Hi all, I recently purchased a used roadster sport. I am having issues charging at 220V, but 110V seems to work fine. I finally (several days of driving and charging) got a green light (done charging) and was surprised to see "only" 196 miles for the ideal range. Is this about right? I expected it to be less than the hyped 240 as I assumed that was in extended range mode, but is 196 "good enough"? thanks, Jordan
Another question: I assumed that when the battery was full, the car would quiet down. I still hear stuff going on in the back... I guess I'm being a nervous parent ;-)
That's quite a bit more than I've ever got from a standard mode charge, even shen brand new. I've noticed that it cahrges a bit higher when you use 110V.
1. 196 on a standard charge is a great number. You will get slightly less charging at 220v. You'll only get the full 245 in a range mode charge, but you don't want to do that too often as it accelerates battery degradation. 2. The Roadster constantly checks on the battery and PEM temperatures and you'll often hear it at work cooling them down (at least here in FL!). You'll hear 3 sounds (sometimes all at once): a) A bubbling/hissing noise - that's the battery coolant percolating round. b) Whirling fans - cooling the PEM and motor. c) Full blown A/C - this is usually during charging to cool the battery coolant. In FL I experience this almost always when charging.
That is indeed better than I've ever seen. Currently (3 years old, 25k miles) it's around 180 (standard) 230 (range). The coolant circulates pretty much all the time, a little trickling noise. Nothing to worry about. Then anything that wakes the car up, like touching the door handles, will cause a hum for a while.
One thing about modern cars is that the lack of engine noise allows many of the previously unheard sounds to be heard. It's a kind of unnerving experience at first.
Wow! thanks everyone for your feedback. So, would you say it is better to charge with 120V or 240V given unlimited time constraints?
110V is fine if you have the time, but is actually less efficient. There is some charging overhead for pack cooling. The sweat spot for edficiency is reportedly around 240V 40A.
So now that I have a 220V 40A connection, I too am getting around 186 miles on a normal charge. The Tesla Ranger that came by today said that it is better to charge at 220V because the battery has a chance to "balance" itself. Over time, 120V charges won't completely charge the batter (you'll get less and less charge) but once you hook up to a high-power charger, the battery will balance itself and be back to normal. I'm telling you, I don't think the Tesla engineers even know what magic goes on inside that battery!
17000 on #992 and I get 181-184 depending on day and 135 in range charge mode ..... Don't use that one much. Use 220 @ 40A
Tom Saxton's data shows that it's pretty much flat from 240V/32A+. 240V/24A is about 4% less efficient and 240V/16A is about 10% less efficient. 120V/12A (standard wall-socket) uses about 50% more energy from the wall to charge compared to 240V/32A+! You really want to use 240V to charge if at all possible...
Yesterday we went to Orlando (about 60 miles one way.) We were at highway speed with the A/C most of the trip. When we got back there was about 30 miles left, I was curious to see what the graph would look like for charging at 220V. I tried to check it around every 20 minutes: It is interesting to note that it only made it to 180 miles. I have been getting 186. This morning when I went out it was at 186 again!