Getting the right Tesla to J1722 adapter for trips

[generaltso]

Yeah, the MME can do 10.5kW (48A x 220v) which is sort of unusual since most 48A onboard chargers can do the full 240v for 11.5kW.

It can actually go higher if your house voltage is more than 220V (most are closer to 240V). Mine charges at about 11.2kW. I think they just listed 10.5kW in the specs so people wouldn't complain if their voltage was lower.

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[ARK]

To respond to something OP put in his edited post/answer, the Mach-E can accept 48 amps not 50 amps. This matters because electrical code requires a maximum use load that is 80% of what the circuit is capable of. The 60 amp version of these adapters is important because 80% of 60 is 48.

I believe it is TeslaTap that says you are fine ignoring this rule for a few hours, i.e. that you can charge at 48 amps with a 50 amp TeslaTap for a few hours and should be OK per the company. But I do not think this is wise to do overnight, unattended.

You are dealing with a lot of power in charging an electric vehicle with a lot of expensive stuff involved. My two cents is this is not a corner to cut. You don’t want to start a fire or wreck the Mach-E or destination charger involved.

What I am unsure is whether the 80 amp TeslaTap does anything for you above and beyond the 60 amp version for a vehicle like the Mach-E, which is limited to 48 amps by the onboard charger.

Like if the destination charger is capable of charging at 64 amps, will only up to 48 amps flow through the charging cable and the TeslaTap because the destination charger has been told by the car to send only 48 amps, or does 64 amps (using this example) go through the cable and the TeslaTap before hitting the onboard charger where it gets limited to 48 amps before hitting the battery? I think the EVSE, i.e. the destination charger limits what it sends (because then couldn’t you fry your charging port before reaching the onboard charger inside the Mach-E if too much power was coming in?), but I’m not 100% sure on this.

 

[dtbaker61]

Check Plug Share. See if anyone driving a J-1772 car has charged there.

I am total newbie on route planning with an EV.... My self converted BEVs had such short range it was never an option.

I'd love to collect and pool tips and techniques from the more experienced long trippers on associated route planning and equipment. So far is sounds like TeslaTap 60amp product is highly recommended hardware.

now.... what do people prefer to research to try and find stations and plan stops before a trip, or find closest charge station while en route if you find yourself at 50% and not sure where the next station is?

I tried using on-board Nav, and I'm not so sure it was finding 'all'
I tried using maps.google.com on phone and dug around to turn on the EV charge layer
...wondering what other people have found most complete and most reliable info?

 

[dtbaker61]

...
I believe it is TeslaTap that says you are fine ignoring this rule for a few hours, i.e. that you can charge at 48 amps with a 50 amp TeslaTap for a few hours and should be OK per the company. But I do not think this is wise to do overnight, unattended.
...

in theory, I would only be using a TeslaTap at a roadside Tesla charge station while on a trip.... so, outside, and only for a couple hours to grab a charge before moving on. But, I totally agree that it sounds like the 60amp model is a much safer general solution, and well worth a couple extra bucks.

 

[generaltso]

Like if the destination charger is capable of charging at 64 amps, will only up to 48 amps flow through the charging cable and the TeslaTap because the destination charger has been told by the car to send only 48 amps, or does 64 amps (using this example) go through the cable and the TeslaTap before hitting the onboard charger where it gets limited to 48 amps before hitting the battery?

That's not how electricity works. The car will only draw what it can. I higher current can't flow through the cable and then stop at the car. A 60A TeslaTap should be plenty for continued use. A 50A could be used for occasional short charging sessions, but if you're buying a new one anyway, it's safer to go with 60A. Moving up to 80A won't do anything for the MME.

 

[ChasingCoral]

If I were buying the Tesla Tap again, I'd go with the mini. Here is the size comparison:

For pre-planning road trips, the best bets are the FordPass app or A Better Route Planner.

FordPass is great if you only have one destination. Otherwise, you have to break the trip up into legs.

A Better Route Planner is really better at route planning but doesn't do as well at estimating range, so it will give you more stops than you actually need. You can fix that by monkeying with the efficiency and weight.

I like to use ABRP for a first pass and to identify charging options on a map. Then I use the native Ford navigation when on the road. There are threads devoted to folks' experience with ABRP to read.

For the best information on individual charging stops, nothing beats PlugShare. It will provide recent reviews and check-in reports. Don't forget to check in when you charge so others will know if the station really worked (at least for them). The Ford navigation will also tell you if stations/chargers are live in realtime but only if they are networked.

Lastly, I'll use Google Maps to see what is around the station, especially if I am planning a food stop.

 

[ChasingCoral]

in theory, I would only be using a TeslaTap at a roadside Tesla charge station while on a trip.... so, outside, and only for a couple hours to grab a charge before moving on. But, I totally agree that it sounds like the 60amp model is a much safer general solution, and well worth a couple extra bucks.

A couple of hours on an L2 isn't going to add much range. You mostly use DCFC on road trips. L2s on road trips are best saved for overnight at hotels or parking garages. You won't be monitoring it and it may be inside a parking structure.

 

[silverelan]

What would be helpful is if Ford let MME owners adjust the amperage on the OBC. Tesla does this.

 

[dtbaker61]

A couple of hours on an L2 isn't going to add much range. You mostly use DCFC on road trips. L2s on road trips are best saved for overnight at hotels or parking garages. You won't be monitoring it and it may be inside a parking structure.

