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Is this normal? (Destination chargers)

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Patrick W

Active Member
Mar 17, 2015
1,524
943
SLC, UT
While I've been driving Model S for a few years the only places I've ever charged have been at home with a 15-30, at superchargers and off a 110 outlet.

So when a local company I frequent put in a Tesla charger and another kind of charger I gave them both a try.

I just figured the Tesla charger would charge faster than the other but as the images below show that was not the case.

I'd appreciate hearing from folks more familiar with this sort of charging than I if what is shown is normal or if maybe something was wrong. Note, I had the charge current set as high as it would go. 12 Amps at the Tesla charger and 32 for the other.

Opinions, please.

Thanks!

12.jpg 32.jpg
 
I can just guess, but here it goes:

The Tesla charger (wall box) can be set to limit the current. This is done inside the box (so not changeable from the outside). Usually the electrician installing the Telsa wall box will set it in accordance to the available electricity at the location.

So it looks like these two chargers are sharing one source of electricity, possibly one breaker. To be safe, the installer let the general purpose charger use the max energy and limited the Tesla wall box to the rest.
 
The 12/12A on the charging screen means it’s only wired on a 15A circuit, or the electricisn used an incorrect setting in the HPWC when installing it.
Right. The HPWC can be set to anything from 12 to 80 amps delivered depending on the circuit. That’s awfully low, I bet no one read the manual about setting the rotary switch to the 80% level. It’s not code to share a circuit with an HPWC and another device since they can’t communicate.
 
I'd appreciate hearing from folks more familiar with this sort of charging than I if what is shown is normal or if maybe something was wrong. Note, I had the charge current set as high as it would go. 12 Amps at the Tesla charger and 32 for the other.
No, not normal in my experience. Places where I've gone that have both Tesla destination and generic Level 2 J1772 stations have typically been 40 amps or more for the Tesla, and 24-32 for the J1772. As surmised by others, my guess is that the Tesla unit has not been configured properly. Highly unlikely that it's really on a 15 amp circuit, unless someone at that place is holding a grudge.
 
It's not always unusual to have two different amp circuits. There is a hotel in Twin Falls, ID that is listed on Tesla's destination charging program, which has a Tesla wall connector on a 50A circuit, and a J1772 station on a 15A circuit. The 15A is a little lower than you see most places, but that's I guess all they could spare. There may possibly have been some miscommunication with the electrician, though, having the Tesla one on a lower level circuit, which wouldn't usually make sense since Teslas have bigger batteries and usually need faster charging than most other EVs. But I would probably also guess it's the switch setting inside the Tesla one.