110 Charging Using Light Bulb Socket Adapter

[Jeff_ab]

Does anyone know if it is possible to use a light bulb socket adapter to 110 outlet to plug in the portable charger?

I realize that if it works, it is likely to be very slow. We are going to a condo for a week that has covered parking, but no outdoor outlets. It does have lights the come on at night, and those lights are in an old fashioned light bulb socket.

I did find light bulb sockets to 110 outlet adapters that are rated for 1250 watts, if that means anything.

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[foxerson]

Doubtful. You won’t get a grounded connection from a light socket. Haven’t used the L1 travel charger adapter myself. But I know it is pretty finicky about grounding on L2.. Yes, there are 3-prong adapters. But a bulb socket only has hot and neutral. So the ground goes nowhere.

 

[ER1T]

Don’t know if that’ll work or not, but charging on a 110 would probably take you the entire week vacation to fully charge ?

 

[Dark-Fx]

A lot of light sockets aren't rated for that kind of a load, 600W is pretty typical, and the lowest you can set the Rivian to charge at is 6A IIRC, as that's also the lower limit of the J1772 spec.

And yeah, there's also the issue of the missing ground.

 

[carsly]

Even if you can get around the need for a ground, I'd guess you can pull 60-80 watts before frying the light bulb socket. That's not going to do anything in terms of adding to your charge.

I'd bring a 100 foot heavy-duty extension cable and hunt around for a socket when you get there. At least then you can pull a steady 15 amps on 110 which, while pretty pokey, will get you something at 1.6kw/hr. Maybe you lose 25% of that in charging overhead so net 1-1.2kw/hr. Overnight might get you 10% on your battery.

 

[KBabione]

I had to use a normal 110V outlet while at a VRBO in the charging wasteland that is Cooperstown, NY. If you're able to leave it plugged in all the time you're in the condo, you'll be surprised at how much you'll charge over the course of 4-5 days.

The other thing to look for are L2 chargers if you take the Rivian out for dinner and the like. We went to a brewpub for lunch (leaving the R1S at home and taking other ICE vehicles) and were surprised to see a handful of unoccupied L2 chargers there that were not on PlugShare nor advertised on the brewpub website. We were there over 3 hours and would have come out significantly ahead if we had taken the Rivian for the 10-mile drive to/from the restaurant.

 

[CharonPDX]

As others have said, get a proper extension cord and charge from a proper socket.

Light bulb sockets aren't meant for high-power use. About 200 Watts it the maximum load they're meant to handle.

 

[SparkyR1t]

Will it work once possibly. Should you try it no. Lamp sockets as mentioned are made very cheaply. You also will have light switches or possibly timers / photocells in the circuit that will not be rated for heavy loads. Although extension cords are not the preferred mechanism to power a car cord use a proper gauge extension cord for this one.

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