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SW2Fiddler
We Are Cognitive Dissidents
I did, for a year, and I'm not.
Love the HPWC for convenience though. Mine's on a 70A breaker (56A available for this continuous load), provides 14kW aka 42mph.
If the price difference is incremental, why not, future proof it.. But if measuring based on practicality, it might not make much sense unless you're driving the car for work and putting tons of miles on it.
Putting 60-80 miles on an average day, it requires 2-3 hours to fully charge the car. So unless you're coming home at midnight with 0 miles and needing to leave at 6am with 100% charge, I doubt it come in handy.
With the idea that 240V/40A replenishes 25% of your battery every two hours, going from 0 to 100% takes 8 hours of charge.
Maybe the scenario would work if you have multiple teslas, because theoretically, you can swap the cables after 2-3 hours on the charger.
Putting 60-80 miles on an average day, it requires 2-3 hours to fully charge the car. So unless you're coming home at midnight with 0 miles and needing to leave at 6am with 100% charge, I doubt it come in handy.
With the idea that 240V/40A replenishes 25% of your battery every two hours, going from 0 to 100% takes 8 hours of charge.
Maybe the scenario would work if you have multiple teslas, because theoretically, you can swap the cables after 2-3 hours on the charger.
Because the mobile charge cables do get pretty hot at 40A, and heat is the main thing that degrades electronics and shortens their lives. @Edmond is trying to help you guys out. I'll use about 39 or 40 rarely if I'm on a trip and need the extra charging speed, but I (and many other owners) prefer not to subject their UMCs to that heat stress EVERY single day, wearing them out faster. Turning it down into the low/mid 30's amps, cuts the heat down a lot.
while he may be trying to help us out my experience doesn't jibe with the claims of doing damage to car or umc.
I charge almost every night at 40 amps with my "portable" umc and have done so for 3+ years with no apparent problems.
That's because heat damage to electronics is not an instant thing, so you obviously won't just see it do damage in the first three years. It's the matter of something like shortening its life by a few years from a 10 or 15+ year time frame.
I'll explain another aspect of this, which is materials' science. It's not just the heat itself. It's heat CHANGE. Materials get stressed and brittle when they go through a lot of cycles of far temperature differentials. When they get heated up a lot and then cooled down a lot, and back and forth many many times, the materials get fragile and get micro-cracks in them. When you are not using the equipment, it is sitting at room temperature. When you use it, you heat it up some amount. The farther you heat it up, getting it farther from room temperature, the bigger that daily swing in temperature is, and the more cumulative damage it is doing to the metals/welds/connections, etc.
mikeash
Active Member
Depends on your circumstances. I'm sure faster AC charging is extremely useful for some, but it's pointless for others. I've done quite a few road trips (one of 2,000 miles, several shorter) and never had the opportunity to take advantage of faster AC charging. I've actually only encountered one public charger where I even could have, and my schedule wouldn't have let me take advantage of the extra speed anyway.
If you need it, then of course you'll really want it. But if you don't, you won't. Lots of trips now fit nicely into the "don't" category.
Heh, kind of. The point is that you can subject it to less wear to make the equipment last longer by letting it take an extra half hour overnight while you are sleeping, when that charging speed difference doesn't matter. So there is an upside without a downside in that.
The UMC is actually under-designed, in order to make it small and beautiful. It has compromises that the HPWC doesn't have. If you just look around here a little you will find lots of UMC failures, and without exception they charge at 40A or better.
Remember, I am not giving you an Order. I am trying to give you reasoned advice based in fact. You don't have to take it, and you can even Dislike it as much as you want, but you do so at your own fool peril. No skin off my black arse.
Remember, I am not giving you an Order. I am trying to give you reasoned advice based in fact. You don't have to take it, and you can even Dislike it as much as you want, but you do so at your own fool peril. No skin off my black arse.
@ChrisJ In my opinion, 'if' you are considering a HPWC in the near future, then I would recommend that you have the electrician stub the conduit and wiring now (don't install breaker or buy HPWC). Go ahead and keep your 14-50 as is already planned. By doing this, you will have yourself two possible EV charging ports. The HPWC dedicated to Tesla and the 14-50 that can be used for another Tesla or friends and family that may visit that need charging. And, if the HPWC were to fail, you would still have the 14-50 to fall back to.
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