Infographic - Charging your Tesla in Australia

[RichardMcN]

I am booked in to get the additional charger installed in my car and so looking to get the cables required to charge up from a 3 phase 32 amp source. I'm especially interested in charging up in Colac (thanks Keith) as that is a convenient location for my frequent drive to Melbourne. My range is slowly decreasing and a short stay there will suffice until a Supercharger is installed somewhere along that route.

Where do you purchase a 'ELPA EVR3' as I have looked on EVnomics web site and it doesn't show up. Can anyone point me in the right direction? You could PM me so you don't post any business information on this forum. Thanks.

Speak to Tim at EVnomics. They are importing the Maxicharger EVSE which has tails with all sorts of plugs (10A, 15A, 32A, Type 2, 20A 3ph, 32A 3 ph) with coding that means you can't run them over their individual current ratings. I have one (soon 2 so I can throw away the UMC) and have done a bit of testing in the 3 days I have had the car, and it is simplicity itself!

Really jealous of you having dual chargers. My new version only gets a 50% upgrade as an option.

 

[voyxr6]

I've got my Maxicharger via Jetcharge + J1772 adaptor via EVNomics on order (1&thesame) + planning trip to Melbourne to get dual chargers installed - cant wait!

What were you quoted for dual chargers Brewster? $3500 here?

 

[brewster]

Yes same quote in Melbourne

 

[eclectricdave]

If I got a charger from the USA could I install it myself or are they different and/or need to be enabled with Tesla trickery?

 

[EV Holiday]

Hi, I am absolute newbie here. So excuse me if the following question is obvious to current owners.

In your list it says Tesla HPWC is included. This means every Tesla buyer gets a free HPWC with the car? Or it's even supplied and installed for the buyer for free at their homes?

I have ordered a new S60D. Never asked about this question when test driving.....

 

[Mark E]

My car came with the home charger and a portable charger. I paid for installation.

 

[EV Holiday]

Thanks Mark! Good to know... So I assume everyone gets both chargers when they take delivery?

 

[championi]

Thanks Mark! Good to know... So I assume everyone gets both chargers when they take delivery?

Yes that's right. Although they will give you the HPWC days or a week before so you can have it installed at home prior to receiving your car. That's what I experienced

 

[alpal]

Yes that's right. Although they will give you the HPWC days or a week before so you can have it installed at home prior to receiving your car. That's what I experienced

Me too!

 

[EV Holiday]

Thanks a lot for the help. I have spoken to my solar installer and he will help me get it connected! Cheers!

 

[Mark E]

Thanks Mark! Good to know... So I assume everyone gets both chargers when they take delivery?

The charger is the first thing to arrive, and in my case was waaaay before the car. Tesla were looking for customers to install so that they could test the charging characteristics of the Australian grid in various locations. I had my charger months before the car, and had a Tesla parked overnight charging at one stage (but no keys!) while they sorted things out.

Ironically, tomorrow morning Tesla are swapping that original charger to a new 3 phase one as I ordered dual chargers with the car.

 

[Shock-On-T]

Hi Guys, I've searched for days for this info, hopefully someone can help me.
My father has a normal socket in his workshop but which is wired for 20 amps single phase for some heavy machinery he uses.
The socket is the normal household socket (3112?), but has been wired for 20 amps.
If I plug the UMC into this, will it still limit me to 10A? Is there an over-ride to push it to more than 10A? Do I need to trick it by using two adapters?
Thanks...

 

[Tubbers]

My understanding is that the tail (the end of the UMC) that plugs in to stuff has circuitry to cap the amps. So a normal aussie household 3 prong end on the UMC will cap at 10 Amps. To get more you need a European tail that allows more amps though, and then an adapter from European to aussie 3 phase. The euro tail thing tesla sell in oz - but the euro to aussie adaptor is from aftermarket (like Tesla UMC Adaptor - 20A ). In short i dont think you can do 20 amps from a normal socket, however it is wired.

 

[Shock-On-T]

Thanks mate, much appreciated.
Once I get the car I'll have a play, but I've heard about that 10A lock on the UMC, so might have to get some adapters.
October can't come soon enough..

