New Owner with Questions 2013 P85+

[tallypwner]

Hi,

I just signed up and had some questions and an introduction.

I'm in Tallahassee and I'm getting a 2013 P85+ in green next week.

I'm buying it used and it's going to come with the high speed home charger.

1- Does this mean I automatically have twin-charging capability?

2- How difficult/expensive can I expect the home charger installation to be?

3- Anything I should know about charging the car/adapters/while traveling or is it pretty self explanatory (plug it where ever with correct adapter and I'm good)

It has another 9 months of warranty left so I plan on having my annual service performed before that expires to fix anything I can before warranty runs out.

Any modifications or tricks and tips for a new owner?

Any quirks I should know about?

I'm very excited!

 

[rlawson4]

Hi,

I just signed up and had some questions and an introduction.

I'm in Tallahassee and I'm getting a 2013 P85+ in green next week.

I'm buying it used and it's going to come with the high speed home charger.

1- Does this mean I automatically have twin-charging capability?

2- How difficult/expensive can I expect the home charger installation to be?

3- Anything I should know about charging the car/adapters/while traveling or is it pretty self explanatory (plug it where ever with correct adapter and I'm good)

It has another 9 months of warranty left so I plan on having my annual service performed before that expires to fix anything I can before warranty runs out.

Any modifications or tricks and tips for a new owner?

Any quirks I should know about?

I'm very excited!

Welcome. Be aware that some think a new person's questions are stupid. Ignore them.

1. No. You may have just one charger. You can tell by trying to dial your charge rate past 40. If you can, you have dual chargers. That being said, you can still supercharge because the superchargers bypass the on-board chargers.

2. Depends on where your panel is in relation to your car. Also, you need to have room for a 50 amp fuse.

3. You have all you need. It's easier an fast to charge at a Tesla Charger.

Welcome.

 

[tallypwner]

My logic was that if I have a fast home charger, then I needed to have the twin-charger capability.

So, the home charger with single charger on car is still faster than a twin-charger from a 240v outlet? Yea, I'm a little newbie at this electricity stuff.

Thanks

 

[tallypwner]

I looked at the sales sticker again and yea, it doesn't look like I have twin-charging. Bummer.

 

[rlawson4]

My logic was that if I have a fast home charger, then I needed to have the twin-charger capability.

So, the home charger with single charger on car is still faster than a twin-charger from a 240v outlet? Yea, I'm a little newbie at this electricity stuff.

Thanks

One charger will give you 40 amp. Dual will give you up to 80 amp if you purchase the High Power Wall Connector from Tesla. With the standard charge cable, you will get 40 amp regardless of whether you have a single or dual charger. This is easily enough to charge over-night from even almost zero range.

 

[tallypwner]

I'm looking forward to testing it out and seeing what type of numbers I get!

 

[Steve1081]

Welcome.

You should get about 30 miles of charge per hour at 40 amps. There aren't too many situations where it would help to charge faster.

Go Noles! I lived in Tallahassee for a few years after attending FSU. Awesome city!

 

[tallypwner]

Yea, I figure the speedy charging would be nice for traveling and in the future when more chargers are available. I'm not too concerned though.

 

[CHG-ON]

The only stupid people are those that think questions are stupid!

I have a 2014 P85+ with dual chargers. The duals only add value when you have a the HPWC Tesla charger installed in your house or at a ChaDeMo (sp?) station, which are rare in the western US. So I actually wasted my money on getting that. I use a 240V,14-50 plug, which gives me approx 25 miles per hour of charging and have never needed more for my needs. I just plug in when I get home and unplug when I leave.

When supercharging, the system completely bypasses the dual chargers. I believe that the dual chargers will deliver 64 amps of charge on an 80 amp circuit and 80 on a 100 amp circuit. The rule is basically a circuit is good to 80% of it's rating, hence 40 amps out of a 50 amp circuit, etc. You must make sure your house can handle it. I thought about the HPWC, but it would have cost 3K to upgrade my service. I'm glad I didn't spend for it, for my needs.

Welcome to the rarified club of P85+ owners! There are very few of us! I hope you love your car as much as I do mine.

 

[DarkMatter]

CHAdeMO does not use the onboard charger. Otherwise you're spot on.

 

[GHammer]

The duals only add value when you have a the HPWC Tesla charger installed in your house or at a ChaDeMo (sp?) station,

When supercharging, the system completely bypasses the dual chargers.

CHAdeMO is also a DC direct to battery charging system like a Tesla Supercharger that bypasses the onboard chargers.

 

[Brass Guy]

The home charger would allow you to charge above 40A if your car had dual chargers. Since it doesn't, there's no reason to add a 100A breaker and the more expensive wiring. It can be installed on a 50A breaker (or even smaller, but you may regret going <50). Have an electrician estimate the cost of a new 50A circuit. It varies greatly depending on how far it needs to go. If it's next to a panel with available capacity, it will be inexpensive and easy. If you need a trench to your garage and an upgrade to your panel, you're talking a few grand.

