I'm looking at diving into a Model S. Here's the two questions question (problem ?). I spend about 1/2 my time at a small condo. I have one-car a garage, but it's full of toys. The spot in front of the garage door is reserved for me. Can I put a wall connector outside of the garage and, if so, does it have a lock on it so that no one can use it when I'm not around? Secondly, if I leave it plugged in overnight, does the charging cord 'lock' into the car and the wall outlet so no one can monkey with it? Thanks!
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Yes, you can put it outside.
No, it does not have a lock to prevent use.
Yes, it locks to the car.
You’d think you could program them to only charge a specific list of cars, but they don’t yet.
Some have put them in a lock box. You only need to lock the end of cord
Do you live in an unsafe enough place that, that you really need it locked? Pretty bold of someone to park in front of your garage and charge for 6 hours.
Correction: Gen 3 wall connector can be restricted to specific vehicles.
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As long as your car is locked and you are away from your car, the charger cannot be removed from the cars charge port.
If you are installing a personal charger, it’ll be screwed onto the wall; I guess someone can unbolt it to remove it if they really wanted to, but risk getting electrocuted too removing with live wires. However there isn’t a way to “program” the charger to just charge your car unless you have access to a private circuit breaker controlling the charger.
If you are installing a personal charger, it’ll be screwed onto the wall; I guess someone can unbolt it to remove it if they really wanted to, but risk getting electrocuted too removing with live wires. However there isn’t a way to “program” the charger to just charge your car unless you have access to a private circuit breaker controlling the charger.
I don’t think he’s worried about someone stealing the wall connector. But stealing the watts. Stealing wall connector would be a first.
My Tesla Gen 3 connector can be locked down (via the wifi interface) to charge specific cars, or just Teslas, or open to all vehicles.
Interesting. I have a Gen 3 and didn't know this. I don't recall seeing any way to restrict vehicles in the interface.
Another option is to install the charger *inside* the garage near the door, then just run the cable under the door when in use.
The other option to restrict use is to put an electrical disconnect switch inside the garage. It does mean you'd need to flip the disconnect inside the garage, then plug in the cord to the car. Likewise disconnect charging handle from the car, then flip the electrical disconnect inside the garage. If your electrical panel is inside the garage, you can do this by just flipping the breaker, but if you're going to be disconnecting daily, then I'd go with a separate disconnect switch. Flipping the breaker on a daily basis will drive a lot more wear and tear on the breaker. I'd expect you should be able to get a heavy duty electrical disconnect that would hold up over time.
Inside the garage sounds like a good option. Not sure if there's anything on the Tesla Charger but on my Chargepoint I can set it to only charge off peak so if it were outside it wouldn't provide any power until after hours anyway so someone could potentially plug it in during the day but nothing would happen.
Nosken
Active Member
You could use the included mobile charger, rather than a wall charger in two different ways for your situation.
1. You would mount it inside the garage, and the 20 foot long cable would go out to the car, and allow you to shut the garage door on the cable. It is completely locked when it’s in the car, so you have no problem with it being used.
2. You could put a NEMA 1450 outlet outside the house, and connect the mobile charger that way. There are locking covers that can go over the outlet that can be locked even while plugged in. Both chargers , the mobile charger, or the wall charger are water resistant.
With the included mobile charger, and a 1450 adapter, your car will easily charge overnight. It has worked fine for me for the last 200,000 miles.
1. You would mount it inside the garage, and the 20 foot long cable would go out to the car, and allow you to shut the garage door on the cable. It is completely locked when it’s in the car, so you have no problem with it being used.
2. You could put a NEMA 1450 outlet outside the house, and connect the mobile charger that way. There are locking covers that can go over the outlet that can be locked even while plugged in. Both chargers , the mobile charger, or the wall charger are water resistant.
With the included mobile charger, and a 1450 adapter, your car will easily charge overnight. It has worked fine for me for the last 200,000 miles.
I have a standard disconnect switch that I have used for seven years. It still works well. Pretty robust ones are cheap. Mine is a generic SquareD from Home Depot. The new version of the same one is this:
Square D 100 Amp 240-Volt 3-Pole 3-Phase Non-Fusible Indoor General Duty Safety Switch DU323 - The Home Depot
The Square D by Schneider Electric 100 Amp 240 Volt 3-Pole 3-Phase Indoor Not Fusible General Duty Safety Switch is designed for residential and commercial applications where durability and economy are
www.homedepot.com
Thanks, this is all very helpful. It's not that it's an unsafe area since it's generally a seasonal place I'm gone for long periods of time and neighbors are probably not there or might think it's one of my kids. I think this is doable.Yes, you can put it outside.
No, it does not have a lock to prevent use.
Yes, it locks to the car.
You’d think you could program them to only charge a specific list of cars, but they don’t yet.
Some have put them in a lock box. You only need to lock the end of cord
Do you live in an unsafe enough place that, that you really need it locked? Pretty bold of someone to park in front of your garage and charge for 6 hours.
Correction: Gen 3 wall connector can be restricted to specific vehicles.
It was added as a feature in some firmware update or other, I think. I have (2) gen 2s so dont have experience with it directly, but remember reading about it on teslas website:
Gen 3 Wall Connector Access Control
The Charging Access Control feature gives you full control over which cars are allowed to charge with your Wall Connector.
www.tesla.com
I custom build an ETL EVSE service weather tite box that incorporates a 1450 female recepticle and a built in timer. Set the timer and box sits outside use Tesla travel cord and thus EVSE box is dead when no car is plugged in Plus, it allows power sharing if your home is electrically power starvedI have a standard disconnect switch that I have used for seven years. It still works well. Pretty robust ones are cheap. Mine is a generic SquareD from Home Depot. The new version of the same one is this:
Square D 100 Amp 240-Volt 3-Pole 3-Phase Non-Fusible Indoor General Duty Safety Switch DU323 - The Home Depot
The Square D by Schneider Electric 100 Amp 240 Volt 3-Pole 3-Phase Indoor Not Fusible General Duty Safety Switch is designed for residential and commercial applications where durability and economy arewww.homedepot.com
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