240v Plug Type

[Yeller Feller]

Slate's website says, "With the included charging cable, you can charge using a regular household outlet. If you have access to a 240-volt outlet (the kind of outlet used for dryers, stoves and other appliances), you can charge faster with Level 2 charging."

Are they saying the included charger will handle 240v charging too? If so, which 240v plug does it use?

"the kind of outlet used for dryers, stoves and other appliances," is a little vague. Our electric dryer and our electric range have differing plugs. The choices are many, in fact; here's a chart from a quick Bing search: NEMA Plug and Outlet chart – BSA Electronics

I can't imagine that the 11kw onboard charger will require one of the 50a plug types. I'm crossing my fingers a 6-20 will work. No need to tie-up 50 of my service panel's amps when 20 would suffice, if I chose to wire-up for L2 charging.

Perhaps the charger will include several different plug adapters? That wouldn't seem very Slate like.

 

[beatle]

It probably plugs into a 14-50. That's one of the most common plugs for mobile EVSEs. You'll need a separate hardwired EVSE for 48A/240v 11kw charging.

Nobody really makes modular EVSEs with interchangeable plugs other than Tesla. Slate might let you swap out the 14-50 for a 5-15, but that's usually it. I've used the same Tesla UMC with 4 different plug adapters (including a 6-20) for over 6 years. I didn't even take the Rivian EVSE out of the package since the Tesla one is so good. Since the Slate comes with a NACS port, you won't even need an adapter.

 

[AKrietzer]

Slate's website only shows the level 1, 120 volt plug, but is also says level 2 cord is also included.

https://www.slate.auto/en/charging/

I'm thinking it might have 2 different ends but just one cord, like this one on Amazon. Either that or they never corrected the error. We talked about this last year.

https://www.amazon.com/Adjustable-Portable-Connector-Cybertruck-Certified/dp/B0GFVWN1KD

 

[Tom Sawyer]

Slate's website says, "With the included charging cable, you can charge using a regular household outlet. If you have access to a 240-volt outlet (the kind of outlet used for dryers, stoves and other appliances), you can charge faster with Level 2 charging."

Are they saying the included charger will handle 240v charging too? If so, which 240v plug does it use?

"the kind of outlet used for dryers, stoves and other appliances," is a little vague. Our electric dryer and our electric range have differing plugs. The choices are many, in fact; here's a chart from a quick Bing search: NEMA Plug and Outlet chart – BSA Electronics

I can't imagine that the 11kw onboard charger will require one of the 50a plug types. I'm crossing my fingers a 6-20 will work. No need to tie-up 50 of my service panel's amps when 20 would suffice, if I chose to wire-up for L2 charging.

Perhaps the charger will include several different plug adapters? That wouldn't seem very Slate like.

Have you ever owned or operated an electric vehicle?

 

[Yeller Feller]

Thanks, beatle, for recommending the Tesla UMC. If I need to go that route, I'd prefer to purchase something that lasted you six years before buying some weirdly named product from Chinazon.

I couldn't find on that page where it actually says a L2 cord is included, AKreitzer. I'm sure it's been covered here somewhere, but I didn't see covered in thread titles, so I thought I'd ask. Maybe someone has already asked Slate about their cord.

My only experience with EVs, Tom Sawyer, is through a co-worker who uses L1 charging exclusively. He doesn't have a L2 charger at home, and has never used a L3. Since my car sits for 23 hours/day, I believe L1 charging will work for me similarly.

This realization that I, too, can drive an EV without hiring an electrician first is what led me to find the Slate in the first place. The only reason I'm considering running 240 to the garage is because my electricity provider will allow me to put a Time-Of-Use meter on an EV circuit, allowing me to charge at night for 1/3 of daytime cost.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

I think you'll find charging your EV easy whether it's a Slate or something else.

The only reason I'm considering running 240 to the garage is because my electricity provider will allow me to put a Time-Of-Use meter on an EV circuit, allowing me to charge at night for 1/3 of daytime cost.

That's a pretty sweet deal!

 

[KJRaven]

I plan on utilizing the charger that comes with the truck like I have done for my 2017 Volt.

I have a Nema 6-20 plug in my garage and I made an adapter cord to connect it to the travel charger that came with the Volt. it has been rock solid for almost 10 years. The Volt travel charger only officially supported 120v charging but it was discovered that it is able to do 240v charging by swapping out the cord end, or using an adapter. I have been charging at Level 2 since day 1 (December 2016)

For the vast majority of people the supplied charger will work just fine, just have a qualified electrician install a plug that matches.

