Adding a second Tesla to the garage. Suggestions?

[andy92782]

I currently have a 2nd Generation Wall Connector with the shorter (8.5') cable. We're adding a second Tesla to the garage soon and the cable won't reach the other parking space. I was thinking:

1) Sell the existing wall connector on eBay/Craigslist/whatever and buy a new one with a longer cable
2) Sell the existing wall connector on eBay/Craigslist/whatever and replace it with a NEMA 10-30 or 14-30 receptacle and just use the mobile charging cable.

The wall connector is on a 30A circuit by way of a DCC. There's zero additional capacity in the panel.

Any thoughts on which way to go?

 

[jjrandorin]

If you wanted to get another wall connector so that you could do power sharing (thus not increasing the load), you would need to get a 2nd Gen 2 wall connector since powersharing only works between wall connectors of the same generation (2nd gen to 2nd gen, 3rd gen to 3rd gen).

The reason I bring that up is, there are still people who want 2nd gen wall connectors for that reason, and there is likely a market for you to sell your second gen wall connector and buy a third gen one with a longer cord.

Thats what I would do (remove 2nd gen wall connector, sell it / donate it / give it away etc, and buy a third gen wall connector and put it in place of the 2nd gen one).

I guess thats a long way of saying that my vote is option 1, lol.

 

[spsheridan]

I was in the same situation. I ended up selling my 2nd Gen Wall Connector (here at Tesla Parts for Sale) and buying a 3rd Gen Wall Connector with a 24' cable. We don’t need to charge both of our Teslas at the same time so the single charge capability works for us.

 

[andy92782]

Does the 3rd gen wall connector have the same mechanical footprint as the 2nd gen? Hopefully it's "plug and play".

 

[jjrandorin]

I was in the same situation. I ended up selling my 2nd Gen Wall Connector (here at Tesla Parts for Sale) and buying a 3rd Gen Wall Connector with a 24' cable. We don’t need to charge both of our Teslas at the same time so the single charge capability works for us.

I didnt mention it above, but I had (1) gen 2 wall connector, we decided to sell wifes X3 for a model Y, and she said (im quoting here) "So, now that I am getting a model Y, am I gonna get one of those wall thingies on my side of the garage so I dont have to DDDDDDDrrrrrrrraaaaaaaggggg" yours over to my car when I want to plug in?"

(note, I have a 3 car tandem garage, so "drrrrraaaaggg" was going to be about 6-7 feet, lol).

I blinked a couple times, said "ummm.. sure honey, yes, we can do that". So I needed to either sell my gen 2 and buy (2) gen 3s, or hunt down another gen 2 (as I wanted to do power sharing). I chose to hunt down another gen 2 and ended up paying a premium for a "new old stock in box" one because both the seller and I knew that people asking for a gen 2 wall connecter in 2022, had a need or desire for that specific model.

We dont need it (almost no one needs 2), but wife is happy plugging in whenever she gets home and knowing that I have it set to charge "when its supposed to" and she doesnt have to think about it, or what charge level it is, or any of that, because I manage all that for us. She just drives around wherever she is going. That made 2 of them worth it for me, but almost no one "needs" that, lol.

 

[threeputts]

That made 2 of them worth it for me, but almost no one "needs" that, lol.

There was never a greater need than yours.

 

[h2ofun]

I didnt mention it above, but I had (1) gen 2 wall connector, we decided to sell wifes X3 for a model Y, and she said (im quoting here) "So, now that I am getting a model Y, am I gonna get one of those wall thingies on my side of the garage so I dont have to DDDDDDDrrrrrrrraaaaaaaggggg" yours over to my car when I want to plug in?"

(note, I have a 3 car tandem garage, so "drrrrraaaaggg" was going to be about 6-7 feet, lol).

I blinked a couple times, said "ummm.. sure honey, yes, we can do that". So I needed to either sell my gen 2 and buy (2) gen 3s, or hunt down another gen 2 (as I wanted to do power sharing). I chose to hunt down another gen 2 and ended up paying a premium for a "new old stock in box" one because both the seller and I knew that people asking for a gen 2 wall connecter in 2022, had a need or desire for that specific model.

We dont need it (almost no one needs 2), but wife is happy plugging in whenever she gets home and knowing that I have it set to charge "when its supposed to" and she doesnt have to think about it, or what charge level it is, or any of that, because I manage all that for us. She just drives around wherever she is going. That made 2 of them worth it for me, but almost no one "needs" that, lol.

