Getting the right Tesla to J1722 adapter for trips

[mkhuffman]

I've only done 20% charges so far and no, the 50A TeslaTap doesn't feel noticeably warm to me.

Would you be willing to do a test and charge for 4 or 5 hours to see if it feels warm or hot? I have a feeling the UL rating is conservative, and charging for longer than 3 hours is unlikely to cause any issues. Of course TeslaTap would never recommend doing that because it would violate the UL rating, but it is very likely not that close to the limit where 48 Amps continuous will cause any issues. Just an opinion, but testing should confirm it.

I ordered this one also but I don't have a way to test it since I don't have a Tesla charger in my garage. I will have to test it at a destination charger that is able to supply 48 Amps. Not all do. If you can't test it, or are worried about it, I will try to do a test in the future and report back what I find. It will probably be a while before I can do that, however.

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[ChasingCoral]

I’ve used my 50A Tesla Tap for a few hours and it didn’t feel warm at all. However, most Tesla Destination chargers are running at 48A or less.

If you read the original thread on this topic
https://www.macheforum.com/site/threads/jdapter-and-teslatap-charging-adapters.2136/
You’ll find that the maker of TeslaTaps tests them at much higher than their rating.

 

[markboris]

agreed.... which is why I totally agree that a 60amp TeslaTap is probably the way to go at this point

Hey Dan, I have a 60 amp TeslaTap mini that I have never used in the 8 months I have had my car. I purchased it back when I bought the car thinking I may need it not knowing anything about EV's and charging. 95% of all my charging has been at home on my solar and the other 5% is when I travel to the Bay Area to stay with my parents a few days to take care of them. I seem to find many EA, EVGo, ChargePoint chargers there and they have all worked very well for the limited time I have ever had to use them.

Last month I drove my Premium down to Arizona to my friend who bought the car and used the Ford Navigation to route me to the 4 charging station stops I needed for the 10+ hour, 720 mile drive. All went very well and I don't see a need for the TeslaTap adapter so if this is something you think you can use, PM me your address and you can have it.

 

[silverelan]

Would you be willing to do a test and charge for 4 or 5 hours to see if it feels warm or hot? I have a feeling the UL rating is conservative, and charging for longer than 3 hours is unlikely to cause any issues. Of course TeslaTap would never recommend doing that because it would violate the UL rating, but it is very likely not that close to the limit where 48 Amps continuous will cause any issues. Just an opinion, but testing should confirm it.

I ordered this one also but I don't have a way to test it since I don't have a Tesla charger in my garage. I will have to test it at a destination charger that is able to supply 48 Amps. Not all do. If you can't test it, or are worried about it, I will try to do a test in the future and report back what I find. It will probably be a while before I can do that, however.

If i had a long trip coming up, i totally would it's just my everyday use case is < 5 miles. I charged yesterday for a 100 mile round trip to visit family for Thanksgiving, going from 80 -> 100 and again from 60 -> 80 upon return. I checked the handle both times at the end of the charge session and didn't notice any heat.

I'll keep monitoring my charging sessions if I have another chance to do a long drive and can do a deeper charge because I'm really curious if it gets hot, but so far, it hasn't been an issue.

 

[RedDragon]

This may be a noob question, but I'll ask bc I'm a noob?.... Is there a way Ford could update the onboard charger from 48ampd to something higher via OTA? Im wondering if there is value in getting the 80amp adapter in attempt to future proof. Thanks!

 

[RickMachE]

I guess I'm missing the necessity of buying an adapter for Tesla chargers. In my short experience of charging during my 5 months of ownership, and two trips of close to 5,000 miles, I've never had the need to use a Tesla charger. I've also never found any hotel charger that was anywhere near 48 amps. The best was 7.2kw.

If I'm planning a trip which requires multiple stops a day, and there isn't a high speed charger available, unless I just need a small bump to get to the next high speed charger or my destination that has a charger, I'm not taking the Mach-E. It's bad enough on a 600 mile drive stopping 4 or more times for 40 minutes each to charge, if I now have to sit for hours at a Tesla L2 charger, I should have taken the F-150.

I do look forward to seeing what Tesla opens up to non-Teslas, when they're providing the adapters, and at what cost the charging is. But I'm not going to spend money on an adapter at this point.

 

[dtbaker61]

This may be a noob question, but I'll ask bc I'm a noob?.... Is there a way Ford could update the onboard charger from 48ampd to something higher via OTA? Im wondering if there is value in getting the 80amp adapter in attempt to future proof. Thanks!

charge rate is HARDWARE limited, not software..... so no software update will increase that.

