If you search the archives you will find hundreds of posts in 2013-2014 debating the merits of dual chargers on the early Model S. It was a hot topic back then...
-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
Is the dual charger option useful and worth getting?
- Thread starter lupacexi
- Start date
Good point. PG&E EV rate plan off peak is 11pm-7am, an 8 hour window. Comparing pre-refresh Model S with the 10kW single charger vs 20kW dual charger the difference is 29mph vs 58mph. Refilling a completely empty 90D (294 miles range) would be the difference between ~10 hours and ~5 hours. Dual chargers would ensure you fully recharge during the off peak window, but then the question is how often you do a full charge from near empty? Agree that the 2 hours outside of the off peak window would take years if not decades to recoup the $2000 cost. There may be other utilities with even shorter off peak windows but still would be difficult to justify from a financial point of view.
Home Charging Installation
And I was much more pro- then. The landscape has changed much, IMO.
Don't want to put words in your mouth, but I suspect you're referring to the increase in supercharger density and breadth. If that's what you're saying, I completely agree. In 2012, it made sense (to me at least) to "prepare even more" for charging scarcity by picking up items like the Roadster adapter. These days, if I'm travelling out of supercharger range it's... well... a different kind of trip where I have more time and the time factor on charging is less of a concern.
Agreed.... that's indeed what I was talking about primarily, and referred to it up thread a bit.
I've got a couple of adapters I picked up assuming I'd use them on occasion... never did, and now rather doubt I'd have much need. Nonethelss they are in my adapter case in the car as a cheap insurance policy
There are other options between 1 and 10 kW. The semi-legendary @Bighorn ,who has over 197,000 miles, has been using a 30A circuit the whole time.
On aspect you might want to consider is that if you have dual chargers, you can set your amps to 40ish and split the load between the two chargers (assuming you have the older style 40a) and provide a light load for each charger. This will extend the life of the charger modules in the car. There have been reports of the modules failing due to load and splitting them can increase their lifetime.
Is that worth the $2000 upgrade? No, probably not, but it's an additional aspect to consider. You wouldn't be getting the faster speed charge at home, but as others have already said, you don't really need it. It would be nice on rare instances on trips where it's available, for sure, though... but as others have said, it's unlikely it's worth the money.
Is that worth the $2000 upgrade? No, probably not, but it's an additional aspect to consider. You wouldn't be getting the faster speed charge at home, but as others have already said, you don't really need it. It would be nice on rare instances on trips where it's available, for sure, though... but as others have said, it's unlikely it's worth the money.
Bighorn
Top Supercharger
Not sure the power would be split. I think the first 40A goes to the first charger and the second charger would receive any surplus.
CameronB
Member
I see you mention you were told that from Tesla (presumably a service center?) but from my previous understanding there was only a very short period of some of the Model X that had software-only "locked" High Amperage Chargers that could be software upgraded. All of the facelifted Model S have different hardware parts from what I understand. I'd love it if it were true, but if it were true, then you can bet it'd be in My Tesla and a click and credit card info away to update. But it is not, so just further proof that if you have an S or an X that wasn't super early, then you probably do not have a software upgradeable charger.
My car (June 2017) was one of the very last advertised upgradeable charger cars. Says I could upgrade to 72AMP *after purchase* for $1700 or $1900 (would have to double check which price was quoted). But it's not listed in My Tesla and I'd have to have the new box (or 'card') ordered in advance and then installed at a service center. So pretty sure it's some kind of a hardware update not a software 'lock'.
To the OP (@lupa): First, welcome to TMC!
FWIW, I side with the majority of the posters here that even if you can upgrade to either dual chargers (80A) or the High Amperage Charger Upgrade (72A), it probably is not worth it. I certainly will not pay $1700-$1900 to upgrade. If it was $500...I'd probably do it though
But I agree if does depend on your use cases and if you frequent places (hotels and such) that offer 80A HPWC service and are on vacation or whatnot, then sure it can be useful to cut your charge time significantly. Or if you drive 200+ miles and get home on "empty" and have to leave again in less than 8 hours (and can't use a Supercharger), then it can be useful. But for day-to-day charging at home, 48A is pretty quick.
