Presumably, whoever installed the GFCI outlet chose to do it that way because they had no reason not to have GFCI on any particular outlet (it was probably done before anyone thought of EVs, EVSEs, and EVSEs possibly having issues with GFCI). Using one GFCI outlet to protect a bunch of downstream outlets is an efficient way to adding shock protection to all of them.
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New Tesla owner with questions
- Thread starter KYVolsfan
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RayK
Active Member
Yes, it is an efficient way to protect many outlets using a single GFCI. I found out the hard way that was the way it was wired. The GFCI outlet pair has a soft water system and a hot water recirculation pump plugged into it so I thought, okay - that makes sense (water things powered by 120VAC needed protection from accidental shocks). It never occurred to me that the other six outlets on that wall, 4 of them located 12' away, were also protected by that one GFCI. Besides a refrigerator plugged into that circuit, I have several security cameras and a DVR powered off that wall.
Early on in my ownership of the 3, I tried charging the car using the mobile connector from a quad outlet near the garage door. Plugged everything in and I thought the car started charging but when I came back out later, realized that it had stopped. Came to find out that when the GFCI tripped, it also cut power to the quad outlet. That took several minutes to figure out.
Early on in my ownership of the 3, I tried charging the car using the mobile connector from a quad outlet near the garage door. Plugged everything in and I thought the car started charging but when I came back out later, realized that it had stopped. Came to find out that when the GFCI tripped, it also cut power to the quad outlet. That took several minutes to figure out.
GFCI outlets come with little stickers that say "GFCI protected outlet" that are supposed to be stuck on the downstream outlets to avoid not knowing that. Seems like they were not used by whoever installed it.
In any case, with all of the other stuff on that circuit, you may be limited to significantly less than 12A if you plug in an EV there.
I unplugged everything that was on the garage circuit and charged my M3. It stll read 12/12 but the volts went from 110 to 114. Again, not an electrician, so is that better?
RayK
Active Member
Yup, no stickers were applied so I made my own labels and stuck them on the faceplates: "37 GFI", for circuit breaker #37 on my panel.
10+ years with this setup and the only time the circuit tripped was when I had the mobile connector connected. I seem to remember that the main breaker tripped when I had the problem with the mobile connector. The GFCI by itself has never tripped and even if it does, the contents of the refrigerator is only beer and some other drinks and a few things in the freezer section. My WiFi extender and some security cameras are on that circuit and I'll know if it goes out within 15 minutes or so of it happening (unless it's the middle of the night).
RayK
Active Member
114V is certainly better than 110V. Standard wall voltage is around 117VAC in my experience. What is more telling is if the voltage has a large drop once the charging begins.
Your Tesla can be set to remember the amp limit set in the car for that charging location, so it's safe to use your Lectron and J1772 to charge, but if you use the Tesla mobile charger, then keep the Lectron in your car, for emergency use. Personally, I would see about installing a NEMA 6-20 outlet on a dedicated 240v 20 amp breaker, and then your Lectron can be put to good use and the Tesla mobile charger kept in the car.
Yes, if nothing else is plugged in on the circuit, you can use 12A on the 15A circuit.
It’s honestly not junk, and the link you have is not for the charger OP is referencing. Lectron make a Level 1 only charger that is advertised as 16A but only pulls 12A as it should. The Tesla will also not pull more than 12A from it by default. I have one and have used it these last few weeks since getting our M3 on the 10th. It worked fine and provided 5 miles/hour consistently. For $180 overnight shipped from Amazon it was perfect for this beginning time period.
We just got our wall charger installed this morning; they ran a brand new 60A circuit and the car is charging right now on it for the first time and it’s doing 48 miles/hour (237V@48A; 11.38 KW). Such a difference.
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