EV Roadwarrior adapters “kit”

[daveo4EV]

it’s worth noting for those “NEW” to the EV world - NEMA 14-50 is by far the most common 220/240 volt outlet you are likely to be able to find in the wild (in North America) and is a great EV charging alternative if you have your Mobile EVSE with you in the car. NEMA 14-50‘s can be found if you are looking for them and many hotels have them as well as garages/mechanics - however the best source of NEMA 14-50s in north america are:

CampGrounds!!!!

KOA is by no means the only RV campgrounds or park - but they are plentiful and nationwide…

https://koa.com

and you can search their site for "RV site" - which means camp grounds "found" will have a NEMA 14-50.

Yes folks - NEMA 14-50 is a well established standard and _IS_ common at any camp ground because it’s the defacto standard for RV power while at a camp ground…

so worse case scenario (and I”m not saying this is ideal) you CAN charger your EV with a NEMA 14-50 adpater if you can find a campground near where you need to make a charging stop. All you need in the car is:

• your Mobile EVSE
• your Mobile EVSE NEMA 14-50 adapter

and boom! you’re charing your EV @ 9.6 kW

there are more NEMA 14-50 plugs in the world than you can possibility imagine (including generators) once you start looking.

of course if you then also have adapters for NEMA 6-50, 10-50, and the NEMA SS2-50P you can charge at most _ANY_ 50 amp outlet you’re likely to encounter.

Sponsored

 

[daveo4EV]

here for example are all the KOA campgrounds with an RV hookup (NEMA 14-50) with in 250 miles of Denver - so if necessary these are sites where you could pay a fee to "rent" a spot and charge your EV if you had to…although it's been my experience if you tell them you are just charging your EV and you won't be staying over night they will cut you a deal so you can just park, charge and get on with your trip - however your experience may vary - calling ahead is always a good idea to assure they have a spot for you.

 

[Toby Pennycuff]

Dave,

Thanks for all of this detail (here and other forum topics). I bought my kit of adapters from EVSEAdapters, and they are sitting in the back of my 4S along with the factory Mobile Charger Connect. GREAT INFO!!!

Toby

 

[daveo4EV]

woot! now you’re set - the only question I have is utilization - I’d love to hear any stories about these adapter actually being used for “good”.

 

[daveo4EV]

@Toby Pennycuff - care to share the inventory of adapters you’ve equipped - I know you have the NEMA 14-50 (came w/car) & JDapter/TeslaTap - what else did you decide was worthy?

 

[bushmg]

it’s worth noting for those “NEW” to the EV world - NEMA 14-50 is by far the most common 220/240 volt outlet you are likely to be able to find in the wild (in North America) and is a great EV charging alternative if you have your Mobile EVSE with you in the car. NEMA 14-50‘s can be found if you are looking for them and many hotels have them as well as garages/mechanics - however the best source of NEMA 14-50s in north america are:

CampGrounds!!!!

KOA is by no means the only RV campgrounds or park - but they are plentiful and nationwide…

https://koa.com

and you can search their site for "RV site" - which means camp grounds "found" will have a NEMA 14-50.

Yes folks - NEMA 14-50 is a well established standard and _IS_ common at any camp ground because it’s the defacto standard for RV power while at a camp ground…

so worse case scenario (and I”m not saying this is ideal) you CAN charger your EV with a NEMA 14-50 adpater if you can find a campground near where you need to make a charging stop. All you need in the car is:

• your Mobile EVSE
• your Mobile EVSE NEMA 14-50 adapter

and boom! you’re charing your EV @ 9.6 kW

there are more NEMA 14-50 plugs in the world than you can possibility imagine (including generators) once you start looking.

of course if you then also have adapters for NEMA 6-50, 10-50, and the NEMA SS2-50P you can charge at most _ANY_ 50 amp outlet you’re likely to encounter.

Daveo4EV, Thank you for being willing to share so much of your experience with those of us new to EV driving!

