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Extra Box Mounted On Top of v2 Supercharger Cabinet

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swaltner

Active Member
Oct 13, 2012
1,901
2,252
Kansas, USA
In Lima, MT, at the v2 Supercharger site located there, Tesla had mounted an extra box on top of all of the Supercharger cabinets. They each had a large (several inch) diameter conduit running from the box down close to the base of the Supercharger cabinet.

I don't remember ever seeing these before. Am I just oblivious or are these uncommon? Does anyone know what function they serve?

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Reactions: Rocky_H
Those were there before (or at least in April 2019 when I had photos from there), they aren't new.
It could be voltage conversion autotransformers if the utility doesn't have a 480V option - almost all Western Canada Superchargers have these (usually ground mounted though) to convert the 600V provided from the utility transformer to 480V used by the Superchargers.
 
Those were there before (or at least in April 2019 when I had photos from there), they aren't new.
It could be voltage conversion autotransformers if the utility doesn't have a 480V option - almost all Western Canada Superchargers have these (usually ground mounted though) to convert the 600V provided from the utility transformer to 480V used by the Superchargers.
Ding Ding, correct answer. It puzzles me though why utilities don't just install the transformer the customer wants - seems unnecessarily wasteful for all involved.
 
Those were there before (or at least in April 2019 when I had photos from there), they aren't new.
It could be voltage conversion autotransformers if the utility doesn't have a 480V option - almost all Western Canada Superchargers have these (usually ground mounted though) to convert the 600V provided from the utility transformer to 480V used by the Superchargers.
Those 4" conduit are quite impressive, it must have been hard to bend the wires inside.

If this was possible, it would have been simpler to instal those transformers on the ground between the line and the supercharger.
Instead of having wires going back and forth between the supercharger and the transformer on the top.

Or to have an option to raise up the supercharger cabinet and instal the transformers below like if it was part of it.
The current instaltion looks like an afterthought.
 
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