Vendor Aftermarket solution for Roadster UMC and HPWC

[EVTuning]

Hey Everyone,
As some of you know we sell the CAN S/R and J/R from Henry Sharp. He's a good friend of mine from when I worked at Tesla in Watertown and I serviced his Roadster. I found out recently that they are no longer making Roadster Mobile Connectors or High Power Wall Connectors. I am curious as to whether or not people would be interested in a dedicated charging setup for Roadster with configurations from 40 up to 72amps. We can offer it in two versions for if you want to plug it in or if you want to hardwire it in your garage. The plug in versions would come with either a 14-50 or 14-60 connector and the hardwired would be able to do 72amps. They would be made out of the same Military spec components. Pricing would most likely be around what the factory chargers were sold for around $1400-$1600. These would be significantly higher quality than the original components and have a 39 month warranty. If I'm barking up the wrong tree and people are content using the adapters and a Model S/X/3 or J1772 charger instead please let me know. I appreciate all feedback so we know whether to move forward with manufacturing.

 

[Roadster]

They would be made out of the same Military spec components.

Is the plan to create these EVSEs with the Roadster Amphenol male connector?

 

[EVTuning]

Is the plan to create these EVSEs with the Roadster Amphenol male connector?

Correct. It would be the same as the original equipment but upgraded electronics and materials.

 

[X.l.r.8]

The problem is that HPWC is only $500 and most of us already have a Can Sr. Along with the fact a lot of people have a second Tesla.
On the other hand the 32A limit is pretty well covered and seeing as most of the new level 2 chargers are 48A the availability of something to cater for the very few cars equipped to take 70A may well be very limited.
I personally would rather swap my Roadster socket for a Tesla one so I could simply use my tesla connectors. Maybe that’s a good avenue to pursue

 

[coolVariable]

Given the ubiquity of J1772, I would not consider anything else but J1772 for home installation. Any Tesla owner will have an adapter and this thing can put out 40A.

Note that you will also require UL certification for the EV charger for most rebate programs from local utilities or states, which makes it uneconomical to design or launch a new product.


I wish someone would attack the PEM and battery setup though. An after-market solution should be possible that exceeds the original specs (just look at the EV after-market solutions for Porsches and other cars).

 

[dhrivnak]

Sorry as I have a Roadster High Powered Wall Connector I am in good shape.

 

[gregd]

OpenEVSE and a J1772->Roadster adapter (Tesla's cabled one, but Henry's would work the same) is what I use. 14-50 outlet (for flexibility down the road, vs hardwired), with a pigtail on the OpenEVSE box. 40 amps charging is more than enough for home use. I usually have it dialed down to 24 amps just to be nice to all the components involved. Still recharges fully overnight.

Having the J1772-terminated wall unit gives the flexibility to charge other cars, such as my daughter's Model-3 when she comes to visit. I used the Tesla cabled adapter in the garage instead of Henry's because I keep Henry's in the car and the cabled one was cheaper (I got it used). It's essentially just a slightly longer cable, with a lump in the middle.

 

[EVTuning]

Thanks for everyones feedback. We will shelf the idea.

 

[TEG]

Please continue to produce the "CAN" products as long as you can. WIth Roadster production long over, you will have a dwindling market, but there will continue to be people who find a new need for an adapter, lost an adapter, etc. At some point in the (hopefully distant) future, people will be scrambling on eBay hoping to find a rare used CAN adapter. So, for now, it is great that new ones are still available.

 

[TEG]

By the way, I don't own a Roadster but I have had the privilege of borrowing ones from friends at times.
I have 40A J1772 and 40A Tesla plugs at my house, so it is always great when those Roadsters have one of the CAN products in the trunk.
The last time I had borrowed a Roadster, I got it home and realized there was no adapter, so I had to rush out and borrow one from a different friend.

 

[EVTuning]

No worries. So long as there is demand Henry and I will continue to make/sell them.

 

[rudholm]

I recently bought a used Roadster HPWC so I'm OK in that regard. But if you had asked me a few months ago, I would have said "yes, please!"

I would buy a few more dogbone adapters for the UMC if they were available. I could use a 5-15, 5-20, 10-30, and 10-50. I guess I could always just buy a new Tesla UMC and use my CAN-SR, but I understand they now only support up to 32A. It would be nice to have a modern UMC that supported 40A or even 48A (on a NEMA 14-60R).

 

[X.l.r.8]

If your in a pinch rv adaptors work. I was going to use these on my converted EVSE but a couple came up and I grabbed them.

 

[MCroadster]

I personally would rather swap my Roadster socket for a Tesla one so I could simply use my tesla connectors. Maybe that’s a good avenue to pursue

I would be interested in this too. This would make the roadster more compatible with the rest of the fleet.

 

[TEG]

2008 Tesla Roadster Converted to J1772 Charging - Tom Saxton's Blog

 

[TEG]