Tesla Mobile Charger With Lectron Adapter

[Blainestang]

So as i continue reading im not sure this set up will work the way i want. Tesla's regulate the incoming charge to prevent pulling more than the connection can take. Fords do not so not being able to control the amps might not work out as i planned.

Can you explain a specific example of this potential problem? I'm planning the same combination of equipment, so I'm wondering if there's something I wasn't considering.

Is the concern that you'd plug into the Tesla Mobile Charger with the 14-30 and that the Lightning would still try to pull 48A? If so, I think GarageMahal is right that the Tesla MC will limit its output to 30A.

Or are you concerned with a different issue? Just want to make sure I'm not missing something with my plan haha.

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[lancersrock]

Can you explain a specific example of this potential problem? I'm planning the same combination of equipment, so I'm wondering if there's something I wasn't considering.

Is the concern that you'd plug into the Tesla Mobile Charger with the 14-30 and that the Lightning would still try to pull 48A? If so, I think GarageMahal is right that the Tesla MC will limit its output to 30A.

Or are you concerned with a different issue? Just want to make sure I'm not missing something with my plan haha.

Nope you are correct. my original reading made me think the charger was controlled by the car, it appears it’s just a little more automatic than I originally thought.

 

[GarageMahal]

Nope you are correct. my original reading made me think the charger was controlled by the car, it appears it’s just a little more automatic than I originally thought.

If anything, my concern is the Tesla charger is too automatic. I can imagine situations where I want to charge at lower than than max available amps (e.g. 24 amps on a 30 amp plug) and I am not sure that is possible with this charger.

 

[Blainestang]

Nope you are correct. my original reading made me think the charger was controlled by the car, it appears it’s just a little more automatic than I originally thought.

Sounds good. I'm going this direction, so just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something. My next thing to decide is Lectron vs TeslaTap for the adapter. Some pros and cons for each.

TeslaTap:
+Higher Amp ratings available (future proofing)
+Made in US
-Ugly/large form factor
-Price (for higher amp ratings)

TeslaTap Mini:
+Small form factor
+Higher amp ratings available
-Price
-Potential water intrusion issues (I've read this elsewhere, I think ID.4 forums)

Lectron:
+Nice form factor (imo)
+Better water intrusion protection given that it's a copy of the J1772 (presumably)
-Limited Amperage
-Not made in US


Tough decision. I don't mind paying more for the TeslaTap Mini for the small form factor and higher amperage, but the water intrusion issues make me nervous because the only times I'd be using it, the truck would be outside (hotel, camping, etc.).

 

[Blainestang]

If anything, my concern is the Tesla charger is too automatic. I can imagine situations where I want to charge at lower than than max available amps (e.g. 24 amps on a 30 amp plug) and I am not sure that is possible with this charger.

Yeah, the time where you'd want to charge at 24A would be when charging from the bed plug in the Lightning, because that's a 30A outlet BUT you're only supposed to charge at 24A continuous. So, if you're charging a Tesla, it works because Teslas can turn down the Amperage. For whatever reason, Fords don't have this capability, yet, so they'd keep pulling the 30/32A (max for the EVSE).

It's a big miss on Ford's part not to have the capability to choose amperage, IMO.

 

[swngdncr]

So, can you only control the charging rate of the lightning from the charger, not from the vehicle? So if I’m using the station pro at home I can set the amps, but if I go to a public station it is going to charge at whatever the rate of the charger is?

Yeah, the time where you'd want to charge at 24A would be when charging from the bed plug in the Lightning, because that's a 30A outlet BUT you're only supposed to charge at 24A continuous. So, if you're charging a Tesla, it works because Teslas can turn down the Amperage. For whatever reason, Fords don't have this capability, yet, so they'd keep pulling the 30/32A (max for the EVSE).

It's a big miss on Ford's part not to have the capability to choose amperage, IMO.

 

[GarageMahal]

So, can you only control the charging rate of the lightning from the charger, not from the vehicle? So if I’m using the station pro at home I can set the amps, but if I go to a public station it is going to charge at whatever the rate of the charger is?

