I am scheduled for delivery next week for my Model 3. I currently have a 240v 15a system in my garage, (for my beer system). Can I use that as my charging port? Is that good, Bad, or should I get my electrician in to upgrade. If I did, how big should I go? I'm sure I can get at least a 40a circuit without any issues but should I consider 60 or even 80a? Lots of questions about charging.
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240v 15a circuit
- Thread starter Patsan
- Start date
Personal I suggest that if you have the capacity go large on the circuit and use a wall connector. Little overkill today is reasonably likely to save money in the long run.
The Model 3 won't be able to use a large circuit but maybe your next car or a friend's will, or maybe you will add a second car that can share the circuit if you add a second wall connector.
I think a 15amp 240 outlet is good for 11miles per hour so it's likely you could get by on that alone though frequent plugging and unplugging will likely be hard on the outlet as you switch from brewing to car. If this is your plan order the adapter ahead of time.
The Model 3 won't be able to use a large circuit but maybe your next car or a friend's will, or maybe you will add a second car that can share the circuit if you add a second wall connector.
I think a 15amp 240 outlet is good for 11miles per hour so it's likely you could get by on that alone though frequent plugging and unplugging will likely be hard on the outlet as you switch from brewing to car. If this is your plan order the adapter ahead of time.
With a 6-15 adapter (available from Tesla for $35), you should be able to use your existing outlet and get 2.8 kW of charging, which would be about 11 miles per hour.
If you need faster charging, then you might want to put in a 14-30 or 14-50 outlet which would let you charge at 5.76 kW or 7.68 kW and get about 23 to 30 miles per hour with a gen-2 UMC.
Depending on the version of the Model 3 that you bought, you might be able to charge faster than the 32 Amp limitation of the gen-2 UMC if you got a Tesla Wall Connector. If your car supports 48 Amps, then the 60 Amp hard-wired Wall Connector would let charge at around 46 miles per hour.
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It all depends. The 6-15 adapter mentioned above would work but there is one major question you need to answer first.
What happens to the beer system? I mean, that seems much more important than charging a car.
What happens to the beer system? I mean, that seems much more important than charging a car.
I would suggest you try and see if 6-15 works for you before doing any upgrades. I have my wall charger set to 20 amps due to wiring limitation (so the same as using 6-20), and I find it to be more than adequate for my needs. Model 3 is very efficient. Now, if you had purchased a Model X, then 6-15 would almost for sure be insufficient.
davewill
Active Member
The answer is, "Yes."
BTW, it would help if we knew exactly which model you're getting and what your normal number of daily miles driven was.
Seriously, you will get every opinion under the sun here. It's a personal evaluation, at best. You have to balance your budget with how fast a charge you want to have. I consider your current circuit borderline. It will likely recharge your car fully overnight on a usual basis, but if you really run it down or have a short night, it might not. Which means that you couldn't do two back to back days of max miles without some extra charging somewhere. That might be entirely fine depending on your situation.
If you wanted to go with a 40a or 50a circuit, I'm confident that you would always be able to charge overnight. If you got an SR, it will also charge the car as fast as it's capable, an LR can use up to a 60a circuit. Unless you think you're buying another electric car and want to plan a charging situation for the future, I see little reason to put in a circuit larger than the car can use.
The answer is, "Yes."
BTW, it would help if we knew exactly which model you're getting and what your normal number of daily miles driven was.
Seriously, you will get every opinion under the sun here. It's a personal evaluation, at best. You have to balance your budget with how fast a charge you want to have. I consider your current circuit borderline. It will likely recharge your car fully overnight on a usual basis, but if you really run it down or have a short night, it might not. Which means that you couldn't do two back to back days of max miles without some extra charging somewhere. That might be entirely fine depending on your situation.
If you wanted to go with a 40a or 50a circuit, I'm confident that you would always be able to charge overnight. If you got an SR, it will also charge the car as fast as it's capable, an LR can use up to a 60a circuit. Unless you think you're buying another electric car and want to plan a charging situation for the future, I see little reason to put in a circuit larger than the car can use.
I Have the Standard range+. 240 mile range. I hope that helps.The answer is, "Yes."
BTW, it would help if we knew exactly which model you're getting and what your normal number of daily miles driven was.
