Portable charging cable with switchable adaptors??

[mathewparet@gm]

I've been searching for charging cables that draw power from a wall outlet (not Type2 to Type2). I found various options - some for single-phase outlets, some for 3-phase outlets, some for 32 amps, some for 22KW, and some for 7KW. Its a lot and confusing.

Is there one single product where one end is type 2 (to connect to my Tesla) and the other end is switchable - 10A, 15A, 32A + 22KW, 7KW whatever so that I can carry a single portable EVSE and adaptors for the wall socket endpoint?

 

[[Zombie]]

Is there one single product where one end is type 2 (to connect to my Tesla) and the other end is switchable - 10A, 15A, 32A + 22KW, 7KW whatever so that I can carry a single portable EVSE and adaptors for the wall socket endpoint?

Juice Booster 2 is the gold standard - connectors for every socket out there, and you can get extension leads that sit between the tail and the unit itself so you only have to carry one extension lead to use for all situations. It automatically switches the maximum current depending on which tail is plugged in, so you don't need to remember to dial it down on the car. Many EVSE ("portable chargers") don't do this, and it's easy to find yourself tripping breakers if you're not careful.

You can even get a "type2" input tail so you can use it as a long type2-type2 lead.
It's also pretty much indestructible but it's definitely on the very expensive side of the scale.

There's also a KWIK portable charger which similarly has swappable tails that automatically limit the charge rate.
KWIK appears to be a locally-branded version of this charger so you may be able to find cheaper alternatives elsewhere (eg Aliexpress)

Also bear in mind that the Model 3 and Model Y are limited to 11kW so a 22kW capable charger may be overkill - but you do need the unit to be 32A capable to be able to charge at full rate (7kW) on single phase, which usually means they can supply 32A on three phase as well, even if the 3/Y will only draw 16A.

It's a shame Tesla stopped making the Gen1 mobile connector, as that could do 32A single phase and 16A three phase and this also automatically limited the current based on which tail was connected.

 

[cafz]

Is there one single product where one end is type 2 (to connect to my Tesla) and the other end is switchable - 10A, 15A, 32A + 22KW, 7KW whatever so that I can carry a single portable EVSE and adaptors for the wall socket endpoint?

Yes, the Tesla UMC works like, with the caveat that it's only single phase. It works up to 32A single phase, which is 7kW. It comes with 10A and 15A switchable tails, and you can buy third party tails to use other sockets with it.

The money-is-no-object option is a Juice Booster 2 which supports 3 phase, up to 22kW (although the Model 3 and Model Y only do 11kW max). It is considerably more expensive that the Tesla UMC, though.

 

[moa999]

As well as what Zombie says the Tesla UMC has swappable tails (10A and 15A included, and others available from third parties) but is limited to single phase so max 7kW.

It's a lot cheaper than the others.

Note that in outback scenarios where the power is produced by a three phase generator, pulling on only one phase isn't ideal.

If you're a member of TOCA (Tesla Owners Club of Australia) they have a loan program for those going on an outback trip.

Whats needed probably depends on exactly where you plan to travel

 

[mathewparet@gm]

Juice Booster 2 is the gold standard - connectors for every socket out there, and you can get extension leads that sit between the tail and the unit itself so you only have to carry one extension lead to use for all situations. It automatically switches the maximum current depending on which tail is plugged in, so you don't need to remember to dial it down on the car. Many EVSE ("portable chargers") don't do this, and it's easy to find yourself tripping breakers if you're not careful.

You can even get a "type2" input tail so you can use it as a long type2-type2 lead.
It's also pretty much indestructible but it's definitely on the very expensive side of the scale.

There's also a KWIK portable charger which similarly has swappable tails that automatically limit the charge rate.
KWIK appears to be a locally-branded version of this charger so you may be able to find cheaper alternatives elsewhere (eg Aliexpress)

Also bear in mind that the Model 3 and Model Y are limited to 11kW so a 22kW capable charger may be overkill - but you do need the unit to be 32A capable to be able to charge at full rate (7kW) on single phase, which usually means they can supply 32A on three phase as well, even if the 3/Y will only draw 16A.

It's a shame Tesla stopped making the Gen1 mobile connector, as that could do 32A single phase and 16A three phase and this also automatically limited the current based on which tail was connected.

Looks like Juice Booster 2 is the God of mobile charging for EVs!!! But quite expensive!

 

[MorganU]

From the links provided, it seems that Juice Booster 2 does not have a 10A tail available.

 

[[Zombie]]

it seems that Juice Booster 2 does not have a 10A tail available

It says "coming soon"
I guess you'd have to ask Jetcharge what their definition of "soon" is.

 

[Nickdp]

This is worth considering also, comes with the same tails as the Juice Booster and as a bonus actually *includes* the 10A tail.
Only downside is that you need to manually set the amperage according to the outlet you're connecting to.
But at around half price of the Juice Booster I'd say that is fair compensation for the inconvenience of tapping a button a few times, and the amperage changes in 1A increments so you could fine tune the amps if needed.

 

[WRun42]

Is there anywhere I could get a type 2 tail for the Tesla UMC? Or do I need a whole separate type 2 cable

It seems like a easy thing to create but maybe I am missing something in how the Umc works?

 

[[Zombie]]

It seems like a easy thing to create but maybe I am missing something in how the Umc works?

Yes, a UMC is like a mini "charging station" (properly known as Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment / EVSE)
All AC charging stations (type 1 or type 2) send a signal to the car - using pulse width modulation (PWM) - to signal how much current is available.

A type2-type2 cable passes this signal through and also has a resistor to tell the car how much current the cable is rated for, so if you use a 16A rated cable on a 32A rated charging station you won't overload the cable.

The UMC uses resistors in the 10A and 15A (and optional 32A) "tails" to tell the UMC what size socket it's plugged into, the UMC then sends the appropriate current limit to the car via PWM.

That means there's no way to create a type-2 "tail" because there's no way to tell the UMC to get out of the way of the incoming signal and pass it straight through to the car. So you need to carry a separate cable.

 

[moa999]

It seems like a easy thing to create but maybe I am missing something in how the Umc works?

Don't think it's possible due to the way the Tesla UMC is designed (whereas the Juice Booster does have the option of a Type 2 cable).

Note that in the Nth American market with J1772/Type 1 AC chargers, all J1772 chargers are tethered, so it probably wasn't even a thought for the UMC designers.

 

[cafz]

Not to mention that the UMC is single-phase, so even if you could turn it into a Type 2 cable it'd only be a single phase one.