That is my understanding for Level 2 charging, DCFC works differently as the truck regulates the rate automatically for fast charging. I believe level 1 charges at 12 amps all the time.

 

[Blainestang]

So, can you only control the charging rate of the lightning from the charger, not from the vehicle? So if I’m using the station pro at home I can set the amps, but if I go to a public station it is going to charge at whatever the rate of the charger is?

Yeah, I think you've got it. The Pro charger can be permanently set based on the breaker size, I believe.

For L2 charging, the Lightning is always going to ask for 48A (SR) or 80A (ER). We have no way of adjusting what the truck asks for.

The charging station (mobile or not) is either going to provide that rate or say "I can only give __A", so for the mobile charging stations, whether it's Tesla or Ford, THAT will be the limiting factor.

This is fine if you're plugged into the typical 14-50 outlet, because that's rated to 40A continuous, the truck will ask for 48A SR (or 80A ER), and the mobile charger will say, "nope, I can only give you 30-32A." All good.

The issue is when you plug into the bed of the Lightning itself. It's a 30A outlet (24A continuous rating), but the typical adapter goes to a 14-50 plug, which means the mobile charging station is going to only realize it's limited to 40A or whatever it's max rate is (30-32A for mobile charging stations), whichever is lower. So, plugging a Lightning or Mach E into your Lighting using a Ford or Tesla mobile charging station connected to that adapter is going to pull 30-32A and that's too high for the 30A (non-continuous) plug in the back of the Lightning.

I was hoping there was a different adapter that adapts the outlet in the bed of the Lightning to a 14-30 outlet, because then I could buy the 14-30 adapter for the Tesla and it would limit the charger automatically to 24A continuous, but I didn't see an adapter like that in my quick search. So, that particular case (charging an EV without onboard amp adjustment) could be a bit risky. But it may be a pretty rare use case and not matter. Just something to be aware of.

 

[GarageMahal]

Yeah, I think you've got it. The Pro charger can be permanently set based on the breaker size, I believe.

For L2 charging, the Lightning is always going to ask for 48A (SR) or 80A (ER). We have no way of adjusting what the truck asks for.

The charging station (mobile or not) is either going to provide that rate or say "I can only give __A", so for the mobile charging stations, whether it's Tesla or Ford, THAT will be the limiting factor.

This is fine if you're plugged into the typical 14-50 outlet, because that's rated to 40A continuous, the truck will ask for 48A SR (or 80A ER), and the mobile charger will say, "nope, I can only give you 30-32A." All good.

The issue is when you plug into the bed of the Lightning itself. It's a 30A outlet (24A continuous rating), but the typical adapter goes to a 14-50 plug, which means the mobile charging station is going to only realize it's limited to 40A or whatever it's max rate is (30-32A for mobile charging stations), whichever is lower. So, plugging a Lightning or Mach E into your Lighting using a Ford or Tesla mobile charging station connected to that adapter is going to pull 30-32A and that's too high for the 30A (non-continuous) plug in the back of the Lightning.

I was hoping there was a different adapter that adapts the outlet in the bed of the Lightning to a 14-30 outlet, because then I could buy the 14-30 adapter for the Tesla and it would limit the charger automatically to 24A continuous, but I didn't see an adapter like that in my quick search. So, that particular case (charging an EV without onboard amp adjustment) could be a bit risky. But it may be a pretty rare use case and not matter. Just something to be aware of.

Tesla sells a 10-30 and 14-30 adapter for their mobile charger which is what I was planning to use if I end up getting it.

 

[Lucky Larry]

Here is another mobile charger that I am considering. It will be available soon from GRIZZL-E. Pricing has not been announced yet, but it should be around $500 us. The big plus with this mobile charger is that you can charge at 10 kw when plugged into a 240 volt outlet, and It can also be plugged into a 120 volt outlet as well. Power levels can be changed for both 120 and 240 volt connections.

