Ordered my MS60 today, debating if I should get the wall charger

[jd1008]

I think you should buy the wall charger.
Five reasons
1. Much higher charge speed if you can have a 240V 60 or 80 amp circuit installed
2. It looks great
3. Sooner or later you will forget to put the charging cable back in your car and then you are out of luck if you need to charge anywhere other than a SC location
4.Eventually the cable will get dirty. Do you really want to coil it up every day and get the grime, dust and dirt on you hands and possibly your clothes?
5. It's only about $500-$600 depending on cable length.

 

[TexasEV]

I think you should buy the wall charger.
Five reasons
1. Much higher charge speed if you can have a 240V 60 or 80 amp circuit installed
2. It looks great
3. Sooner or later you will forget to put the charging cable back in your car and then you are out of luck if you need to charge anywhere other than a SC location
4.Eventually the cable will get dirty. Do you really want to coil it up every day and get the grime, dust and dirt on you hands and possibly your clothes?
5. It's only about $500-$600 depending on cable length.

#3 is not true. You do not use the UMC when charging at a J1772 station either, or a HPWC ( aka Wall connector or Tesla destination charging). You only use it when plugging into an electrical outlet.

 

[bmah]

3. Sooner or later you will forget to put the charging cable back in your car and then you are out of luck if you need to charge anywhere other than a SC location
4.Eventually the cable will get dirty. Do you really want to coil it up every day and get the grime, dust and dirt on you hands and possibly your clothes?
5. It's only about $500-$600 depending on cable length.

Unless you need to bring the UMC with you every day, there's no need to unplug it and coil it back up...just hang it on the wall of the garage.

You make a good point about the price. The HPWC used to be much more expensive in the past.

#3 is not true. You do not use the UMC when charging at a J1772 station either, or a HPWC ( aka Wall connector or Tesla destination charging). You only use it when plugging into an electrical outlet.

@TexasEV is correct about only needing the UMC for charging from an outlet. The other case of charging where the UMC isn't needed is a CHAdeMO station, in which case you of course need a CHAdeMO adapter.

So far I haven't forgotten to put my UMC in my car because if I'm traveling far enough that I think I might need to charge before coming home, I actually have a checklist for things to bring along.

Perhaps @jd1008 has use cases where he or she needs to charge both at home and away from home, in which case having the HWPC in the garage and the UMC in the car makes perfect sense. Those conditions weren't stated however, and so the advice to the OP may or may not be applicable.

Bruce.

 

[Dstrohl]

I separated this question into two...

• Did I feel like I needed a second charging option?
  • The second cable/option can provide:
    • A backup to the first
    • A "permanently" mounted option in a garage
    • More flexibility
    • More power (in some cases, if needed, or if you are a toolman - List of Home Improvement characters - Wikipedia)
    • The ability for the primary home charging cable to get wet/dirty, and NOT have to go back into the car afterward. (not saying that cable #1 wont ever get dirty either, but at my house, the car is outside normally, so the snow, rain, and occasionally mud that gets on the driveway will also get on the cable that is used there.)
• If Yes, for the second one, did I want a 3rd party charger, the Tesla wall connector or another mobile charging cable?
  • Mobile Charging Cable ($550)
    • up to 40A
    • more flexibility (since it isn't permanently mounted)
  • Tesla Wall Connector ($550)
    • up to 80A
    • Looks better (to me at least)
    • a little longer (24' instead of 20')
  • 3rd Party J1772 EVSE / Charging station ($300-$1000+)
    • Can charge friends / families non-Tesla cars
    • Up to 50A (that I found),
    • Can look good or not.

I wanted the second cable, probably mostly due to the fact that I knew my main cable was going to be wet/dirty some of the time and I didn't want to have it in the trunk, but I also didn't want to NOT have a charging cable in the trunk... just in case.

I selected the Wall Connector since I figured it looked better and offered the option for more power (and it was the same cost as the mobile cable)... and I didn't have any friends with non-Tesla cars.

 

[TexasEV]

Just curious, what could someone have possibly disliked about my post #22 above?

 

[wkcEV]

Just curious, what could someone have possibly disliked about my post #22 above?

I believe the point of #3 is that sooner or later you'll would need your charging cable to plug into some outlet. Nothing to do with other chargers.

 

[Dstrohl]

Just curious, what could someone have possibly disliked about my post #22 above?

The only thing I can see (and I didn't do the dislike) is that I would argue that it's not that the other post is "not true", but that it "may not be true". there are certainly places you could go and end up without finding any other charging solution other than the cable you forgot to put in your trunk. I suspect that it's probably pretty hard to do in most areas... but that doesn't make it patently false.

