Is it safe to charge a LEAF at any Tesla Destination EVSE?

[rlmalisz]

I'm planning on picking up one of these:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08HGC4618

It's my understanding that the LEAF will only accept what it can handle at the j1772, so using a TD EVSE with the adapter should just work, irrespective of the amperage/kW of the EVSE. True/false?

--Richard

PS: if it makes any difference, 2021 S Plus.

 

[goldbrick]

Yes, that should work. The car will limit the current to its max (or the EVSE will limit the current to its max if lower than the car's).

Just curious....do you already have the TD cord or are there TD stations out there that are accessible to non-Tesla cars?

 

[rlmalisz]

It's on the way. Many of the "destinations" here that have TD EVSE also have a j1772....but it's not uncommon for the TDs to outnumber the j1772s at a given spot. I'm in Oregon...a lot of wineries have free charging, and many only have TDs. They don't care if you're driving a Tesla, so long as you buy some wine! But I am mostly looking at destinations like hotels where we could L2 charge at a TD EVSE. I suppose some of those might ask a non-Tesla to yield to a Tesla if one shows up, and I would if the biz owner asks...but probably not if the Tesla owner was pushing for it without biz support. I certainly see a lot of the free Volta L2 stations here with Teslas parked at them well beyond the 1 or 2 hour limit. Sometimes, all day, with the owner coming out just long enough to unplug and plug back in.

--Richard

 

[Wavebender]

May I ask a stupid newbie question? Is a J1772 a CHADEMO like we have on our 2016 Leaf? Can we charge at a Tesla station with one of these adapters?

In English, please?

 

[LeftieBiker]

J-1772 is the near-universal standard for EV charging at Level 1 (about 120 volts) and Level 2 (208-240 volts). It is the socket that comes on virtually every 4 wheeled EV, and the plug that charges them. Chademo, along with CCS (aka SAE Combo) and Tesla Superchargers, are all different kinds of DC Fast Charging.

 

[webeleafowners]

We used tesla wall chargers all the time when we had our leaf. No issues. Mostly at wineries or restaurants. Our adapter had a thirty second time in before it started to charge. As a Tesla owner now it doesn’t bother me at all if I see a leaf charging at a wineries Tesla station. Of course I’m still a big leaf fan soooo.... .

 

[jlv]

May I ask a stupid newbie question? Is a J1772 a CHADEMO like we have on our 2016 Leaf? Can we charge at a Tesla station with one of these adapters?

The J1772 connector is the one on the right side on your LEAF (under the orange cap). The CHAdeMO is the one on the left side on your LEAF.

You can safely use the JDapter Stub ($250 IIRC) to charge your LEAF at a Tesla Destination Charger (or any Tesla Wall Connector or Mobile Connector). The adapter will not work at a Tesla SuperCharger - it will physically connect, but your car will not charge (*).

There are other brands of Tesla-to-J1772 adapters that exist now; they seem to work and might be safe, too.


(*) this is the source of many silly "Tesla opens their Superchargers to other EVs" pictures floating around lately. Tesla is currently only doing that in Europe (where the Superchargers are now also CCS Type 2). Pictures from the US of such other EVs doing this are nothing more than people blocking Supercharger stalls, like the Mach-e picture from last week.

 

[WetEV]

(*) this is the source of many silly "Tesla opens their Superchargers to other EVs" pictures floating around lately. Tesla is currently only doing that in Europe (where the Superchargers are now also CCS Type 2).

And where Tesla is legally required to... which will likely never happen in the USA.

 

[webeleafowners]

(*) this is the source of many silly "Tesla opens their Superchargers to other EVs" pictures floating around lately. Tesla is currently only doing that in Europe (where the Superchargers are now also CCS Type 2).

And where Tesla is legally required to... which will likely never happen in the USA.

Agreed. Break my heart. However, at least here in BC, it is getting common to see Tesla install one Chademo CCS station for each 4 Supercharger stations at a Supercharger site. There are at least 8 Superchargers locations like this now including one 2 blocks from my house in Vernon. This is a result of a grant covering permitting of the site if Tesla does this. The actual Chademo CCS chargers are operated by FLO but installed by Tesla. There is another opening in Cranbrook this week or next. Works well. My only complaint is that FLO is using up the last of their 50 KW machines. Apparently going forward they will be 100 kw machines but the 50 KW will stay for now.

 

[moapys]

Having just acquired an old Leaf (pretty good battery health), I also picked up a Tesla adapter - due to the pervasive number here in Indy: I've not yet tried it, but will look for an opportunity and report how it goes - but has anyone used an adapter and can report success (e.g. Level-2 performance, no errors, etc)?

@Update - got off "phone" and used pc, to re-read moderators super useful post on (non-Super)charging w/Tesla "Destination" chargers: Thanks for that pictoral comparison!