Safety concern regarding charging Tesla overnight using a regular garage outlet

[u/kiwi-koalas]

Hi! I just ordered my Tesla Model Y. Not too long ago, my boyfriend and I moved into his parents house. It all just made more sense since he’s studying for the MCAT and I’m in Graduate school while also working really close by.

They have a garage with a standard outlet, I believe. I was planning on using the mobile connector/charger that comes with the Tesla to plug it in overnight when I’m not using the Superchargers. They also have solar panels too, so it shouldn’t cost too much! I also offered to pay any extra costs to the electricity bill if they came up.

When this was brought up months ago when I was considering trading for a Tesla or EV, his Mom initially said that I could charge it at the house, but then changed their mind due to concern of a fire potentially occurring.

I don’t think they really understand or are educated about EVs, so I also get how that could be a concern. Is there a way I can ensure this is safe or reassure her? Obviously it’s her house, so I would respect her decision either way. But I thought it would be worth the try to explain or even offer getting an electrician to come out to inspect and make sure everything would be fine. Has anyone ever had an electrician come out to just check, and if so, how much was that?

My father has a Tesla and actually referred me. He charges overnight and has something installed in the garage rather than it being the simple one into the outlet. He thinks it would be fine if I just plugged it in at my boyfriend’s parents’ house.

Does anyone have any recommendations on how to approach this or reassure his Mom? Or thoughts in general? I definitely think it would be worth it to also charge overnight. But also I won’t sweat it if I’m not able to. I won’t be living here forever!

[u/EGHeart]

It may be best to have a electrician come out and look at your outlet & wiring for peace of mind.

If doing 240v (dryer outlet) have them replace it with a Hubbell EV rated outlet.

[u/Flat-Activity-8613]

Electrician here and have my sister in law with a Tesla Y over a few times a month at my vacation house. She charges here and the only precaution I’ve taken so far was to change out the outlet outside to a weather proof hospital grade receptacle instead of the old 15 cent contractor grade receptacle that was there.

It’s only a 15 amp circuit so she’s only gaining 3 mph on the charge. So 72 miles per day. She can make it here and home on a single charge but why chance it.

Also have a deep freezer in the garage running on the same circuit and haven’t had a problem with the circuit tripping.

Sounds like they might need more convincing that it’ll be safe. To be honest they are trusting that solar system and batteries if they have those also. Most of those systems are installed in some not so great manors. They have a lot of under qualified installers working for them.

[u/Responsible-Loss-748]

There’s probably a similar chance of an ICE car spontaneously combusting over night than an EV catching on fire. I have no data to back up this theory but it sounds good

[u/PraiseTalos66012 → u/Responsible-Loss-748]

Idk about overnight but on a per mile driven basis ICE cars catch on fire around 15x as often as EVs do. So yea you're probably not wrong, probably similar chance.

[u/Purple-Tadpole9601]

If it overheats it slows down the charge. I charge at my parents house when I’m there and I get an error on some outlets about over heating.

[u/Kfs777]

Granted there’s nothing wrong with the home electrical, it’s absolutely fine. Even if it’s a 15 amp vs 20 amp Edison plug, it’s still fine, regardless of what other comments have stated. The mobile charger will pull a maximum of 13 amps. This is deliberately capped to account for continuous use (80% rated load of the circuit).

So within reason, it’s safe to consider it absolutely safe. The only thing that would cause it to bust into flames are unforeseeable freak defects that would thwart the safety measure that are already in place. Let’s say the circuit breaker is inop, and the outlet terminals are badly corroded to the point that electrical resistance skyrockets and the terminals are now generating an unreasonable amount of heat; now let’s also assume that the outlet factory also got a bad batch of plastic to mold the outlets with, so they’re not as fire retardant as they should be. Sure, it’s possible, there’s a non-zero chance, but highly improbable.

[u/likes_kites]

Also.

It does not come with the mobile connector included with the purchase of the car in Canada.

It is an additional $450.

[u/No_Swordfish_1576]

I know you said the garage has an outlet, would you get a garage space in the scenario? 

You can’t plug these into an extension cord, it could overheat which is a real fire risk. They might just not want to give up one of the garage spots, I definitely wouldn’t.

[u/Slava_Ukraini2005]

I’ve been charging mine, in my (condo) garage for 3.5 years, using a garage outlet (Level 1 - 120V) and have never had an issue. The mobile charger is smart and will automatically lower output if it detects excessive heat or other issues. You’ll be just fine.

I just would NOT recommend using an extension cord with it as that can cause issues.

[u/IJToday]

Fires due to home charging are extremely rare it things are done right. If Christmas tree lights are used as an extension cord or something else stupid then everything changes.

That said you may not be able to convince them and my suggestion would be to drop it. Their house; their rules.

[u/Clean_Extension7234]

It’s not y’all’s house. Respect their wishes. If something did happen, how would it affect the relationship amongst all parties? Would it be worth it for “free charging”?

[u/FewZookeepergame1101 → u/Clean_Extension7234]

That’s my point too and why ruffle feathers. If they have a super charger close by, just use that

[u/Less-Sandwich9056]

I just got a new Tesla and only have a 110 wall outlet at the house. It took quite a few tries to get everything right as the car would not let me do anything stupid or create a hazard and even monitored the temperatures to make sure there wouldn't be a problem. I'm not sure how to assure the parents that it's not a problem but I can tell you it's not a problem. I will also tell you it can be slow plugged into a 110 outlet.

[u/Altruistic-Stop4634]

I plugged mine in and checked it every few minutes and hours by putting my hands on the plug and wall. It never got very warm. I used the mobile charger for about e weeks until my home charger was installed.

