Question for those with wall charger

[Andyw2100]

I've got a P85D ordered and am beginning the process of looking into having an HPWC installed. I'd like to put it on a fairly thin wall between the two doors of my two car garage. The issue is that there is only 20.5 inches of space between the rails the garage doors travel on, and I am wondering if the coiled charger cord will fit in that area either coiled completely naturally, or compressed into a bit of an oval. And if it would need to be compressed into a bit of an oval, is that bad for the cord? Is the cord maleable enough to be compressed that way?

Hanging naturally, what is the diameter of the loop?

Here is a picture of the wall charger from Tesla's site that makes me think my area is not large enough:

http://www.teslamotors.com/sites/all/themes/tesla/modelscharging/images/hero_charging_w.jpg?


But the picture above is just an artist's rendition. Here is a picture of the replacement wall connector cable organizer that makes the space requirement look a lot smaller, at least to me:

http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0001/5660/products/WallHook5_1024x1024.jpg?v=1373918484


To those of you that own a wall charger, which picture looks more accurate?

If I can't install the wall charger in this location, at the back of the garage, I'd need to install it at the front of the garage, which would not be nearly as convenient.

Thanks for any assistance.

 

[Crispix]

You won't have a problem. The cord is very maleable. From another thread:

http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=43934&d=1393116440

Or even do a Google Image search for "Tesla HPWC" and you'll see all sorts of examples of the HPWC crammed into narrow spaces.

 

[efusco]

Agree, while a little tight, you should be fine. You'll be able to loosely hang it over the HPWC itself.

 

[Andyw2100]

Thanks guys. One less thing to worry about!

 

[SteveS0353]

I've got a P85D ordered and am beginning the process of looking into having an HPWC installed. I'd like to put it on a fairly thin wall between the two doors of my two car garage. The issue is that there is only 20.5 inches of space between the rails the garage doors travel on, and I am wondering if the coiled charger cord will fit in that area either coiled completely naturally, or compressed into a bit of an oval. And if it would need to be compressed into a bit of an oval, is that bad for the cord? Is the cord maleable enough to be compressed that way?

Hanging naturally, what is the diameter of the loop?

Here is a picture of the wall charger from Tesla's site that makes me think my area is not large enough:

http://www.teslamotors.com/sites/all/themes/tesla/modelscharging/images/hero_charging_w.jpg?


But the picture above is just an artist's rendition. Here is a picture of the replacement wall connector cable organizer that makes the space requirement look a lot smaller, at least to me:

http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0001/5660/products/WallHook5_1024x1024.jpg?v=1373918484


To those of you that own a wall charger, which picture looks more accurate?

If I can't install the wall charger in this location, at the back of the garage, I'd need to install it at the front of the garage, which would not be nearly as convenient.

Thanks for any assistance.

First, congratulations on the order.

The Tesla picture looks more natural to me. The HPWC cable is heavy but pretty flexible, but I don't think I could easily coil it as tightly as the shopify picture. I just went out to the garage and measured my installation, which looks like the Tesla picture actually. I've installed the wall hanger to the side of the actual HPWC like that picture, and the bottom of both are about 44" from the floor. I coil the cable loosely into an oval that hangs almost to the floor. The cable oval loop is about 21" wide. I should also note that I don't hang the connector into the wall hanger like those pictures as that seems rather unstable to me and there is a significant risk of the cable falling out and whacking into the side of car. Instead, I loop the cable over the top of the wall hanger. Here's an annotated picture.

From what you describe of your situation, I think it would be tight but doable. Good luck!

 

[sandpiper]

Thanks guys. One less thing to worry about!

Hi Andy,

Not to throw water on this, but was looking at installing it in exactly the same location as you're describing. I think my space is a bit narrower than yours - around 18" - and I had exactly the same concern. So I bought my charger ahead, temporarily hung it and came to the conclusion that it wouldn't work because the cord was too stiff. So I'm having to install it on a side-wall which is a lot less convenient.

I would suggest getting the unit delivered ahead and actually trying it in the location before permanently wiring it.

 

[Andyw2100]

Thanks very much for taking the time, Steve! It's definitely going to be much more convenient if the wall charger can be at the back of the garage, and it really sounds like we should be able to make that work. I appreciate the time you took to take the picture, measure, etc! Thanks!

