Campground charging options

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R P

R P

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We recently did a road trip up to northern BC in our ICE vehicle. Would have taken the Kona, except there are no fast charging stations up there, and very few L2s, or even 14-50 outlets. But I noticed that the campgrounds often had 30A 120V RV outlets. Unfortunately, my Morec EVSE can't handle 120V (as far as I know), so I can't use an adapter (that I know of). However, I believe that you can get an adapter for a standard 120V plug, like we have with the car supplied cable. I believe it normally charges at 12A. So what would happen if that got plugged into the 30A 120V EV outlet (through a plug adapter)?

I don't want to buy another EVSE to handle 120V, so not looking for that suggestion.
 
R P said:
We recently did a road trip up to northern BC in our ICE vehicle. Would have taken the Kona, except there are no fast charging stations up there, and very few L2s, or even 14-50 outlets. But I noticed that the campgrounds often had 30A 120V RV outlets. Unfortunately, my Morec EVSE can't handle 120V (as far as I know), so I can't use an adapter (that I know of). However, I believe that you can get an adapter for a standard 120V plug, like we have with the car supplied cable. I believe it normally charges at 12A. So what would happen if that got plugged into the 30A 120V EV outlet (through a plug adapter)?

I don't want to buy another EVSE to handle 120V, so not looking for that suggestion.
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Im no Electrician, but i think our 120v would only pull its max charging rate. the 30A outlet would just be rated via breaker and wiring to pull 30A @120v.
Hopefully someone more knowledgeable might pipe in.
 
The evse tells the car how much current it's allowed to draw. Some have settings to select various currents.
I don't recall offhand the voltage range of the Kona onboard charger but it is on a label - open the hood, pull off the plastic cover and check the label, bottom-left I think, on the OBC, which is the big rectangular box under the cover.
The EVSE should have a voltage range written on it somewhere - no reason in principle why it shouldn't handle 120V
 
mikeselectricstuff said:
The evse tells the car how much current it's allowed to draw. Some have settings to select various currents.
I don't recall offhand the voltage range of the Kona onboard charger but it is on a label - open the hood, pull off the plastic cover and check the label, bottom-left I think, on the OBC, which is the big rectangular box under the cover.
The EVSE should have a voltage range written on it somewhere - no reason in principle why it shouldn't handle 120V
Click to expand...
The car supplied 120V EVSE says 12 amps which is the max anyway for a regular 120V 15A household outlet. But would it pull more than 12A if hooked (through an adapter) to the 30A 120V RV outlet?

My other Morec EVSE can only handle 240V (per spec), so can't use that.
 
mikeselectricstuff said:
The evse tells the car how much current it's allowed to draw. Some have settings to select various currents.
I don't recall offhand the voltage range of the Kona onboard charger but it is on a label - open the hood, pull off the plastic cover and check the label, bottom-left I think, on the OBC, which is the big rectangular box under the cover.
The EVSE should have a voltage range written on it somewhere - no reason in principle why it shouldn't handle 120V
Click to expand...
I have a hard time believing that a Campground wouldn't have a 14-50 outlet.. Maybe they just don't list their outlets on Plugshare??
 
R P said:
The car supplied 120V EVSE says 12 amps which is the max anyway for a regular 120V 15A household outlet. But would it pull more than 12A if hooked (through an adapter) to the 30A 120V RV outlet?
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No, because it doesn't know what supply it's plugged into.
 
BlueKonaEV said:
I have a hard time believing that a Campground wouldn't have a 14-50 outlet.. Maybe they just don't list their outlets on Plugshare??
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This is way up north, Stuart/Cassier, no EVs up there. However, I did see Plugshare list a couple of these campgrounds, but when I checked them out, they only had 30A 120V RV outlets (as well as reg 15A 120V outlets) at the campsites. 30A is quite a bit, so would be nice to be able to use that.
 
Just to keep perspective of where I am talking about. Northern BC at the Yukon border is about the same driving distance from Vancouver (Southern BC) as going down to San Diego to the Mexican border. It is pretty wild (but very beautiful) country up there.
 
R P said:
This is way up north, Stuart/Cassier, no EVs up there. However, I did see Plugshare list a couple of these campgrounds, but when I checked them out, they only had 30A 120V RV outlets (as well as reg 15A 120V outlets) at the campsites. 30A is quite a bit, so would be nice to be able to use that.
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That's disappointing.. Hopefully, the lack of charging options will change as EV's will become more common..
 