I have camped in lots of RV campgrounds, and I just want to mention that not all of them have 50 amp service with the NEMA 14-50 outlets. All have 30 amp service and use the special NEMA TT-30 outlet that looks like it's for 220, but is really 110. The better ones have sites with both 30 and 50 amp service. So if you're relying on a RV park to charge, it might be smart to check with them first, or use an app like RV Parky.

 

[daveo4EV]

@bushmg thanks I had forgotten that - yeah there are TT-30 adapters, but you need an EVSE that support 120 volt charging - I’ve actually charged at a TT-30 - it was slow, but it was also better than nothing.

24 amps @ 120 volts = 2.88 kw

 

[kmcdonal]

it’s worth noting for those “NEW” to the EV world - NEMA 14-50 is by far the most common 220/240 volt outlet you are likely to be able to find in the wild (in North America) and is a great EV charging alternative if you have your Mobile EVSE with you in the car. NEMA 14-50‘s can be found if you are looking for them and many hotels have them as well as garages/mechanics - however the best source of NEMA 14-50s in north america are:

CampGrounds!!!!

KOA is by no means the only RV campgrounds or park - but they are plentiful and nationwide…

https://koa.com

and you can search their site for "RV site" - which means camp grounds "found" will have a NEMA 14-50.

Yes folks - NEMA 14-50 is a well established standard and _IS_ common at any camp ground because it’s the defacto standard for RV power while at a camp ground…

so worse case scenario (and I”m not saying this is ideal) you CAN charger your EV with a NEMA 14-50 adpater if you can find a campground near where you need to make a charging stop. All you need in the car is:

• your Mobile EVSE
• your Mobile EVSE NEMA 14-50 adapter

and boom! you’re charing your EV @ 9.6 kW

there are more NEMA 14-50 plugs in the world than you can possibility imagine (including generators) once you start looking.

of course if you then also have adapters for NEMA 6-50, 10-50, and the NEMA SS2-50P you can charge at most _ANY_ 50 amp outlet you’re likely to encounter.

Just got my car yesterday so I am a bit of a newbie on these issues. You say that NEMA 14-50 is a standard, but are there not multiple types of 14-50 plugs? My Porsche charger came with a NEMA 14-50P. However, my electrician appears to have installed a 14-50R. Which plug is used in the RV parks? Any suggestions on how I should resolve the mismatch between what my electrician installed and what I got from Porsche? I can get my electrician to switch out my plug, but I don't want to do that if 14-50R is more common. Thanks.

 

[struther]

Just got my car yesterday so I am a bit of a newbie on these issues. You say that NEMA 14-50 is a standard, but are there not multiple types of 14-50 plugs? My Porsche charger came with a NEMA 14-50P. However, my electrician appears to have installed a 14-50R. Which plug is used in the RV parks? Any suggestions on how I should resolve the mismatch between what my electrician installed and what I got from Porsche? I can get my electrician to switch out my plug, but I don't want to do that if 14-50R is more common. Thanks.

I thought the R in the designation was “receptacle” versus the P for plug. In other words, you insert the plug into the receptacle.

 

[daveo4EV]

@struther - is correct - the "R" & "P" nomenclature refers to the "Recepticals"/Female & "Plug"/Male part of the electrical circuit.

Your household plugs are NEMA 5-15R - and the plug on the end of your microwave is a NEMA 5-15P.

NEMA [L] #A - #BB R|P

[L] = Locking - these plugs are "locking" plugs normally with a slight twist so it's harder for the plug to fall out accidentially​

#A = blade pattern/size - 5, 6, 10, 14 are the patterns I'm most familiar with​

#BB = AMP rating for breaker and wire-gauge​

R | P = Receptical or Plug for the different ends of the equation​

RV Parks tend to have NEMA 14-50R hook ups
and your Porsche Electric Car Charger (EVSE) came with a NEMA 14-50P supply cable

modern electric Dryers or water heaters will typically use a NEMA 14-30R outlet - which from the notation you can see is a 30 amp electrical circuit.

