One charger or two

[eclectricdave]

Im trying to get my head around the merits of a second charger for long trips outside superchargers. Say you can drive/charge for 15 hrs max per day & have a 90D 20degC no A/C in use. 8 hrs to charge.@ 11kWs 4 hrs at 22kW driving one person.
Single charger 70 kphr range 732ks 10.4 hrs driving charge 3 hrs ( 33kWhrs) drive 2 hrs @ 100kph 200 ks charge onight Total dist 932 ks
Dual charger 100kphr range 512 ks 5 hrs driving 4 hrs charging drive another 512 ks 5 hrs and charge 30 mins drive 30mins 50ks full charge onite. Total dist 1074 ks. This ignores weight penalty of the 2nd charger.
To spend many $ks to gain 142ks per day doesnt seem worth it. The range data comes from Tesla.

 

[Blue heaven]

If long trips across boring destinations are planned for the next few months I would say YES, a dual charger or upgraded charger is worth the cost, on the other hand in 3/4/5 years they'll be enough fast chargers, that is a combination of Superchargers and non Tesla charge stations to cover most needs.
Sometimes the car being stuck to the charging location longer than hoped for is not a bad thing, you may go for a walk and discover something interesting.
The weight of the extra charger won't be a factor in range, the car is already over 2000kg.

 

[CSalemi]

One
There are not enough places with an 80 amp charger to make use of the second charger.
Better to buy the chademo adapter for faster charging.

 

[Blue heaven]

One
There are not enough places with an 80 amp charger to make use of the second charger.
Better to buy the chademo adapter for faster charging.

That may be the case in the USA, in regional Australia there's plenty of 32 amp 3 phase that could provide 100-108kms of typical range per hour on the pre-facelift Model S with dual chargers, the fun part is trying to find them and then convince the custodians of power outlet to make it available, check out MDKs dual crossing of Australia- Perth to Brisbane

 

[RichardMcN]

@eclectricdave Yes get the dual chargers ! There are not many people like @Blue heaven and @Techno-phile who can stand waiting for hours and hours. Once you have had lunch you feel the need to get moving again !

 

[eclectricdave]

Im a patient person and actually like going slowly. Too many frights from hopping fauna.

 

[raynewman]

Im a patient person and actually like going slowly. Too many frights from hopping fauna.

Ya - but sitting there for eight hours waiting for a charge (as I have done a few times) gets very boring.

 

[WhiteStar]

I agree with Richard & Ray, 4 hours is infinitely better than 8, especially if you need to be somewhere in 6.

But I also see the other side of the coin, $5K+ ($3.5K for dual chargers, $2K for EVSE) to halve charging time at 3 phase outlets is steep, especially since destination chargers are becoming ubiquitous & 11kW is more than sufficient for overnight charging.

 

[eclectricdave]

but you dont wait 8hrs. you drive for 10hrs ( with some charging if you can find it) charge for a few hours and then sleep onight to begin allover with a charged battery

 

[RichardMcN]

Once your initial charge is spent (400km or 4 hours) you need to charge for 8 hours to fill it up again and drive for another 4 hours. A 16 hour day for 800km.

Sure you might split the charging over several locations, but you are still going to charge 8 hours to do an 800 km day.

However with dual chargers, it is a 12 hour day !

 

[raynewman]

but you dont wait 8hrs. you drive for 10hrs ( with some charging if you can find it) charge for a few hours and then sleep onight to begin allover with a charged battery

A full (85) battery will only get 4 to 5 hours driving.

 

[eclectricdave]

My average over the last 7000 ks has been 16 kWhrs per 100k so if I could use 80kWhrs Id get 500ks.but this has involced a lot of freeway driving at110phr

 

[Blue heaven]

If you install the second charger ( or get the facelift upgrade) it will save you plenty of time, just make sure you use it now, of course it all depends on where the cars charging, close to a tourist location with plenty to do will pass the time quickly, charging at 54km per hour in a roadhouse where it's 42 celcius outside and the only entertainment is re-runs of Klondike Gold on satelite TV is going to make you wish charging was twice as fast.

 

[RichardMcN]

If you install the second charger ( or get the facelift upgrade) it will save you plenty of time, just make sure you use it now, of course it all depends on where the cars charging, close to a tourist location with plenty to do will pass the time quickly, charging at 54km per hour in a roadhouse where it's 42 celcius outside and the only entertainment is re-runs of Klondike Gold on satelite TV is going to make you wish charging was twice as fast.

Wow @Blue heaven . I thought you were a UMC/EuroTail stalwart !
.

 

[EVie'sDad]

Getting a dual charger is no longer encouraged by the DS, you won't use it nearly enough to justify its purchase. Better to put the funds towards a larger battery (e.g. 100D) to extend your Tesla's range thereby reducing stops for recharging and more likely to utilize the supercharger network.

 

[eclectricdave]

On the other hand portable Chardemos are starting to appear.

 

[Blue heaven]

Wow @Blue heaven . I thought you were a UMC/EuroTail stalwart !
.

I initially ordered dual chargers way back in 2014 then I got a congratulatory phone call from Tesla, part of the call mentioned dual chargers are no big deal, there will be Superchargers everywhere soon blah blah blah, I cancelled the dual charger, my mistake, should have done more research, I could add the second charger now for $3600 but I'd rather put it towards part of a Powerwall 2.
On the way North last June we stopped at Fortescue roadhouse, charged at 54kmh, no big deal because we we went exploring for a few hours, on the way back South 54kmh charging speed was way too slow as we just wanted to get home.

 

[baillies]

Getting a dual charger is no longer encouraged by the DS, you won't use it nearly enough to justify its purchase. Better to put the funds towards a larger battery (e.g. 100D) to extend your Tesla's range thereby reducing stops for recharging and more likely to utilize the supercharger network.

This maybe true in the US but not in Australia, there are virtually no DC chargers and only 1 highway covered by superchargers. Removing the dual charger option is a big issue here for anyone living or wanting to travel outside the supercharger highway area. At the current rate it will be a long time before superchargers cover 90% of the population and will be far longer before they cover 90% of the highways. Getting larger batteries only works if you can get a full days drive and are able to recharge it overnight, a 200D would be good but requires dual chargers for an overnight charge.

 

[RichardMcN]

On the other hand portable Chardemos are starting to appear.

Yes I know a Leaf owner who is getting a portable Chademo. Quite a few $$K, and very bulky and heavy. He intends to plug it into either 32A 3phase outlets or destination chargers and will get a lot less than 22kW into his car.

You are much more fortunate @eclectricdave with a pre-facelift in that you can get the full 22kW from 3 phase outlets or dest chargers without the cost, weight, bulk or efficiency loss!

 

[eclectricdave]

yes thank you for reminding me rmcn but mr musk has got enuf of my money and i dont want to give him anymore