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BlueKonaEV said:
You could use this adaptor
https://www.amazon.com/Electrical-A...r+ev+to+14-50&qid=1565293184&s=gateway&sr=8-2
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Do not use an RV tt-30 to 14-50 adapter , you will have 0 volts between the 2 hots and 120V between neutral and both hots ( it essentially puts a parallel connection on the 14-50 blades from the hot blade of the TT-30)- basically it won't work!
R P
You need to purchase an EV specific TT30 to 5-15 adaptor
https://www.amazon.com/Conntek-1410...rgid=pla-4583589102186739&psc=1&tag=tmc064-20
This adapter will work with the "granny charger" that comes with the car @ 1200W
If you have an adjustable EVSE like the Zencar Adjustable like this:
https://www.amazon.ca/Charger-Adjustable-Portable-Electric-Charging/dp/B075V4JNYS
or Primecom (aka Zencar) like this:
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07FV5S3KG...&pd_rd_r=e0ed3112-4346-4019-9414-1c30a6194411
Than you can either use the campground supplied 14-50 receptacle and charge at 6 kW or higher (depending on the setting)
If the campground only has TT-30 receptacles, then you can purchase this to go with the adjustable EVSE and SET THE CHARGE RATE TO 24A MAX (2880 W):
https://www.amazon.ca/AC-WORKS-Charging-Adapter-Tesla/dp/B06XHDRBBT
See the 2nd review down if I didn't explain clearly.
 
electriceddy said:
Do not use an RV tt-30 to 14-50 adapter , you will have 0 volts between the 2 hots and 120V between neutral and both hots ( it essentially puts a parallel connection on the 14-50 blades from the hot blade of the TT-30)- basically it won't work!
R P
You need to purchase an EV specific TT30 to 5-15 adaptor
https://www.amazon.com/Conntek-1410...rgid=pla-4583589102186739&psc=1&tag=tmc064-20
This adapter will work with the "granny charger" that comes with the car @ 1200W
If you have an adjustable EVSE like the Zencar Adjustable like this:
https://www.amazon.ca/Charger-Adjustable-Portable-Electric-Charging/dp/B075V4JNYS
or Primecom (aka Zencar) like this:
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07FV5S3KG...&pd_rd_r=e0ed3112-4346-4019-9414-1c30a6194411
Than you can either use the campground supplied 14-50 receptacle and charge at 6 kW or higher (depending on the setting)
If the campground only has TT-30 receptacles, then you can purchase this to go with the adjustable EVSE and SET THE CHARGE RATE TO 24A MAX (2880 W):
https://www.amazon.ca/AC-WORKS-Charging-Adapter-Tesla/dp/B06XHDRBBT
See the 2nd review down if I didn't explain clearly.
Click to expand...
OK, I think I understand, and also read that 2nd review. And thanks for your informative post. Like I said, though, in my first post my EVSE is only 240V and can't handle 120V (as far as I know). Not sure what would happen if tried it with 120, but don't really want to take any chances. So the Tesla type adapter is out for me.

But sounds like I can use an adapter for my granny EVSE, although don't see the point if still only charges at 1200 W, same as with the standard 15A 120V outlets. Most of these campgrounds that I visited had both types, 30A or 15A. Was hoping to somehow be able utilize the additional amps from the TT-30 outlets with my existing equipment. But looks l can't.

Had I known this before buying my 240V Morec, I would have looked for one that could utilize both 120 and 240 instead. So anyone that still hasn't bought their EVSE for L2 charging at home, might want to consider this.
 
R P said:
OK, I think I understand, and also read that 2nd review. And thanks for your informative post. Like I said, though, in my first post my EVSE is only 240V and can't handle 120V (as far as I know). Not sure what would happen if tried it with 120, but don't really want to take any chances. So the Tesla type adapter is out for me.

But sounds like I can use an adapter for my granny EVSE, although don't see the point if still only charges at 1200 W, same as with the standard 15A 120V outlets. Most of these campgrounds that I visited had both types, 30A or 15A. Was hoping to somehow be able utilize the additional amps from the TT-30 outlets with my existing equipment. But looks l can't.

