Lectron 40A Tesla to J1772 Adapter New

RustyBolts · Apr 14, 2022

Bump. $120 shipped

RustyBolts · Apr 26, 2022

Bump, $100 + shipping

tradosaurus · May 22, 2022

Do you find that there are many Tesla destination chargers in your area? The one's I see in Texas are one or two in number at a station and not that many. It would give me more flexibility.

RustyBolts · May 23, 2022

tradosaurus said:
Do you find that there are many Tesla destination chargers in your area? The one's I see in Texas are one or two in number at a station and not that many. It would give me more flexibility.

There are many Tesla stations in my area, and I like having it in my trunk when traveling, just in case.

tradosaurus · May 24, 2022

Is it true that many Tesla destination chargers are free to use?

ARob · May 24, 2022

tradosaurus said:
Is it true that many Tesla destination chargers are free to use?

Tesla gave businesses free Destination Chargers back when they were just getting started with the SuC network to help pave the way for trips, and most of the installations are V1 or V2 with no billing capability. They recently (~1year) began offering upgrades to V3 which have a billing capability. Most sites probably either don't know they have a charger, or aren't sweating the revenue as they see hotel or restaurant business from EV owners. So, the case for upgrading just to charge for use isn't strong.

Businesses that pay attention are learning they can appeal to a wider clientele by installing J plugs. State grants support J plug installs, but not Tesla.

Not sure how aggressive Tesla is with expanding Destination networks, according to AFDC, growth of L2 Tesla public charging has been minimal in the past year (also roughly when V3 chargers were becoming available). I have been tracking public charging stats for my local EV club newsletter:

These numbers are a little deceiving. Tesla AC plugs are much more common at hotels, J plugs are everywhere but hotels in many cases. Also, most Tesla owners I know claim hotels with destination chargers tend to be higher priced for the areas they are located, so it is not a slam dunk decision to carry an adapter. Tesla also offered to install Clipper Creek J1772 units at no cost to sites willing to install Destination Chargers, so some of these sites will have both. With only about 12% of public AC chargers being Tesla, chances are there are also J plugs in the area.

That said, if you frequently travel to places with Destination Chargers, the adapter can be a great option.

The V3 Destination Chargers apparently adopted some different signaling to accommodate billing. Previous versions adhered to the J1772 standard, but V3 varies a bit and reports of Lectron adapters not handling the V3 properly are circulating. Maybe if the V3 is not using billing it still follows J1772 (I understand there is a software, or DIP switch that turns this on/off), so it may be hit or miss on V3 compatibility. Tesla Tap claims their adapters are fully V3 compatible, not sure how.

RustyBolts · May 25, 2022

tradosaurus said:
Is it true that many Tesla destination chargers are free to use?

Download the Plugshare app, you'll see how many chargers (J1772 or Tesla) are available in your area, and if they charge a fee. The Tesla destination chargers are free (no payment capability), but typically they're for customers of businesses only. When I road trip and plan on stopping to stretch, if there's no DCFC nearby I'll seek out a J1772 or Tesla plug to get ~20 miles while I grab lunch.

The adapter's best argument for use is really as an emergency backup for when you've really screwed up and didn't plan or for home/work charging to avoid buying/installing a second charger. My travel charger is a Tesla Universal Travel charger (cheap, versatile, quick) which requires an adapter. Also, I visit a specific hotel on a regular basis for work, which often has the J1772 plug in use, but not always the 2 Tesla chargers. Since I'll most likely drive EVs for the rest of my life, I figured an adapter was a good investment for the next 40+ years of my driving life.

2019EVLT · May 25, 2022

I carry one of these Lectron adapters in my Bolt. I've used it once in the 1.5 years I've owned it, but it was valuable at that moment. I had a customer located at a rural airport about 150 miles from my home, who I needed to visit. I had to decide whether to take my Bolt on the trip, or take my wife's CRV. The nearest J charger was about 10 miles from the airport, but there was a residential neighborhood about 1/2 mile from the airport where a guy had listed his home Tesla charger on PlugShare. I contacted him and he said I was welcome to use his charger while working at the airport for the afternoon. I was able to add enough charge at his house to make the round trip in my Bolt. Wouldn't have been able to use it without the adapter. I figure I saved enough on gas in that one trip to pay about 25% of the cost of the adapter. So if I use it 3-4 more times in the next few years, it will have paid for itself.