3 pin/commando "granny charging" (Tesla)
Discussion
Does anyone charge their EV using a type 2 granny charger using a reputable (in this case Tesla) mobile charger please?
If so did you have a specific EV rated plug fitted please?
What started out as "you can just plug in for the occasional top-up" seems to have turned into "be careful as the sockets can melt" so I'm trying to distinguish fact from fiction.
For what it would cost to get an officially BS 1363-2 EV certified plug fitted that's fine but I'm curious if this is a real-world issue or some freak occurrence where people have had really bad wiring or tried charging their EV in a double-socket next to the kettle.
If so did you have a specific EV rated plug fitted please?
What started out as "you can just plug in for the occasional top-up" seems to have turned into "be careful as the sockets can melt" so I'm trying to distinguish fact from fiction.
For what it would cost to get an officially BS 1363-2 EV certified plug fitted that's fine but I'm curious if this is a real-world issue or some freak occurrence where people have had really bad wiring or tried charging their EV in a double-socket next to the kettle.
A standard 13A 3 pin socket/plug is generally installed when the house was built, very often by electricians or their apprentice who are working for a price per house so less time in each house is more money. The connection could just loosen off over time. With a slightly loose connection at the back of the socket and a full 13A flowing through it, things will get hot and the plug/socket will melt.
I found a couple loose electrical connections and even one where there was heat damage to the wiring! I was luckily changing a switch at the time so caught it before anything worse happened.
That reason is why the plug melting story could easily get out, more EV's needing charged, people trying to get away with minimal expense for charging their car, more instances where it happens. It's understandable when budgets are tight.
I have charged my EV for a couple nights through a standard 13A socket, when my charger wasn't working, and was ok but that's no guarantee for anyone else. If I didn't want the expense of a proper charger being installed I'd look at getting a 16A/32A commando socket installed and a charger for connecting to that, just for peace of mind when sleeping in the house at night and don't want wiring getting too hot...
I found a couple loose electrical connections and even one where there was heat damage to the wiring! I was luckily changing a switch at the time so caught it before anything worse happened.
That reason is why the plug melting story could easily get out, more EV's needing charged, people trying to get away with minimal expense for charging their car, more instances where it happens. It's understandable when budgets are tight.
I have charged my EV for a couple nights through a standard 13A socket, when my charger wasn't working, and was ok but that's no guarantee for anyone else. If I didn't want the expense of a proper charger being installed I'd look at getting a 16A/32A commando socket installed and a charger for connecting to that, just for peace of mind when sleeping in the house at night and don't want wiring getting too hot...
georgeyboy12345 said:
Ah, this must be this weeks I want to use a granny charger to charge my EV as I don t want to invest in a proper charger thread on the EV forum. I was wondering if it was overdue.
Just buy an EV charger
No it's this weeks "I might buy an EV charger but I have access to reasonable priced charging at work and a local super charger but I'd like to be confident I can do the odd few hours top up safely at home if I ever needed to" thread.Just buy an EV charger
I think it's a perfectly fair question given Tesla sell their own mobile adaptor.
I used this with the included 3 pin plug for a while - is this what you're using?
https://shop.tesla.com/en_gb/product/mobile-connec...
https://shop.tesla.com/en_gb/product/mobile-connec...
NDA said:
I used this with the included 3 pin plug for a while - is this what you're using?
https://shop.tesla.com/en_gb/product/mobile-connec...
I haven't got the car yet so this is just planning and doing some of the maths about whether to jump in with a full charger given my mileage and the local charging situation.https://shop.tesla.com/en_gb/product/mobile-connec...
But yes that's the one.
To be really clear I'm not talking about plugging that in overnight. I mean if I need a few hours top-up.
I've used a 3 pin plug to charge my EV for over 25 months now. It is a proper one mounted on an outside wall with its own fuse by a previous tenant, for use in the garden mostly, I expect. My Honda charger, and most of them I expect, only draws a max 10A, ii is designed that way. I only charge at night usually, but on the rare occasion I've had to charger up at the day rate 
, I've checked it out of curiosity and the plug end is slightly warm, that is all, even in sunlight. It is similar to the ones sold all over the place, sorry it's a large photo, I saved a very small one, I thought 
:
With over 90% of my charging done at home, so 11k out of 12k miles, that's about 3.2kW net, say 4kW gross at a cost of about £400 (£200 p.a.). I do have other cars though, so if it was my only car, I would have invested in a home charger, if you need to public charge a lot, the payback would be swift! But in my situation (car goes back in Apr 2027, and unsure if I'll get another so-good PCP deal
), I decided it wasn't worth it.
, I've checked it out of curiosity and the plug end is slightly warm, that is all, even in sunlight. It is similar to the ones sold all over the place, sorry it's a large photo, I saved a very small one, I thought :With over 90% of my charging done at home, so 11k out of 12k miles, that's about 3.2kW net, say 4kW gross at a cost of about £400 (£200 p.a.). I do have other cars though, so if it was my only car, I would have invested in a home charger, if you need to public charge a lot, the payback would be swift! But in my situation (car goes back in Apr 2027, and unsure if I'll get another so-good PCP deal
), I decided it wasn't worth it. Edited by sixor8 on Friday 15th May 09:18
I'm using a granny charger 100% of the time at the moment using a normal outdoor double socket. We have a granny charger where you can adjust the amps it draws, we generally use 10amp for a few hour top ups or 8amp for extended periods. We've done 24 hours like this no issues.
