Mobile EVSE that can charge at 120v 24A?

[DaMeatMan]

I have a 3500w portable generator with a 30A NEMA L5-30 outlet and was wondering if anyone knows of an EVSE that can charge at 120v at a rate of 24A?

I know that the EVSE is not actually a "charger" and that some communication takes place with the vehicles onboard charger to establish an appropriate charge rate, but with that said the mobile EVSE that comes with the Mach-E essentially runs in one of two modes (that I know of) 120v @ a max of 12A or 240 at a max of 32A I believe.

Given that my generator is only 110v that essentially means I cannot leverage the additional amperage available on the 30A L5-30 outlet, even if I use a NEMA 5-15 to L5-30 adapter since the EVSE essentially has no way of knowing it's connected to anything other than a 120v 15a circuit and will still limit the charge rate at 12A max.

While searching Google I came across an adapter for the Tesla Gen 2 mobile charger which contains a chip in the L5-30 plug that communicates with the vehicle to automatically negotiate a 120v 24A charge rate without having to define it in the vehicle ahead of time.

Does such a thing exist for J1772 mobile chargers like the Ford mobile charger?

If I were to use a Tesla mobile charger with a Tesla tap mini adapter, would a non-tesla vehicle still be able to negotiate the same 120v 24A charge rate? In other words is the protocol used by Tesla for AC charging compatible with J1772 vehicles such that using the same EVSE with the same L5-30 adapter results in the same 120v 24A charge rate?

Here is a link to the L5-30 adapter for the Tesla mobile EVSE:
https://www.evseadapters.com/products/l5-30-120v-adapter-for-tesla-model-s-x-3-gen-2/

To my knowledge no such similar adapter exists for the Ford mobile EVSE, however if I'm wrong please feel free to share.

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[Jay_in_Austin]

If you use the 240V, 32A, plug on the EVSE that comes with the MME, the car will try to charge at 32A even if the voltage is only 120V. That doesn't help you since 32A would overload your 3500W generator.

I don't know how the EVSE knows which plug is attached. The extra pin is for a temperature sensor and that is the same on both plugs.

If I can get the time, I'll do some experimenting with the EVSE to see if there is a way to reduce the 32A current without internal modification.

It's definitely possible to cut into the signal line between the EVSE and the car and change the maximum current value sent to the car. I have done that but don't know of anything off-the-shelf for that function.

 

[21st Century Pony]

There was a very cool EVSE modifier back in the 2009 - 2012 time frame on Toyota Prius plug-in blogs and on Nissan Leaf blogs who produced such a thing, or nearly such a thing... I still have mine.

On Toyota Prius blogs his moniker was PEef and on Nissan Leaf blogs his nickname was Enginer or something similar.

His product was called EVSEUpgrade. He took a Panasonic 120V EVSE made for Nissan and internally modified it... he released at least two versions, sequentially. The last version could auto-sense and auto-switch between 120V and 240V and you could set the max amp rate between, like, 1 amp and 20 amps, one amp at a time. He could also modify slightly less capable Toyota Prius 120V EVSE.

I still have his latest Panasonic EVSE, as modified, and still use it as a spare for trips and also to charge at home separately, like during the day on a weekend etc., from my dedicated TOU Grizzl-E EVSE which is hardwired to get a super-low kW rate in the middle of the night.

Back then the OEM-provided EVSEs for plug-in hybrids only operated on 120V, so Enginer was onto something... by about 2015 he had faded away.

Look for "EVSEUpgrade" and I'm sure you can still find an occasional one for sale.

Hope this is useful info.

 

[AZBill]

If you use the 240V, 32A, plug on the EVSE that comes with the MME, the car will try to charge at 32A even if the voltage is only 120V. That doesn't help you since 32A would overload your 3500W generator.

I don't know how the EVSE knows which plug is attached. The extra pin is for a temperature sensor and that is the same on both plugs.

If I can get the time, I'll do some experimenting with the EVSE to see if there is a way to reduce the 32A current without internal modification.

It's definitely possible to cut into the signal line between the EVSE and the car and change the maximum current value sent to the car. I have done that but don't know of anything off-the-shelf for that function.

Not true, the car measures the input voltage and limits to 12A. The EVSE is simply a switch,but it will also send the max allowed current to the car. But in the end the lower limits defined by the car take priority.

The Ford supplied charger also knows the input voltage, it does not depend on the connector type.

 

[devmach-e]

Nobody makes a 24A 120V EVSE. 30A 120V circuits are rare. The most common 120V circuit is 15A or 20A. Most OEM 120V EVSEs are limited to 12A, and the cars are usually configured to do a maximum of 12A on 120V.

 

[Ride_the_lightning]

Why, might I ask, are you charging your car using a gas generator? Emergencies?