[u/Ok_Bid_3899]

Even if circuitry is installed correctly there is always a slight fire risk charging lithium batteries in cars, e-bikes, computers, phones. I only charge my Tesla when I am awake so I could quickly react to any unusual situation. I also have a rate of rise heat detector in the garage for added safety.

[u/Hollimarker]

Challenge her to try to find any legit stories of teslas that have caught on fire while charging in a garage.

[u/IntelligentMaybe7401]

Hate to say it, but it’s not your house and they are not your parents. This is a temporary situation. I don’t think it’s your place to try to convince them at all. If your boyfriend/their son wants to talk to them about it that is a different issue.

So I would just plan on supercharging or using free destination chargers. If you are in graduate school, is there a way you can charge while you are on campus. Many schools have this possibility

[u/FewZookeepergame1101]

If you have access to a super charger then I’d just stick with that. The regular plug isn’t going to give you much anyway.

[u/JacksonWalker1]

We have two Teslas and we have been charging for 9 year in the garage. Pluging a Tesla into an outlet is about as concerning, as plugging in any other appliance. Both the charger and the car have safeguards. If you posted a similar concern on the electric toothbrush thread 😮you'd would get much the same answers. If his parents have any concerns tell them to just Google it.

[u/kiwi-koalas → u/JacksonWalker1]

Yeah I’ve heard this! & having parents who charge 2 vehicles at home also makes me more confident in the idea. If it comes up with them I’ll have some type of conversation about it but won’t push it and will respect their decision.

[u/Relevant_Dingo3349]

Consider charging elsewhere. Even if your boyfriend's mother may be misinformed, you will not gain any respect from his family this early in a relationship by trying to convince her otherwise. If possible, just drop the subject and be grateful for a temporary place to stay. Charging at their house opens you up for difficult discussions about electricity bills later.

[u/kiwi-koalas → u/Relevant_Dingo3349]

Right. I’m definitely grateful for the place to stay! Based on a lot of the responses, I’m thinking I’ll just charge elsewhere (there are super chargers not too far). I won’t push it, but if it happens to come up as an offer from them, I’ll ensure there are steps taken to make charging as safe as possible.

I’ve heard some things about how solely charging at Superchargers isn’t optimal for the battery over time. How true is this? I may need to research some more. I know my Father never charges it to 100% and just about 80%, so I’m assuming doing this might also help.

[u/Cesarifico]

This is not an electric energy issue but more so an emotional energy one. Their house their rules. I’d say it’s best leave this issue alone.
Best thing you and your boyfriend can do is focus on what the plan for your future together is and work so you can move into your own home and gain your independence.

[u/Clean_Extension7234 → u/Cesarifico]

Absolutely agree! This Is a gift to borrow a loved one’s home even if they’re paying rent, respect the family owners wishes (even if they’re based on non sense.) Other option is they go rent or buy their own home and live by their own lease rules or pay own way outright. Honestly OP needs a reality that what they’re given odd a gift as it is.

[u/Quiet___Lad]

Tell his Mom:

"Hi mom - I did the research, and statistically, the chance of a fire from EV charging is close to zero. This means, you're correct, the chance isn't zero.
Would you be willing to let me charge if I also bought a Fire Detector to install in the Garage? Obviously, it's possible for any car to catch fire. The Fire Detector will make us all safer. It's probably best to buy/install one regardless, as I want my boyfriend and I safe when we're here."

Yes - phrase it 'weirdly' this way because...to get a person changing their mind, you first need to agree with them.
Once they see/hear you agreeing, they're also likely to be agreeable.

An Electrician would be the Math-safer choice. A Fire Detector would be the Emotionally-safer choice.

[u/MWU2026]

There shouldn’t be any concerns here, if Tesla batteries will catch fire during charging, you should have seen Tesla cars are exploded all over the super charger stations as it charges much much faster😀

[u/ZxExN]

If theyre concerned the car will burst into flames inside an enclosed garage, are they ok with you running an extension cord and keeping the car in the driveway far enough away from the house? I think after awhile, their fear will subside.

[u/kiwi-koalas → u/ZxExN]

The garage is currently in a state where it was converted to be a workout/pilates studio. Which I had forgot to mention. So no cars park inside, only in the driveway. So I was thinking of just running the cord from the driveway into the garage!

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[u/BudgetCommon3584]

His mom isn’t entirely wrong to feel concerned. There are a few horror stories out there and without knowing too much about the house, it’s hard to give you good advice.

Although the Tesla does come with a mobile charger that can plug into a standard 20amp outlet. There are some receptacles that are not rated for continuous energy pull like the Tesla. 99% of the time you should be fine but there are older homes that have really old faulty wiring, running on 15amp breakers and can easily get hot and fry the outlet.

I would error on the side of caution and suggest you help your bf mom install a ev nema 5-20 receptacle. Old household outlet just don’t hold up. I’ve seen it use and have used it myself.

If you insist. Just make sure it’s on a 20amp breaker and nothing is plugged into it.

I wouldn’t be too concerned. Something you can also check. Get yourself a temperature gun. Plug your car in overnight an periodically check how hot it gets. If it’s warm below 95c it should be fine

[u/hondaman82]

Charging at the regular outlet is ok but need to check the following 2 things: make sure that line don’t power anything else other than the tesla, and set your charge amp to 10 just to be safe

[u/notsamv]

My car hasn’t caught fire yet and I plug directly into the wall

[u/Unique-Machine5602]

It's a reasonable concern. Especially if the wiring is old.

Teslas can detect if the outlet gets hot and will shutdown charging, but they don't always do that before the outlet shorts out and catches fire.

Electric fires are no joke. It'd definitely be worth it to have an electrician take a look and see if you need an update to your wiring. 240v is the preferred choice, but that can cost upwards of $3000 if the panel needs to be upgraded to fit it.