Can you convert Juicebox J1772-to-NACS ?

JeffKeryk

JeffKeryk

Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
27,982
Location
Los Gatos, CA
Our next door neighbors turned in their Bolt and bought the gorgeous Lex RZ350e which uses the NACS recepticle.
They used the adapter for awhile, but the adapter does not fit well. Perhaps they over-pulled or pushed it?
We tried out Tesla Wallcharger and the NACS plug worked fine; no issues.

Can the Juicebox cable/connector be swapped to the NACS style or should they plan on a new Wall charger?
You may already know Juicebox is outta business.

Thanks in advance!
 
I would think the standard J1772 to NACS adapter Teslas come with should work for charging.

I would think picking up one of those would be the easiest solution.
 
Generically/theoretically yes - the problem is the charger-end of the cables aren’t standard on how it connects to the charger itself.

I’d try another adapter first. Is it possible they got a cheapo adapter? I’d get a quality Lectron or A2Z adapter. I’ve been running a Lectron NACS-to-J1772 adapter for 2 years and it’s been perfect.

Beyond that it might be time to upgrade to a new & supported unit. Does your utility give rebates on EVSE units? Is so, it might be a cheap upgrade just to have an electrician swap units.

Quality NACS cables are about $200 (like a ChargePoint), vs. $500 for a whole new EVSE. Ultimately you’re only spending $300 extra over a new cord.
 
The vehicle is a brand spankin' new Lex RZ350e which uses the NACS plug. They have been using the adapter, but it no longer inserts properly. I think they might have kinda pounded it in... I tried my adapter; same thing. It does not insert properly. Susie pulled it into our driveway and I tried my Tesla Wall charger; it fit perfectly.

Something was damamged. I think the Tesla Wallcharger is the answer. I will offer to let them borrow my Mobile Charger which will work, because their Juicebox was not hardwired. NEMA 14-50. Thanks @ecotourist
 
So I walk over with my Mobile Charger pack and Susie says, "You mean like this?" and points to the included Lexus Mobile Charger.
Talk about a blinding flash of the obvious...
We unplugged the JB and plugged in her Mobile Charger. Yup.

They will give the JB to their daughter and son-in-law for their Bolt. Yup.
 
Lol, glad they got it resolved. I converted my JB to OpenEVSE and they have a cord, but not sure it works with JB. Not sure what I'll do when I get a NACS vehicle since my new, 48-Amp autel is J1772. Probably just use an adapter.
 
ecotourist said:
Why not convert to a standard 240 Volt outlet and use a Tesla charge cable? That's all I use. Works perfect.
Click to expand...
Hardwire is better and safer, the NEMA 14-50R is not really designed to be repeatedly plugged and unplugged, contrary to what some EV owners do. And you get more amperage with hardwire, can go up to the limit that your vehicle supports, usually 48A. You also don't have to try to jam some EV safe receptacle like the Hubble into a box with limited space, the Hubble is quite large and I had to extend my box to fit it. With hardwire you just terminate the lugs directly into the EVSE.
 
Brons2 said:
Hardwire is better and safer, the NEMA 14-50R is not really designed to be repeatedly plugged and unplugged, contrary to what some EV owners do. And you get more amperage with hardwire, can go up to the limit that your vehicle supports, usually 48A. You also don't have to try to jam some EV safe receptacle like the Hubble into a box with limited space, the Hubble is quite large and I had to extend my box to fit it. With hardwire you just terminate the lugs directly into the EVSE.
Click to expand...
Good advice. I always tell people to add any charging upgrade requirements to the price of the car. And it can be costly!
If you just leave the Mobile Cable plugged in, it is a viable solution. As you say, hardwired is the best solution.
I would only add, if use use a recepticle, get a good one like the Hubbell or an EV designed one.

1781878693716.webp

My setup, old vs new:
1781878491157.webp

1781878526170.webp
 
Hardwire a Tesla in its place and be done. The Tesla is about $450. Since the wiring is there, an electrician can do this quickly and cheaply.
Don't mess around with plugging/unplugging into a NEMA for a daily use charger.

Do it once and do it right.
 
Astro14 said:
Hardwire a Tesla in its place and be done. The Tesla is about $450. Since the wiring is there, an electrician can do this quickly and cheaply.
Don't mess around with plugging/unplugging into a NEMA for a daily use charger.

