-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
Charging two Teslas at once?
- Thread starter Keith909man
- Start date
I highly recommend the Tesla Wall Connectors. You can daisy chain up to 4 of them together on one circuit and they automatically distribute and load balance power among all cars connected. I wrote a blog post about the connector here:
https://www.teslaadviceblog.com/blo...ector-the-best-charging-station-on-the-market
https://www.teslaadviceblog.com/blo...ector-the-best-charging-station-on-the-market
Another 14-50.
If you do some calculations, with 32A limit in UMC Gen2 and 200A typical house AC input (check your number though), you can safely run three of them at the same time (no chaining needed), assuming dedicated power wiring per outlet, and night time charging schedule.
Higher total charging output (~64A peak ws 48A on HPWCs in chaining mode), while more delicate for the batteries, and versatile (RV, laser cutter, etc.).
Correction: HPWC will practically deliver only up to 48A into current vehicles, so even 2 x NEMAs are still better from overall perspective.
If you do some calculations, with 32A limit in UMC Gen2 and 200A typical house AC input (check your number though), you can safely run three of them at the same time (no chaining needed), assuming dedicated power wiring per outlet, and night time charging schedule.
Higher total charging output (~64A peak ws 48A on HPWCs in chaining mode), while more delicate for the batteries, and versatile (RV, laser cutter, etc.).
Correction: HPWC will practically deliver only up to 48A into current vehicles, so even 2 x NEMAs are still better from overall perspective.
Last edited:
Depends how you use your cars. We have an X and 3. My wife uses the 3 for work only on weekdays. Commutes about 50 miles total. Car has plenty of time to charge on the standard 110v wall plug as long as she remembers to plug in. The x we charge with the 14-50. Initially I was thinking we definitely needed another 14-50... but the 3 is an electron sipper compared to the x. I wouldn’t pull the trigger unless you definitely know it won’t work.
Two HPWC sharing a circuit is my preferred solution. Ours share a 100A circuit. You'll have to look at your load calculation to see if you can just add another 14-50 outlet since it requires its own new 50A circuit. For sure two HPWC's could share one 50A circuit. Each car would get 20A if they were both connected, or one car could get 40A alone. That gives you some flexibility and does not change your load calculation.
We use our Model X sparsely for local trips, it's mostly used for long distance. It did perfectly fine with just a 120V 15A connection, though 100% charges the morning we take off required a switch to the HPWC. 120V is probably not suitable in locations where it is below freezing for long periods of time, but works fine for low-usage cars.
We use our Model X sparsely for local trips, it's mostly used for long distance. It did perfectly fine with just a 120V 15A connection, though 100% charges the morning we take off required a switch to the HPWC. 120V is probably not suitable in locations where it is below freezing for long periods of time, but works fine for low-usage cars.
Currently we just share a single HPWC. We take turns and charge each car only 2-3 times a week. That's sufficient for our normal commute even though none of the Tesla's are long-range. However, for added convenience we plan to install the second load-shared HPWC later this year. That will allow us to have both cars plugged in all the time without worrying about overloading the circuit.
I'm in the same boat and have no capacity for another 50amp breaker. Using a 120v 15a outlet right now, but have to watch out for what else might get turned on on that circuit. Happens to be on the one GFCI that was installed for all the plugs in 3 bathrooms (one of many corners cut by the contractor 35 years ago), so one hairdryer will trip the breaker.
EV-lutioin
Active Member
My wife and I share one 50a receptacle and it works pretty well, just don't make the mistake of plugging in the car without changing the plug in the receptacle. Doh!
If you are able to put both hpwc in a larger breaker (80a) then it could put 32a into each car or 48a into one if the other isn't charging.
I've been alternating nights on our two Teslas with one HPWC.
boonedocks
MS LR Blk/Blk 19”
Another +1 for 2 HPWC shared circuit with automatic load balancing. We have been doing this since December 2017 with our S100D and X75D. It works flawlessly
Interesting that official HPWC info page says that cars can do 48A only, while many other sources claim 72A.
Anyway, you plug it in every night, and get charged in the morning. Both 2 x HPWCs and 2 x 14-50s will do the job just fine. No big point to yank existing 14-50 out and dump another $2000 into installing HPWCs.
