30 on this thread, I opened a conversation with Tesla about the TT-30 and the 20A limitation on the older (pre-2014) cars. I went as far to send pictures of a newer Tesla charging at above 20A (got up to 30A, probably could have gone to 40A). As well as my car limited to 20A. Here is the results of the conversation:

Tesla: "I’ve reached out to engineering, and it appears that your vehicle is operating as intended. Your Model S , P031XX, is equipped with the first generation on-board charger and is intended to operate at a maximum of 20 amps when the voltage supply is in the 120 volt range. I wasn’t able to determine why the second Model S, P38XXX, does not have the same 120 volt supply limitation of 20 amps"

Me: "Did the engineering team say the older chargers could be software upgraded to support more? Could this be included in a future update?"

Tesla: "I wasn’t able to get a definitive answer to that, however it seemed unlikely"

 

[Cosmacelf]

Translation: the guy who wrote that crappy firmware has long, long left Tesla. We don't even have the source code for it anymore.