30A 125V twist lock charging experience

[B-r-i-a-n]

Just an FYI based on my trial and error. I have a 30A 125V twist lock plug in my garage for a lift. I wanted to try to use it for charging until I figure out my long term plan.

1st attempt:
Using a L5-30P to 5-20R cord I already had, I plugged the portable charger in with the 120V adapter and the truck locked in at 14 Amps and the phone app showed the charge rate at 2.5 mi/hr at 2kW. So it worked, but was hoping to use more of the available amperage.

2nd attempt:
Purchased a "3 Prong 50 Amp RV Generator Adapter Cord, NEMA L5-30P Twist Lock Male Plug to NEMA 14-50R Female" and used the 240V adapter. But the light on the portable charger did not come on. Returned that one. Probably fine for other uses, but not EV.

3rd attempt:
Purchased a "NEMA L5-30P (120V) Twist-Lock to 14-50R EV Adapter" from evseadapters.com and used the 240V adapter. When I checked inside the truck it was set to 34A. I moved it down to 26A and according to the phone app the charge rate is between 5.6 and 6.2 mi/hr at 3kW. From other readings will need to drop that down to 24A.

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[pc500]

24a is the safe rating.

 

[Sean]

Could of used this adaptor this past weekend. Had access to a trailer plug at a campsite but had to settle for the 15a 110 which got 1mi/hr. Thanks for sharing.

 

[dsteg]

Thanks for the insight in this post. I have a 30A 240V twist lock plug where I work. Do you see the EVSE NEMA L14-30P Twist-Lock to 14-50R RV/EV Adapter being a viable solution as long as I reduce the amperage to 24A? Any feedback is greatly appreciated before I purchase the adapter if you think the 240V would be too much power and/or potentially damage the truck.

 

[mkennedy1996]

Thanks for the insight in this post. I have a 30A 240V twist lock plug where I work. Do you see the EVSE NEMA L14-30P Twist-Lock to 14-50R RV/EV Adapter being a viable solution as long as I reduce the amperage to 24A? Any feedback is greatly appreciated before I purchase the adapter if you think the 240V would be too much power and/or potentially damage the truck.

The truck is made to handle 240V at up to 48 amps. So, no damage from this power level.

 

[Cosmacelf]

Thanks for the insight in this post. I have a 30A 240V twist lock plug where I work. Do you see the EVSE NEMA L14-30P Twist-Lock to 14-50R RV/EV Adapter being a viable solution as long as I reduce the amperage to 24A? Any feedback is greatly appreciated before I purchase the adapter if you think the 240V would be too much power and/or potentially damage the truck.

Yes, it’ll work. 240V is fine, that’s a normal voltage for car charging. Do reduce amperage to 24A and double check it is at the value before charging since the Rivian currently has a bad habit of resetting it back to 32A whenever you change other charge settings.

 

[Cosmacelf]

Could of used this adaptor this past weekend. Had access to a trailer plug at a campsite but had to settle for the 15a 110 which got 1mi/hr. Thanks for sharing.

Campsites will have a TT-30 receptacle which is different from OPs but the power is the same as it is a 120V/30A receptacle. Bigger campsites will have nema 14-50 receptacles but I guess yours did not. And yes, a TT-30 is much better to charge from than the 120V/12A.

 

[dsteg]

The truck is made to handle 240V at up to 48 amps. So, no damage from this power level.

Good deal. Thank you.

 

[dsteg]

Yes, it’ll work. 240V is fine, that’s a normal voltage for car charging. Do reduce amperage to 24A and double check it is at the value before charging since the Rivian currently has a bad habit of resetting it back to 32A whenever you change other charge settings.

Awesome. I'll be sure to do that. Thank you!

 

[atebit]

@B-r-i-a-n, what lift do you have?

 

[crashmtb]

The truck is made to handle 240V at up to 48 amps. So, no damage from this power level.

The truck isn’t the issue, the wiring to the outlet is.

 

[mkennedy1996]

The truck isn’t the issue, the wiring to the outlet is.

His question was whether 240V would harm the truck.

I don't believe the wiring to the outlet is the problem in any case. The wiring the outlet are likely just fine.

The problem is when you use a 3rd party adapter, the truck does not know the correct amperage and wants to set a value that will often trip a breaker. I have had this problem with our Teslas over the years and have to be aware whenever using an adapter.

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