Continue with 6-20 (15 miles/hr) or go with wall charger?

[planetary]

New Model 3 owner! Have had the car for about a week and a half. I'm on the fence about buying the wall charger. Right now, I'm getting 15 miles/hour of charge with a 6-20 plug (which I just happened to have in the garage) on a 20 amp circuit.

My daily commute is 90 miles, and my company offers free charging at the office -- but I've not gone back to work since buying the car.

In the back of my mind, I'm thinking that a wall charger on a 60 amp circuit (or even more for future-proofing?) with about 44 miles/hour of charge, would be super convenient. My wife thinks it would be overkill.

I fully intend to live with my current setup for a few weeks and try it out -- but just wondering if anyone has had a similar experience?

 

[jjrandorin]

I only had a regular 15 amp plug in my garage, on a shared circuit, that my garage beer fridge was already on so I had to do something. I decided on the wall charger mostly because it looked cool, and was the fastest way to charge at home. This helps combat my range anxiety.

I didnt NEED the charging speed at home, but I was happy to get it, and its convenient to plug in, and since I have a finished garage anyway I thought the wall charger was the way to go for me.

Your current charger sounds like it provides you with your daily amount of charge overnight, so should be "sufficient" for what you "need". Its more of a "want" at this point for you in my opinion. You dont need anything faster since overnight charging will cover your daily needs, but faster charging means that you will likely never have to worry about being "short of charge" again.

The longer you go without installing the wall charger, the harder its going to be to convince yourself / your spouse to spend the money on the wall charger. Conversely, look into your utility to see if they offer rebates for charging upgrades at your residence. many in CA do.

You might be able to get most of the cost covered / rebated. South coast air quality management offers a $250 rebate in my area for example for the charger itself (not the install), while SC Edison offers a rebate of 500 on the install, not the charger (if you switch to time of use rates).

You might be able to get most of it "paid for" or rebated (eventually).

 

[ijaaz]

Why not run a nema 14-50 outlet and use the wall charger? upgrading from 14-50 to the wall charger doesn't give you much improvement in charge speed on a model 3.

 

[planetary]

jjrandorin - Yes, want vs need.

ijaaz - Yeah, I've been doing a bunch of reading and it seems like there's the NEMA 14-50 crowd, and then the hard-wired wall charger crowd. At 50 amps, the wall charger will give you 37 miles/hour, vs. 44 at 60 amps. Not sure why you'd intentionally go with 50 amps and a separate plug, unless your service box is limited, and the extra 10 amps would incur the cost of upgrading to a larger service box.

 

[TexasEV]

There’s no “wall charger” crowd, but there is a Wall Connector crowd. The charger is in the car.

Installing a NEMA 14-50 outlet and charging at 32A with the UMC (that’s Universal Mobile Connector, not Charger) will charge your car twice as fast as what you’re doing now. A Wall Connector charging st 48A will charge your car three times as fast as what you’re doing now. Only you know your usage pattern in addition to your work commute, and if either of these options would be more convenient or just end up finishing your charge earlier in the night when you’re sleeping anyway.

 

[Uncle Paul]

Most any 220v charging solution will provide all the speed most of us need by charging completely while you sleep.

 

[ivan801]

I've been doing 6-20 plug for a few months now, no problems at all. My commute is 60 miles rt, no charging at work. If I end up getting free wall connector because of referrals I will install it on the same wiring and breaker and will dial it down to 16 A. For me to upgrade to anything else would cost around $2k+, so I plan to live with 6-20.

 

[TexasEV]

Most any 220v charging solution will provide all the speed most of us need by charging completely while you sleep.

I just corrected “charger” to “Connector” and the next post talks about 220V?

It’s 240V. Hasn’t been 220V in the lifetime of most people posting here.

 

[Sophias_dad]

Stick with what you have. No need to drop extra dough on something that's working for you already.

 

[planetary]

Stick with what you have. No need to drop extra dough on something that's working for you already.

I'll know if it works in a couple weeks, after I give the setup with my normal commute a good try!

 

[timk225]

I charged on a 6-20 for months. It's all you need, and since you can charge at work, do it!

 

[Dana1]

New Model 3 owner! Have had the car for about a week and a half. I'm on the fence about buying the wall charger. Right now, I'm getting 15 miles/hour of charge with a 6-20 plug (which I just happened to have in the garage) on a 20 amp circuit.

My daily commute is 90 miles, and my company offers free charging at the office -- but I've not gone back to work since buying the car.

In the back of my mind, I'm thinking that a wall charger on a 60 amp circuit (or even more for future-proofing?) with about 44 miles/hour of charge, would be super convenient. My wife thinks it would be overkill.

I fully intend to live with my current setup for a few weeks and try it out -- but just wondering if anyone has had a similar experience?