This is why I wired 5 locations in my garage, so no matter where I car could go, there is an easy charger. Going to actually use it today, just move the car over one spot and connect, rather than put the cable over another car to reach. So, I still am thinking of putting
in 5 gen 3 units, assuming the FW as been updated to support 5. Will these all even be used, nope, but it will be run to add to all the other stuff I have done to this house which is way over the top. I do LOVE the Telsa Model Y, but more important, the wife loves it too. will I get another, who knows, but I sure have lots of spaces for my friends to come over and charge their EV';s for free.

 

[TheHippo]

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[z0lt3c]

You can get a wall connector extension;

Tesla compatible 48 AMP 18' charging extension

They are not cheap, but, IMO, it's a great accessory to generally have. This lets me charge a vehicle parked anywhere in my driveway.

 

[andy92782]

I was able to find someone open to swapping Gen-2 wall connectors with me (short cable for long cable). Easy swap, problem solved.

 

[Genie]

This is why I wired 5 locations in my garage, so no matter where I car could go, there is an easy charger. Going to actually use it today, just move the car over one spot and connect, rather than put the cable over another car to reach. So, I still am thinking of putting
in 5 gen 3 units, assuming the FW as been updated to support 5. Will these all even be used, nope, but it will be run to add to all the other stuff I have done to this house which is way over the top. I do LOVE the Telsa Model Y, but more important, the wife loves it too. will I get another, who knows, but I sure have lots of spaces for my friends to come over and charge their EV';s for free.

5 WCs! Your garage sounds like Tom Moloughneys on Youtube State of Charge

 

[h2ofun]

5 WCs! Your garage sounds like Tom Moloughneys on Youtube State of Charge

Its 1300 sq feet, 3 car doors, on stall 12 feet by 60 feet

 

[holeydonut]

I didnt mention it above, but I had (1) gen 2 wall connector, we decided to sell wifes X3 for a model Y, and she said (im quoting here) "So, now that I am getting a model Y, am I gonna get one of those wall thingies on my side of the garage so I dont have to DDDDDDDrrrrrrrraaaaaaaggggg" yours over to my car when I want to plug in?"

(note, I have a 3 car tandem garage, so "drrrrraaaaggg" was going to be about 6-7 feet, lol).

I blinked a couple times, said "ummm.. sure honey, yes, we can do that". So I needed to either sell my gen 2 and buy (2) gen 3s, or hunt down another gen 2 (as I wanted to do power sharing). I chose to hunt down another gen 2 and ended up paying a premium for a "new old stock in box" one because both the seller and I knew that people asking for a gen 2 wall connecter in 2022, had a need or desire for that specific model.

We dont need it (almost no one needs 2), but wife is happy plugging in whenever she gets home and knowing that I have it set to charge "when its supposed to" and she doesnt have to think about it, or what charge level it is, or any of that, because I manage all that for us. She just drives around wherever she is going. That made 2 of them worth it for me, but almost no one "needs" that, lol.

Did you install the second wall connector on her side of the garage? Or do you have to drag one of the cables behind one of the cars?

Your wife actually plugs in her car? My wife says the cable is dusty and won't touch it lolol.

 

[jjrandorin]

Did you install the second wall connector on her side of the garage? Or do you have to drag one of the cables behind one of the cars?

Your wife actually plugs in her car? My wife says the cable is dusty and won't touch it lolol.

Yeah its on her side of the garage. Both of them are on either side of the garage door (2 car garage door). the one on her side of the garage does get dragged on the ground to reach the charge port on the model Y.

It actually is about as far as it would have been for us to use just one wall connector, however (and this is a big however) shes happy to have the one on her side of the garage and has no issue with plugging it in every time she gets home. Big win in my book, and worth the cost of setting it up in my case, for sure (lol).

 

[holeydonut]

Yeah its on her side of the garage. Both of them are on either side of the garage door (2 car garage door). the one on her side of the garage does get dragged on the ground to reach the charge port on the model Y.

It actually is about as far as it would have been for us to use just one wall connector, however (and this is a big however) shes happy to have the one on her side of the garage and has no issue with plugging it in every time she gets home. Big win in my book, and worth the cost of setting it up in my case, for sure (lol).