 

[meloccom]

Hi Guys, I've searched for days for this info, hopefully someone can help me.
My father has a normal socket in his workshop but which is wired for 20 amps single phase for some heavy machinery he uses.
The socket is the normal household socket (3112?), but has been wired for 20 amps.
If I plug the UMC into this, will it still limit me to 10A? Is there an over-ride to push it to more than 10A? Do I need to trick it by using two adapters?
Thanks...

The AS/NZS 3112 single phase plug come in a number of types.
The standard 10A plug we are all familiar with,
The 15A version with a wider earth plug commonly found in camping grounds.
The 20A version where all three pins are wider which is not common.
If you father has uprated the source to support 20A the sockets for each of the three pins should be wider than normal.
Please note that if the breaker for this plug is 20A that does not mean that the socket will support 20A.
Unfortunately the Tesla UMC does not support higher single phase adapters right now and possibly never will, the adapter referred to by Tubbers is actually for 3 phase as the 20A plug is a most likely a Clipsal 56P520. The second 5 refers to the 5 pins required for 3 phase Earth, neutral, Live1, L2 and L3.
If you father has 3 phase to his house, you are best looking at installing a 3 phase plug, if not a properly installed Tesla or third party wall connector is probably safest.
In any case its worth getting an electrician in to check the capacity of his board or you will likely melt things.
Contact Tesla for recommended electricians.
P.S. I'm not an electrician and you should not even assume what I have told you is correct, hire a professional.

 

[Shock-On-T]

The AS/NZS 3112 single phase plug come in a number of types.
The standard 10A plug we are all familiar with,
The 15A version with a wider earth plug commonly found in camping grounds.
The 20A version where all three pins are wider which is not common.
If you father has uprated the source to support 20A the sockets for each of the three pins should be wider than normal.
Please note that if the breaker for this plug is 20A that does not mean that the socket will support 20A.
Unfortunately the Tesla UMC does not support higher single phase adapters right now and possibly never will, the adapter referred to by Tubbers is actually for 3 phase as the 20A plug is a most likely a Clipsal 56P520. The second 5 refers to the 5 pins required for 3 phase Earth, neutral, Live1, L2 and L3.
If you father has 3 phase to his house, you are best looking at installing a 3 phase plug, if not a properly installed Tesla or third party wall connector is probably safest.
In any case its worth getting an electrician in to check the capacity of his board or you will likely melt things.
Contact Tesla for recommended electricians.
P.S. I'm not an electrician and you should not even assume what I have told you is correct, hire a professional.

Thanks for the advice.
The plug was installed by a friend of my fathers who is an electrical engineer but not an electrician. It uses normal pins, all-new wiring, and a 20A breaker. So basically it is probably safe, but non-standard. It was installed for a heavy-duty lathe and has several year's usage.
To be honest, 10A will be fine for a bit of juice when visiting the old man, but it would be nice to tweak it for a bit more (esp. knowing that the wiring itself can handle more).

 

[meloccom]

I have a holiday house in the southern highlands that is about 160Km from my home in the city.
I was charging at 15A single phase until quite recently when the 3 phase charger was installed.
I set it to start charging at just after 10 when the lowest rates start and it was rarely not fully charged by the time I needed to use it the next day. If I were you I would see if that circuit could be changed to install a 15A power point and still comply with wiring rules. You can still plug a 10A plug into a 15A socket so it could continue to be used for its original purpose as well as car charging.
To be honest the three phase seems to be overkill for overnight charging and finishes charging before dawn.

 

[Shock-On-T]

But were you charging at 15A using the UMC? (hope so...)

 

[meloccom]

But were you charging at 15A using the UMC? (hope so...)

I purchased a 15A mobile connector from Clipper Creek as early Model S deliveries did not come with a Tesla UMC at first.
The number of adapters available for the Tesla UMC are still quite limited and there currently is not a 15A adapter only 10A or European 3 phase for which you need yet another adapter to plug into Australian 3 phase. If you are going to do a lot of touring I suggest a third party mobile connector.

 

[raynewman]

I purchased a 15A mobile connector from Clipper Creek as early Model S deliveries did not come with a Tesla UMC at first.
The number of adapters available for the Tesla UMC are still quite limited and there currently is not a 15A adapter only 10A or European 3 phase for which you need yet another adapter to plug into Australian 3 phase. If you are going to do a lot of touring I suggest a third party mobile connector.

Although, the euro three phase can be used for 15 AMP if you don't mind bending the rules