New R1T Home Charging Technical Question

[Tehese]

I'm not familiar with Currents/Amps/Electrical by any means; however, I'm taking delivery of a Gen 1 R1T in ~10 days and have questions about charging at home. I currently am in a Temporary living space that has access to a 220v outlet, (see attached picture). It's ~40ft away from where I will be parking the vehicle. The two plugs look to be different though. Is there a way to utilize this outlet with an extension chord? Thank you!

you!

Sponsored

 

[beatle]

Yes, you'll want one of these to convert to a 14-50R:
https://www.amazon.com/ONETAK-Charger-Compatible-Connector-Connecter/dp/B07XJM4SRJ

And one of these to get closer to your truck:
https://www.amazon.com/Extension-Waterproof-Organizer-Black-Yellow-PlugSaf/dp/B0BZVSZ2J8

That said, the 10-50 was deprecated back in 1996, so it's pretty old. Old doesn't necessarily mean junk, but regular appliance receptacles aren't built for sustained loads like charging an EV, and when you use an extension cord, you're effectively eliminating the benefit of the thermistor in the mobile connector's plug that warns of excessive heat at the receptacle and will trigger a shut down of the charge if it's too hot.

If this is your only option, I'd give it a try with the extension cord and see if the plug gets hot. Check it after 5, 15, 30, 60, and 120 minutes. It should never be too hot to hold. I'd also check the breaker and see that it's rated for 50A. It should be, but sometimes people do weird stuff. I found my dryer is on a 30A breaker (as it should be) but a 50A receptacle, likely from something the PO did.

 

[Tehese]

Yes, you'll want one of these to convert to a 14-50R:
https://www.amazon.com/ONETAK-Charger-Compatible-Connector-Connecter/dp/B07XJM4SRJ

And one of these to get closer to your truck:
https://www.amazon.com/Extension-Waterproof-Organizer-Black-Yellow-PlugSaf/dp/B0BZVSZ2J8

That said, the 10-50 was deprecated back in 1996, so it's pretty old. Old doesn't necessarily mean junk, but regular appliance receptacles aren't built for sustained loads like charging an EV, and when you use an extension cord, you're effectively eliminating the benefit of the thermistor in the mobile connector's plug that warns of excessive heat at the receptacle and will trigger a shut down of the charge if it's too hot.

If this is your only option, I'd give it a try with the extension cord and see if the plug gets hot. Check it after 5, 15, 30, 60, and 120 minutes. It should never be too hot to hold. I'd also check the breaker and see that it's rated for 50A. It should be, but sometimes people do weird stuff. I found my dryer is on a 30A breaker (as it should be) but a 50A receptacle, likely from something the PO did.

Thank you for all your information it was extremely helpful! After checking the box It looks as though it is a 30A breaker does this mean that it is unusable?

 

[NY_Rob]

If that outlet/breaker are 30 amp rated, you need to derate them for EV use, you can probably safely draw 20amps from it, possibly 24 amps. But as mentioned above, please check temps every so often. FWIW.. in addition to checking the outlet/plug temperature, also check the circuit breaker temperature every so often. If it's an old breaker, it may need to be replaced eventually.

 

[Tehese]

If that outlet/breaker are 30 amp rated, you need to derate them for EV use, you can probably safely draw 20amps from it, possibly 24 amps. But as mentioned above, please check temps every so often. FWIW.. in addition to checking the outlet/plug temperature, also check the circuit breaker temperature every so often. If it's an old breaker, it may need to be replaced eventually.

Thank you for the feedback, is derating a DIY thing, or should I have an electrician come out?

 

[Thedude]

Thank you for the feedback, is derating a DIY thing, or should I have an electrician come out?

You will just set the charging amps lower in the truck when you plug in. The Rivian portable charger will default to 32 amps so every time before you plug in you’ll need to go to the charging screen and change it to 20-24amps.

 

[Tehese]

You will just set the charging amps lower in the truck when you plug in. The Rivian portable charger will default to 32 amps so every time before you plug in you’ll need to go to the charging screen and change it to 20-24amps.

Oh that's super easy and convenient! Thank you

 

[Riviot]

The ol' stove connector... I used one of these in a forest service work party cabin a couple years back, worked like a charm! Just verify the breaker is 50amp and, as previously stated, check it every 5-10 minutes for the first couple hours.

https://a.co/d/biaDaMV

 

[beatle]

If this is semi-permanent, you could buy a Tesla mobile connector and adapt the receptacle to a 10-30:

https://www.amazon.com/SURIEEN-10-50P-10-30R-Female-Adapter/dp/B0914W57BP/

And then use a 10-30 extension cord:

https://www.amazon.com/GearIT-Extension-10-30P-10-30R-Charging/dp/B09ND1ZVQW/

The Tesla UMC has adapters for many plug types and will automatically set the max amps based on the adapter used. The Rivian MC does this too, but it only has a 5-15 and 14-50 plug. This will help ensure you don't overload the circuit by drawing 32A on a 30A circuit. You'll need a NACS (Tesla) to J1772 adapter to use the Tesla mobile connector, but a lot of people buy those anyway for charging at Tesla destination chargers (not superchargers).

 

[Electrified Outdoors]

Some good advice here. I would add that it appears to be an old receptacle. I would not use this long term especially since an extension will be needed for it to reach the vehicle.

If you use an extension get one only long enough to reach. The longer the extension the more voltage drop you will get and you may get more heat buildup as well.

Not knowing the condition of the conductors, breaker, and load center I would not feel comfortable going over 16 amps with that for a continuous load.

As was mentioned make sure you check it often for excessive heat and signs or arcing/melting. The contacts in those old receptacle wear out and can present a safety issue.

 

[SwampNut]

If that outlet/breaker are 30 amp rated, you need to derate them for EV use, you can probably safely draw 20amps from it, possibly 24 amps. But as mentioned above, please check temps every so often. FWIW.. in addition to checking the outlet/plug temperature, also check the circuit breaker temperature every so often. If it's an old breaker, it may need to be replaced eventually.

This is a great answer, and I do understand electricity. If you run this at 20a you won't have any issues. Also this is a stove connector which is often used for many hours at a time, just like an EV charger. The 50a extension linked above is way overkill, and will not be any sort of impediment or limit in all of this. See if 20a charging is enough for you. Rough numbers (rounded for simple mental math):

20a x 240v gives you 4800 watts added per hour
A large pack battery is about 135,000 watts
Most people get a little over two miles per watt

Charging from 9pm until 9am therefore gives around 60,000 watts or just under half a charge. In terms of miles, around 120, maybe more.

Sponsored