[US] - Over the Top - the well equipped EV home garage…for those that wish to "over do it"…

[submatrix]

If you search Amazon for "nema 14-30 to 14-50 adapter" you will find generic adapters for ~$30.
If you want an OEM supply cable I suggest you first ask an Audi dealer since the etron charger is identical to Porsche's. Audi usually sells the same part number cheaper than Porsche.
Don't forget to lower the charging amperage to 24A if you use a 14-30 outlet.

Ah, good tip on checking with Audi and getting a 14-30 14-50 adapter. Thinking more about it, I think I actually need to buy a full 25 ft charger though (3rd party or not), because my inventory order only comes with the standard 8 ft charger and I will need 25 ft to charge off the 14-30.

I asked my dealer whether I could just order a 25 ft cable and plug it into the standard PMC but he couldn't give me an answer.

Sponsored

 

[jimithing]

and in the adding insult to injury category for complexity a LOT of 32 amp EVSE’s have NEMA 14-50 or 6-50 plugs on them - confusing people into thinking they have a “50 amp charger” - but in reality it’s onlly a 32 amp charger

the reason the vendors use the 6-50 or 14-50 plug type is because there is _NO_ approved/standard “40 amp” NEMA plug…

NEMA has standards and specifications for 30 amp plugs
NEMA has standards and specifications for 50 amp plugs
but there is _NO_ 40 amp NEMA plug type…

30 amp plug means 24 amps maximum EVSE charge rate
50 amp plug means 40 amps (or less) EVSE charge rate

so a lot a lot a lot of 32 amp EVSE’s actually ship with a NEMA 14-50, 6-50 or 10-50 plug cord…but are not 40 amp EVSE’s, 32 amp EVSE

now this is safe and no problem and completely above board, but it further confuses the situation in that not all EVSE’s with a NEMA 14-50 plug are actually 40 amp EVSE’s…

further confusion ensues, in that most building codes ”allow” the use of a NEMA 14-50 or 6-50 plug with a 40 amp breaker/wire gauge - as long as you represent that you “know what you are doing” when it’s being inspected...

now this is no actual problem or safety issue as long as you never exceed the 40 amp capacity - but after you sell the house and forget to inform the buyer of this little trick - and they then “see” a NEMA 14-50 plug in the garage and assume it’s a full 50 amp circuit - chaos then ensues and actual safety issues may come up…

electricians do this to save the $25 on the slightly cheaper breaker, and lower 40 amp rated wire…cause “they know” you’re only using a 32 amp EVSE so you don’t need the full 50 amp circuit/capacity...

it’s just really really a “sh*t” show

this all drives me nuts
it’s too complex
people don’t understand it
electricians are far and few between that offer proper guidance
building codes are a mess and vary regionally
and the dealers and sales people are 100% clueless

so potential EV customers get really really confused and more misinformation than a “Q” expo conference and then think this whole EV thing is a mess - and they are not entirely wrong.

Yikes. FWIW my Taycan with 19.2kW option (which I now believe was a total waste of money) goes over 40A with the PMCC. Only 41-42A but enough that if the wire gauge and breaker were only sized for 40A, it would be a problem and I'd have to turn it down.

Re: the 19.2kW, I'm throwing good money after bad by putting in an HCS-100 at work to make use of what I paid for. Also plug & charge is disabled on my car bc of the conflict between the 19.2kW option and plug&charge. Anyone reading this who hasn't decided yet, save your money. It'll be nice to have but it's not worth the trouble and money. Dave is right.

 

[daveo4EV]

wow $114 for an adapter, crazy....

unfortunately I won't have the Tesla mobile charger for long as it has to go back with my lease return, so I won't be able to use it to charge the Taycan.

Do you have a 3rd party mobile charger you recommend @daveo4EV ?

I recomend either the Mustart EV chargers (32 amp or 40 amp) - or actually the Tesla Gen2 Mobile Chargers w/TeslaTap (32 amps) - from a cost point of view these two seem to offer the most bang for buck and are both high quality functional chargers with good NEMA adapter options at reasonable prices.

