14-30P 24 amp -- is the Tesla Mobile Connector + Tesla Tap the best option?

[music_cities]

I've been staring at the NEMA 14-30 receptacle that my brother installed at his ski cabin for RV visitors. I have the Ford mobile charger, but it pulls 32amps, technically too much for that receptacle.

If there's a 40 amp breaker on that circuit, I could buy a $30 NEMA 14-30 to NEMA 14-50 adapter and try my Ford Mobile Charger. Might be a tiny bit dangerous as the receptacle isn't designed for 32 amps continuous, but the wire should be appropriately sized for 32 amp charging if there's a 40 amp breaker. I might be willing to risk it.

A better option would be a charger that pulls 24 amps. Cheapest I've found is the Vschnel for CAD$220. But it doesn't have a 14-30 plug, so over to Home Depot for a NEMA 14-30 plug to NEMA 6-20 receptacle which they want $86 (!) for. So, $300 or so all in.

Another option would be to buy the Grizzl-E Mini, which seems to come with 4 adapters: NEMA 5-15 (normal L1 charging), 14-30 (my brother's RV plug), TT-30 and 6-50, and the current is adjustable. And then I'd sell my Ford Mobile Charger. But, the Grizzl-E mini is not available right now, and it's $400 USD so would be about $550 if it were available in Canada. So, unless, I can get some cash selling the Ford Mobile Charger, I'm not ahead of the game, except that I can just carry one mobile charger around that's a lot more versatile than the Ford Mobile charger?

Or the Tesla Mobile Connector for $315, and then Tesla's NEMA-14 30 adapter for $60, and then a Tesla Tap adapter for about $115. I'd still be up at $500, but then I'd have the Tesla Tap which would be handy for Tesla Destination Chargers. And, I could buy other adapters too, like the NEMA 10-30 sometimes found at campgrounds. The charge rate is controlled by what adapter you plug in, so no need for an app, phone, or wifi to set the charging rate. But, that also means I can't dial down the charging rate arbitrarily to suit my preference.

What do you think?

Are there any other mobile chargers for sale that I should consider, maybe similar to the Grizzl-E mini, but that are actually available?

I don't want to spend a bunch of money just for my brother's ski cabin, since there's a Tesla supercharger and some CCS DCFCs reasonably close. But, I'd like to have more flexibility in current and plugs than I have with the Ford Mobile Charger. It seems the Tesla Mobile Connector + Tesla Tap might be the most flexible. If I can sell my Ford Mobile Charger for a reasonable price, should I just go for the Tesla option?

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[kdonnel]

https://splitvolt.com/products/cgb-nema-14-30-24-amp

Clipper Creek used to have 24 amp chargers with a 14-30. Not sure if they still do.

 

[SWO]

I've been staring at the NEMA 14-30 receptacle that my brother installed at his ski cabin for RV visitors. I have the Ford mobile charger, but it pulls 32amps, technically too much for that receptacle.

If there's a 40 amp breaker on that circuit, I could buy a $30 NEMA 14-30 to NEMA 14-50 adapter and try my Ford Mobile Charger. Might be a tiny bit dangerous as the receptacle isn't designed for 32 amps continuous, but the wire should be appropriately sized for 32 amp charging if there's a 40 amp breaker. I might be willing to risk it.

A better option would be a charger that pulls 24 amps. Cheapest I've found is the Vschnel for CAD$220. But it doesn't have a 14-30 plug, so over to Home Depot for a NEMA 14-30 plug to NEMA 6-20 receptacle which they want $86 (!) for. So, $300 or so all in.

Another option would be to buy the Grizzl-E Mini, which seems to come with 4 adapters: NEMA 5-15 (normal L1 charging), 14-30 (my brother's RV plug), TT-30 and 6-50, and the current is adjustable. And then I'd sell my Ford Mobile Charger. But, the Grizzl-E mini is not available right now, and it's $400 USD so would be about $550 if it were available in Canada. So, unless, I can get some cash selling the Ford Mobile Charger, I'm not ahead of the game, except that I can just carry one mobile charger around that's a lot more versatile than the Ford Mobile charger?

Or the Tesla Mobile Connector for $315, and then Tesla's NEMA-14 30 adapter for $60, and then a Tesla Tap adapter for about $115. I'd still be up at $500, but then I'd have the Tesla Tap which would be handy for Tesla Destination Chargers. And, I could buy other adapters too, like the NEMA 10-30 sometimes found at campgrounds. The charge rate is controlled by what adapter you plug in, so no need for an app, phone, or wifi to set the charging rate. But, that also means I can't dial down the charging rate arbitrarily to suit my preference.

What do you think?

Are there any other mobile chargers for sale that I should consider, maybe similar to the Grizzl-E mini, but that are actually available?

I don't want to spend a bunch of money just for my brother's ski cabin, since there's a Tesla supercharger and some CCS DCFCs reasonably close. But, I'd like to have more flexibility in current and plugs than I have with the Ford Mobile Charger. It seems the Tesla Mobile Connector + Tesla Tap might be the most flexible. If I can sell my Ford Mobile Charger for a reasonable price, should I just go for the Tesla option?

