Charging Adaptors
The included Mobile Connector includes both 10A and 15A single phase power plugs (pic from https://twitter.com/DavidCaoEV)
This article covers the extra adaptors you may need if you plan on charging outside the Tesla network of Superchargers, Destination Chargers or the equipment included with the car.
What comes with the car?
In Australia, the Model 3 comes with a Mobile Connector. The Mobile Connector includes adaptors to suit 10A and 15A Australian standard sockets. You can also buy the Tesla High Powered Wall Connector for $780 which is designed to be hard-wired into your house and is programmable to suit the amount of power the wiring in your house can handle.
Note that until October 2020 Australian delivered Teslas included a High Powered Wall Connector (HPWC) with a 7m lead. That is no longer the case.
In Australia, the Model 3 has a Combined Charging System version 2.0 Combo Type 2 socket. For simplicity sake I’ll refer to this as CCS2.
Through this socket the car accepts power from three different types of sources-
Up to 7.4kW/32A of single phase AC
Up to 11kW/16A of three phase AC
Up to 250kW of DC (so far, higher throughput may come in time)
The CCS2 socket on an Australian Model 3 (pic from https://twitter.com/DavidCaoEV)
The AC input is via the Type 2 7-pin top part of the socket and DC via the bottom two pins. The top section is commonly called the Type 2 socket. Some people also refer to it as ‘Mennekes’ however that’s a company that makes Type 2 cables - not the standard. The CCS2 DC plug occupies both halves of the connector as the car is grounded by the central ground pin and uses the data pins in the top Type 2 section.
Collectively devices that connect your car to the grid are called EVSEs - Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment. These are straight forward devices that connect your car to the grid in such a way as to prevent the car drawing too much power and causing a fire or tripping a breaker. DC chargers are actually chargers as they connect directly to the car’s battery via the DC pins in the CCS2 socket.
What about Model S and X?
This blog isn’t about S and X - but I’ll cover this off quickly. Australian and European (three-phase) cars have what looks like a Type 2 connector. And for AC it works just like that. But because the port on these cars was designed before Tesla adopted the CCS2 standard for DC Tesla modified the port so that they could also use it for DC charging on their proprietary Superchargers. This means that without an adaptor the only way to get DC into an S or X is from a Tesla Supercharger. There are CCS2 and CHAdeMO adaptors available however they are expensive, and the car needs the latest hardware and software to support the adaptors. From July 2019 all S and X come with the CCS2 adaptor. There is a great breakdown of charging Model S and Model X on the TOCA site.
The great thing about standards is that there are so many to choose from
What makes charging an electric vehicle so interesting and complex is the myriad of competing standards that have been developed and deployed over the years. Adding to this, countries such as the US and Japan don’t have three-phase power so manufacturers have been understandably reluctant to add pins and electronics for two extra phases that will never be used in those countries.
There is light at the end of the tunnel, however. All new electric cars on sale in Australia today have a Type 2 AC charging port including the Model 3, 2019 Nissan Leaf, Renault Zoe and BMW i3.
DC ADAPTORS for the Model 3
In short - there aren’t any. But you need not worry. The remaining few CCS1 chargers in Western Australia are being migrated to CCS2 and all public locations with CHAdeMO also have CCS2 leads. Converting CHAdeMO to CCS2 is technically unfeasible, as I understand it.
Tesla Superchargers are all being fitted with CCS2 leads in addition to the proprietary “DC over Type 2” lead the Model S and Model X use.
Note: DC chargers only work on one cable at a time. This means that you can’t charge one car on the CHAdeMO cable and one on CCS2 at the same time. AC pods with multiple outlets typically allow all sockets and cables to be used at once but the available current may be reduced to share the load.
AC ADAPTORS for the Model 3
The untethered Type 2 EVSE located at Cooroy as part of the Queensland Electric Superhighway. If you plan to travel extensively in Queensland I’d recommend buying a Type 2 - Type 2 cable as a backup encase the CCS2 DC charger is either busy or broken.
There are five common AC EV charging solutions you will see on the road in Australia:
Tesla destination chargers will plug straight into the Model 3. Remember that for AC Model S and Model X have the same Type 2 plug.