I do not recommend using NEMA 14-50 to 14-30 adapters from Amazon or what not - because the EVSE has no idea an adapter is “in play” and could attempt to pull too many amps - downgraoding amps from a high amp plug to a lower amp socket is not a good plan - best case is the breaker pops - worse case is you melt some wire and potential fire - it’s simply not worth it.

people are right VW/Audi/Porsche all share the same chargers across their EV’s so their adapter supply cables are all compatible - but so far I’ve not found there to be a price break by trying to end run porsche with an Audi or VW cable - YMMV.

 

[Crick]

Do you have a 3rd party mobile charger you recommend

Hi @submatrix , this fellow, Tom Mahoney, has a video review series on Electric vehicle charging equipment. He covers Taycan as well.

 

[submatrix]

I recomend either the Mustart EV chargers (32 amp or 40 amp) - or actually the Tesla Gen2 Mobile Chargers w/TeslaTap (32 amps) - from a cost point of view these two seem to offer the most bang for buck and are both high quality functional chargers with good NEMA adapter options at reasonable prices.

I do not recommend using NEMA 14-50 to 14-30 adapters from Amazon or what not - because the EVSE has no idea an adapter is “in play” and could attempt to pull too many amps - downgraoding amps from a high amp plug to a lower amp socket is not a good plan - best case is the breaker pops - worse case is you melt some wire and potential fire - it’s simply not worth it.

people are right VW/Audi/Porsche all share the same chargers across their EV’s so their adapter supply cables are all compatible - but so far I’ve not found there to be a price break by trying to end run porsche with an Audi or VW cable - YMMV.

I arrived at the same conclusion last night -- I think the best course of action would be to buy a Tesla Mobile Connector + TeslaTap and use my existing 14-30 adapter that I have for the Tesla Mobile Connector already. This would allow me to charge at my parents house.

Then I can also use the TeslaTap to charge using my existing Tesla wall connector (at my house).

 

[PorscheLuvR]

Built new house with 400 amp service and added (2) dedicated 100 amp charging circuits. One circuit was reduced to a 50amp to accommodate PMCC. That should give me enough juice for most anything that comes down the pipe in the charging world. At least for the next 5 years. However, I don’t need more than 3-4 hours to top off every other day even at 9.6kw.

Exactly. 11kw is more than enough for home use (unless you use your Taycan as an Uber). We also have 415v 3phase 100amp to the house and have the PMCC 22kw charger. Was originally planning on upgrading the internal AC charger to 22kw when it becomes available however now I don’t think it’s worth it. Just use DC ultra fast chargers when on a road trip.

 

[PorscheLuvR]

3-phase is not a thing in the US for residential power supply. Single phase 240 volt supply is the norm (100-200 amp service from the power company).

and the typical US home only has a "few" 240 volt circuits (appliance, stove, oven, cloths dryer, water heater, air conditioning, EV chargers) the vast majority of plugs inside the home are 120 volt circuits at 15 amps - with 20 amps being more rare - most 240 volt "outlets" in a US home are "hidden" away behind the appliance they service - and from my experience US population has very low awareness about 240 volts even being a thing - and they are mostly unaware they have 240 volt service and a few plugs in their home already.

Your right. The US misses out on the advantages of 400v three phase. Ie 3x 240v 120deg apart. (240+160) Your 240v is split phase. Ie 2x120v 180deg apart. (120+120). As Porsche has demonstrated, higher voltage can deliver more power (kw) on thinner cables.

 

[Jhenson29]

Thinking more about it, I think I actually need to buy a full 25 ft charger though (3rd party or not), because my inventory order only comes with the standard 8 ft charger and I will need 25 ft to charge off the 14-30.

I asked my dealer whether I could just order a 25 ft cable and plug it into the standard PMC but he couldn't give me an answer.

The PMC+ has a 14.76 foot vehicle cable and it can’t be changed.

It’s the PMCC that has the shorter vehicle cable that can be changed to a 25 foot cable.

Also, the 14-30 supply cable I referenced before is a whole separate supply cable, not an adapter. I agree that it’s expensive, but it’s cheaper than buying a whole other EVSE.

