Tesla used to make this adapter and I have one. I guess they dropped it due to lack of demand. I also have the NEMA 14-30 adapter that they also dropped. Last week when driving back from Seattle I stayed with some friends in Oregon and came across a NEMA 6-20 outlet where there's no adapter. It's like a NEMA 5-20 except the horizontal prong is on the other side and is 240V instead of 120v.
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wga22
Member
if you are able to safely turn off the circuit, and you are relatively handy, I recommend replacing this outlet with NEMA 14-50. parts costs will be under $10 (faceplate and plug). There are plenty of wiring diagrams that show where the hot, neutral and ground wires go. Test with a voltmeter before (to confirm it is off) and after (to confirm wires are in right order).
davewill
Active Member
That will only work if there is a neutral wire available in the box. If the circuit was run at the same time the 6-50 was installed there probably isn't.
+1 (requires no manual amp adjustment)
i use use this with an "off-the-shelf" 50' 12awg 5-20 terminated extension or a 100' 10awg 5-20 terminated extension
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+1 (high quality molded end adapter but MUST adjust amp setting to a maximum of 16A)
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davewill
Active Member
AHEM! AHEM! No, the original post was clearly about a 6-50 found in his mother's garage. Besides, putting a 14-50 in place of a 6-20 doesn't make much sense, does it?
Skotty
2014 S P85 | 2023 F-150L
I still find it odd that 14-50 became "the standard" for Tesla given that it has an extra unused conductor over the 6-50 that makes installation more expensive. I guess it's because there are more alternate uses for a 14-50. Kind of blindsided me though. I put in a 6-50 outlet and installed a GE Wattstation for my Volt that plugs into a 6-50. At the time Tesla still had the 6-50 adapter and I thought I would be able to use it when I switch to a Tesla. However, since the wall outlet requires the UMC and the J1772 adapter does not, probably better that I just use the J1772 adapter and use the GE Wattstation to charge the Tesla when I get one. On the plus side, I made sure to get a 7.2 kW EVSE and not a 3.3 kW one, so it can still charge at close to 32 amps (still less than the 40 amps I could get straight from the outlet, but not a big enough difference to bother me and probably worth it to not need the UMC).
FWIW some Service Centers may still carry this adapter (left over stock). It's worth calling around. Ask to speak to someone in Parts and if they don't have it politely request for them to check and see if any other local Service Centers have one.
EarlyAdopter
Active Member
NEMA 14-50's are quite prevalent in RV parks across America. Before the Superchargers came along, many early Model S owners used them to make cross county trips.
It is still a good way to travel when you get off the supercharger highway. We found a couple of different 14-50 RV outlet locations in Baker Nevada. This allowed us to tour Great Basin National Park with the Tesla and recharge overnight. It was great fun and more than one person stopped me to ask questions about the "cool car".
As far as using the 6-50 outlet, just get an adapter for it.
NEMA 14-50R to 6-50P Adapter
Bill D
Member
[FONT=&]I made my adapters fool-proof by blocking their neutral "hole" so they only accept 3-pin 14-50 plugs. [/FONT][FONT=&]I cut off the neutral pin on my Tesla 14-50 plug (which also lets it be used directly in a 14-30 or 14-60 socket).[/FONT]
I am sorry but if Tesla was really interested in safety ( like they claim to be ) they would produce a 6-50 adapter and a 14-30 adapter and several other adapters.
Because there are very few Tesla factory adapters, people are going to build these less safe adapters and use them. As you pointed out so well, that may NOT be a good thing to do.
I agree with you, I think it's reasonable to maintain a larger set of adapters than they have chosen to. We do know that Tesla has been changing its approach to charging with the higher density of the Supercharging network. It seems to be something like this:
* Wall Connectors for homes, workplaces, and other (semi-)permanent charging needs. Evidence: reduced WC pricing ($750), lower current charging settings.
* Superchargers for road trips and other more temporary needs (visits to relatives, etc.) where permanent installations are unneeded.
* CHAdeMO / J1772 (and later, CCS) for other public charging options.
* UMC with limited receptacle types for other needs (RV receptacle coverage where SpC holes still exist, emergency 120V charging).
As Supercharging density increases along with other EV uptake, it seems clear to me that Tesla is eager to shed the more troublesome mobile / temporary connections. They haven't reached the density required yet, but they likely figure within a year or two they'll reach that pont. They may always include a UMC with 14-50 and 5-15 options for emergency use, but it seems clear to me that this is an area they want to scale down - they want properly-installed charging options, not the ability to play Russian Roulette with J. Random Receptacle found in a garage.
(All of this is speculation based on my observations, and a lack of any other evidence to support why they wouldn't produce more adapters or allow a third party to produce them on their behalf...)
mach.89
Member
Hopefully nobody minds me resurrecting an old thread, but found this thread useful for my research on finding an adapter for a NEMA 6-50 receptacle.
However, I just checked the Tesla store and guess what, the Unicorn is back for sale:
Tesla — NEMA 6-50
Just ordered one... hopefully I'm not hallucinating.
However, I just checked the Tesla store and guess what, the Unicorn is back for sale:
Tesla — NEMA 6-50
Just ordered one... hopefully I'm not hallucinating.
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