The home charger is a heavier unit and you'll like it more than the mobile charger which you'll be able to keep in the car.

 

[GSP]

Any modifications or tricks and tips for a new owner?

Congratulations on your P85+, and welcome to the TMC forum Tesla ownership!

I purchased keyfob protectors, LED license plate bulbs, and brighter trunk/drunken lights from Abstract Ocean. I highly recommended them.

Silicone FobPockets (Model S) - The Colors

Checkout all of the mods that @artsci has done to his S. You may want to try some of them.

Also, I think the $2700 "High Power Home Charging" option on your car includes both the HPWC and the dual on-board chargers. Tesla bundled them together for a while. The HPWC by itself never cost more than $1200. If you can find a Tesla destination Charger (perhaps at nearby Tesla showroom) or a (rare) high power J1772 with > 40 Amp capability you can see if your car can charge faster than 40 Amps. If so, you have dual chargers.

 

[Brass Guy]

Good catch @GSP - I thought $2700 looked awfully high. I don't remember that bundling at all.
And just last week I finally purchased and installed the Abstract Ocean lights (4 pack) for my front and rear trunks. I wish I'd done it sooner!

To the OP - if you can see in your trunk at night, somebody already put the aftermarket lights in. I'm not sure who used the term first, but a perfect description of the OEM lights: anemic.

 

[Dithermaster]

Welcome! I also have a 2013 P85+ (in dark blue) that I bought a year ago when the CPO prices had a slight drop. Loving it!

The dark green color you got is awesome and very unique. I'm usually not a fan of green, but I really love it.

40 amp charging (from a 50A circuit!) will be just fine, unless you're an on-call doctor with long commutes. I have a short commute and charge on 15 amps still (leftover from my Volt). I bought a HPWC late last year but have not had it installed yet. I can't believe they got $2700 for the HPWC back then; it's $500 now.

I hope you enjoy the car!

Sincerely,

///d@

 

[CHG-ON]

CHAdeMO is also a DC direct to battery charging system like a Tesla Supercharger that bypasses the onboard chargers.

Thanks for correction. Sorry to misinform!

 

[NOLA_Mike]

I can't believe they got $2700 for the HPWC back then; it's $500 now.

Actually, the original HPWC back in the day cost $1500 (the additional $1200 is for the second charger - the "dual charger" - in the car allowing it to charge from the HPWC up to 80 Amps). Still a lot of dough!

Thanks for correction. Sorry to misinform!

Further on the CHAdeMO - if you don't have a Supercharging Enabled car then by default you don't have the ability to charge via CHAdeMO either. There is an option for the Service Center to enable CHAdeMO DC fast charging separately from Supercharger Enabling and it costs $1450 (you can see it if you go the Accessory Store and select a CHAdeMO adapter - $450 for the adapter, $1900 for the adapter and enable).

Mike

 

[M5Guy]

Welcome to the nut house!

Fellow P85+ owner here too. I installed an NEMA 14-50 outlet in my garage and use the mobile charger. 50 Amp breaker in the box. No issues charging over night. Get home from work and plug it in. I drive 80-100 miles on a daily basis. Works fantastic. I actually set my car to charge at 30 amps instead of 40 as the UMC (mobile charger) would get a little warm at 40 amps. Not terrible, but don't need more than 30A on 240V to fit my needs. Battery limit set around 75-80% gives me ~230 miles on a charge.

Plug it in
Drive it
Rinse and repeat.

 

[awalia]

Welcome to the club, though I don't have a P85+ I do have a P85 which I absolutely love

I guess I am one of the few who actually charges at the full 80 amps at home and I love it. Luckily my home's wiring did not need to be upgraded and can handle charging at full load. I have seen the car charge as high as 103 kmph (62.42mph). Given it seems you do have dual chargers you have the option to charge as high as your home's connection will allow.

The only time I charger at a slower rate is when it is really cold outside, because then it will take longer to charge the battery and the battery will be warmer in the morning when I have to leave for work. Otherwise, it charges really fast at home running 80 amps.

Screen shot from the app.

 

[DarkMatter]

Welcome to the nut house!

Fellow P85+ owner here too. I installed an NEMA 14-50 outlet in my garage and use the mobile charger. 50 Amp breaker in the box. No issues charging over night. Get home from work and plug it in. I drive 80-100 miles on a daily basis. Works fantastic. I actually set my car to charge at 30 amps instead of 40 as the UMC (mobile charger) would get a little warm at 40 amps. Not terrible, but don't need more than 30A on 240V to fit my needs. Battery limit set around 75-80% gives me ~230 miles on a charge.

Plug it in
Drive it
Rinse and repeat.

230 miles at 80% ?
That's higher than when new. How?