Type 2 tethered EVSEs with the lead attached to the EVSE - You don’t need any adaptors either - just plug them in.
Type 2 untethered locations where you need to bring your own lead - For these you will need to buy a suitable lead. I would recommend one that is wired for 32A on all three phases. This way you can get the full 32A/7.4kW on single phase or use all three phases at 16A/11kW if they are available. I bought one from AliExpress, and it appears to be very well made and promises to meet Australian Standards, but quality and design can vary wildly from AliExpress. A safer option would be buying a genuine one from Tesla for $310.
Type 1 (J1772) tethered locations can be adapted with a cheap converter. Type 1 is only single phase so only expect a maximum of 7.4kW. I wouldn’t bother buying one unless you have a Type 1 location that you intend to visit regularly or have an insatiable appetite for acquiring things you’ll never use.
Type 1 (J1772) untethered locations - If you’ve also got the Type 2 to Type 2 lead mentioned above then use a converter on the supply end of that to convert it to Type 1. There are not many of these about and, as above, with no new cars are sold with Type 1 you will see less and less of these around.
What about non-EV outlets?
The included Mobile Connector does have interchangeable ends - one 10A and one 15A. Unfortunately, these are de-rated to 8A and 12A, respectively. If you want to travel to other locations and charge faster than about 15km/h then you will need a third-party portable EVSE and a suitable adaptor.
The industrial outlets that are common in Australia include:
Single phase 20A with three flat pins
Single phase 20A with three round pins
Three phase with five round pins in 20A, 32A and 50A variants
Three phase outlets with only four pins (no neutral pin) are not suitable and the car and any legally wired EVSE will not activate
A three phase 32A industrial outlet. Note that Tesla requires all five pins. Some older outlets only have four pins and are not suitable!
A new option to market is a 32A 3-phase tail for the Mobile Connector. It will only draw on one phase at 32A but that is still quite fast and more than enough to get a full charge during a short overnight stay.
Making a portable EVSE that supports all the plugs listed above and is fool proof is a complex project. You need to make a system so that the EVSE only ever draws the current that the attached dongle supports. The Juice Booster and Telsa Mobile Connector do this via RFID or resistors in the dongle to identify it to the EVSE.
You can wire a cable into the HPWC to build a makeshift portable 3-phase EVSE but it would be quite easy to plug it into something and have it programmed to draw too much current and trip the breaker - or worse.
If you don't have a spare HPWC then there are other options depending on your appetite for uninsured risk.
If you want to do something legitimate that supports three-phase then the only real option is the Juice Booster 2. If the included adaptors are not sufficient then talk to Jet Charge about what extras they can supply - almost anything you want is available or could be made.
So, what should I buy?
For most people, the equipment included in the car will see them through all but the most extreme road trips. If you regularly plan to use non-Tesla charging locations such as the Queensland Electric Superhighway that need you to bring your own Type 2 lead then this is cheap and uncomplicated, so I’d recommend you dropped the $310. Being able to charge at 11kW if the 50kW CCS2 DC charger is busy or broken could make the difference between a great weekend away or a long couple of days charging from a motel room at 2.4kW via the Mobile Connector.
As for the Type 1 or industrial adaptors I wouldn’t invest unless you found a specific use case - such as a relative having a three-phase outlet on their farm that you visit regularly, or your workplace has an existing Type 1 EVSE. If you are just doing an occasional trip, then join TOCA and borrow one from them.
If you are staying in motels and campsites and have permission to plug your car into their power point it will be handy to have a ~25m 10A and 15A extension leads and a waterproof box to join them to the Mobile Connector.
It’s a complicated ‘no-right-answer’ topic - but I hope this has enlightened you a bit and please leave a comment if you have any further tips or have any corrections that I need to make!
Other Resources
Rado Trenciansky and Colin Allen of TOCA have made a video on this topic.
Bryce Gaton has covered DC charging the Model 3 over at The Driven as well
Updates
10/7/2020 - Added emphasis notes on DC chargers only working on one lead at a time.