Seriously, you will get every opinion under the sun here. It's a personal evaluation, at best. You have to balance your budget with how fast a charge you want to have. I consider your current circuit borderline. It will likely recharge your car fully overnight on a usual basis, but if you really run it down or have a short night, it might not. Which means that you couldn't do two back to back days of max miles without some extra charging somewhere. That might be entirely fine depending on your situation.
If you wanted to go with a 40a or 50a circuit, I'm confident that you would always be able to charge overnight. If you got an SR, it will also charge the car as fast as it's capable, an LR can use up to a 60a circuit. Unless you think you're buying another electric car and want to plan a charging situation for the future, I see little reason to put in a circuit larger than the car can use.
I have the standard range +. 240 miles. The travel we plan on doing is limited, maybe 100 miles out and back. Total of about 200 miles a trip.
The travel we plan on doing is limited, maybe 100 miles out and back. Total of about 200 miles a trip
The beer system stays!! I will unplug the Tesla to Brew. That is much more important than charging!!It all depends. The 6-15 adapter mentioned above would work but there is one major question you need to answer first.
What happens to the beer system? I mean, that seems much more important than charging a car.
I'd stick with the existing outlet to start. Given that you're mostly doing local travel, I imagine it should probably work fine for you. There are people on here who are getting by with 120v 15A.
However, it doesn't hurt to take a look at the wire gauge used on the circuit. If it can support a higher amperage (12 gauge or better), you could always consider swapping the breaker for a 20A breaker and the outlet for 6-20. If the beer system has a 6-15 plug, that will also work with a 6-20 outlet, plus you'll get a little faster charge. You should be able to swap these items out yourself for a very minimal cost (~$50 for 20 amp GFCI breaker, ~$25-30 for a quality 6-20 receptacle).
I don't think there's any reason to go above 20 amps to start. If you find that you're not able to sufficiently charge to meet your needs then you can always upgrade.
However, it doesn't hurt to take a look at the wire gauge used on the circuit. If it can support a higher amperage (12 gauge or better), you could always consider swapping the breaker for a 20A breaker and the outlet for 6-20. If the beer system has a 6-15 plug, that will also work with a 6-20 outlet, plus you'll get a little faster charge. You should be able to swap these items out yourself for a very minimal cost (~$50 for 20 amp GFCI breaker, ~$25-30 for a quality 6-20 receptacle).
I don't think there's any reason to go above 20 amps to start. If you find that you're not able to sufficiently charge to meet your needs then you can always upgrade.
davewill
Active Member
It means that the car can't charge faster than 32a no matter what you install, and a 40a circuit can cover that.
If the install is not expensive, I would simply have a 14-50 put in and skip using the existing circuit. Do a 50a circuit unless there simply isn't enough capacity in your panel, then you can get by with a 40a circuit. IMHO, anything bigger should be left until (and if) you have a car that can use it and a driving pattern that warrants it.
That means you'd want a 100% charge before setting out or have charging at the destination or need supercharging en route.
Thanks for all of your help everyone!! I am talking to my electrician an am going to upgrade it to a 50a system. It looks like I can use either the 6-50 or the 14-50 adapters. I'm not sure what the difference is.
davewill
Active Member
The 14-50 uses four wires and the 6-50 uses three wires. Both work fine. The 14-50 has been the go to here mostly because the cars used to come with the adapter for it. Since you now have to buy the adapter separately, the 6-50 is just as easy.
One reason to pick the 14-50 over the 6-50 would be if you thought you wanted to plug in an RV or an appliance that needs the 4 wire circuit.
pdx_m3s
Active Member
Definitely go with the 14-50. It is a newer, more robust/universal/future-proof plug, as it has the ability to carry both 120v and 240v simultaneously. Both will deliver the same kWh to your onboard charger.
And, conversely, every RV park in North America has 14-50 outlets, so they all become emergency charging stations, if you have that adapter.
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Something to consider, if you get a wall connector you have your UMC as a backup charging solution. If you only have your UMC and something happens to it what is your backup plan for the week or two it takes to get a replacement?
If you decide you don't want a wall connector but think my point about a backup solution is valid you can buy a second UMC
If you decide you don't want a wall connector but think my point about a backup solution is valid you can buy a second UMC
Just be aware that with a 32 Amp onboard charger (on your SR+) and a UMC that are limited to 32 Amps, you'll be limited to 32 Amps. That should still allow you to charge at about 30 miles per hour.
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