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14-50 or Tesla Charger
- Thread starter mike in o.c.
- Start date
Lots of threads on the topic.
Which M3?
Do you plan on taking your connector with you all the time? (I just use j1772 away from home so I don’t need a connector except when I visit family a few times a year).
davewill
Active Member
Honestly, you can't go wrong either way. Advantages for the 14-50 is not having to buy the wall connector. Advantages for the wall connector is faster charging (if you have an LR), and being able to leave the mobile connector in the car all the time. You don't want to plug and unplug the mobile connector on a daily basis as it wears out the outlet (and it's a pain). Just leave it plugged in and only take it when leaving on a long trip.
If you're still unsure, I'd suggest doing the 14-50, but sizing the wire for a 60a circuit. That way, if you find the 14-50 and mobile connector isn't fitting your needs, you can change the breaker and wire up a wall connector for minimal extra cost.
If you're still unsure, I'd suggest doing the 14-50, but sizing the wire for a 60a circuit. That way, if you find the 14-50 and mobile connector isn't fitting your needs, you can change the breaker and wire up a wall connector for minimal extra cost.
Knightshade
Well-Known Member
Yup.
And while the HPWC is "faster" I can't think of a time when "done charging overnight in 3 hours or 4.5 hours" made any difference to anything.
I personally prefer the faster charging of the hard wired wall charger. Friday I drove more than expected taking a client out to lunch and depleted battery pretty low, but also needed to charge to 100% for a long weekend trip leaving same day at 7pm. I felt like the faster charge rate allowed me to avoid needing a supercharger stop.
if you can afford it, own your own home, and want the fastest charge rate I recommend the wall charger.
if you can afford it, own your own home, and want the fastest charge rate I recommend the wall charger.
Like what?
Not saying you are technically wrong but in practical terms I don't feel this is actually the case.
The other thing to consider when making a choice is is this going to be the only EV you ever own? A larger circuit if you have the capacity leaves room for charging 2 cars if needed later, yes you need more hardware later but running the cables is the hard part.
d21mike
Active Member
I started with 14-50 and worked well. But then came my second Tesla. I replaced my 14-50 with 2 wall connectors (not called charger) using a single 60amp circuit using load balancing. If you think you may get a second or more Tesla’s then consider starting with the Wall Connector on a 60 amp circuit. You can load balance up to 4.
That’s what I did — I had a 14-50 outlet installed, but with 60a wiring for possibly upgrading in the future. Also, I purchased a second 14-50 adapter, so I can leave it in the car and just unplug the Tesla charger (leaving the 14-50 plug in the outlet) when I take a trip, which I’ve only done once since getting the car earlier this year.
Exactly what we did. Running wire for an eventual higher-amp shared circuit is generally much cheaper than re-wiring later.
Why do you think you plugging the adapter from the cable is better than unplugging the adapter from the wall?
So instead of wearing out a $10-70 outlet you are going to wear out a $300 UMC.
IMO we all need a backup charging plan be it HCWC so UMC is backup, a second UMC, maybe it is the neighbors ChargePoint something as a backup.
If you don't want to drive around without the UMC buy something for home, don't screw with it daily.
pl8dlikafiddle
Member
I opted for a 6-50 adapter for my daily home charging in lieu of the 14-50.
Reason is my welder has a 6-50 plug and I already had the outlet in the garage
I charge at 32 amps every night for 2.5 hrs @ 33-34 rated miles per hour to make up for my work commute, and haven’t really had the need to charge any faster at home.
One thing to consider is supercharger location near you - I’m fortunate to have a supercharger 1 mile from work and 3 miles from my house (35 miles apart). I’ve had to use them before long trips after work where I’m getting home to pick up the family with less than 50% charge.
Oh, and the UMC remains plugged into the wall unless we’re going on long trips.
Reason is my welder has a 6-50 plug and I already had the outlet in the garage
I charge at 32 amps every night for 2.5 hrs @ 33-34 rated miles per hour to make up for my work commute, and haven’t really had the need to charge any faster at home.
One thing to consider is supercharger location near you - I’m fortunate to have a supercharger 1 mile from work and 3 miles from my house (35 miles apart). I’ve had to use them before long trips after work where I’m getting home to pick up the family with less than 50% charge.
Oh, and the UMC remains plugged into the wall unless we’re going on long trips.
Black306
Active Member
I went with a wall connector and added a plug for a 14-50. Reason is for a welder and the ability to plug in a mobile connector if the wall connector goes bad.
Only (measurable) down side is that I'm giving up 8amps of output. (40A through a 14-50 vs 48A if the wall connector was hard wired) That's not much of a problem for me since I slow charge the car anyway; typically charging @5-10A starting at midnight.
If my situation changes, it's not a big deal; running cables wasn't that bad.
My thinking: I unplug it rarely and my car came with multiple different adapters for different outlets which I assume means that Tesla designed the UMC to be able to handle unplugging different adapters since one might need a different adapter while on a trip. From what I read, the 14-50 outlet was not designed to handle that constant unplugging.
Also, a good 24-50 outlet would be at the high end of your range, and for me, changing it out would require an electrician to do it.
Of course, your situation may be different.
Some people severely underestimate the value of their time.
Even if I had free lifetime supercharging, I wouldn’t want to spend that much time of my life over YEARS dealing with the logistics of it. It isn’t totally “free”.
I can always make more money, but I can’t make more time.
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