Had I known this before buying my 240V Morec, I would have looked for one that could utilize both 120 and 240 instead. So anyone that still hasn't bought their EVSE for L2 charging at home, might want to consider this.
Click to expand...
A lot of campgrounds use the TT-30 (majority) so an adapter like this is essential for long distance travel in Canada. ( In locations not serviced with conventional J1772 or DCFC) . They prefer it to most alternates due to advertising "RV Plug " . There are 4 ways an RV park can be wired (legally), continuous ratings as follows: 15 A @120V (5-15R) = 1440 W , 20 A @ 120V (5-20R) = 1920 W , 30 A @ 120V (TT-30R) = 2880 W , and 50A @ 120/240V (2 hot legs and neutral and of course ground bonding conductor) (14-50R ) = 9600 W. Let me add due to voltage drop and service loading a lot of campgrounds set the breaker size to a 2P 40 A reducing the 14-50 receptacle to continuous 7680 W.
The cost to rent a site with a TT-30 is a LOT less than one with 14-50, another thing to keep in mind.
Not many 5-15 or 5-20 out there.
Edit - These values are assuming voltage drop has been calculated for to less than 3% drop, which in reality can be somewhat more, so less voltage = longer to charge, (allow 10% longer to be more accurate ).
 
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What a timely thread! I’m staying at a campsite tonight and tomorrow in NH with my Kona. I was hoping there was a way to also get the granny charger to kick up the amps to use more of the amps from the TT-30 outlet but alas, no deal. The granny charger is limited to 12A in the US & Canada.

I suspect someone may make a 120V 24A EVSE which could be used when camping?

The campgrounds in this area have 2 kinds of power options depending on how large of a site and what kind of hookups you need. If you’re just looking for a simple site with water & electric, they tend to have either a single TT-30 outlet or a combo TT-30 & 5-20 (each on sep circuits) - these are great for tents or small campers that don’t need much juice. If you have a large camper that needs water, electric & sewer hookups, then you’ll book a site that likely has a 14-50 outlet offering 240V 50A. At the campground I’m at now, they don’t allow tents on the sites with 14-50’s so the TT-30 is the best I can do.

In my case, I am using a TT-30 to 5-15 adapter to power the Kona and my electric cooler. I have a sep 5-20 outlet which runs everything in the tent.

Being here for 2 nights, I’ll have plenty of charge on Sat afternoon to make the 140 mile trip home without a stop so I’m not losing any sleep over it.
 

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TheLight75 said:
What a timely thread! I’m staying at a campsite tonight and tomorrow in NH with my Kona. I was hoping there was a way to also get the granny charger to kick up the amps to use more of the amps from the TT-30 outlet but alas, no deal. The granny charger is limited to 12A in the US & Canada.

I suspect someone may make a 120V 24A EVSE which could be used when camping?

The campgrounds in this area have 2 kinds of power options depending on how large of a site and what kind of hookups you need. If you’re just looking for a simple site with water & electric, they tend to have either a single TT-30 outlet or a combo TT-30 & 5-20 (each on sep circuits) - these are great for tents or small campers that don’t need much juice. If you have a large camper that needs water, electric & sewer hookups, then you’ll book a site that likely has a 14-50 outlet offering 240V 50A. At the campground I’m at now, they don’t allow tents on the sites with 14-50’s so the TT-30 is the best I can do.

In my case, I am using a TT-30 to 5-15 adapter to power the Kona and my electric cooler. I have a sep 5-20 outlet which runs everything in the tent.

Being here for 2 nights, I’ll have plenty of charge on Sat afternoon to make the 140 mile trip home without a stop so I’m not losing any sleep over it.
Click to expand...
Looks like a beautiful spot.
 
R P said:
...However, I believe that you can get an adapter for a standard 120V plug, like we have with the car supplied cable. I believe it normally charges at 12A. So what would happen if that got plugged into the 30A 120V EV outlet (through a plug adapter)?...
Click to expand...

It would still charge at 12A. The EVSE doesn't know how much it can draw from the outlet, there is no intelligence built-in to be able to do that, even if you had a 100A 120V outlet, it would still only draw 12A. The only possibility would be if the EVSE has settings to draw more or less power with buttons or DIP switches, etc. It's probably pretty rare to have 120V outlets that can supply more than 20A. We have those in our kitchen and they look like [ -| | ] instead of the usual [ | | ] (not including the rounded ground connectors below).
 
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