Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

Question on Charger Location

This site may earn commission on affiliate links.
In preparation for our Model S, I have started to look at places to put the charger in the garage. It would be best to put it on the wall opposite the garage door. How long are the charging cord for the different types of chargers? I would hate to have to back the car into the garage all the time, so it would be best to put the charger at the area of the garage which will be there the car is pointed in towards. Thanks!
 
... I would hate to have to back the car into the garage all the time, so it would be best to put the charger at the area of the garage which will be there the car is pointed in towards.

I don't follow. These seem contradictory; unlike say, the Nissan LEAF (which has its charge port in its nose cone), as we all know, the Model S has its charge port in the rear on the driver's side. So, options are:

- install the charger on the front wall of the garage as you say and back the car in.

- install the charger on the left wall - as you see it when looking into the garage through the open garage door - towards the rear so that it's right near where the Model S's charge port would be if you drive it in close to the left wall. I'm going for this setup.
 
rogbmw, I'm having the same questions in my mind...

Without parking sensors, I'm not going to back my car into the garage.

Sadly, I must park my car in the rightmost space (3 car garage) and put the charger on the right-hand wall. The left space isn't big enough for a large car like the Model S.

This means the cable will go from the wall, behind the car, and plug into the charge port on the left side of the car. I'm certain it will be long enough for this.

I'm hoping it doesn't stick out of the car too far when it's plugged in, as it might get in the way of my wife's car when she pulls in to park next to me (on the left).

(it would have been SUPER cool to have 2 charge port locations).

/Mitch.
 
In my place, the left wall is not a good spot for a charger. Plus, the electrical panel is directly in front of where I will be pulling the car in, so putting an outlet or charger would mean a very short jump from the main box. If the plug in cords are long enough, it won't be a problem.
 
OK - let me ask a dumb question, so please don't shoot me. I see all these options and abreviations used, so here goes:
Help me out guys:
HPC?
UMC?
I'm just used to the black hose that pumps out gas.....

HPC = High Power Charger. This is the hard wired, 20 kw charger that tesla sells for $1200
UMC = Universal Mobile Charger. This is the 10kw mobile charger that comes with the model s. It plugs into a 14-50 outlet, but can use adapters to connect to other outlets.
 
HPC = High Power Charger. This is the hard wired, 20 kw charger that tesla sells for $1200
UMC = Universal Mobile Charger. This is the 10kw mobile charger that comes with the model s. It plugs into a 14-50 outlet, but can use adapters to connect to other outlets.

Well we have HPC1: which is made by Clipper Creek Model TS-70 which supplied 70 amps or 16.6 kw. It needs a 90 amp breaker for 70 amps continuous. It was made for the roadster, but can be converted to J1772 and used for the Model S also
HPC2: is made by Tesla for the Model S and hopefully beyond. It is able to supply 20 kw and needs to be wired with a 100 amp breaker for 80 amps continuous
 
To add to Rifleman's and Lloyd's info, HPC2 really makes sense if you get the Twin Chargers option (for $1,500) in the Model S - with 20 kW, you can juice up at 62 miles of range per hour.

If you have just the standard 10 kw onboard charger on the Model S, HPC2 is no better than a NEMA 14-50 outlet (that you can plug the standard Model S UMC directly into); you'd get up to 31 miles of range per hour.
 
I have a friend who had the ingenius idea (probably some others on this forum have as well) to put a dryer outlet in the ceiling of his garage, then he plugged a UMC into it, bolted the UMC to the ceiling and rigged the cord to hang down just above where he needs to plug it into the car. That way he can park on the right side of the garage and still have easy charging. I'm thinking about going for a similar setup. You can rig the cord so that it's generally out of the way, but you can pull it down when needed and keep any force pulling the cable minimal so it won't pull on the charging port in the car.