Tesla mobile connector

[jpk]

Bear with me on this one please....

Had my evse/EV charge point fitted several months ago and unfortunately my dno have identified my property as being on a looped supply (supply runs into my neighbours property first then daisy chains to mine). They only allow load management as a temporary measure so I'd have to be unlooped to continue using my lovely Simpson & Partners evse. This time last year it wouldn't have been an issue as I only had block paving but have since had a resin bound driveway installed. Thankfully they proposed to do moling under the driveway which I was really happy with, however, a member of the installation team called at my house randomly yesterday & has put the fear of god in me as he was saying there's a chance the moling won't be successful so they'd have to dig a trench which would leave scarring after reinstating the driveway (scarring being a polite term meaning my shiny new driveway will be f-+cked ). So I called them today and asked if the moling did indeed fail could I just cancel the unlooping and just decommission the evse which they agreed to.

So sorry for the lengthy back story, but now to the point!

Should moling fail I'd be looking to get a 16a commando plug fitted where the evse was and look at buying the Tesla mobile connector with the addition of the 16a commando plug accessory as a safer & hopefully slightly faster method than using the granny charger exclusively. Does my plan sound reasonable and what kind of speed & efficiency should I expect from it?

Edit: is it possible to go down a 32a commando socket & plug for the Tesla charger but dial back the amps on either the charger or car to still deliver maybe 3.6Kw?

 

[Ian Key]

Another option is to ask whoever installed your driveway how much it would cost to repair it if they had to put a trench across it. With it being a new surface it shouldn't have weathered and they should be able to match it.

 

[jpk]

The dno said they have their own specialist that do the reinstatement but I had already thought that I would push for them to get the materials from them to get a better match. I'm just reluctant to go down a trench route as if it doesn't match it'll be irreversible & permanently visible. Also the company didn't use whacker plates when they did the mot sub base & tarmac sections under the resin, admitted they were the most expensive quote I had, but they were the only company that gave a HICS approved/backed fully independent 10 year guarantee and used a steam roller to compact & level the sub base. There's no chance the dno contractors would be able to do a repair to that standard over such a localised area.

After a bit of research I really like the versatility of the Tesla mobile connector, where you can switch out the connection, and can see it being my favoured travel option. I'd be able to use the 16a connection when I go camping or to a Haven site ( other static caravan companies are available ?). I can also live with the moderate 3-3.7Kw charge speed if I had to without feeling stressed I couldn't get the range back into the battery I need for my daily commute.

 

[redwood98]

The dno said they have their own specialist that do the reinstatement but I had already thought that I would push for them to get the materials from them to get a better match. I'm just reluctant to go down a trench route as if it doesn't match it'll be irreversible & permanently visible. Also the company didn't use whacker plates when they did the mot sub base & tarmac sections under the resin, admitted they were the most expensive quote I had, but they were the only company that gave a HICS approved/backed fully independent 10 year guarantee and used a steam roller to compact & level the sub base. There's no chance the dno contractors would be able to do a repair to that standard over such a localised area.

After a bit of research I really like the versatility of the Tesla mobile connector, where you can switch out the connection, and can see it being my favoured travel option. I'd be able to use the 16a connection when I go camping or to a Haven site ( other static caravan companies are available ?). I can also live with the moderate 3-3.7Kw charge speed if I had to without feeling stressed I couldn't get the range back into the battery I need for my daily commute.

Did you end up doing this? I know you posted it over 2 years ago but I can’t find anyone else doing it online.

 

[jpk]

I bought the Tesla UMC charger but in the end i got lucky as the moling did fail, turns out the Moling equipment used by the dno was ancient and couldn't find an 8 foot wide trench from only 9 metres. The lucky part was that my dno went above and beyond and actually allowed me to keep my evse as they were happy with the load control

 

[redwood98]

I bought the Tesla UMC charger but in the end i got lucky as the moling did fail, turns out the Moling equipment used by the dno was ancient and couldn't find an 8 foot wide trench from only 9 metres. The lucky part was that my dno went above and beyond and actually allowed me to keep my evse as they were happy with the load control

So you were able to get the Tesla UMC to work on an mg4? I want to buy one to use the 32a adapter you can get for them but I can’t confirm if they work. Tesla don’t seem to offer returns either so if I get it an it doesn’t work it’s a bit of a problem.

 

[jpk]

Yeah it's the only mobile charger I use and take with me on my travels. I didn't buy the red 32amp version/connector, I use the 16 amp blue connection at work and at campsites pitches with electric hook ups and the regular UK 3 pin plug one at havens and other destinations if needed.

 

[redwood98]

Yeah it's the only mobile charger I use and take with me on my travels. I didn't buy the red 32amp version/connector, I use the 16 amp blue connection at work and at campsites pitches with electric hook ups and the regular UK 3 pin plug one at havens and other destinations if needed.

I really want to get one but I’m worried about Tesla’s return policy and how many KWH I’ll get as I saw a YouTube video where they only got six even though it can do seven. Do you remember how many KWH you get on your 16a plug?

 

[jpk]

There'll be people on here here who might know much more about the electricals on the mg4 but my rudimentary understanding is that the charger will try to deliver the maximum allowed by the onboard inverter. So if the inverter only allows no more than 6.6kwh or say 5kwh as an extremely scenario then the charger will deliver that max amount but never more than it's own 32 amp 7.4kwh capability

 

[siteguru]

Depending on whether or not your car has the 3-phase onboard charger (checkable by looking at the Type 2 port in the car ... if there are metal pins in the L2 and L3 slots then it's a 3-phase OBC) then the maximum rating of your OBC is 6.6kW (single phase) or 7.2 kW (3-phase).

The next criteria is the rating of the source power supply ... at 230V AC (the nominal domestic supply voltage) then a 16A supply would provide a maximum of 3.68kW. A 32A supply would provide a maximum of 7.36kW.

A portable EVSE plugged in to a 13A socket would provide a maximum of 2.3kW, as such devices should be limited to draw 10A maximum continuous current. (13A is the peak rating of a BS1363 socket, not the continuous raring).

 

[jpk]

I don't think you're going get to get a better explanation than that really, hope that explains why the individual in the video you watched probably only observed a charging rate in the 6's after you factor in the above limitations and losses. It's a learning curve we all go through when starting out on our ev journeys, headline charging and range figures are just that and often not real world figures but don't let that tarnish what is otherwise a much more cost friendly mode of transport

 

[redwood98]

Depending on whether or not your car has the 3-phase onboard charger (checkable by looking at the Type 2 port in the car ... if there are metal pins in the L2 and L3 slots then it's a 3-phase OBC) then the maximum rating of your OBC is 6.6kW (single phase) or 7.2 kW (3-phase).

The next criteria is the rating of the source power supply ... at 230V AC (the nominal domestic supply voltage) then a 16A supply would provide a maximum of 3.68kW. A 32A supply would provide a maximum of 7.36kW.

A portable EVSE plugged in to a 13A socket would provide a maximum of 2.3kW, as such devices should be limited to draw 10A maximum continuous current. (13A is the peak rating of a BS1363 socket, not the continuous raring).

I’m guessing this means I don’t have 3-phase, does that mean the fastest I can charge is 6.6kwh?

 

[siteguru]

Correct ... the OBC is rated to 6.6kW maximum, which means realistically you'll get 6.5kW max into the car from a 7kW+ source. (And a little less into the HV battery due to losses).