Here is a link to their website: https://grizzl-e.com/grizzl-e-mini/

Here a copy of the web page:

 

[Wsh68]

I have a Tesla Wall Connector at my home and a Gen1 Tesla UMC at our cabin on a Nema 14-50. I found one of these on EBay for $80. its built like a tank And I’ve used it in both locations, no Issues. it maxes out at 40 Amps but that’s also how I have the Wall Connector limited to and the UMC maxes at 40 so no worries there.. The Ford mobile one maxes at 32 Amps so I get a little more juice at our cabin. The Ford one will just stay in the frunk. https://qccharge.com/products/jdapter-stub

 

[swngdncr]

Yeah, I think you've got it. The Pro charger can be permanently set based on the breaker size, I believe.

For L2 charging, the Lightning is always going to ask for 48A (SR) or 80A (ER). We have no way of adjusting what the truck asks for.

The charging station (mobile or not) is either going to provide that rate or say "I can only give __A", so for the mobile charging stations, whether it's Tesla or Ford, THAT will be the limiting factor.

This is fine if you're plugged into the typical 14-50 outlet, because that's rated to 40A continuous, the truck will ask for 48A SR (or 80A ER), and the mobile charger will say, "nope, I can only give you 30-32A." All good.

The issue is when you plug into the bed of the Lightning itself. It's a 30A outlet (24A continuous rating), but the typical adapter goes to a 14-50 plug, which means the mobile charging station is going to only realize it's limited to 40A or whatever it's max rate is (30-32A for mobile charging stations), whichever is lower. So, plugging a Lightning or Mach E into your Lighting using a Ford or Tesla mobile charging station connected to that adapter is going to pull 30-32A and that's too high for the 30A (non-continuous) plug in the back of the Lightning.

I was hoping there was a different adapter that adapts the outlet in the bed of the Lightning to a 14-30 outlet, because then I could buy the 14-30 adapter for the Tesla and it would limit the charger automatically to 24A continuous, but I didn't see an adapter like that in my quick search. So, that particular case (charging an EV without onboard amp adjustment) could be a bit risky. But it may be a pretty rare use case and not matter. Just something to be aware of.

Very helpful information. If I’m understanding correctly the issue is when you are using the plus in the bed to charge another vehicle, it’s not an issue with charging the Lighting.

 

[Blainestang]

Tesla sells a 10-30 and 14-30 adapter for their mobile charger which is what I was planning to use if I end up getting it.

Yeah, I probably will pick those up, too. Hopefully, I can find an adapter from L14-30 to regular 14-30 or 10-30 so that the mobile charger will actually set itself to 24A continuous.

Here's the adapter that Ford was supplying with the Lightning originally, I believe:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07XQFN8RK?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

No luck, yet, but I haven't looked too hard.

 

[Blainestang]

I have a Tesla Wall Connector at my home and a Gen1 Tesla UMC at our cabin on a Nema 14-50. I found one of these on EBay for $80. its built like a tank And I’ve used it in both locations, no Issues. it maxes out at 40 Amps but that’s also how I have the Wall Connector limited to and the UMC maxes at 40 so no worries there.. The Ford mobile one maxes at 32 Amps so I get a little more juice at our cabin. The Ford one will just stay in the frunk. https://qccharge.com/products/jdapter-stub

I *think* that's the original Telsa adapter. At least the owner claimed it was and said the other companies copied him. Maybe even the manufacturer he was paying to make them decided they'd just make his design themselves or something like that.

Anyway, any chance you've used it in the rain? That's one of my concerns with these adapters in general.

 

[Blainestang]

Very helpful information. If I’m understanding correctly the issue is when you are using the plus in the bed to charge another vehicle, it’s not an issue with charging the Lighting.

Correct.

The only real issue is charging something from the bed of the Lightning, not charging the Lightning itself from a wall outlet or something since the charging station will limit the charge rate to 30-32A and not let the Lightning take more than the charging station can handle.

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