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

 

[ARK]

That's not how electricity works. The car will only draw what it can. I higher current can't flow through the cable and then stop at the car. A 60A TeslaTap should be plenty for continued use. A 50A could be used for occasional short charging sessions, but if you're buying a new one anyway, it's safer to go with 60A. Moving up to 80A won't do anything for the MME.

Are you certain? It’s mostly no longer an issue with most modern electronics, but in the past, if you took an American gadget to Europe and plugged in with a cheap adapter that did not include a built-in converter, you’d fry your gadget because it would draw far too much power.

I would think the EVSE, i.e. the destination charger, is the thing that limits the amount of power going into the Mach-E, but on the other hand, until joining this forum, I didn’t realize the EVSE is not the charger, that technically, electric vehicles all have an onboard charger inside the car, so the charger and power supply equipment are not the same thing when it comes to electric vehicles.

So while I think the ultimate conclusion is correct that the 60amp is all that’s needed here because the EVSE is probably what’s limiting it, I’m not so sure that saying a device “will only draw what it can” is quite accurate, or at least I’d appreciate more background if you or someone else happens to know the nitty-gritty.

 

[ChasingCoral]

Are you certain? It’s mostly no longer an issue with most modern electronics, but in the past, if you took an American gadget to Europe and plugged in with a cheap adapter that did not include a built-in converter, you’d fry your gadget because it would draw far too much power.

I would think the EVSE, i.e. the destination charger, is the thing that limits the amount of power going into the Mach-E, but on the other hand, until joining this forum, I didn’t realize the EVSE is not the charger, that technically, electric vehicles all have an onboard charger inside the car, so the charger and power supply equipment are not the same thing when it comes to electric vehicles.

So while I think the ultimate conclusion is correct that the 60amp is all that’s needed here because the EVSE is probably what’s limiting it, I’m not so sure that saying a device “will only draw what it can” is quite accurate, or at least I’d appreciate more background if you or someone else happens to know the nitty-gritty.

Charge rate is limited by both the onboard charger in the car and the EVSE. The Mach E is capable of charging at about 48A.

If you plug it into an 80A EVSE it will still only charge at around 48A because that is limited by the onboard charger.

Similarly, if you plug it into a 24A EVSE it will only charge at 24A because that is the capacity of the EVSE.

This is why you don't use an adapter to plug your Ford Mobile Charger (a 32A charger) into a 30A circuit. The car will take up to 48A. The charger will run at 32A. That circuit is only capable of delivering 30A without tripping a breaker (hopefully) or overheating the wiring, potentially starting a fire.

The same problem comes up if you put a 40A Lectron or TeslaTap between a 60/80A Tesla Destination Charger and a Mach E that charges at 48A. The EVSE and Mach E will identify 48A as the propter charging rate and you will have 48A running through a 40A-rated adapter. You risk overheating, damage, and fire.

 

[generaltso]

Are you certain? It’s mostly no longer an issue with most modern electronics, but in the past, if you took an American gadget to Europe and plugged in with a cheap adapter that did not include a built-in converter, you’d fry your gadget because it would draw far too much power.

That's because the voltage in Europe is higher than the device could handle, not because it drew too much current.

So while I think the ultimate conclusion is correct that the 60amp is all that’s needed here because the EVSE is probably what’s limiting it, I’m not so sure that saying a device “will only draw what it can” is quite accurate, or at least I’d appreciate more background if you or someone else happens to know the nitty-gritty.

Electrical current is not "pushed" to a device (or car). The device "pulls" it. That's why it's perfectly safe to plug a 2A phone charger into an electrical outlet with a 15A breaker. Your house isn't going to "push" 15A to the phone charger. The phone charger will "pull" 2A from the circuit (which can supply up to 15A).

The charger built into the MME is only capable of pulling 48A, regardless of whether it's plugged into an EVSE that can deliver more than that.

 

[Maquis]

To respond to something OP put in his edited post/answer, the Mach-E can accept 48 amps not 50 amps. This matters because electrical code requires a maximum use load that is 80% of what the circuit is capable of. The 60 amp version of these adapters is important because 80% of 60 is 48.

….


Like if the destination charger is capable of charging at 64 amps, will only up to 48 amps flow through the charging cable and the TeslaTap because the destination charger has been told by the car to send only 48 amps, or does 64 amps (using this example) go through the cable and the TeslaTap before hitting the onboard charger where it gets limited to 48 amps before hitting the battery? I think the EVSE, i.e. the destination charger limits what it sends (because then couldn’t you fry your charging port before reaching the onboard charger inside the Mach-E if too much power was coming in?), but I’m not 100% sure on this.

A couple of clarifications:
The NEC requires the 80% derating for continuous loads which is defined as 3 hours or longer. ”Maximum use load” is not a defined term.

In a series circuit (which a battery charger is), the current is equal everywhere in the circuit - it cannot magically change when it hits some device.

 

[mkhuffman]

Yeah, the MME can do 10.5kW (48A x 220v) which is sort of unusual since most 48A onboard chargers can do the full 240v for 11.5kW.

I should probably dial my dip switch on my Tesla HPWC down to 40A from 48A but so far it hasn't been necessary for my 50A TeslaTap.

Have you noticed the TeslaTap feeling warm or hot after a long charge?

 

[silverelan]

Have you noticed the TeslaTap feeling warm or hot after a long charge?

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

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