What I would highly suggest is an embedded AC multimeter:
Anyway, you plug it in every night, and get charged in the morning. Both 2 x HPWCs and 2 x 14-50s will do the job just fine. No big point to yank existing 14-50 out and dump another $2000 into installing HPWCs.
What I would highly suggest is an embedded AC multimeter:
Several things to trade:
1) Assuming you have a two-car garage, run a second 50A line to your garage ($) and get another Mobile Connector ($). You'd have to assess whether your house can handle the load. If it can you can charge simultaneously.
2) Replace your 14-50 with a HPWC ($) and add a second HPWC ($) that shares the line. They can automatically charge sequentially. No second line, no higher amperage load.
3) Charge one on 110. Cheapest solution, but someone gets a real slow charge. You could swap connections occasionally if that helps.
FOR ME, 2) would definitely be the best solution, as a total of about 75 kWh to share between both vehicles overnight would be enough (we have free energy at night). Running another 240 line to the garage would be more expensive FOR ME than another HPWC (or even two) and I would want both cars topped off every morning (so no 110). Plus we only have 150A going to the house and in the summer, the AC runs quite a bit at night, but YMMV.
1) Assuming you have a two-car garage, run a second 50A line to your garage ($) and get another Mobile Connector ($). You'd have to assess whether your house can handle the load. If it can you can charge simultaneously.
2) Replace your 14-50 with a HPWC ($) and add a second HPWC ($) that shares the line. They can automatically charge sequentially. No second line, no higher amperage load.
3) Charge one on 110. Cheapest solution, but someone gets a real slow charge. You could swap connections occasionally if that helps.
FOR ME, 2) would definitely be the best solution, as a total of about 75 kWh to share between both vehicles overnight would be enough (we have free energy at night). Running another 240 line to the garage would be more expensive FOR ME than another HPWC (or even two) and I would want both cars topped off every morning (so no 110). Plus we only have 150A going to the house and in the summer, the AC runs quite a bit at night, but YMMV.
Last edited:
ibdb
Any excuse for a road trip
Depends how much you drive/need to charge on a daily basis. We've yet to have an issue charging our S and 3 off our 14-50 using the mobile connector that came with the S. First car home gets plugged in, switching over to the other car before bed time if necessary. Since there's no time of day charging benefit through PSE, it doesn't cost any more to do it that way. I can see trying to add a second charger in places where that's different.
That's because some cars have a 72A onboard charger while most have 48A.
whitex
Well-Known Member
whitex
Well-Known Member
You didn't provide enough information for clear advice. How much do you drive each vehicle and when? Can you just charge one and switch the charger to the other? What is the on-board charger in your S (48/72/80)? Is there a distribution panel in your garage? How far is the nearest distribution panel? What is your service Amperage? How much does your home use? Do you get cheaper electricity at any time windows? All these answers can change what your optimal charging solution is.
We've had 2 Teslas on 200A service for a while now. HPWC on 100A is charging my wife's car at 48A, and I charge at 40A using a mobile connector (if connected to HPWC I can charge my car at 80A if needed). House has AC and running some servers too, but converted the whole house to LED lighting plug gas range/oven and gas dryer, so no problem charging cars at 88A total and staying under 160A sustained load (80% of 200A service).
PS> I plan to add a second HPWC this year and balance 100A line. I was going to install it last year when we had to swap out the Gen1 HPWC for Gen2 due to new Model S incompatibility with the Gen1 chargers, but it took 9 months to get the referral HPWC so it missed the installation window. With 2 HPWC's, each car can get 40A, but when both are not charging one can still get 48A and the other 80A.
And this is why some of us suggest going big on the wiring the first time, then you could branch off a second wall connector.
Wall connector means you have ability to charge more quickly in an emergency, means redundant charging methods, means spreading plug wear across mulrmult devices, one less connection in the circuit to fail.
I would do the wall connectors even on the existing circuit, just time the car charging so the first is likely done before second starts.
Wall connector means you have ability to charge more quickly in an emergency, means redundant charging methods, means spreading plug wear across mulrmult devices, one less connection in the circuit to fail.
I would do the wall connectors even on the existing circuit, just time the car charging so the first is likely done before second starts.
Similar threads