I emailed Webasto (maker of the Ford mobile charger...also the charger for Cadillac/GM). The rep who responded to me said additional grid plugs were coming out "around July [2023]".

If that happened, it would obviously be the best solution. Alternatively, GM sells the grid plugs for their version of the charger, which you can find on ebay for under $300.

 

[music_cities]

Looks like the Pion Power Flex AC charger has an app to be able to set the current down to 24Amps. I'd still have to buy the plug adapter.

 

[music_cities]

And the Ford Mobile Chargers are selling on eBay for $300 or more, so if I sold
mine and a witched to Grizzl-E, Tesla, or Pion I wouldn’t be too far out on money.

 

[shelnian]

Are you sure it's a 240VAC 14-30 and not a 120VAC TT-30?

 

[music_cities]

Are you sure it's a 240VAC 14-30 and not a 120VAC TT-30?

Pretty sure. For some reason I didn’t take a photo. And my brother doesn’t keep a multimeter at his cabin. And I didn’t look at his panel either.

Next ski trip I’ll bring my multimeter, and a $30 adapter that I can return if I don’t use it, in case it’s wired on a 40 amp breaker.

 

[music_cities]

There’s a Vevor 16 amp charger for C$162 that has a 6-20 plug. $35 for a NEMA 14-30 to 6-20 adapter and I’d be charging at 3.8kW for about $200. That’s probably the cheapest way to go.

 

[bshaw]

Check the gage wire that is installed for that circuit. If the wire can support a 40A breaker, then you could swap the breaker and do your Ford-mobile-charger-with-adapter idea.
Its unlikely they oversized the wire though, and you should check with an electrician as to what gage would be required for a 40A breaker to be swapped in your brothers location.

 

[shelnian]

Pretty sure. For some reason I didn’t take a photo. And my brother doesn’t keep a multimeter at his cabin. And I didn’t look at his panel either.

Next ski trip I’ll bring my multimeter, and a $30 adapter that I can return if I don’t use it, in case it’s wired on a 40 amp breaker.

My guess is that it's a 120VAC TT-30 so something like this adapter will let you plug in the Ford EVSE. Will only charge at about 3 miles per hour. https://www.amazon.com/Adapter-L5-30P-TT-30P-Splitter-Journeyman/dp/B09CRQQN4D

 

[Hammered]

Keep in mind that if you use the 120v head on the ford adapter and feed it 240v, it puts out 2.88kW instead of the 1.32kW when fed by 120v. (Verify that he did install a 240v circuit and not a 30a 120v)

To make this work simply cut the head off a small / cheap extension cord and wire it up to one of these so the 120v charging head can plug into it and receive 240v.
https://www.amazon.com/ELEGRP-L14-30P-Generator-Grounding-Industrial/dp/B08CXQSYBD/

 

[mccdeuce]

@music_cities I sold my Ford mobile and purchased a Grizzl-E mini for my needs. I thought about doing the Tesla route with teslatap for the same money but decided i didn’t want the adapter as this was going to be my every day EVSE as well. The Grizzl-E can pull 40amps and the Tesla cannot. I also really like the connected features that allow me to track electricity usage especially while I am on the road and at guest houses where I report my usage to reimburse.

 

[music_cities]

@music_cities I sold my Ford mobile and purchased a Grizzl-E mini for my needs. I thought about doing the Tesla route with teslatap for the same money but decided i didn’t want the adapter as this was going to be my every day EVSE as well. The Grizzl-E can pull 40amps and the Tesla cannot. I also really like the connected features that allow me to track electricity usage especially while I am on the road and at guest houses where I report my usage to reimburse.

Perfect. That sounds like what I should do too. I just have to wait for the Grizzl-E mini to come back in stock, and hopefully they'll sell it to Canada too, since it's made in Canada.

 

[kdonnel]

Keep in mind that if you use the 120v head on the ford adapter and feed it 240v, it puts out 2.88kW instead of the 1.32kW when fed by 120v. (Verify that he did install a 240v circuit and not a 30a 120v)

For the past two years I have been bringing my Chevy Bolt EVSE when I wanted to plug into my brother in laws dryer outlet......

I could have just used the Ford one the same way, I didn't realize it worked the same way.

I cut the plug off a 50 foot 12 gauge extension cord and put on a 14-50/14-30 plug. I left the neutral off so it will plug into either receptacle.

 

[music_cities]

Keep in mind that if you use the 120v head on the ford adapter and feed it 240v, it puts out 2.88kW instead of the 1.32kW when fed by 120v. (Verify that he did install a 240v circuit and not a 30a 120v)

To make this work simply cut the head off a small / cheap extension cord and wire it up to one of these so the 120v charging head can plug into it and receive 240v.
https://www.amazon.com/ELEGRP-L14-30P-Generator-Grounding-Industrial/dp/B08CXQSYBD/

This seems like the smartest move for my brother's house specifically, especially considering there's a Tesla supercharger very close that I will soon be able to use.

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