Road trip to a VRBO, charging on the laundry machine circuit (240V)

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Roscoetuff

New Member
Looking into charging my vehicle on a road trip to the VRBO up north. Waiting to hear back from the owner, but meantime wondering whether you guys have used Level 2 chargers that work with the household laundry machine circuit - typically 240V... maybe 15, 20 or 30 amps.
These aren't much in demand as units, but for a destination it could save travel time and wait time for charges. Thoughts? Suggestions?

My home charger's a Grizzl-e and I love its 40amp J1772. I also have a Teslatap for my VW ID4. Not sure if they make a Chademo-to-J1772 adapter... or whether the Chademo will plug into the SAE-type plug. Thoughts appreciated here, too.

Thanks!
 
I've used the Hyundai charger with a 220V outlet which is only 12Amp but works great and gives you faster speeds as well. I don't see why a full K2 EVSE should be a problem:
 
In many jurisdictions it would be illegal for you to plug the Grizl-e into a laundry circuit due to the latest National Electrical Code prohibiting variable power settings on a plug connected EVSE. However, that probably won't stop you.

A 30 amp receptacle is pretty much standard in North America. However, some are 3 wire and some are 4 wire. So you would need adapters along with a suitable extension cord.

Some folks have used a campground 40 or 50 amp circuit to make it to their destination, but I don't see that as saving time unless you are staying near a campground.

There are no adapters for Chademo.
 
Roscoetuff said:
Looking into charging my vehicle on a road trip to the VRBO up north. Waiting to hear back from the owner, but meantime wondering whether you guys have used Level 2 chargers that work with the household laundry machine circuit - typically 240V... maybe 15, 20 or 30 amps.
Click to expand...

How long are you going to be there? If it is more than just 1 or two days, you could probably just plug into a normal 110 outlet.
 
Not going to take the grizzl-e with me. Looking at some of the dumber, smaller rate of charge that would fit on a more common circuit, within the amp of the breaker. Lectron makes some that are available for this from Home Depot.

Trip is about 1200 miles one-way. Have charted it out with ABRP app. Looks do-able if we don't run into competition for the chargers. That may be a big if. Don't have experience with that. Love insight if you do.
 
Use of existing and available 240volt outlets is very common for Tesla drivers. I do it all the time. The key thing is to have a correct adapter for the outlet and, most important: only draw 80% or less of the outlet's rating. Therefore, if it's a 30 amp outlet, don't draw more than 24 amps and only draw 16 amps on a 20 amp outlet, etc.
Unfortunately as far as I know, only Tesla makes it easy to do naturally.
With Tesla cars, you can manually limit the maximum charging current that the car will pull or the charging stations limit the current correctly for the plug you're using.
Without a Tesla, it may be a bit harder because your carmaker won't supply the necessary equipment, but it can be done. You'll need to use the EVSE (charging station) to tell the car the maximum current that it can draw. If it's a 30 amp outlet, you'll need an EVSE that tells the car to max out at 24 amps.
Here are a few options for doing this:
1) The most complete travel solution is to tap into the Tesla supply chain and get:
- a Tesla Mobile Connector (https://shop.tesla.com/product/corded-mobile-connector)
- a Tesla_plug-to- J-1772_receptacle adapter such as QuickCharg Power's JDAPTER STUB (https://qccharge.com/collections/jdapter-stub™-tesla-station-adapter/products/jdapter-stub).
- Tesla's "NEMA Adapter Bundle" (https://shop.tesla.com/product/nema-adapter-bundle) or individual adapters if you don't need the full kit (https://shop.tesla.com/product/gen-2-nema-adapters).
A kit consisting of the 3 items above will let you easily and safely use pretty much any 120 or 240 volt outlet as well as a Tesla Destination Charger that you may come across in your travels.

2) Maybe an easier way to take advantage of Tesla's products is with Tony Williams' "JESLA JR". This is a Tesla Mobile Connector with a J-1772 connector replacing Tesla's connector. The Tesla Mobile Connector has different 120 and 240 volt adapters available. The Tesla Mobile Connector, then decides how much current to allow the car to draw, based on the connector type. If you plug into a 30 amp outlet (eg. NEMA 14-30 or NEMA 6-30 dryer outlets), you'll only draw the safe 24 amps. If you use an adapter for a 20 amp outlet such as a NEMA 6-20, you'll safely only draw 16 amps.

Solution 2) may be a bit cleaner to plug in to a non-Tesla but you won't be able to use Tesla Destination Chargers that may be available.
3) Buy a mobile charging station such as the Clipper Creek LCS-30 (https://store.clippercreek.com/level2/level2-20-to-32/lcs-30p-nema-14-30) that will work with a 30 amp dryer outlet and is a UL approved option. For a 20 amp outlet, you'll need a Clipper Creek LCS-20 (https://store.clippercreek.com/level2/level2-12-to-15/16-amp-evse-14-50-plug).

A quality J-1772 extension cable such as https://qccharge.com/collections/jlong-j1772-extension-cables/products/jlong may be helpful if there's a long run from the outlet to where you can park.
 