 

[DaMeatMan]

Nobody makes a 24A 120V EVSE. 30A 120V circuits are rare. The most common 120V circuit is 15A or 20A. Most OEM 120V EVSEs are limited to 12A, and the cars are usually configured to do a maximum of 12A on 120V.

During my search I found that to be the case as well, however given that Tesla makes a NEMA L5-30 adapter plug for their mobile EVSE, and specifically mention that it allows the vehicle to charge at 24A on 120v, then it clearly is possible, albeit rare.

If I knew that the Tesla EVSE would work at the same charge rate on a non-tesla vehicle, I would actually purchase the Tesla mobile charger and pair it up with my existing Tesla Tap mini specifically to be used with my portable generator. I love the outdoors and sometimes find myself on long trips in the middle of nowhere where charging infrastructure is extremely scarce. So having the ability to charge at 2.8Kw instead of 1.4kw would allow me to charge in half the time, while only carrying around an extra 50 pounds in the trunk to do so.

 

[DaMeatMan]

Why, might I ask, are you charging your car using a gas generator? Emergencies?

See my post above in response to Devmach-e. But yes weather induced power outages would be another use case.

 

[Jay_in_Austin]

Not true, the car measures the input voltage and limits to 12A. The EVSE is simply a switch,but it will also send the max allowed current to the car. But in the end the lower limits defined by the car take priority.

The Ford supplied charger also knows the input voltage, it does not depend on the connector type.

Have you tested the Ford EVSE? I did testing at 120VAC and 240VAC. The pulse width that sets the maximum current changed with the plug but did not change for the two different voltages. My testing showed that applying 240VAC to the 120V plug resulted in charging at 12 Amps.

 

[devmach-e]

Have you tested the Ford EVSE? I did testing at 120VAC and 240VAC. The pulse width that sets the maximum current changed with the plug but did not change for the two different voltages. My testing showed that applying 240VAC to the 120V plug resulted in charging at 12 Amps.

I suspect that your EVSE is defective, or the 240V pigtail was not inserted completely, and the EVSE still thought it was running on 120V (One hot leg not connected).

 

[Jay_in_Austin]

I suspect that your EVSE is defective, or the 240V pigtail was not inserted completely, and the EVSE still thought it was running on 120V (One hot leg not connected).

No. My EVSE is working correctly and the plugs were fully inserted. I checked both plugs at 120VAC and 240VAC input voltage. The control pulse duty cycle stayed at the 12 amp limit for both voltages with the 120V plug and at the 32 amp limit for the 240V plug.

That's not what I expected since I assumed the current limit was set by the input voltage. The EVSE has some way of knowing which plug is inserted and uses that information to set the current limit. I'll do some more investigation on the means used to tell which plug is connected.

If you have actually checked your EVSE at different voltages, tell me your results.

 

[devmach-e]

No. My EVSE is working correctly and the plugs were fully inserted. I checked both plugs at 120VAC and 240VAC input voltage. The control pulse duty cycle stayed at the 12 amp limit for both voltages with the 120V plug and at the 32 amp limit for the 240V plug.

That's not what I expected since I assumed the current limit was set by the input voltage. The EVSE has some way of knowing which plug is inserted and uses that information to set the current limit. I'll do some more investigation on the means used to tell which plug is connected.

If you have actually checked your EVSE at different voltages, tell me your results.

How were you able to supply 240V using the 120V pigtail? There’s only 1 hot, a neutral and ground available with that pigtail. To get 240V, both hot legs need to be connected.

 

[SWO]

It's expensive, but the "J+ Booster 2" EVSE is adjustable current and has an optional TT-30 (120V) pigtail. L5-30 to TT-30 adapters seem common.

Like I said, expensive......

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B4PGMHK...&colid=V5OYTRAO8WHI&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it&th=1

 

[Ride_the_lightning]

How were you able to supply 240V using the 120V pigtail? There’s only 1 hot, a neutral and ground available with that pigtail. To get 240V, both hot legs need to be connected.

You just wire 240V to the 120V plug (or to a 120V outlet). Not something you would ever do permanently but fine for a test.

 

[hawkeye3point1]

Have you tested the Ford EVSE? I did testing at 120VAC and 240VAC. The pulse width that sets the maximum current changed with the plug but did not change for the two different voltages. My testing showed that applying 240VAC to the 120V plug resulted in charging at 12 Amps.

QFT. As a former Chevy Volt owner I can confirm that most L1 EVSEs can pass 240V at the rated current. Feeding the OEM L1 EVSE 240V to double charge rate was a popular hack, the car just senses voltage, so does not care.

The car uses the Pilot Line pulse duty cycle to vary EVSE current limiting from max. to 0A as the HVB nears full charge.

And, YES, residential wiring, outlets, etc. are all UL rated to 250V. Smart people that did this, found a way to ensure that no 120v appliances could be plugged into the hacked outlet, FYI.

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