In my experience, it's quite difficult to find high amperage chargers in the wild. I wish Plugshare had an option available to show only the chargers providing, say, 48A or more. Without this, it's really difficult to justify going with the upgraded 72A charger. Unless you have high amperage at home, there's just too much fast DC charging around (which is a lot easier to find) to bother. That said, the situation where you are could be different.
I remember when I ordered my Model S in 2014 I wanted to add dual chargers and the sales person really tried to talk me out of it. I listened and I'm glad. There were 2 situations where I would have benefited in 4 years. Both times it would have saved me a few minutes. Nothing worth $2000.
The majority of destination chargers are not capable of 20 kW and despite having done 100k miles on road trips I have used destination chargers only a few times and it was never time critical. At home I certainly don't need any more than 10 kW.
The $450 CHADeMo adapter has been a good investment. I have used it many times and it has saved me a lot of time in many situations.
The majority of destination chargers are not capable of 20 kW and despite having done 100k miles on road trips I have used destination chargers only a few times and it was never time critical. At home I certainly don't need any more than 10 kW.
The $450 CHADeMo adapter has been a good investment. I have used it many times and it has saved me a lot of time in many situations.
It load balances if the load is greater than one charger can handle, hence the 40ish.
Yep, exactly how it works. I'm not sure how the new 48a chargers do it though, is there only 1 that goes up to 72? I assume so, so if you have a refresh then it doesn't really matter what you do.
SW2Fiddler
We Are Cognitive Dissidents
I was going to post saying this. I have a 70Amp breaker circuit so charge at 56A, or 14kW. Each of the dual chargers rectifies 7kW of this.
If the total is under 10kW however it will not split the power, one charger would take up to 10kW alone.
There's been discussion that the 48A and 72A chargers are built internally from 2 or 3 24A units, but I haven't seen anything about load sharing across the units internally.
When the choice of charging on a trip was between RV parks and a kind Tesla owner with an 80 amp HPWC, the difference in time was four hours with dual chargers. (In practice, more than four hours because at most RV parks you can't charge at a full 40 amps without tripping the breakers.) It saved us a lot of time over the three years when there were no SCs available. It still might depending upon where you live or travel. Also if your normal charging is better than a 14-50, it will balance the load (as others have said). So it really depends on individual circumstances.
Not that it matters much, but awhile back I asked a Tesla Ranger tech (whom I know and trust) about whether the dual 40 amp chargers do any sort of load sharing or splitting, and he said no. The primary unit handles all charging up to 40 amps and the slave unit kicks in to supply more than 40 amps when required.
I order dual chargers on my 2013 P85 and have charged above 40 amps on many occasions during our off the beaten path road trips over the last 5 years. We made a trip to Reno several years ago before the SC network was built out and charged on a Clipper Creek CS100 at an office park, and that helped make the trip a little easier. I have an HPWC at home on a 100 amp circuit, and the high speed of charging is a nice luxury.
Would I buy them today? I'm on the fence about that. I probably would if the price was a little lower, not sure about the $2K. But if I bought a CPO car with dual chargers, I would certainly be able to use them...Overall, it depends on the individual's charging needs...
I order dual chargers on my 2013 P85 and have charged above 40 amps on many occasions during our off the beaten path road trips over the last 5 years. We made a trip to Reno several years ago before the SC network was built out and charged on a Clipper Creek CS100 at an office park, and that helped make the trip a little easier. I have an HPWC at home on a 100 amp circuit, and the high speed of charging is a nice luxury.
Would I buy them today? I'm on the fence about that. I probably would if the price was a little lower, not sure about the $2K. But if I bought a CPO car with dual chargers, I would certainly be able to use them...Overall, it depends on the individual's charging needs...
SW2Fiddler
We Are Cognitive Dissidents
My experience is that I didn't have a grasp on my own charging needs until I had been driving an EV for at least 6 months. Predicting is hard and many over-estimate their needs. Some under.
Did Jack Rickard ever probe a dual-charger S and put a definitive answer on the Split Or Slave question? I would trust his findings...
Similar threads
- Question