One thing to be aware of is the cable of many granny chargers is too thick to go on many normal outdoor plugs (at least if you want to be able to close the cover).
The problem with a proper 7KW charger for us is we're only using one EV, it needs a long cable run and that car does fairly low miles. So £1000+ for the install will take forever to financially make sense. Once we have committed to two EVs it will make more sense.
One thing to be aware of is the cable of many granny chargers is too thick to go on many normal outdoor plugs (at least if you want to be able to close the cover).
The problem with a proper 7KW charger for us is we're only using one EV, it needs a long cable run and that car does fairly low miles. So £1000+ for the install will take forever to financially make sense. Once we have committed to two EVs it will make more sense.
butchstewie said:
NDA said:
I used this with the included 3 pin plug for a while - is this what you're using?
https://shop.tesla.com/en_gb/product/mobile-connec...
I haven't got the car yet so this is just planning and doing some of the maths about whether to jump in with a full charger given my mileage and the local charging situation.https://shop.tesla.com/en_gb/product/mobile-connec...
But yes that's the one.
To be really clear I'm not talking about plugging that in overnight. I mean if I need a few hours top-up.
A 13amp charge (3 pin) will deliver (very roughly) 12 miles of range per hour that it's charging and you can, of course, schedule the charge to do this overnight.
I survived on a 13amp charge before moving to 7kw - I had a Commando socket fitted and use the Tesla mobile connector with a 32amp 'tail' - it's worked fine for 6 years. Because I am saving a fortune on petrol, I figured the £1k install cost would pay for itself quickly. Which it has.
The issue is that the sockets are used with high load for hours at a time, so heat and therefore resistance can build up. Especially if the socket is cheap or old.
I'd say try it for an hour and then feel if there is any warmth in the socket or the plug, then two hours, and if it is still OK it will (probably) be fine.
I'd say try it for an hour and then feel if there is any warmth in the socket or the plug, then two hours, and if it is still OK it will (probably) be fine.
Had my EV6 for two weeks and two days now. I am retired so decided to use a 3 pin charger. I did fit an EV rated socket. It was not a lot of money.
If I find it a problem I will no doubt get a 7kw charger. But so far it’s been no problem at all, and I’ve done 1000 miles in the last two weeks!
If I find it a problem I will no doubt get a 7kw charger. But so far it’s been no problem at all, and I’ve done 1000 miles in the last two weeks!
Stevemr said:
Had my EV6 for two weeks and two days now. I am retired so decided to use a 3 pin charger. I did fit an EV rated socket. It was not a lot of money.
If I find it a problem I will no doubt get a 7kw charger. But so far it s been no problem at all, and I ve done 1000 miles in the last two weeks!
Yes those BS EV rated sockets were what I saw. Where did you get yours from please?If I find it a problem I will no doubt get a 7kw charger. But so far it s been no problem at all, and I ve done 1000 miles in the last two weeks!
If I knew when I bought my EV charger what I know now I would have had a 32A commando socket installed.
And then bought a cheap 7kW charger.
https://ev-extras.com/products/portable-ev-charger...
Is you already have the Tesla mobile charger you can change the three pin plug on it for a 16A or 32A plug which increases the charging power.
https://shop.tesla.com/en_gb/product/blue-adapter-...
https://youtu.be/qwUin9E0l_E?si=hYE17E9k8mmVLgPf
And then bought a cheap 7kW charger.
https://ev-extras.com/products/portable-ev-charger...
Is you already have the Tesla mobile charger you can change the three pin plug on it for a 16A or 32A plug which increases the charging power.
https://shop.tesla.com/en_gb/product/blue-adapter-...
https://youtu.be/qwUin9E0l_E?si=hYE17E9k8mmVLgPf
Edited by paralla on Friday 15th May 18:30
paralla said:
If I knew when I bought my EV charger what I know now I would have had a 32A commando socket installed.
Is you already have the Tesla mobile charger you can change the three pin plug on it for a 16A or 32A plug which increases the charging power.
It's what I've done - it works very well. Is you already have the Tesla mobile charger you can change the three pin plug on it for a 16A or 32A plug which increases the charging power.
NDA said:
paralla said:
If I knew when I bought my EV charger what I know now I would have had a 32A commando socket installed.
Is you already have the Tesla mobile charger you can change the three pin plug on it for a 16A or 32A plug which increases the charging power.
It's what I've done - it works very well. Is you already have the Tesla mobile charger you can change the three pin plug on it for a 16A or 32A plug which increases the charging power.
NDA said:
paralla said:
If I knew when I bought my EV charger what I know now I would have had a 32A commando socket installed.
Is you already have the Tesla mobile charger you can change the three pin plug on it for a 16A or 32A plug which increases the charging power.
It's what I've done - it works very well. Is you already have the Tesla mobile charger you can change the three pin plug on it for a 16A or 32A plug which increases the charging power.
georgeyboy12345 said:
Ah, this must be this weeks I want to use a granny charger to charge my EV as I don t want to invest in a proper charger thread on the EV forum. I was wondering if it was overdue.
Just buy an EV charger
Also, you get better range by using a 7kW EV charger. The quality of the electrons is far superior, as they spin slightly quicker than electrons from a granny charger. Just buy an EV charger
Whilst I waited for my 7kw charger to be fitted I would use a granny charger at 10A in our standard UK sockets. It worked absolutely fine and was noticeably cooler than when running at 13A.
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