***Make sure that it is rated for the continuous load of an EV, they are more expensive than a typical plug, but worth it to prevent a fire!***

 

[atx_ev]

It probably plugs into a 14-50. That's one of the most common plugs for mobile EVSEs. You'll need a separate hardwired EVSE for 48A/240v 11kw charging.

Nobody really makes modular EVSEs with interchangeable plugs other than Tesla. Slate might let you swap out the 14-50 for a 5-15, but that's usually it. I've used the same Tesla UMC with 4 different plug adapters (including a 6-20) for over 6 years. I didn't even take the Rivian EVSE out of the package since the Tesla one is so good. Since the Slate comes with a NACS port, you won't even need an adapter.

I dont think this is true. Both my mercedes phev and my bolt euv came with chargers multiple multiple plugs (for 120 and 240)

 

[JImmy]

A Slate comes with everything you need to charge at home, no need to buy anything extra. With the included charging cable, you can charge using a regular household outlet. If you have access to a 240-volt outlet (the kind of outlet used for dryers, stoves and other appliances), you can charge faster with Level 2 charging. Many EV owners choose to purchase an optional wall-mounted charging station, which can add convenient features like cable storage and Wi-Fi connectivity, but you don’t necessarily need one to charge at home.

Please correct me if I'm am wrong but what I think they say and show in the picture is one cable with a plug for 120 vAC. "If you have access to a 240-volt --- you can charge faster".

Remember minimal from the factory. one cable 120 vAC is fine for me.

 

[Kopsis]

The infographic on Slate's web site shows a NEMA 14-50: https://www.slate.auto/en/charging

Whether that's accurate or just illustrative is unknown, but it's not unusual for low-cost dual-voltage chargers. The NEMA 14-50 has the two hots and the neutral, so EVSE can be designed as essentially a pair of 120V rectifier circuits with their DC outputs in parallel. When plugged into a 120V outlet, they run just one of the circuits.

 

[JImmy]

Totally agree with the plug for the truck but I was referring to the input plug which appears to be a standard 3-prong 120 vAC. I then believe that you can use the Nema 14-50 truck plug with other input sources.

 

[Kopsis]

The only plug on the truck end is NACS. The charger will support two AC connections. It will likely have the NEMA 14-50 plug built-in with an adapter to go down to a "standard" NEMA 5-15 (three-prong 120V). Picture for reference showing how these chargers are commonly configured.

 

[beatle]

I dont think this is true. Both my mercedes phev and my bolt euv came with chargers multiple multiple plugs (for 120 and 240)

Yes, but MB only has 14-50 and 5-15 plugs. I do see GM has 14-30 and TT-30 adapters, but they're missing a few others. 6-15 is especially nice since you can rewire a 5-15 (on its own circuit, or replace all receptacles with 6-15s) to get 240v. That's good for almost 3kw which doubles your charging speed vs a standard household outlet. These are the Tesla adapters available.

I think the Tesla UMC can also use a 3rd party TT-30 adapter which is the weird 30A 120v receptacle found at some campgrounds.

I am surprised that Slate is even providing an EVSE with the truck. I would not expect them to put a lot of resources into making it very flexible.

 

[bloo]

The infographic on Slate's web site shows a NEMA 14-50: https://www.slate.auto/en/charging

Whether that's accurate or just illustrative is unknown, but it's not unusual for low-cost dual-voltage chargers. The NEMA 14-50 has the two hots and the neutral, so EVSE can be designed as essentially a pair of 120V rectifier circuits with their DC outputs in parallel. When plugged into a 120V outlet, they run just one of the circuits.

It doesn't work that way. The 120 Volt circuits aren't paralled in a configuration like this.

"Dual voltage" chargers will actually run from 90 to 265 Volts. The SMPS (switched-mode power supply) converts whatever the AC input is to a 400-Volt DC output. It's more than simple rectification; its actually a boost circuit with PFC (power factor correction) at the front end. The result is an electrically cleaner and more efficient conversion.

Supplies like this run more efficiently at higher input voltages because they draw less current up there. Less current means less resistive losses that wind up as heat.

I doubt Neutral is even used on the 14-50. The two hots supplying 240 Volts across them will be enough.

 

[beatle]

I doubt tge Neutral is even used on the 14-50. The two hots supplying 240 Volts across them will be enough.

Correct, not used on an EVSE. I didn't even connect mine when I originally installed a 14-50 in my garage. I just labeled the receptacle "for EV charging only."

And +1 on the power supply. This is nice because you can also take 208v which is commonly found on commercial EVSEs that are backed by 3-phase power. The charger just adjusts for that lower voltage.

There are "combiners" that pull 120v from two separate circuits - one from each phase of a residence. They are combined into a single 240v output to effectively double your charging speed, but these aren't all that common.