dtbaker61
Well-Known Member
- First Name
- Dan
- Joined
- May 11, 2020
- Threads
- 104
- Messages
- 3,972
- Reaction score
- 3,645
- Location
- santa fe,nm
- Website
- www.envirokarma.org
- Vehicles
- MME (delivered 2/26/21), DIY eMiata BEV
- Occupation
- Solar Sales/install
- Thread starter
- #1
WHY YOU MIGHT WANT AN ADAPTOR:
I recently went on a long out-and-back day trip, and really wanted to grab a charge over lunchtime as I was about 45 miles from home and my guess was I'd be pretty much empty... Unfortunately there were NO J1722 chargers within 50 miles, but there were some Tesla chargers just off the Highway on the way home. I couldn't get a charge there because I did not have an adaptor. I arrived home with only 2% left in the batts, which was much closer shave than I wanted.
Got me thinking that if I want to be prepared for road-trips that might not have non-Tesla stations, I'd be well advised to get a Tesla-to-J1772 adaptor and keep it in the car.
Turns out that there is no adaptor available for the Tesla Supercharger dcdc to our dcdc fast charge ports yet.... only the level 2 Tesla 'Destination' charger to J1722. These 'Destination' chargers are sometimes available at roadside Hotels/motels and other locations that may not have installed CSS yet.
I also found at least two popular brands are Lectron and TeslaTap.... Tesla->1722 adaptors available in 40, 50, 60, and 80amp. Our MME on board charge can only swallow up to 48amps, so the 50 or 60 amp adaptors are a good fit. I spoke to the Owner/developer of the TeslaTap for a while, and want to reiterate that while the 50amp version will work for the Mach-e, it should not be used for more than a couple hours since it will heat up a bit. The 60amp 'Mini' is highly recommended as best fit for the Mach-e.
I've done a little more reading, and tried to gather some of the more important info in one place here in the top Post to save Members some time:
1. can our MME take advantage of the 50amp + versions? There seems to be a pretty hefty price difference moving up to 80amp versions, so I'd want to be sure the MME can accept it.
ANSWER: MME can accept up to 48 amps at 240vAC as best I can tell, so it's advisable to get at least 50amp rated adaptor, and better to go for 60a rated units as they will have heavier duty wiring, and not get hot after a couple hours use.... no real reason to pay extra for 80amp since the MME can only swallow 48amps.
2. any strong reviews/recommendations to go with Lectron vs TeslaTap? or some other brand at better price ?
ANSWER: Unofficial poll from replies are that the TeslaTap design/quality seems to be preferred over Lectron or chinese knock-offs.
3. any advise on what you need to do to set up an appropriate account to USE the Tesla destination charger stations if you don't have a Tesla? Or do you just swipe a credit card, or what?
ANSWERs:
The Tesla Superchargers (fast dcdc) are NOT an Option for non-Tesla at this point, but MAY become available with special adaptor at some point in the future.
The Tesla 'Destination' chargers versions 1,2 do not restrict use, and are likely to be 'free' once you have an adaptor. The newest v.3 ones may be networked and restricted/billed to Tesla owners only.
4. what online trip planners are people using when researching a route, or looking for nearest charge while en route?
Answer(s): @ChasingCoral posted a very nice summary which I have plagerized heavily and we can use as a basis for discussion.... and edit as we go
----------------------- trip planning, and finding chargers --------------
I recently went on a long out-and-back day trip, and really wanted to grab a charge over lunchtime as I was about 45 miles from home and my guess was I'd be pretty much empty... Unfortunately there were NO J1722 chargers within 50 miles, but there were some Tesla chargers just off the Highway on the way home. I couldn't get a charge there because I did not have an adaptor. I arrived home with only 2% left in the batts, which was much closer shave than I wanted.
Got me thinking that if I want to be prepared for road-trips that might not have non-Tesla stations, I'd be well advised to get a Tesla-to-J1772 adaptor and keep it in the car.
Turns out that there is no adaptor available for the Tesla Supercharger dcdc to our dcdc fast charge ports yet.... only the level 2 Tesla 'Destination' charger to J1722. These 'Destination' chargers are sometimes available at roadside Hotels/motels and other locations that may not have installed CSS yet.
I also found at least two popular brands are Lectron and TeslaTap.... Tesla->1722 adaptors available in 40, 50, 60, and 80amp. Our MME on board charge can only swallow up to 48amps, so the 50 or 60 amp adaptors are a good fit. I spoke to the Owner/developer of the TeslaTap for a while, and want to reiterate that while the 50amp version will work for the Mach-e, it should not be used for more than a couple hours since it will heat up a bit. The 60amp 'Mini' is highly recommended as best fit for the Mach-e.
I've done a little more reading, and tried to gather some of the more important info in one place here in the top Post to save Members some time:
1. can our MME take advantage of the 50amp + versions? There seems to be a pretty hefty price difference moving up to 80amp versions, so I'd want to be sure the MME can accept it.
ANSWER: MME can accept up to 48 amps at 240vAC as best I can tell, so it's advisable to get at least 50amp rated adaptor, and better to go for 60a rated units as they will have heavier duty wiring, and not get hot after a couple hours use.... no real reason to pay extra for 80amp since the MME can only swallow 48amps.
50amp TeslaTap $170 + tax/shipping from mfg - http://www.umc-j1772.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=17&product_id=99
*** recommended for MME *** 60amp TeslaTap-Mini $260+tax/shipping from mfg - http://www.umc-j1772.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=17&product_id=146
2. any strong reviews/recommendations to go with Lectron vs TeslaTap? or some other brand at better price ?
ANSWER: Unofficial poll from replies are that the TeslaTap design/quality seems to be preferred over Lectron or chinese knock-offs.
3. any advise on what you need to do to set up an appropriate account to USE the Tesla destination charger stations if you don't have a Tesla? Or do you just swipe a credit card, or what?
ANSWERs:
The Tesla Superchargers (fast dcdc) are NOT an Option for non-Tesla at this point, but MAY become available with special adaptor at some point in the future.
The Tesla 'Destination' chargers versions 1,2 do not restrict use, and are likely to be 'free' once you have an adaptor. The newest v.3 ones may be networked and restricted/billed to Tesla owners only.
4. what online trip planners are people using when researching a route, or looking for nearest charge while en route?
Answer(s): @ChasingCoral posted a very nice summary which I have plagerized heavily and we can use as a basis for discussion.... and edit as we go
----------------------- trip planning, and finding chargers --------------
For pre-planning road trips, the best bets are :
FordPass app - FordPass is great if you only have one destination. Otherwise, you have to break the trip up into legs.
ABetterRoutePlanner.com - is good at route planning, but doesn't do as well at estimating range, so it may give you more stops than you actually need. You can fix that by monkeying with the efficiency and weight.
Plugshare.com - has details and current status of stations as people stopping to charge update with the reviews and experience. The trip planner has a pretty easy way to set your desired charge stop distance, which can be modified to 'look' xx miles off the shortest route. Super handy when routing thru rural areas where a small detour to a bigger town may allow a fast charge midway rather than a slow charge directly on your shortest route.
Maps.Goole.com - you have to dig around to turn on the filters to show 'charging station' and/or 'Tesla Destination' ... but it works to find stations nearby if you are en route and looking for a charge and want to see other info like resturants, etc.
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