Do it once and do it right.
Click to expand...
Agreed, but not as much as I used to. I see nothing wrong with an EV rated NEMA 14-50 recepticle and Mobile Connector L2 solution, as long as you are leaving the Mobile Connecter connected. It's cost effective. Of course you can always install a Wall Charger going forward. I charged this way for a couple of years. The EV rated receptacles are built to handle a greater continuous load and heat.

As you point out, in my neighbor's case, wiring a Wall Charger is little more work than wiring the recepticle. The big cost, the dedicated circuit from a service panel on the other side of the house, is already in place.

I strongly recommended the Wall Charger; heck Los Gatos Tesla is 5 minutes away. Pay once cry once.
 
Last edited:
Brons2 said:
Hardwire is better and safer, the NEMA 14-50R is not really designed to be repeatedly plugged and unplugged, contrary to what some EV owners do. And you get more amperage with hardwire, can go up to the limit that your vehicle supports, usually 48A. You also don't have to try to jam some EV safe receptacle like the Hubble into a box with limited space, the Hubble is quite large and I had to extend my box to fit it. With hardwire you just terminate the lugs directly into the EVSE.
Click to expand...
I almost never plug and unplug my Tesla Mobile Connector. The only time it was unplugged was when our floor refinisher insisted on running his sanding machine from our 240 Volt outlet. I've turned the amperage down (at the car) to 25 Amps because a lower charge rate should be good for the battery and might be good for the connections too. So I don't need or want more amperage. We have no problem spending more time charging.

On a further heretical note, I'm now only charging to 60% which might run down as low as 40% after a busy day. I understand that a Tesla battery is the least stressed at about a 50% charge.
 
JeffKeryk said:
Agreed, but not as much as I used to. I see nothing wrong with an EV rated NEMA 14-50 recepticle and Mobile Connector L2 solution, as long as you are leaving the Mobile Connecter connected. It's cost effective. Of course you can always install a Wall Charger going forward. I charged this way for a couple of years. The EV rated receptacles are built to handle a greater continuous load and heat.

As you point out, in my neighbor's case, wiring a Wall Charger is little more work than wiring the recepticle. The big cost, the dedicated circuit from a service panel on the other side of the house, is already in place.

I strongly recommended the Wall Charger; heck Los Gatos Tesla is 5 minutes away. Pay once cry once.
Click to expand...
This. Just leave it plugged in. I've done the same with an aftermarket solution that has a bunch of features built into the device. I'm running it on a 14-30 so that isn't enough supply for the standard wall charger, but realistically as you mention the biggest issue is only if you're constantly unplugging it and plugging it back in.
 
Torrid said:
This. Just leave it plugged in. I've done the same with an aftermarket solution that has a bunch of features built into the device. I'm running it on a 14-30 so that isn't enough supply for the standard wall charger, but realistically as you mention the biggest issue is only if you're constantly unplugging it and plugging it back in.
Click to expand...
I have our Tesla Mobile charger plugged into a 40 Amp 240 Volt circuit. Our Model 3's maximum charge rate of 32 Amps works just fine on that circuit (I used it that way for the first couple of years) but I've since cut it back, at the car, to 25 Amps. It feels safer to have cut back from the (80% of the breaker's 40 Amps) maximum rate and anyway 25 Amps is plenty fast enough for our needs.
 
ecotourist said:
I have our Tesla Mobile charger plugged into a 40 Amp 240 Volt circuit. Our Model 3's maximum charge rate of 32 Amps works just fine on that circuit (I used it that way for the first couple of years) but I've since cut it back, at the car, to 25 Amps. It feels safer to have cut back from the (80% of the breaker's 40 Amps) maximum rate and anyway 25 Amps is plenty fast enough for our needs.
Click to expand...
Our limitation is 24amps and that has worked well for us too.
 
A too common mistake is using an off the HD shelf cheapo recepticle. My neighbors have been using their Juicebox for 6 years or more and have not pulled the plug until the other day when we plugged in their Mobile Connecter. Here's what the recepticle looks like, from the continuous high load and heat; not good. Full disclosure, I used a cheapo recepticle early on. Scary!
1781982254708.webp

1781982274785.webp
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

OVERKILL
Electric car charge cord review
2
Replies
24
Views
10K
earlyre
Back
Top Bottom