 

[Kbsilver]

Hi Andy,

Not to throw water on this, but was looking at installing it in exactly the same location as you're describing. I think my space is a bit narrower than yours - around 18" - and I had exactly the same concern. So I bought my charger ahead, temporarily hung it and came to the conclusion that it wouldn't work because the cord was too stiff. So I'm having to install it on a side-wall which is a lot less convenient.

I would suggest getting the unit delivered ahead and actually trying it in the location before permanently wiring it.

Very good info. As I am not an owner yet I was mentally going to place the HPWC between the doors. In my case is even less than 18" so I would need to go to plan B. Unfortunately there is no perfect plan B.

 

[FreeOfPge]

Hey Andy,

It will fit, I mounted mine in the exact same place. The HPWC is mounted to the right of centerline, with the (handle) bracket to the left of centerline, but higher than the HPWC - the cord is coiled below. After uncoiling enough cord to reach the charge port on the car, I can hang and unhang the cord from the wall without coiling and uncoiling every time.

My set up is very similar to Steve's picture in post #5, with two exceptions; 1) The bracket for the handle is about 18" higher. 2) The excess (unused) cord is coiled below the HPWC.

 

[sandpiper]

Very good info. As I am not an owner yet I was mentally going to place the HPWC between the doors. In my case is even less than 18" so I would need to go to plan B. Unfortunately there is no perfect plan B.

I'm not an owner yet either (December!!! I hope), but just getting things setup. And my plan b isn't great either. That said - I don't think we'll get many people crying rivers for us. There are worse problems to have! :biggrin:

 

[Bill D]

I've installed mine in the 9 inch space between the rails and routed the cable over the door so it comes down from above next to the car's charge port.
Perfect length. Easy plug/unplug. No coiling.

 

[Kbsilver]

In this picture the cable looks pretty flexible, If it can make that bend then it will fit in 18" of space (below the HPWC, not next to it.) Maybe plan A will work after all!

 

[FreeOfPge]

Wow, super clean installation. There you go, it can be done and it can look great too.

 

[Bill D]

Wow, super clean installation. There you go, it can be done and it can look great too.

Also, nothing beats the convenience & simplicity of the cable coming from above with enough room to walk around it.

 

[pgiralt]

21" is a ton of space. I've got less than 12" between my doors and it works great:

 

[TES-E]

I concur that it will work. Mine naturally coils in less space than you have. I compare the cable to a 3/4 inch water hose (a good black rubber one) when it is full of water. About that heavy, about that stiff.

 

[Xenoilphobe]

this is exactly how i did mine and I love the it 'dangles" from the ceiling and is in the perfect location out of the way...

 

[Andyw2100]

This is awesome, guys! Thanks!

I actually have one wall charger--the one I ordered with the car--on the way to me already, and will be ordering a second to install at a second location. (Long story.) I was told by someone who fulfills the merchandise orders that the charger that I ordered with the car would have a four year warranty, but that the one I ordered from the store would only be guaranteed for a year, so I tried to see if I could order two with the car, but I could not.

As much as I admire the "from the top" installation, for now my wife and I will be keeping both of our other cars, so the Tesla could wind up in either spot in the garage, so I think it probably makes sense to keep the charging cable in the middle, able to charge the car in either spot, as opposed to having to juggle cars around. But that permanent above the garage door installation is really cool!

 

[MrSled]

I have 21.5 inches between the rails in my garage and the cable coils fine. I don't use the plastic cable holder just loop it around the unit. My charger is 46" off the garage floor. Works fine!

 

[PeterK]

This is awesome, guys! Thanks!

I actually have one wall charger--the one I ordered with the car--on the way to me already, and will be ordering a second to install at a second location. (Long story.) I was told by someone who fulfills the merchandise orders that the charger that I ordered with the car would have a four year warranty, but that the one I ordered from the store would only be guaranteed for a year, so I tried to see if I could order two with the car, but I could not.

As much as I admire the "from the top" installation, for now my wife and I will be keeping both of our other cars, so the Tesla could wind up in either spot in the garage, so I think it probably makes sense to keep the charging cable in the middle, able to charge the car in either spot, as opposed to having to juggle cars around. But that permanent above the garage door installation is really cool!

Somewhere on this forum I saw a photo of one installed on the ceiling with a retractor assist mechanism so it could plug into a car in either spot. Don't have time to look for it but worth a search.