Does a new 70D still need dual chargers?

[SECRET M]

Hi everyone!

If ordering a new 70D, does one still need to buy the 2nd onboard charger as an accessory? Everything in the spec sheet says single charger, but I did not see the option available when I look in the design studio. I do, however, see it in the accessories shop.

If yes, is this something that everyone gets Tesla to put on their car from the factory when they order the car?

Thanks!

 

[Saghost]

As I understand it, the second charger is now always installed after production by the service center, and costs the same whether you have it done immediately or years later.

Lots of cars do not have them, but some folks still talk about adding it.

 

[Khatsalano]

I have duals and I've driven over 22,000 miles, including road trips to Canada and to Southern California. Duals are nice to have, but in reality, I've needed it precisely zero times. It was nice to have maybe 3-4 times, but it was not mission critical. The only use case I can think of remaining is a day-trip to Napa Valley or all the way to Calistoga ... it would be nice to have 80A charging over a lunch break. But oh wait ... Napa SC will be open soon so let me cancel that thought.

I have a HPWC at home (highly recommended due to convenience and sexiness factor).

When I bought the car, SCs were not nearly as dense as they are now. For example, since I bought the car just this year in February, these SCs very near me opened:

- San Mateo
- Mountain View
- Petaluma
- Monterey
- Dublin

... imagine what the end of 2016 will look like!

I don't need the dual charger capability anymore to charge up quickly at home or around home. Some will say that this is necessary if you don't live in California, but we do. I've also traveled extensively out-of-state and there are only two modes of charging I will tolerate because I value my time: (1) Supercharging; (2) overnight charging. Anything in between that requires a stop of say, 2-4 hours, is just not worth doing so I plan around it.

- K

 

[eye.surgeon]

Don't bother. Haven't used mine once in a year.

 

[Jaff]

I think it is mostly prefaced by the availability of high amperage Level II charging stations in the area you normally drive the vehicle...plenty of them in Ontario (Canada)...until the installation of many more Level III charging stations, I would go with the dual chargers...

I have duals and I've driven over 22,000 miles, including road trips to Canada and to Southern California. Duals are nice to have, but in reality, I've needed it precisely zero times. It was nice to have maybe 3-4 times, but it was not mission critical. The only use case I can think of remaining is a day-trip to Napa Valley or all the way to Calistoga ... it would be nice to have 80A charging over a lunch break. But oh wait ... Napa SC will be open soon so let me cancel that thought.

I have a HPWC at home (highly recommended due to convenience and sexiness factor).

When I bought the car, SCs were not nearly as dense as they are now. For example, since I bought the car just this year in February, these SCs very near me opened:

- San Mateo
- Mountain View
- Petaluma
- Monterey
- Dublin

... imagine what the end of 2016 will look like!

I don't need the dual charger capability anymore to charge up quickly at home or around home. Some will say that this is necessary if you don't live in California, but we do. I've also traveled extensively out-of-state and there are only two modes of charging I will tolerate because I value my time: (1) Supercharging; (2) overnight charging. Anything in between that requires a stop of say, 2-4 hours, is just not worth doing so I plan around it.

- K

 

[SECRET M]

I think it is mostly prefaced by the availability of high amperage Level II charging stations in the area you normally drive the vehicle...plenty of them in Ontario (Canada)...until the installation of many more Level III charging stations, I would go with the dual chargers...

Do I lose the capability to use a Supercharger at the highest charging speed without a Dual Charger?

 

[jeffro01]

Do I lose the capability to use a Supercharger at the highest charging speed without a Dual Charger?

No, the amount of onboard chargers has no direct correlation to supercharger functionality. So the single onboard charger your car came with will allow you to supercharge at the highest available rate at that moment. For a quick why? Because a supercharger is DC current feeding directly into your battery bypassing the onboard charger all together (in layman's terms).

Jeff

 

[muleferg]

No.

 

[steph280]

Do I lose the capability to use a Supercharger at the highest charging speed without a Dual Charger?

No. Which brings up a question: If the single charger car can be changed at 200+ amps on supercharger, why can't it handle 80 some amps from a level2 charger?

Edit: Jeff posted the explanation while I was writing this. That clears things up.

 

[jeffro01]

No. Which brings up a question: If the single charger car can be changed at 200+ amps on supercharger, why can't it handle 80 some amps from a level2 charger?

Because a supercharger is putting out DC directly to the battery using a high voltage DC bypass. Whereas, a HPWC is feeding AC into the charger which is then converting it to DC to send to the battery.

Jeff

 

[mmccord]

I've never found l2 charging I could even get 10kw out of, but I guess this is regional. Usually I get something stupidly slow like 208v @ 30a.