I hope this helps.

 

[daveo4EV]

@kmcdonal you're fine - the plug on your Porsche charger will work at any campground with a. NEMA 14-50 Hook up - and if you bring your charger with you, your NEMA 14-50P supply cable will plug right in!!

 

[daveo4EV]

for those of you playing along at home - here is a picture of a NEMA 14-50R - the is the "receptacle" your electrician will install in your garage - and if you find a hotel or campground with RV hook ups you're likely to find one of these receptacles.

​

NEMA 14-50 is 240 volts @ 50 amps - single phase AC power - EV charging can only use 80% of the rated load for code/safety reasons - so you are allowed to draw 40 amps on this type of circuit - the power rating is therefore the following match

watts = volts * amps

240 volts * 40 amps = 9,600 watts
kiloWatts is a measurement of 1000 watts
so 9,600 watts is 9.5 kiloWatts (kW)
do this for one hour and you get 9.6 kiloWattHours (kWh)

your Taycan battery is a 93 kWh battery - but only 83.4 kWh is "unlocked" for your use by Porsche

so to charge your Taycan from empty you need to shove approximately 84 kWh into the battery to take it from 0% to 100%

if you plugged into a RV outlet - time to charger is therefore

84 kWh / 9.6 kW = 8.75 hours - round up for charging overhead and loss - and 9-10 hours of charge time from a NEMA 14-50.

the following receptacle types are all 50 amp circuits and identical electrically for the most part:

NEMA 14-50
NEMA 10-50
NEMA 6-50
NEMA SS2-50 - marine shore power connector & concert venues - this is essentially the locking version of the NEMA 14-50 plug and more appropriate for "outdoor" use…

these are all just different "shape" plugs designed for 240 volt 50 amp electrical circuits - your EVSE can charge from any of them if you have an adapter that converts 14-50 to a 6-50 - they are electrically identical from the EVSE's perspective, and the only difference is the actual shape/layout of the metal connectors

electricity is all the same!

but fundamentally the plug is just a pattern for:

120 volt hot "leg" of the connection - left​

120 volt hot "leg" of the connection - right​

120 volt neural "leg" of the connection - bottom​

ground connection - top​

​

 

[daveo4EV]

and here is the NEMA 14-50P - this is the "plug" on the end of your Porsche Charger which mates to a NEMA 14-50R outlet…

 

[daveo4EV]

here is a diagram of a NEMA L14-30R connector - it's electrically identical to your electric dryer NEMA 14-30R - but the shape is different so it needs the corresponding NEMA L 14-30P to plug in - but both types of connections have 4 wires they are connecting

you'll find these types of connectors on generators - and they are used so that the vibration from the generator doesn't shake the plug loose.

2 hots (120 volts each) - a neutral - a ground

the ONLY difference is the shape of the connections…

 

[daveo4EV]

the "other" common RV hookup you may find in RV parks is the NEMA TT-30R - this plug shape is a 120 volt 30 amp hookup (quite a bit less powerful than a NEMA 14-40)

120 volts * 30 amps = 3,600 watts or 3.6 kW
like all plug types an EVSE can only use 80% of the rated load - so it's a 24 amp charge @ 120 volts or 2.88 kW - not very fast but better than nothing.

I have no recommendation about how to get a charge from one of these plug types - because very few EVSE have a setting for 120 volts @ 24 amps…or a corresponding supply-cable/adatper.

as noted earlier in this thread - if you are relying on an RV/Campground site as part of a trip plan it's best to call ahead and confirm what type of RV hook up they have - it will likely be one of these two types

NEMA 14-50R or NEMA TT-30P - as an EV owner looking for the fastest charge possible you would prefer the NEMA 14-50R answer…

hotels sometimes also have these connections - again for their RV customers…you'll note this plug type only has 3 "connections" vs the NEMA 14-50 4 pins - well that's because it has only one "hot"

120 volt hot
120 volt neutral
ground

Sponsored