Can't make dryer outlet work with portable charger

[tcaron3097]

I purchased this conversion cable https://www.amazon.com/Parkworld-88...3ZK3/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8&th=1 listed as a
Parkworld 885378 EV Adapter Cord NEMA TT-30P to 14-50R (ONLY for EV or Tesla use, NOT for RV) (10FT).
Attached the cord to the 14-50r plug that comes with the charger. Doesn't work [no light on charger and no response from the truck]. Do I need to set a dipswitch in the charger, or take some other action? I confirmed the dryer outlet is hot, FYI.

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[VSG]

I doubt you have a TT-30 dryer outlet. That adapter is for a TT-30 outlet. TT stands for "Travel trailer" and this type of outlet is a 120V outlet that is mostly found in RV parks.

For home use you probably have a 240V NEMA 10-30 dryer outlet. That is wired differently than a TT-30.

In short, you have the wrong adapter.

 

[sub]

Are you sure that your dryer plug is TT-30P? That would be somewhat unusual.

Most dryers are 14-30 (newer home) or 10-30 (older home).

Also, even with the right adapter, this is a bad idea. The Rivian is not going to know about the adapter and will try to pull too much current. You can manually lower the charging speed in the vehicle, but eventually you will forget to change the setting and could burn your house down.

The much better solution for charging on a 30 amp circuit is to use a charger that is designed for that sort of use and will report the correct amperage to the car.

 

[VSG]

Also, even with the right adapter, this is a bad idea. The Rivian is not going to know about the adapter and will try to pull too much current. You can manually lower the charging speed in the vehicle, but eventually you will forget sometime and could burn your house down.

"Bad idea" is a little too general. Adapters are really useful in the real world while on the road, staying at a campground or an AirBnB, etc. Or even for temporary use at home while you're waiting to get your EVSE installed.

I agree that for a permanent solution to charging at home, it's much safer and more foolproof to go with a hardwired charger or with one that stays plugged in permanently without an adapter. If you use an adapter on a "permanent" basis there WILL be a time you forget to set the current limit inside your vehicle, and that will be a problem.

Yes, you must remember that when you use and adapter with your portable charger, your portable charger can't know what type of outlet you're plugged into, so you have to make sure you set the current limit inside your vehicle.

 

[tcaron3097]

Thank you for the explanation

I doubt you have a TT-30 dryer outlet. That adapter is for a TT-30 outlet. TT stands for "Travel trailer" and this type of outlet is a 120V outlet that is mostly found in RV parks.

For home use you probably have a 240V NEMA 10-30 dryer outlet. That is wired differently than a TT-30.

In short, you have the wrong adapter.

Thank you for the explanation!

 

[sub]

"Bad idea" is a little too general. Adapters are really useful in the real world while on the road, staying at a campground or an AirBnB, etc. Or even for temporary use at home while you're waiting to get your EVSE installed.

I agree that for a permanent solution to charging at home, it's much safer and more foolproof to go with a hardwired charger or with one that stays plugged in permanently without an adapter. If you use an adapter on a "permanent" basis there WILL be a time you forget to set the current limit inside your vehicle, and that will be a problem.

Yes, you must remember that when you use and adapter with your portable charger, your portable charger can't know what type of outlet you're plugged into, so you have to make sure you set the current limit inside your vehicle.

For the OP, it is a bad idea. Sure, if you know what you are doing, adapters like this can work in a pinch and be reasonably safe, but the OP doesn't know what they are doing. If you have to ask for help bypassing safety features, you probably shouldn't be bypassing safety features.

Even if you do know what you are doing, it is still much better to just use a portable charger that will pass along the limitations of the plug since they do exist and are not all that expensive (relative to the cost of a Rivian).

For example, if you use Tesla's mobile charger with Tesla's 30 amp plug, there is no risk of drawing more than 30 amps from the 30A dryer outlet.

https://shop.tesla.com/product/nema-adapter-bundle
https://shop.tesla.com/product/mobile-connector

 

[PowerBugs]

I have a NEMA 1030P dryer and I use it for my portable Rivian charger because my landlord doesn’t want me to install my wall charger. I use a NeoCharge adaptor and a 10-30P to 14-50 extension and have this setup since June. It works fine. If you schedule your charging at home, set it to lower amperage (for me at 30amp) and it will remember it.