Roscoetuff said:
Not sure if they make a Chademo-to-J1772 adapter... or whether the Chademo will plug into the SAE-type plug. Thoughts appreciated here, too.
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This won't work because CHAdeMO is a DC charger while J-1772 is an AC connector.
A quick explanation:
Batteries contain DC (Direct Current) electricity while the electricity from electrical outlets is AC (Alternating Current). In order to charge a battery, the AC from the grid must be converted to DC at the right voltage and current that the battery can handle. This current changes as the battery approaches being fully charged.
A CHAdeMO (as well as all DC Fast chargers including a CCS or Tesla Supercharger) provides a direct DC connection to the car battery. The car's battery monitor tells the DC Fast charger how much current and voltage the car can handle and it adjusts appropriately to safely charge the battery.
With J-1772, the charging station (correctly called an EVSE for Electric Vehicle Support Equipment) is basically a glorified extension cord that works with the charger (which converts AC to DC at the correct current and voltage for the battery) onboard the car. The EVSE signals to the car's charger how much current it can draw within the limits of the circuit breaker or the wiring. The onboard charger then handles all of the appropriate currents and voltages that the battery can handle within the limits that the EVSE gives.
 
earl: Wow. Thanks! Will have to look through all of this.

My initial take: Since I already have a TeslaTap mini (60amp), if I can find the specs on the Corded Mobile and then add the NEMA adapter bundle, I'm pretty much ready for anything. Least that's how it looks. The things I'd want to be sure about: 1) Can the Corded Mobile step down to lower amps if we're dealing with a 15amp, 20amp or 30amp circuit? and 2) will it work with the TeslaTap mini... connecting to the Tesla end?

Thanks! And if that's right, I'll put the order in.
 
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You're welcome.

Roscoetuff said:
Since I already have a TeslaTap mini (60amp), if I can find the specs on the Corded Mobile and then add the NEMA adapter bundle, I'm pretty much ready for anything. Least that's how it looks.
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I think so!

Roscoetuff said:
1) Can the Corded Mobile step down to lower amps if we're dealing with a 15amp, 20amp or 30amp circuit?
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Yes. If you use the proper NEMA adapter rated for the circuit you find. Actually, technically, it will be the onboard charger in your car that does the 'step down' but the Corded Mobile Connector will definitely tell it how far it has to 'step down'.

Roscoetuff said:
2) will it work with the TeslaTap mini... connecting to the Tesla end?
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Yes, it should. I haven't used the TeslaTap mini but, if it works as advertised, it will be fine.
 
Roscoetuff said:
Ever hear of this one? Mustart Travelmate? Seems some ID.4 users have had success with it, but it looks hit or miss.
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Nope, I've never heard of it. There is so much EV stuff being thrown out on the market that I can't keep up with it. It sounds like exactly the same thing as the Tesla Corded Mobile Connector except that it is to J-1772.
I'm glad to hear someone is making such a thing and it may be ok. I don't see any warning signs except that it doesn't appear to be UL listed.
I know that the Tesla Corded Mobile Connector is UL Listed but, of course I doubt that your TeslaTap mini is so you'll still be using a partially non-certified solution. I also know that Tesla has had problems with their early Corded Mobile Connectors but, after nearly a million sales, they've fixed a lot of problems they found. They just replaced mine, preemptively, for free, for example, even though it is out of warranty and has shown no problems.
The only fully UL approved solution I know of would be using an EVSE (like the Clipper Creek I mentioned) with a 240v plug but you'll need to have multiple ones for different current availability or go with only the maximum safe rate of 16 amp charging.
 
Just to throw that in, you know that you can limit the Kona as well? Although it's a little cryptic because it's "max" speed, "reduced" and "slow" it whatever they call it in the settings menu.

It corresponds to 7.2 kW and two lower kW (amp) settings. Somebody tested it but I can't remember what the settings were.
 
Esprit1st said:
Just to throw that in, you know that you can limit the Kona as well? Although it's a little cryptic because it's "max" speed, "reduced" and "slow" it whatever they call it in the settings menu.

It corresponds to 7.2 kW and two lower kW (amp) settings. Somebody tested it but I can't remember what the settings were.
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That's great to know! It would really only be useful though, if you know exactly what the limits for each is. That way, you can be sure not to overload your breaker or circuit if using an EVSE that is rated higher than the connected circuit. The math matters so one needs the actual numbers.
Until "max", "reduced", and "slow" are known, I think that current control via the EVSE is still essential for safe operation.
 
Earl said:
That's great to know! It would really only be useful though, if you know exactly what the limits for each is. That way, you can be sure not to overload your breaker or circuit if using an EVSE that is rated higher than the connected circuit. The math matters so one needs the actual numbers.
Until "max", "reduced", and "slow" are known, I think that current control via the EVSE is still essential for safe operation.
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Here it is:
https://insideevsforum.com/community/index.php?threads/kona-charging-rates.10762/
I have tested at various public EVSE and can confirm the 240V categories are accurate, of course reduce the amperage accordingly when using an EVSE fed from 2 legs of a 3 phase 208 source ;)
 
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It's easy enough to find out. I might be able to stop by a local L2 charger and test the three (actually 2) levels. I'm curious two and it's probably faster than to search through the forums. [emoji1787][emoji41]

[Edit] haha, it was you ... Thanks for the link!
 
Looking at this in more detail, sounds to me like the JeslaJr is probably a better back-up travel unit than what came with the car and should probably be what I replace that with together with a couple of plug adapters. Not a cheap approach, and not fast, but all you're trying to do is get enough juice to get to a charging station in a "fix". And this should do it.
 
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