You Do Not Go To eBay And Buy A $29 Adapter And Expect It To Be The Same As A $300 Version –EV Charging Warning to Car Owners Wanting to Plug Into Tesla Superchargers.

According to a recent Automotive News story, EV owners are not only risking damaging their cars and EV charging stations by using cheap, non-approved adaptors sold on eBay but are also putting their lives in danger and/or risk serious burns.

"It's like a virus," Ted Bohn, principal electrical engineer at the Argonne National Lab, told Automotive News. Until a connector or an adapter noticeably overheats, or a driver complains of charging problems, the issue is almost undetectable," states the article.

"Call it charger contagion," pens writer Hannah Lutz for Automotive News.

The Contagion Facts with Unsafe Charging

It is easy to understand how the difficulties of EV charging could become a serious problem of endemic proportions. And it is not just non-Tesla EV owners at risk but some Tesla owners as well who either are tempted into using a non-Tesla charger or plug into a Tesla one that has been damaged.

To see why this is a perfect storm brewing, here are the facts to consider:

1. Adapters are essential for EV drivers.
2. Non-Tesla drivers want to use Tesla's more than 17,800 Superchargers with North American Charging Standard connectors
3. Tesla drivers want to use the more than 19,000 non-Tesla fast chargers with Combined Charging System connectors.
4. EV owners are used to the general knowledge that adaptors are temporarily used in some models of cars to provide charging for everyone in a country whose EV infrastructure has not caught up with EV owner demand.
5. All of us are guilty at some time in our lives of not-so-wisely using electrical cord adaptors to make-do when matching a 3-prong appliance with a 2-prong cord for convenience.

In other words, it is easy to see that EV charging abuses will occur not necessarily out of ignorance or spite, but a misunderstanding of electricity and the complacency that plugging in any adaptor should be safe.

And therein lies the rub―Not all adaptors are safe.

Related article: The Hidden Costs Of Electric Cars No One Is Telling You About Update

Buyer Beware Warning

Described as the “Wild West” of adaptor markets by the article, consumers have a choice of paying as much as $300 for an automaker-approved EV adaptor, or they can save money by choosing a $25 potentially and questionably non-approved EV adaptor from the likes of eBay, Amazon, Walmart, etc.

A believable scenario is someone on a road trip finding themselves with a nerve-wracking low EV battery warning in the middle of nowhere, all because a charger the driver was counting on turned out to be broken. Going to a nearby auto parts store might seem like a lifesaving option for purchasing a generic charging adaptor to use on another nearby charger that is within driving distance. However, it is a risk. And an expensive one with you and your car's lives.

"You do not go to eBay and buy a $29 adapter and expect it to be the same as a $300 version," states the article warning.

What Is The Danger?

The closest analogy is plugging a floor lamp extension cord from your home's wall outlet into a high-power arc welder. Another part of this analogy is using a 3-prong to 2-prong adaptor. The draw of electricity in amperage from the outlet through the cord to the welder is beyond the safe electrical specifications of that cord and the wall outlet electrical panel capabilities.

In a word: Resistance.

Resistance translates to heat, which then translates to the potential risk of something melting and eventually burning, leading to a hazardous condition for the car and the car owner. There is also the risk of a life-threatening electrical shock.

This is why, as the article accurately points out, there are standards for electrical products to protect consumers, referred to as "UL" symbols.

The Underwriters Laboratories (UL) symbols you see labeled on every approved electrical product guarantee the product's safety as long as the user follows its recommended usage―including EV chargers. This is important because it shows that a product has been independently certified and approved by experts who understand the specifications and limits of electrical devices.

The article points out that melting adaptor issues have already been noted in California, and this is cause for alarm.

Related article: Uber Can Legally Leave You Crippled and Broke Warning

For now, consumers are advised to use only automaker-approved adaptors. Or better yet, avoid adaptors altogether until the automakers and the EV charging infrastructure have caught up with consumer demand and these safety concerns.

As Andrew Meintz, chief engineer for EV charging and grid integration at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, best said in the Automotive News article:

"At the end of the day, you're putting something in between your vehicle and the connector, and that has to add heat."

For additional EV-related articles, here are three informative ones you should know about as well:

• Tesla Pi Phone Scammers Are Targeting Cybertruck Owners
• The Hidden Costs of Tesla Insurance I Wish I Knew When I Got My Model 3 Two Years Ago
• Can a Damaged Cybertruck Be Fixed? The Truth About Tesla Repairs from a Collison Repair Expert

Timothy Boyer is an automotive reporter based in Cincinnati who currently researches and works on restoring older vehicles with engine modifications for improved performance. He also reports on modern cars (including EVs) with a focus on DIY mechanics, buying and using tools, and other related topical automotive repair news. Follow Tim on Twitter at @TimBoyerWrites as well as on Facebook and his automotive blog "Zen and the Art of DIY Car Repair" for useful daily news and topics related to new and used cars and trucks.

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