(but that's just me being picky)

 

[MikeNewhouse]

Love our wall charger - Looks cool also

 

[Canuck]

So far I haven't forgotten to put my UMC in my car because if I'm traveling far enough that I think I might need to charge before coming home, I actually have a checklist for things to bring along.

What if you forget to do a checklist?

 

[bmah]

What if you forget to do a checklist?

Can't happen, I have another checklist to make sure I run my checklist—wait...

Bruce.

 

[miken79]

What if you forget to do a checklist?

This is why we need apps for the car. When you get in at home it should pop-up a checklist, or drive near certain stores... I mean, I'm replacing my phone with the car right?

 

[DarylS2001]

I got the high amperage option for my MS so wall charger is a no brainer.

 

[TexasEV]

I got the high amperage option for my MS so wall charger is a no brainer.

It's not a no brainer for everyone. Many people get the 72A charging option for use when traveling, but are perfectly happy to plug into a 14-50 outlet at home. The car charges overnight at 40A, so all the 72A charging would do is finish a few hours earlier during the night. That might matter to some people with unusual schedules, but for the majority of owners 40A charging overnight works just fine.

 

[LilWanFu]

I had one installed about two weeks ago and haven't had the pleasure of using it...yet. I pre-ordered a 3 and then two days ago I decided to cancel my order. Earlier this afternoon, I placed a deposit on a CPO MS...I'm much happier now. My HPWC install required a lot of electrical work. Our panel was not up to code and the main box outside had some shoddy work done to it. While I was at it, I upped our inbound AMPs from 150 to 200. We have a carport that is easily accessible from the street so I wanted something more permanent where I could just pull up, hop out, and plug in and not have to worry about theft of the UMC - even though I have security cameras.

I had a 60 AMP breaker installed for the HPWC so I'll be comfortable at 48 AMPs for charging at home.

 

[xsi123]

One thing I did not see mention in the replies is the weather element. It probably doesn't apply to the OP (location Florida) but if you live north/north east and park outside, snow might be an issue.

In my situation, 1) I don't have a garage and 2) live in MA. Rain and snow is an issue. So far, I can not find a "good" outdoors electrical box to host and protect the NEMA outlet. "Good" for me means: 1) up to electrical code, 2) good protection from rain/snow and 3) not ugly looking.

In theory, the HPWC is weather proof (Type 3R) and good looking. Having said that, I am still looking for a good NEMA solution before my Tesla arrives (late January) but so far, the HPWC is the better choice for me.

 

[DarylS2001]

As far as I know the wall charger is weatherproof - they install these outdoors at destination chargers - if you think that rain/snow could be an issue you could always build something over the charger to keep the rain/snow off it. Here is one mounted outdoors in NY. CROWNE PLAZA SUFFERN-MAHWAH HOTEL TEAMS UP WITH TESLA MOTORS

 

[DarylS2001]

It's not a no brainer for everyone. Many people get the 72A charging option for use when traveling, but are perfectly happy to plug into a 14-50 outlet at home. The car charges overnight at 40A, so all the 72A charging would do is finish a few hours earlier during the night. That might matter to some people with unusual schedules, but for the majority of owners 40A charging overnight works just fine.

I meant a no brainer for me - why wouldn't I take advantage of faster charging? Never know when a last minute road trip is in order. Faster charging at destination chargers is also a plus and I like the idea of being able to keep the cable that came with car in the car and not having to remember it when I take a road trip - oh and the wall charger costs the same as an additional cable - also its SEXY - reminds me of a Cylon from "Battle Star Galactica" oops my inner nerd just escaped. Here is mine mounted in the Garage awaiting my MS. I got the one with the 8ft cable didn't need any longer due to my garage being pretty small (but big enough for my MS).

 

[HebrHmr]

I meant a no brainer for me - why wouldn't I take advantage of faster charging? Never know when a last minute road trip is in order. Faster charging at destination chargers is also a plus and I like the idea of being able to keep the cable that came with car in the car and not having to remember it when I take a road trip - oh and the wall charger costs the same as an additional cable - also its SEXY - reminds me of a Cylon from "Battle Star Galactica" oops my inner nerd just escaped. Here is mine mounted in the Garage awaiting my MS. I got the one with the 8ft cable didn't need any longer due to my garage being pretty small (but big enough for my MS).
View attachment 202869

Is this your car?

 

[DarylS2001]

Is this your car?

Can't see your attachment for some reason.

 

[HebrHmr]

Can't see your attachment for some reason.

Click on "this" should be a link to a specific 3 seconds of a YouTube video.