Lolol, just make sure the garage doesn't get too dusty. I have my Tesla Wall with the 3 Powerwalls and two Tesla TWCs. Looks cooler I guess (but it's dusty).

Ignoring the actual cost of the TWC for a second... I can't believe how expensive #6 THHN is. Running conduit and conductors to the other side of my garage door would have been like $400 in just material cost alone haha. Adding a charger on the same side of the garage was only like $75 of materials.

 

[h2ofun]

Lolol, just make sure the garage doesn't get too dusty. I have my Tesla Wall with the 3 Powerwalls and two Tesla TWCs. Looks cooler I guess (but it's dusty).

Ignoring the actual cost of the TWC for a second... I can't believe how expensive #6 THHN is. Running conduit and conductors to the other side of my garage door would have been like $400 in just material cost alone haha. Adding a charger on the same side of the garage was only like $75 of materials.

Come on, thats not that much money compared to what the cars cost

 

[holeydonut]

Come on, thats not that much money compared to what the cars cost

Lololol not all of us are made of money.

I'm a millennial son of poor immigrants and I have a GED. Have you seen how much I post on TMC? Like there isn't enough money man .

TBH I'm still kind of confused how I got a car and two Teslas. Cost of living here in California is absurd.

 

[monfried]

About to buy our second Model Y; both will be parked in our condo garage. Next to one is our 14-50 50 amp jack. My question is, if we travel for 6-8 weeks, will the NeoCharge splitter (or some other splitter) keep both cars adequately charged?

 

[GNFO]

To pile on the "strictly speaking unnecessary" bandwagon, I got my Model X first, with a Gen 2, 24 ft cable. Eight months later got the wife's Model X and spent about a month sharing the connection. Plenty long enough, and yes these cars don't need to be charged every day under most circumstances, but it was enough of a juggle to want a charger on her side of the garage, especially since I would have to unplug her car for me to back out because of the cable. Bought another Gen 2 for the load sharing and it's been great. When I had the first one installed I made sure the electrician sized the wiring and breaker to handle more than one so it wasn't too big of a deal. She even plugs the car in herself sometimes!

Fast forward 5 years and a two-car garage extension. I made sure both of the new bays had high quality 14-50 outlets (i.e. won't melt under constant use) so I could mount the mobile chargers that came with our cars and rarely got used. They're on separate 50A breakers which I'm lucky enough that the panel can handle. No, I don't have two more Teslas, I just wanted to have the flexibility and also be able to adjust to other EV makes now while it was being built.

My situation was more flexible than yours, but the moral of the story (especially with a spouse involved): you won't regret having a charging capability for each parking spot, so do what you have to do to make that possible. The Gen 2 HPWC has a switch setting to limit it to a 30A breaker, so if you have two of them properly linked together, they can safely load share if you both plug in at the same time. If you can, get the second one with the longer cable in case you have a car parked outside.

 

[monfried]

To pile on the "strictly speaking unnecessary" bandwagon, I got my Model X first, with a Gen 2, 24 ft cable. Eight months later got the wife's Model X and spent about a month sharing the connection. Plenty long enough, and yes these cars don't need to be charged every day under most circumstances, but it was enough of a juggle to want a charger on her side of the garage, especially since I would have to unplug her car for me to back out because of the cable. Bought another Gen 2 for the load sharing and it's been great. When I had the first one installed I made sure the electrician sized the wiring and breaker to handle more than one so it wasn't too big of a deal. She even plugs the car in herself sometimes!

Fast forward 5 years and a two-car garage extension. I made sure both of the new bays had high quality 14-50 outlets (i.e. won't melt under constant use) so I could mount the mobile chargers that came with our cars and rarely got used. They're on separate 50A breakers which I'm lucky enough that the panel can handle. No, I don't have two more Teslas, I just wanted to have the flexibility and also be able to adjust to other EV makes now while it was being built.

My situation was more flexible than yours, but the moral of the story (especially with a spouse involved): you won't regret having a charging capability for each parking spot, so do what you have to do to make that possible. The Gen 2 HPWC has a switch setting to limit it to a 30A breaker, so if you have two of them properly linked together, they can safely load share if you both plug in at the same time. If you can, get the second one with the longer cable in case you have a car parked outside.

Thanks for this, but the condo HOA won't allow any more personal WC's - they claim the complex is already nearing load capacity and plans to install a few (3-4?) outside for use on a first-come, first-serve basis.