I love the flexibility of having a HPWC.

 

[Cycle11111]

Pulling out the UMC everyday gets old very fast for me, but that is personal. Also the 14-40, 6-20 plugs are really not designed for constant plug in and remove at the rate you are talking - likely fine but it will wear eventually - check a plug in an airport they hardly hold a plug they are so loose. I would recommend the in home charger/connector option and you can always check out other vendors like Clipper, Chargepoint and Juice Box and just buy an extra J1772 to Tesla leave on a non Tesla option. That is what I do and use a high power Juice Box

 

[ewoodrick]

Stay with what you've got for a few months, then make the decision.

 

[NeverFollow]

Can you get a reduced off peak rate such as PG&E EV-A ?
If so, you can charge at night (11 pm - 7 am = 8 hours) and pay half price, abbout $.11 / kWh instead of $.22 / kWh..

if you have a 90 miles commute (is it one way or total?) and use a NEMA 6-20 you get 15 miles / hour.
So for 8 hours you get (15 miles x 8 hours) 120 miles so the NEMA 6-20 is sufficient for 90 miles.

You can keep using the portable UMC who was included with the car if you don't need to remove it every day.

However if you need to use this UMC at work, then it is better not to have to unplug all the time
and then get a second portable UMC for your work if needed.

But I imagine that at work you will not have just a standard 120 V 15 A plug but a real wall charger,
and if it's not a Tesla charger you will need to use a J1772 adapter.

The only advantage of the Wall Connector over the portable UMC is that it cannot be stolen
but you cannot take advantage of the max 80 A, so the portable UMC with a NEMA 14-50
will give you the same result, since the Model 3 LR charger is limited to 40 A.

One difference with the Wall Connector is the possibility of load balancing between up to four cars,
using the same power line, something to consider for the future.

Note: If you use PG&E don't forget to apply for the $800 Clean Fuel Rebate.

 

[planetary]

Thanks, everyone!

@NeverFollow - Yes, 90mi round trip. Just moved to the EV-A plan, and I intend to apply for the $800 rebate just as soon as I get the registration card from the DMV (required information).

 

[DonTom]

I just corrected “charger” to “Connector” and the next post talks about 220V?

It’s 240V. Hasn’t been 220V in the lifetime of most people posting here.

It's just a name that is still commonly used. Much like a 2x4. Ever measure a two by four? It has not been 2" by 4" for the lives of most people posting here.

Same with 12 volt car batteries. They are closer to 13 volts unless discharged to the point of being useless. And the term 110 VAC is still commonly used for today's ~117-122 VAC.

FWIW, I do call it 120 and 240 VAC.

-Don- Auburn, CA

 

[mrau]

The only advantage of the Wall Connector over the portable UMC is that it cannot be stolen
but you cannot take advantage of the max 80 A, so the portable UMC with a NEMA 14-50
will give you the same result, since the Model 3 LR charger is limited to 40 A.

I don't believe this is correct. The Wall Connector is the fastest way to charge your car at home. The Model 3 LR AWD can charge up to 48 amp. The only way to get 48 amp at home is with the Tesla Wall Connector when it is on a 60 amp circuit. The UMC that comes with the car can only charge a max of 32 amps ( no matter if you are on 40 or 50 amp circuit).

I was using a 6-20 outlet for a month and it worked fine. Only problem was that is was on the wrong side of garage and I had to use a 20 amp extension cord. It is not good to use an extension cord all the time. Since I had to add an outlet on a closer wall, I put in a 14-50 outlet with 6 awg wire. Now the UMC plugs directly in the 14-50 outlet with cord to spare. The 6-20 was charging at 16 amps and added 15 miles every hour. The 14-50 allows the UMC to max out at 32 amp and adds 30 miles every hour which is nicer. If I did not have to add an outlet, the 6-20 plug would have worked well for me.

 

[jbcarioca]

Most any 220v charging solution will provide all the speed most of us need by charging completely while you sleep.

This! I have 208/30 and have had it for four years. Works fine overnight for 15% to 90%

 

[TexasEV]

Pulling out the UMC everyday gets old very fast for me, but that is personal. Also the 14-40, 6-20 plugs are really not designed for constant plug in and remove at the rate you are talking - likely fine but it will wear eventually

Who said anything about pulling out the UMC every day and plugging and unplugging? Tens of thousands of Tesla owners including myself have just plugged in the UMC and hung it on the garage wall and left it there for years, except to take it with us on overnight trips. The M (Mobile) in UMC is a capability, not a requirement. No reason to have it in the car except when you’re going on a trip, and even then you’re rarely going to use it now unless staying at another house, given the vast supercharger expansion compared to a few years ago.