 

[Hercules10]

Dryers typically run for 30 minutes to an hour. Much longer time for your Rivian. You may want to charge at low amperage or your likely to melt your socket. At least check the heat if you go for max pull. An example, my home system is a direct connect to the 240 box and I was getting some mild -moderate heat on the line at a 48 amp pull. I back it back to 40amps .. I use all spec wiring.

 

[KBabione]

I just got back from my sister's house in rural western Massachusetts and plugged into their dryer outlet using my 10-30P adapter and my 50' 14-50 extension cord. I lowered the amps the car would draw to 30 to match the dryer and everything worked perfectly. My biggest challenge was trying to coil the 14-50 extension cord this morning when it was cold!

 

[SPITmadFIRE]

Dryers typically run for 30 minutes to an hour. Much longer time for your Rivian. You may want to charge at low amperage or your likely to melt your socket. At least check the heat if you go for max pull. An example, my home system is a direct connect to the 240 box and I was getting some mild -moderate heat on the line at a 48 amp pull. I back it back to 40amps .. I use all spec wiring.

It has very little, if anything, to do with "how long" an appliance usually runs on an outlet. If you're using an adapter that's not rated for the power you're drawing through it, you're running a massive risk of fire. That adapter is rated at 125V 30A, plugging it into a 240V outlet is already a terrible idea let alone trying to draw more than double the rated power through it.

Just because the plugs are the same does NOT mean it's okay to use. Get a proper 240V adapter that can handle a margin of error above the sustained current you expect to draw.

 

[VSG]

I just got back from my sister's house in rural western Massachusetts and plugged into their dryer outlet using my 10-30P adapter and my 50' 14-50 extension cord. I lowered the amps the car would draw to 30 to match the dryer and everything worked perfectly. My biggest challenge was trying to coil the 14-50 extension cord this morning when it was cold!

Don't do this again. You should have lowered your car's draw to 24 amps. EV chargers are continuous-draw devices, which by electrical safety code are limited to 80% of the circuit's rating. 80% of 30 amps is 24 amps - that's the maximum continuous current that the circuit is rated for. Charging an EV for hours at 30 amps on that circuit is a fire hazard.

 

[KBabione]

Don't do this again.

Thanks - We'll drop it to 24 amps the next time.

 

[sub]

I just got back from my sister's house in rural western Massachusetts and plugged into their dryer outlet using my 10-30P adapter and my 50' 14-50 extension cord. I lowered the amps the car would draw to 30 to match the dryer and everything worked perfectly. My biggest challenge was trying to coil the 14-50 extension cord this morning when it was cold!

Don't do this again. You should have lowered your car's draw to 24 amps. EV chargers are continuous-draw devices, which by electrical safety code are limited to 80% of the circuit's rating. 80% of 30 amps is 24 amps - that's the maximum continuous current that the circuit is rated for. Charging an EV for hours at 30 amps on that circuit is a fire hazard.

This is why any advice other than "don't use adapters that don't pass along the circuit limitations to the vehicle" is bad advice.

There are all sorts of rules that can be broken if you know what you're doing, but if you're asking for advice on the internet, you don't know what you're doing.

 

[Donald Stanfield]

This is why any advice other than "don't use adapters that don't pass along the circuit limitations to the vehicle" is bad advice.

There are all sorts of rules that can be broken if you know what you're doing, but if you're asking for advice on the internet, you don't know what you're doing.

Drop the elitism. No one knows what they are doing until they learn. Asking for help is the first step in learning and once you know, and understand the underlying reason behind it, you can safely use the information. When I joined this forum almost 2 years ago I knew next to nothing about EVs. This past November I was able to use the adapter at a friend's welding outlet and even calculated out that at my state of charge and when I needed to leave that drawing 20 amps was sufficient so I set the truck to 20 for an extra margin of safety.

If you don't want to help educate people then that's fine, pipe down. The lecture isn't helpful and no one signed up for your safety camp this year. I'm all for telling people how to safely do stuff but scolding people like they are 5 just gets them to ignore safety rules or tune you out completely.

Most people in this forum are relatively intelligent and as such they have the ability to learn. Start there, and you might get further.

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