I am looking for an opinion. My car is on order S85D - late March delivery. Should the increase in the numbers of HPWCs prompt me to switch from single to dual chargers? Tesla Toronto contact said to get single charger but .... Opinions?
-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
Eastern Canada Superchargers
- Thread starter Doug_G
- Start date
-
- Tags
- Canada Supercharging
It depends on where you're going. If you're charging overnight then there is no need for charging at more than 40A. Personally, I don't see a need for dual chargers if you're within the Supercharger network. Keep in mind also that "HPWC" does not necessarily mean "more than 40A", and that in most areas public chargers are only 30A.
Those are the arguments against. The argument for is that there may be times when it is useful, and it's a lot cheaper to do it now than after the car is built!
Peter_M
Member
This was discussed in detail recently in another thread. I'd recommend dual chargers - as I said on that thread, all it takes is one time when you have to wait 4 hours instead of 2 and you'll regret it if you don't get them.
I think the dual chargers are fantastic. It's the difference between waiting 8 hours or 4 hours for your car to charge up. I have 75 000 km on my car - my road trips are usually planned with stops at Sun Country Highway 70+ Amp stations. You'll be able to reach places that the superchargers can't reach in a lot shorter time. At home, I charge at 40A and i find that sufficient - but on the road, you want to charge quickly.... I say change your order if you plan on traveling with your car (especially in Canada).
Depeche Mode
Member
My humble opinion is that my twin charger has been used only twice (same day I took delivery of my Tesla in Toronto...)... I think you can do without... At the time I didn't know that twin chargers weren't required for SuperCharging but now I know it I would think twice before taking that option...
Also, I use my portable Tesla universal charger at home (40 amps) and it's more than sufficient for home charging... I never saw the need to install the HPWC (probably why the price of it decreased recently as are the sales are very low for Tesla for the HPWC's).
Though, when the ChaDeMo adapter will come up, the twin charger would be more useful (at some extent)...
Hope it helps a little bit...
Last edited:
ChaDeMo is DC so the adapter does not need the dual chargers. It does require the Supercharger capability.
I have the Dual chargers and have used their capability many times on Sun Country CS90 chargers.
Whereas I've used my dual charger dozens of times, and they are most appreciated indeed! When Superchargers aren't available, it makes the difference between a long meal break and an overnight stay.
SlyWombat
Member
That is not the woodstock supercharge location. See picture here: Eastern Canada Superchargers - Page 79 I stopped by this morning around 11am, no other cars in any of the slots, walked up to Tim Hortons with family, 25 minutes later walked back still nobody but a person taking pictures of my car. Then an OPP car pulled up and asked what these things were. So I did a whole tour and explanation!
The charge "speed" is a running average, and includes the ramp up time so it usually underestimates the real power. What was the voltage and current? I'll bet 200V, 30 A, which would be 6 kW. 6 kWh @ 190 Wh/km is 32 km/h.
Change the display to "energy" instead of speed and see if I'm right - if it says 6 kW then that's about 30 km of range per hour.
Since I got my Tesla second hand, I paid $3,600 to get the dual chargers after the fact. For me it was worth it after seeing that where I was going to be travelling, there were high amp chargers. I've made use of the dual chargers more than I had planned since SuC's were supposed to be rolled out by the summer of 2013...
mrElbe
Active Member
Went past the Barrie installation today and the electrical contractor was busy working on it but the concrete pad is still pining for a transformer.
1) Unfortunately, having dual chargers only helps when the station offers more than 40A. For example, at the Kingston Best Western you will get 70A and about 70 km/h, whereas someone with the single-charger will be limited to 40A, ~40 km/h.
2) 30A at home provides about 35 km/h because it's at 240V. Unfortunately, most commercial sites have 208V service, so you only get roughly 30 km/h. However, in this instance it's possible half the power was being siphoned off to heat the cabin or the battery, explaining the abnormally low charging rate.
Mayhemm
Model S P85+ "Lola"
Just chiming in on the dual charging discussion to say that I did about 20,000 km traveling with my car this past summer and it would not have been possible without dual charging. 3 or 4 hours per stop is long enough, but 7 or 8 hours would have been truly unacceptable.
Considering the minimal added expense to the car, I say definitely go for dual charging. Even if you almost never use it, all it takes is one time to need it and you'll be wishing you spent the money.
and when you resell it, there are a lot of folks who would not consider a single charger car.
Thanks, I've edited the post because I know realize it wasn't clear. It's not the Woodstock site, but like Woodstock it's adjacent to a gym. I'm only being slightly facetious when I mention there's more ICEing than normal near gyms.
RichardC
Cdn Sig & Solar Supporter
Unfortunately, there are few, in any, that help us to get from Southern Ontario to the Supercharger system south of the border.
- - - Updated - - -
I agree with those in favour of dual chargers. After a couple of years and over 40,000 km, I also really appreciate the convenience of having the HPWC in the garage at home. It save a lot of time not having to wrap up and store the mobile charger on a daily basis (I like to have it on board in case I have to make an unexpected trip on an emergency basis, or have occasion to demo how easy it is to charge the Model S).
Yes, but you live in the Gulf of Saskatchewan. If an owner lives within the Supercharger network the question is entirely different.
Depeche Mode
Member
+1
that was my point saying that Twin Charger isn't an essential but a good to have...
Similar threads
