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New 24 foot Wall Charger question

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rjpjnk

Active Member
Mar 12, 2021
1,460
1,053
NJ
Currently the Gen 3 Wall Connector is available only in 24 foot length. This was increased recently from the 8' and 18' lengths available last month. I like the longer length cord so I bought one of the 24' recently to replace my 18' Gen 3 version. The serial number of the "new" 24' unit is much older than the 18' unit, and the box was pretty beat up. Just wondering why. The unit does appear brand new.

Two theories:
(1) Tesla offered a 24' Gen 3 Wall Connector previously and they are selling the old stock now?
(2) They retrofitted some old 18' units with longer cords and slapped a new sticker on the old box?
 
"Good catch!"

I would vote for #1,

I imagine that Tesla, or a supplier, made batches with various cord length. but Tesla decided to only make available the shorters cables.

May be Tesla noticed some issues with the longer cable, and ordered a new cable which became available only more recently. (?)
 
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Hmmm, wonder if they increased the cable size (AWG) for the charge end that plugs into the car. Reason I say this is the 18' version already got fairly warm charging at 48 amps so adding another 6' will definitely make a difference. I know the gen 1 was much thicker but then again it was rated at 80a.
 
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Currently the Gen 3 Wall Connector is available only in 24 foot length. This was increased recently from the 8' and 18' lengths available last month. I like the longer length cord so I bought one of the 24' recently to replace my 18' Gen 3 version. The serial number of the "new" 24' unit is much older than the 18' unit, and the box was pretty beat up. Just wondering why. The unit does appear brand new.

Two theories:
(1) Tesla offered a 24' Gen 3 Wall Connector previously and they are selling the old stock now?
(2) They retrofitted some old 18' units with longer cords and slapped a new sticker on the old box?
Another theory, only based on your serial number comment. Was it possible that you got the Gen 2 charger? The Gen 2 only came with a 24ft length heavier duty charging cable,
 
Hmmm, wonder if they increased the cable size (AWG) for the charge end that plugs into the car. Reason I say this is the 18' version already got fairly warm charging at 48 amps so adding another 6' will definitely make a difference. I know the gen 1 was much thicker but then again it was rated at 80a.
I have both the 18’ and 24’ gen 3 now and the cables look identical.

As for the heat, the longer cable will not get any hotter but it will be the same hot for an additional 6 feet, which means greater voltage drop. More energy will be wasted as heat and not get to the car’s battery. Probably not enough to worry about though.
 
I have both the 18’ and 24’ gen 3 now and the cables look identical.

As for the heat, the longer cable will not get any hotter but it will be the same hot for an additional 6 feet, which means greater voltage drop. More energy will be wasted as heat and not get to the car’s battery. Probably not enough to worry about though.

Maybe a stupid question. But would the energy wasted be less if the amps or speed of charging was reduced from the max of 48amps? Nothing says you need to charge at the full amperage, right?
 
Maybe a stupid question. But would the energy wasted be less if the amps or speed of charging was reduced from the max of 48amps? Nothing says you need to charge at the full amperage, right?
Not a stupid question at all. The energy wasted as heat in the wire is proportional to the resistance of the cable (that’s why longer cables waste more), and in general, resistance of a conductor increases with increasing temperature.
Now I never thought about this before but this does appear to suggest that charging at a lower current to keep the cable cool would be more efficient.
Now I feel better charging at only 40 amps😊