I also strongly agree with @daveo4EV that the 50A to 30A adapter is a bad idea.

 

[Jhenson29]

Re: the 19.2kW, I'm throwing good money after bad by putting in an HCS-100 at work to make use of what I paid for. Also plug & charge is disabled on my car bc of the conflict between the 19.2kW option and plug&charge. Anyone reading this who hasn't decided yet, save your money. It'll be nice to have but it's not worth the trouble and money.

The 19.2kW charger benefits depend on your use case.

I just had my first weekend with the car and I needed it, exactly how I thought I would.

We did a bunch of running around in the morning, then we were home for an hour and a half before we went out for lunch, and then we were out running around the rest of the afternoon.

The increased charge rate while we were home for that hour and a half really helped. I’m glad I optioned it. I purchased an 18kW EVSE and I’m getting 17kW at the car.

 

[Chedman13]

Setup 1 complete. Setup 2 in works. All while having no car (still haven't taken delivery) - steering column module arrived today and was installed. Keys from Germany still not here. Re-ordered today directly from Germany since no ETA from Atlanta distribution.

50 AMP circuit breaker on panel
#1 AWG gauge copper wire to 60 AMP rated safety switch
#6 AWG gauge copper wire to Hubbell HBL9430A 14-50 Receptacle (tried to go #1 or #3, but it wouldn't fit in the docking station spacer)
RACO 2-Gang Electrical Box 4-11/16" x 4-11/16" x 3-1/4" (huge, ample space for wires)
Cover: https://www.zoro.com/raco-electrical-box-cover-30-60a-receptacle-888/i/G3275903/

Ctek PRO25S with hanging kit and bumper.

 

[Chedman13]

BTW safety switch is overkill - given the panel is just a few feet away.
#1 AWG is overkill, I blame @daveo4EV for the idea=)

This should compensate for my overheating PMCC with a plastic box that helps it retain even more heat. ?

 

[NC_Taycan]

Turning down the charge current will reduce the heat in the enclosed (but pretty) PMCC wall box. But should you ever decide to upgrade to a 350 kW DC fast charger in your garage, at least you know that #1 AWG will still be overkill.

 

[Chedman13]

Exactly - this makes it easy for me to upgrade in the future.

I figure I give the PMCC a chance and then if not, I will upgrade the safety switch to 100 amp rated and can use a #3 AWG wire down hardwire the next EV charger.

Most the work was in wiring the #1 AWG copper to the panel. The difference between a #1 and #6 wire is visibly noticeable!

I do like the wall box.

Turning down the charge current will reduce the heat in the enclosed (but pretty) PMCC wall box. But should you ever decide to upgrade to a 350 kW DC fast charger in your garage, at least you know that #1 AWG will still be overkill.

 

[whitex]

AWG 1 is overkill for any Level 2 charger, unless you're running it for hundreds of feet (probably even then). My 80A charger on a 100A breaker recommends AWG4 or AWG3. I ran AWG2 and the government inspector who came to inspect the installation still called my solution "over-engineered", but of course passed it no problem. I also added a 100A safety switch, which he told me was not needed since the breaker counted as one (to be honest, I am still not certain whether every inspector would agree, my reading of the code says I need one).

All that said, I like over-engineered solutions. Thinking about starting a company with some niche products and a slogan along the lines of "Over-engineered - for when you want it, even if you don't absolutely need it".

 

[Kingske]

AWG 1 is overkill for any Level 2 charger, unless you're running it for hundreds of feet (probably even then). My 80A charger on a 100A breaker recommends AWG4 or AWG3. I ran AWG2 and the government inspector who came to inspect the installation still called my solution "over-engineered", but if course passed it no problem. I also added a 100A safety switch, which he told me was not needed since the breaker counted as one (to be honest, I am still not certain whether every inspector would agree, my reading of the code says I need one).

All that said, I like over-engineered solutions. Thinking about starting a company with some niche products and a slogan along the lines of "Over-engineered - for when you want it, even if you don't absolutely need it".

Sponsored