The chademo adapter on the other hand is amazing.

 

[MichFin]

Absolutely no need for dual chargers unless you plan on driving 200+ miles a day or running the car as a taxi.

 

[jeffro01]

I've never found l2 charging I could even get 10kw out of, but I guess this is regional. Usually I get something stupidly slow like 208v @ 30a.

The chademo adapter on the other hand is amazing.

That's pretty normal for your average L2 EVSE's. Most are 220V @30a...

Jeff

 

[Jaff]

No, Supercharging capability is not affected by this issue.

Do I lose the capability to use a Supercharger at the highest charging speed without a Dual Charger?

 

[bancroftc]

Assuming you have access to CHAdeMO stations in your travel areas, I would suggest saving the money and using it to buy a CHAdeMO adapter. As with Superchargers, CHAdeMO bypasses the onboard charger (since it's DC) and you get MUCH higher rates of charge than you would even with dual chargers on a HPWC. Second best to Superchargers.

I believe dual chargers with a HPWC at 80amps will get you about 58 miles of charger per hour. And that's assuming your house can support that load. While I've only used my (brand new) CHAdeMO adapter once, I got 140 miles per hour of charge today when testing it out.

Dual charger = $2000
HWPC install = $$$$ (a LOT, in some cases, my quote was about $5000, so went with NEMA 14-50).
...to get you 58 miles of charge per hour on a good day.

CHAdeMO adapter = $450
...for up to 150 miles per hour of charge.

Granted everyone's situation is different, as will your access to specific charging stations. But as others have said in this thread, unless you need to drive hundreds of miles a day around town and need to pit-stop at the house from time to time to top off, it's probably not necessary. Other than that is access to HPWC destination chargers which are seemingly A) few and far between and B) not always 80amps, and in a lot of cases 40 amps around me).

My 2 cents.

 

[SECRET M]

Assuming you have access to CHAdeMO stations in your travel areas, I would suggest saving the money and using it to buy a CHAdeMO adapter. As with Superchargers, CHAdeMO bypasses the onboard charger (since it's DC) and you get MUCH higher rates of charge than you would even with dual chargers on a HPWC. Second best to Superchargers.

I believe dual chargers with a HPWC at 80amps will get you about 58 miles of charger per hour. And that's assuming your house can support that load. While I've only used my (brand new) CHAdeMO adapter once, I got 140 miles per hour of charge today when testing it out.

Dual charger = $2000
HWPC install = $$$$ (a LOT, in some cases, my quote was about $5000, so went with NEMA 14-50).
...to get you 58 miles of charge per hour on a good day.

CHAdeMO adapter = $450
...for up to 150 miles per hour of charge.

Granted everyone's situation is different, as will your access to specific charging stations. But as others have said in this thread, unless you need to drive hundreds of miles a day around town and need to pit-stop at the house from time to time to top off, it's probably not necessary. Other than that is access to HPWC destination chargers which are seemingly A) few and far between and B) not always 80amps, and in a lot of cases 40 amps around me).

My 2 cents.

Well apparently, I did everything totally backwards (or like Tesla recommended). I went ahead and installed at HPWC at the house and routed it a 100A dedicated circuit so that I could charge at 80A... Guess at some point I should do the twin chargers huh?

 

[TexasEV]

Well apparently, I did everything totally backwards (or like Tesla recommended). I went ahead and installed at HPWC at the house and routed it a 100A dedicated circuit so that I could charge at 80A... Guess at some point I should do the twin chargers huh?

I'm not sure why you thought you needed 80A charging at home, but if you don't then save the $2000 and don't get dual chargers installed. Just consider the HPWC a sunk cost. You only need dual chargers if your diving pattern is such that high amp J1772 or HPWC is available where you're going and you'll be charging there during the day rather than overnight.

 

[Khatsalano]

If I had a do over today, I'd spend the money on the 90kWh range upgrade rather than duals. I also agree that a Chademo adapter is way more useful than duals.

 

[jerry33]

My dual chargers have saved me many hours. It just depends on where you travel

 

[Cottonwood]

I drive Boulder to Pagosa Springs, CO a lot. The 70 Amp J1772 in Salida, CO and dual chargers has saved me a lot of time on many trips.

A majority of "Destination Chargers" have more than 40 Amps available, often 80 Amps. Overnight, the extra charge rate is not that useful, but for lunch/dinner stops dual chargers can save you a lot of time at these stops. See the Tesla Find Us Page and look at Destination Chargers only for reference.

The 90D Model X has a range somewhere between the 70D and the 85D. Tesla chose to make a single 72-Amp charger standard in the X. I think that says something about the value and future that Tesla places on High Amp Level 2 charging (HAL2).