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Dual chargers

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Until about six months ago I used HPWC as Destination Chargers quite often. Since then not much. Now I very rarely (i.e. not once in the last four months) have needed the >40 amp. When charging overnight I always dial down the amps to remain charging for overnight, generally dialing down to 15 amps or less. Were I to order now I still would opt for due chargers just in case I end out a few times in Supercharger/CHAdeMO deserts and still need fairly quick charging. I'll wager there will be virtually no need for that by 2017, in The US anyway. In Canada and most of the rest of the world I'd want all the flexibility I could get, including faster AC charging capability. Still, in most of the world the amperage available is rarely enough to demand dual chargers anyway. So, maybe I would check for high-amp AC availability prior to buying the option.

Sorry for a long-winded response. Clearly faster AC is rapidly becoming unnecessary. The question is when "rapidly becoming" changes to "is".
 
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I generally use SpCs away from home and carry a CHAdeMO adapter in my trunk just-in-case, but recently was at a resort where they had 80A HPWC and appreciated being able to charge a lot more quickly than I otherwise would have.

Be sure you check out some other threads here on pros and cons of dual chargers... For me, it's something I'd probably not do the next time around, as they are no longer a factory option and can be installed after-the-fact if you find value at some future date... but I must say, knowing I can effectively get a complete 90% charge in less than 5 hours on my home HPWC eliminates any concern I have about possibly not having enough reserve after arriving home from a long trip without much reserve should an emergency arise. (My MS is now the single vehicle in my garage, with closest SpCs 22 & 42 miles away -- which are not good "Plan B"s for most of my likely family scenarios.)
 
100% of my non-SC charging while en route has used the dual chargers (all on 80 amp HPWC's). My destination charging has been limited to family members' houses and they've all been single charging, less than 50 amps. I would have hated spending twice the amount of time charging while en route.
 
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I've "needed" it 3 times in 3 years, when I would have spent time just hanging around waiting for the charge. The remainder of the time charging has been ahead of my needs.
 
I received my car in May 2014. I took some road trips from California to Denver and back; Milwaukee, Minneapolis and back; through the Sierra Nevada before the Truckee Supercharger was built, and I am planning to drive up US395 from Alturas to Pendleton in May.

I like taking back roads and secondary highways more than interstates. Here is a list where I was able (or plan) to use the dual chargers at AC plugs with >40A:

Salida, CO; Pagosa Springs CO; Telluride CO; Reno NV; Incline Village NV; Minden NV; Bend OR; Burns OR. One hundred twenty to one hundred fifty miles in 2-3 hours allowed a nice leisurely break and a chance to walk around after eating.

In addition, destination chargers in Mammoth Lakes (pre-Supercharger), Milwaukee and Minneapolis let me charge my car for 4+ hours and then move it to allow another traveler a chance to charge if he arrived later in the day or late at night.
 
I am planning to drive up US395 from Alturas to Pendleton in May.

Just an FYI:
I'm working on a brewery project in the town of John Day, OR (about 70 miles north of Burns), and Tesla has approved our project for up to 3 HPWCs. Those won't be active until later this year, however my client is also on the local Chamber of Commerce Board and I'm currently working with them to get a HPWC installed there as soon as possible. I can let you know if we can get that HPWC installed before your trip.

Currently when I drive out to John Day from Bend, I have to charge at the Fairgrounds RV park for about 4 hours to get enough charge to get back home again! The good part about this is that our project meetings are pretty lengthy at this time!

Also, the charger in Burns is 208v, but it works fine. It gets us from Bend to the Supercharger in Boise on I-84.
 
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On the Model X you either could purchase the standard 48 amp charger or the single high power 72amp charging option. The charger was a hidden option (Easter egg). There was a price increase for the 72 amp charger in January. The 72 amp charger requires a 100 amp 240 volt dedicated circuit.
 
Just an FYI:
I'm working on a brewery project in the town of John Day, OR (about 70 miles north of Burns), and Tesla has approved our project for up to 3 HPWCs. Those won't be active until later this year, however my client is also on the local Chamber of Commerce Board and I'm currently working with them to get a HPWC installed there as soon as possible. I can let you know if we can get that HPWC installed before your trip.

Currently when I drive out to John Day from Bend, I have to charge at the Fairgrounds RV park for about 4 hours to get enough charge to get back home again! The good part about this is that our project meetings are pretty lengthy at this time!

Also, the charger in Burns is 208v, but it works fine. It gets us from Bend to the Supercharger in Boise on I-84.

Thanks, Stacey! I appreciate the help. My plan is to leave Lakeview with a full charge and charge at the Harney County C of C on Broadway for about 3 1/2 hours which should afford me the opportunity to reach Pendleton without breaking a sweat.

I am just concerned that the ol' Constitutional Sheriff Palmer and his band of 70 deputized posse members will be rather unpleasant folks to any "foreigner" passing through Grant County, particularly in an electric vehicle from California. Your state's DOJ investigation into Palmer's malfeasance in office cannot happen soon enough!
 
Thanks, Stacey! I appreciate the help. My plan is to leave Lakeview with a full charge and charge at the Harney County C of C on Broadway for about 3 1/2 hours which should afford me the opportunity to reach Pendleton without breaking a sweat.

I am just concerned that the ol' Constitutional Sheriff Palmer and his band of 70 deputized posse members will be rather unpleasant folks to any "foreigner" passing through Grant County, particularly in an electric vehicle from California. Your state's DOJ investigation into Palmer's malfeasance in office cannot happen soon enough!

Sounds like a good plan. The lower speed limits in Oregon (and the fact that most Oregonians drive slower than the limit!) definitely helps squeeze range out of our kwh!

I'll let the folks at the Grant County Chamber know people are worried about stopping off in John Day because of their sheriff's antics. My guess is that the businesses will come together pretty fast against that crap. So far, all of the business owners I've talked with about installing the chargers quickly understand the benefits of attracting Model S owners. My brewery clients want as many chargers as they can get.
 
I have driven 100.000+ km with Tesla since october 2013. First 6 months with a car equipped with 1 charger.
During that time I regretted having singel charger 2 times meaning I have to sit and wait. And waiting is not my strong side and 50km pr hour is awfully slow.

After that I have had double charger and used it (apart from home, have installed 22kwh charger) aprox 10 times.
The time it really was usefull was when my UMC broke and I had to drive over to a charger and wait there untill there was enough juice for my wife`s next day adventures. Had to do this 4 days untill new UMC arrived!
Apart from the new 22kwh charger with attached cable I now have 2 UMC`s. Lesson learnt.

So yes handy but not life saving
 
It's not apples to apples but for 1/4 the price of the dual charger you could get a chademo adapter... That would charge way faster than any dual charger every day of the week. Since it's cheaper and may not really or ever be needed its easier to swallow knowing if they double SC's next year even the chademo may be never used and I'd rather waste ~500$ vs 2,000$.
 
It's not apples to apples but for 1/4 the price of the dual charger you could get a chademo adapter... That would charge way faster than any dual charger every day of the week. Since it's cheaper and may not really or ever be needed its easier to swallow knowing if they double SC's next year even the chademo may be never used and I'd rather waste ~500$ vs 2,000$.
Of course, there has to be usable CHAdeMO chargers in the area where you live or travel, whereas there are a lot of destination HPWCs and more on the way.
 
I decided to buy the second charger based on the number of 80a destination chargers I'm seeing. One hotel we visit each year reported having seven Tesla's one night! Having the dual chargers definitely helps get the job done while others are waiting.

My complaint is that they should be an option on the car, factory installed and rolled into the lease. I'm doubtful that I can have it removed and mounted on another Tesla in the future.