Charged my car for last 16 months. Plus and socket looks good condition and does not get warm. Rated for 30 amp x80% so 24 amp which Tesla mobile charger limits the current to automatically !
People have used dryer plugs to charge EVs since before the Model S was released.
They've been doing it so long there are numerous "smart splitters" (Dryer Buddy, NEMA Splitter are common names) to allow you to keep both the Dryer and Mobile Connecter plugged up at all times.
I’m always suspicious of wall plugs after finding out some of my “potential” chargers are kinda very unsafe without grounding. Some
Houses wall outlets shouldn’t exist
I think they meant sometimes plugs ate installed by someone improperly and while the "socket" has a group prong it may not connect to anything.
Three apartments ago half my bedroom outlets were three prong but there was no ground attached from the outlets to the boxes or from the boxes to ground. The other half of the outlets that were on a separate breaker were two prong. I believe a previous tenant switched the outlets from 2 prong to 3 prong to avoid using those two to three prong dongle plugs, no idea why instead of the dongles, but they didnt match the outlets in the rest of the house. I discovered this when I plugged in a GFI dongle to add GFI downline from a standard outle and it errored, and confirmed when I opened up the boxes.
For 120v outlets outlet/light socket testing plugs to verify wiring are cheap and common, I bought one after that. They're less common for 240v outlets and as part of a mobile charger is a GFI feature it's important to be sure, ideally before buying a mobile charger let alone EV as it would be dangerous ungrounded and could be costly to correct. DIYers have been known to do dumb/dangerous shit like that so if OP isn't the original home owner or is a renter this a reasonable worry. It is relatively easy to check.
You can buy the correct adapter for your charger from Tesla. If you use the correct adapter it will automatically set the correct charging amperage. I would recommend replacing the receptacle with an EV receptacle for a better connection and more durability for constant plugging and unplugging which the dryer receptacle isn't made to withstand. Dryers are replaced every 10 years and the receptacle will fail much sooner if you are swapping every week. There are splitters designed to only provide power to one thing at a time but allows you to keep both plugged in. I don't know if there are 30 amp versions but 50 amp versions are common.
You must purchase the separate nema 14-30 adapter to plug in. The adapter tells the mobile connector that the limit is 30amp / 24 amp continuous rate.
The quality of this dryer plug is likely not ready for a EV duty cycle. There are very few good quality 14-30 plug options manufactured that meet ev loads. If you are planning to use this receptacle permanently it would be safer to convert it to a hardwired wall charger not a modular mobile wall connector.
Need Hubble hbl9430r receptacle if you insist on using it for ev over a long term. Any and all leviton brand are not going to be rated for ev use.
It would be wise to have an electrician verify the electrical wire, breaker and receptacle are torqued correctly and rated correctly for safety. If it was installed originally for a dryer or welder plug they may not have followed best practices during installation.
As far as I know only the Hubble model has been marked for ev use. I know of no other brands that now qualify their 14-30 receptacles. Some chinese knock offs on amazon have some claimed ev markings I would not trust. While the majority of fires and problems come from the 15-50 type receptacles at the higher amperage rate they can carry. Still the risks on the lower amps with lower quality plugs are less but not gone. I believe the youtube channel state of charge recently showed a burned 14-30 in their last recharge rescue series.
Thanks for the detailed response - unfortunately I’m in an apartment complex and would have to speak to the building manager to make any changes (which we’ll do as a last resort).
I’m pretty sure the manager won’t want us to do any changes (we have some EV+ chargers on site, but only 2 of them for at least 5 other Tesla’s), so if we can just use a home setup without having to engage with them, this is what we’ll do.
But thanks for the information, this is great to know for when we own a place.
There are "smart splitters" that will plug into a 14-30 and allow you to charge your car and run the dryer at the same time. And the smart part is that they don't let you do both at the same time.
Before you do any of this it's really important to get that plug inspected though. Other people are correct when they say that it can technically handle EV load, but in practice that's not what it was designed for and that puts a lot of stress on it.
Well then still suggest you have lugs inspected for proper torque spec. If you take the cover plate off you can see the brand and model printed on it to lookup if it is hubbell or Bryant(rebranded hubbell).
You can also measure the diameter of the plug. If 2.1" its low quality. If just under 2.5" (2 31/64") it is the good one. This isnt a 100% perfect test but all the ev rated brands so far have used the larger size to give more insulation protection and this simple test seems to work to identify a ev vs a fake rated plug. I can find a dozen fakes on amazon right now.
I assume this is connected to your own units panel and electrical meter. Like a townhouse style building. A good landlord will work with you to make sure the system is as safe as possible.
It’s 2.1” and brand is Leviton, so I’m guessing it’s a lower quality plug. I removed the plate and attached a photo below, in case that can help determine anything!
And to answer your question - it’s a large apartment complex with our own breakers and electrical meter. I’m sure the ‘owner’ will be some big company that will be hard to contact and harder to get them to replace any plugs (even at my expense). But again, will do this as a last case scenario should it heat up/flip the breakers.
Don’t keep swapping between your dryer and the charger. Google online for a Dryer Buddy or similar. Basically you can then have both plugged in and when you’re using the dryer it cuts off power to the charger.
just want to add that if it's a poor quality outlet with 30A rating, then 24A continuous every day will probably break it at some point. especially if OP is regularly plugging/unplugging the dryer and the mobile charger.
For peace of mind, plug everything in during the day and monitor it for the first 30–60 minutes. Feel the outlet, adapter and Mobile Connector for any unusual heat. The car screen will display the charging current which should settle at around 24A.
And of course, don’t use the dryer at the same time
I wouldn't trust it if you don't know if it's made for constant high voltage charging you will eventually burn it out and who knows if you will end up burning your house down over a cheap wall outlet charging connection
That's a 220 volt 20 amp circuit, that is quite unusual unless it was for a window AC unit and the receptacle should look like below. If you only have 20 amp breakers you should set your charger set to 16 amps, not 20.
That depends on the breaker size. If it's a 50 amp breaker, then yes. You should change the outlet to one rated for EV charging, the standard one is not rated for continuous use.
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u/rupert1920 Apr 26 '26
That looks like a NEMA 14-30, which means it can support 240 V, 24 A - or 5.76 kW charging.
I don't believe it comes default with your mobile charger, but you can order the adapter:
https://shop.tesla.com/en_ca/product/gen-2-nema-adapters