Seems like the BMW fast charger is neutral agnostic. Unless those adapters shown above are a lot smarter than they look, two of the three shown have no neutral. The simple adapter @PAi440 described should work. I certainly hope so, as I have a travel bag filled with adapters and extension cords that are intended for 240V use with no neutral.
That’s what I was thinking. The official adapter from BMW that I’ve shown in my post costs over $200. Bought an adapter from jungle book for $24. I’ll let you know if it works. Fingers crossed.
I have a replacement 14-50 outlet but it kinda feels dirty not using a neutral wire and the cost to run a new line to my garage would be more than the $208 adapter even if I do the work myself, which I have done in the past. I just don’t see why it would need a neutral wire in the first place. I bought an adapter for $24. I’ll let you know if I burn down my house, or maybe I won’t (Doh!).
Installing a NEMA 14-50 outlet without a neutral would be a Code violation - the receptacle presents a neutral and some plug in devices need it. That said, I don't think the Flexible Fast Charger ( or other plugin charger) cares or knows if the neutral is present, so would probably work. Best to hard wire or use a NEMA 6-50 receptacle if no neutral is present.
Some quick reading…
Nah. Ground is ground. Yes, they both have the same potential and are (often) on the same block on the panel. If the 240V equipment needs a 120V supply for something, the circuit must have a neutral. AFAIK, many EV chargers designed for a 14-50 plug simply have the neutral snipped off in the box. Not Code to use the bare ground as a neutral.
Almost every transition in an electrical system could be called an adapter. The breaker adapts the panel buss bar to the wire termination. The wire goes to a receptacle and that "adapts" the wires to a plug. Transitions to a brick, brick to J1772, J1772 to car, almost all 'adapt" or convert one form factor to another. Most are 'permanent" and don't move unless modified. My concern is any frequent connect/disconnect of a device. We frequently connect and disconnect the J1772 plug to the car without concern. IMHO, it's the design insertion cycles that matter. That's why I just don't "get" plug in chargers if plugged and unplugged on a regular basis. Higher current receptacles are simply not designed for repeated use (that's why a quality device is recommended). A properly rated adapter (in this case a 14-50 to 6-50), left in place, is (IMHO) minimally less reliable than just a plug in a receptacle. There are form factor, aesthetic and space considerations, sure. I would also cringe if an adapter and plug were exercised frequently, but I see no issue if simply left in place.
I agree with everything you said. And its the idea of movement that worries me the most.
If I read the OP correctly, @PAi440 has a welding plug available. Any adapter from 6-50R to a 14 -50P would by definition, lose the neutral, but would work with the FFC 14-50 plug. (You've got to switch the R/P labels to get the correct "direction" to search for the adapter.) Could be something like this: Welder to BMW FFC
BMW is selling a bespoke cable. One end goes into proprietary outlet on the Flexible Fast Charger, the other end into the 240 outlet. It replaces the stock cable, not as an addition to it.
Yep, just as shown in post #1 of this thread. Both "dongles" plug into the same "brick" - one has a neutral and one can't. That's why I'm comfortable believing the FFC doesn't require a neutral. I believe @PAi440 's question about an adapter is more about cost and suitability.
