This is a very good point and I apply that to many things beyond just Tesla.
It’s also why I’m not keen about DC charging at 250kw on a hot day. 125kw is just fine by me.
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Installing Wall Connector is better than NEMA 14-50
- Thread starter Magnet77
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It’s also why I’m not keen about DC charging at 250kw on a hot day. 125kw is just fine by me.
boulder.dude
Member
This is why I charge at 40A (unless I’m in a hurry). All electrical and mechanical systems tend to work better (and last longer) if operated below their maximum rate.
WhiteAdobo
Member
The 14-30 charges about 8mph slower then the 14-50 according to Tesla. From my research it’s much easier to find a 14-50 outlet also while on the road if need be.
To piggy back off @OliverM3 you can also get a 3rd party EV charger and just use the adapter.
I personally started off with the 14-50 then switched to a Wall Connector when they lowered the price. I was happy with the 14-50. But I’m also loving the 13mph increase with the Wall Connector at 48A.
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ATPMSD
Active Member
If you do not already own the mobile connector, then the wall connector is cheaper than a 14-50 or a 14-30 install. And if you do, then the wall connector is only about $150 more. Pretty small upcharge given the money you spent to buy the car.
Also, for your $150 the wall connector offers:
- 24' cable instead of 20'
- UMC can stay in the car so it is not forgotten
- Is water proof
- Built in power-sharing
- Firmware updates for new features (power sharing, restrictions on usage, so far)
I appreciate the perspective. I was in the order queue long enough I did get the mobile connector kit with my car so the economics of getting a wall charger aren’t quite as favorable (though I’d still have the mobile connector); as several observed, not a big expense relative to the cost of the car.
davewill
Active Member
They go in and out of stock fairly frequently. I'd hold out for the 14-50 adapter.
ATPMSD
Active Member
You could always use a 6-50, which is available. Same 50-amp capacity and one less wire needed.
boulder.dude
Member
Does the ChargePoint go through a J1772 plug? I thought those could only go up to 30A or so.
ATPMSD
Active Member
Don’t know what the “ChargePoint” limit is, but the standard is up to 19.2 kW (80 amps @ 240 volts)
WhiteAdobo
Member
It does go through a j1772 and nope It goes to 48amps. You can actually go higher with some weird 70+ amp breaker and wiring but the gain wasn't worth it to me 48 is fine. I went with the chargepoint incase my wife ever wanted an ev or people with ev's come over. Seemed more flexible to stay on the J1772 standard. I also had a 6-50 outlet installed on the other side of the garage if I want to use a mobile charger.
Just to add my unsolicited two cents:
Due to the nature of our house I had to install 100 amp sub panel in the garage to be able to install the wall connector for my M3 in 2019.
It was easy enough to install a 14–50 receptacle in the garage next to the Tesla wall connector. Because it would never be used with more than 32A; I used a 40 amp breaker, and labeled it for EV charging only.
There’s no doubt about the fact that the 48 amp for charging capability of the Tesla charger is superior to using the 32 amp capability of a 14–50 plug. However, charging your car overnight doesn’t really suffer tremendously when using the 14–50 at 32A.
It really comes down to just how much work do you have to do to run the lines to be able to install your selected charger. If you have to do what I had to do, which is to run lines clear across the house in conduit to your garage, it probably makes sense to spend a couple hundred dollars more and install the proper Tesla charger. Of course, if money is part of the issue you can always use a utility provided charging station which will give you discounts for charging during off times. Part of the deal is they sell the meta-data related to your charging use habits to give you a discount, but it’s still an option and you don’t have to have a Tesla dedicated charger.
Due to the nature of our house I had to install 100 amp sub panel in the garage to be able to install the wall connector for my M3 in 2019.
It was easy enough to install a 14–50 receptacle in the garage next to the Tesla wall connector. Because it would never be used with more than 32A; I used a 40 amp breaker, and labeled it for EV charging only.
There’s no doubt about the fact that the 48 amp for charging capability of the Tesla charger is superior to using the 32 amp capability of a 14–50 plug. However, charging your car overnight doesn’t really suffer tremendously when using the 14–50 at 32A.
It really comes down to just how much work do you have to do to run the lines to be able to install your selected charger. If you have to do what I had to do, which is to run lines clear across the house in conduit to your garage, it probably makes sense to spend a couple hundred dollars more and install the proper Tesla charger. Of course, if money is part of the issue you can always use a utility provided charging station which will give you discounts for charging during off times. Part of the deal is they sell the meta-data related to your charging use habits to give you a discount, but it’s still an option and you don’t have to have a Tesla dedicated charger.
davewill
Active Member
Especially considering that the only cars that can even go over 48a, to my knowledge, are older Tesla Model S/X and Roadsters. All the current EVs out there are 48a (and more commonly 32a) max, so installing an EVSE that can go higher seems rather pointless.
As far as J1772, I made the same decision, mainly because I actually have an EV without a Tesla connector. I will admit it's a little less convenient than a Tesla plug would be, but not significantly so.
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If anything is going to fail, I want it to fail within the warranty period. Due to manufacturing variations, some devices will tolerate being run at the maximum better than others, and if mine happens to be one of the "weaker" units, I want it to fail.
Lucid? Rivian? Both of those go up to 80A AFAIK.
You are thinking of infant failures, where it goes out in the first month or two. That's not it. We're talking about two or three or five years on, and for a product with a 1 year warranty, that's not helpful. (And yes, I know that for a lot of these, if they were included with the new car originally, they got covered by that 4 years of the car's warranty.) These should be able to last better than that if they aren't getting prematurely degraded by heat.
Well regardless of whether the failure happens in the first month or two or 3 years in, I want to know about it. If something fails before it should, I'll ask for a discount on another one. If they refuse, then I'll take that into account when I buy my next EVSE.
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