 

[mkhuffman]

I guess I'm missing the necessity of buying an adapter for Tesla chargers. In my short experience of charging during my 5 months of ownership, and two trips of close to 5,000 miles, I've never had the need to use a Tesla charger. I've also never found any hotel charger that was anywhere near 48 amps. The best was 7.2kw.

If I'm planning a trip which requires multiple stops a day, and there isn't a high speed charger available, unless I just need a small bump to get to the next high speed charger or my destination that has a charger, I'm not taking the Mach-E. It's bad enough on a 600 mile drive stopping 4 or more times for 40 minutes each to charge, if I now have to sit for hours at a Tesla L2 charger, I should have taken the F-150.

I do look forward to seeing what Tesla opens up to non-Teslas, when they're providing the adapters, and at what cost the charging is. But I'm not going to spend money on an adapter at this point.

My son is a Marine at Camp Lejuene, NC. The town of Jacksonville NC has five EV chargers. There is one plug in the entire town that is a 25 kWh CSS charger, but Plugshare reports issues with it and it is located at a car dealer so it might not be accessible after normal business hours. All of the other chargers in the town are L2.

The Hampton Inn hotel has free L2 charging for guests, so I stayed there when I went down to pick up my son last week. Luckily, there was one charger available when I arrived shortly before 10 PM, and my car was sufficiently charged for me to make it to the EV station 2 hours away when going home.

Before anyone checks Plugshare and tells me there are no Tesla destination chargers in Jacksonville either, I realize that. However, I ordered the TeslaTap because now I can also look for hotels that have Tesla destination chargers and not be restricted when traveling to other towns that might be like Jacksonville.

That is why I am interested in how the one I purchased handles long, overnight charges. I will test it myself eventually, and will let everyone know what I find and if it destroys my MME or not. ;-) (I don't think it will.)

 

[RickMachE]

I haven't found (but I'm sure there are) hotels that offer a Tesla charger and not a J1772 charger. I have seen hotels with both, and ones with just the J1772, but none with just a Tesla charger.

 

[kennethjk]

The reason I would go to 80 amp if I did purchase one is not for now but the future and other EVs that I or my wife might purchase. In two or three years we are probably going to see many changes and faster recharge is going to be one them and the 80 amp might be helpful.

 

[Maquis]

I haven't found (but I'm sure there are) hotels that offer a Tesla charger and not a J1772 charger. I have seen hotels with both, and ones with just the J1772, but none with just a Tesla charger.

That’s been my experience as well. I had one time where my hotel had one of each and the J1772 was occupied so I parked at the Tesla Destination charger and whipped out my TeslaTap only to find that the charger was nonfunctional. The front desk said “we’ve been waiting for Tesla to come fix it for two months.”
Fortunately, it was a hotel employee using the J1772 so she gladly moved her car so I could charge.
I was that close to actually being able to use my TeslaTap! ?

 

[RickMachE]

That’s been my experience as well. I had one time where my hotel had one of each and the J1772 was occupied so I parked at the Tesla Destination charger and whipped out my TeslaTap only to find that the charger was nonfunctional. The front desk said “we’ve been waiting for Tesla to come fix it for two months.”
Fortunately, it was a hotel employee using the J1772 so she gladly moved her car so I could charge.
I was that close to actually being able to use my TeslaTap! ?

 

[ChasingCoral]

This may be a noob question, but I'll ask bc I'm a noob?.... Is there a way Ford could update the onboard charger from 48ampd to something higher via OTA? Im wondering if there is value in getting the 80amp adapter in attempt to future proof. Thanks!

As mentioned, the 48A max is hardware limited. For the F-150 Lightning to use the 80A charger (comes with the Extended Range battery option) they built the truck with dual onboard chargers.

 

[Carsinmyblood]

In a fairly short time, free chargers are going to be so clogged that we'll not be able to count on using them - and shouldn't.

By then though, there will be more fast chargers available and overall range will improve in next gen cars so it won't matter.

 

[Mopey]

As mentioned, the 48A max is hardware limited. For the F-150 Lightning to use the 80A charger (comes with the Extended Range battery option) they built the truck with dual onboard chargers.

So, if one has a Lightning reservation and wants to maximize their charging options or speed, purchasing the 80A Tesla Tap might be the way to go, yes?

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