Currently I have a Blink 32A L2 charger that I use to charge the wife's i3. Now that we are switching to a TM3, is it worth it to upgrade to the 40A L2 charger? I already purchased a J1772 adapter since I heard Tesla is no longer giving those away with their cars. There is a local $250 rebate for the purchase of a new L2 charger which would cover about 1/2 the cost of the new unit. What are you guy's thoughts that may have experience with a similar situation?
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Should I upgrade from a Blink 32amp to Tesla 40amp Level 2 charger?
- Thread starter M3FNATIK
- Start date
Tam
Well-Known Member
By “the 40A” charger do you mean a Tesla Wall Connector?
As far as I know, J1772 adapters still come with the cars.
Which version of the Model 3 are you getting?
What size circuit breaker and wire are feeding your existing Bl!nk station?
As far as I know, J1772 adapters still come with the cars.
Which version of the Model 3 are you getting?
What size circuit breaker and wire are feeding your existing Bl!nk station?
Yeah, wall connector (permanent mount). If those connectors still come with the cars I will be a little annoyed b/c I thought I read on this forum others said they stopped including them with the Model 3s. Not sure who is right?
The NEMA 14-50 is the adapter that is no longer included.
DOH! I guess I misunderstood what people were saying. Thanks for clarifying. Now I guess I will have a spare to keep in the car. I bet one day it will be useful
LR AWD Stealth. The breaker is 40A and I don't recall what type of wiring they installed. Its a super short run so the cost to upgrade it probably isn't much if I needed to go that route.
Depending on how much power you have available (do a load calc), you could go up to a 60 amp circuit, which will charge your car at the full 48 amps.
How many kWh is the full 48amps? I believe when I purchased it for the i3 in 2014, the Blink made sense b/c it would charge at the full 7.7kWh rate. I never thought I would switch to a Tesla but BMW shot themselves in the foot so here I am
48 amps is 11.5 kW (not kWh) at 240 volts.
It would take about 6.5 hours to fully charge your 75 kWh battery pack.
It would take about 6.5 hours to fully charge your 75 kWh battery pack.
Judders
Member
If it’s half off personally I’d do it. And go 60 amp on the panel if you can accommodate. Will get you 48 at your vehicle and keep you charging fastest
Thank you for answering all my silly questions. You are really helpful! Plus I have shiba that looks a lot like yours as well
Yeah, that's what I was figuring too but I wasn't sure if I was going to get much better/faster charging. Now it's making more sense to upgrade
Judders
Member
About 44 miles per hour on the wall at 48 amps at the vehicleThank you for answering all my silly questions. You are really helpful! Plus I have shiba that looks a lot like yours as well
Yeah, that's what I was figuring too but I wasn't sure if I was going to get much better/faster charging. Now it's making more sense to upgrade
eprosenx
Active Member
Thank you for answering all my silly questions. You are really helpful! Plus I have shiba that looks a lot like yours as well
Yeah, that's what I was figuring too but I wasn't sure if I was going to get much better/faster charging. Now it's making more sense to upgrade
Yeah, so 32 amps at 240v is enough for most everyone’s charging needs. I would not be in too big a hurry.
With that being said, if you have free money in the form of a rebate I would totally take advantage. Half off a wall connector is great!
Also, using the J1772 is a pain on a daily basis. The Tesla plug is a superior user experience since it has the button on it for opening the charge port.
This is helpful. I can see the wife getting annoyed by this so that alone will be worthwhile haha
srs5694
Active Member
Add me to the "don't bother" column. As background, I have a Clipper Creek HCS-40 EVSE, which I bought for a Chevy Volt I drove before getting my Model 3. The HCS-40 is on a 40A circuit and charges at 32A. I've had my Model 3 for slightly under 8 months, which admittedly isn't all that long a time; but in that time I have never come close to feeling that 32A was inadequate. Even if I were to return home nearly empty from a road trip and have to leave six hours later, the 32A would give me about 180 miles of range in that time, which would almost certainly be more than I'd need, unless I was heading out on another road trip -- in which case, Superchargers would take up the slack. (In my first road trip experience in my Tesla, Superchargers were more than fast enough -- the car was charged to beyond where I needed it before I was ready to leave when taking meal breaks.)
Note also that upgrading the EVSE from your current 32A model to a 48A model will require replacing the circuit breaker, and probably also the wiring. Thus, there will be installation costs beyond just the cost of the EVSE itself.
Aside from speed, a standard J1772 EVSE with a Tesla J1772 adapter will do everything that the Tesla Wall Connector or Mobile Connector will do except open the charge port door by pressing the button on the EVSE's handle. That's a cute trick, but hardly critical, since you can open the charge port door in several other ways (tapping it, using the Model 3's screen, or using the Tesla app on your phone). Since you'll have two adapters, you can leave one permanently attached to the J1772 handle and use it much like a Tesla EVSE handle. Unplugging requires either two hands or learning a trick to keep the adapter connected to the J1772 handle when unplugging: Push the button, release, then withdraw quickly; push the button partially to stop charging without disconnecting; or use a small padlock (if your J1772 handle supports them) to help with the previous approach. You'll probably end up with the adapter alone stuck in the Tesla a few times before you get the hang of it, but it's not hard to do it right once you've mastered it.
There is one caveat: Although it's very rare, there are compatibility problems between the Tesla Model 3 and at least one J1772 EVSE -- the Siemens VersiCharge (or some variants of it, anyhow). See this thread for details. I've heard of Blink in reference to its public EVSEs; this is the first I've heard of a home Blink EVSE. Thus, I can't promise that it will work with the Tesla. Probably it'll be fine. If you have problems, though, you might have no choice but to replace it.
Note also that upgrading the EVSE from your current 32A model to a 48A model will require replacing the circuit breaker, and probably also the wiring. Thus, there will be installation costs beyond just the cost of the EVSE itself.
Aside from speed, a standard J1772 EVSE with a Tesla J1772 adapter will do everything that the Tesla Wall Connector or Mobile Connector will do except open the charge port door by pressing the button on the EVSE's handle. That's a cute trick, but hardly critical, since you can open the charge port door in several other ways (tapping it, using the Model 3's screen, or using the Tesla app on your phone). Since you'll have two adapters, you can leave one permanently attached to the J1772 handle and use it much like a Tesla EVSE handle. Unplugging requires either two hands or learning a trick to keep the adapter connected to the J1772 handle when unplugging: Push the button, release, then withdraw quickly; push the button partially to stop charging without disconnecting; or use a small padlock (if your J1772 handle supports them) to help with the previous approach. You'll probably end up with the adapter alone stuck in the Tesla a few times before you get the hang of it, but it's not hard to do it right once you've mastered it.
There is one caveat: Although it's very rare, there are compatibility problems between the Tesla Model 3 and at least one J1772 EVSE -- the Siemens VersiCharge (or some variants of it, anyhow). See this thread for details. I've heard of Blink in reference to its public EVSEs; this is the first I've heard of a home Blink EVSE. Thus, I can't promise that it will work with the Tesla. Probably it'll be fine. If you have problems, though, you might have no choice but to replace it.
That is why I probably wouldn't bother. If it is on a 40A breaker, that is most likely 8 gauge wire, which would have to be replaced if you want to go up to a bigger circuit size. And 32A charging already seems plenty fast to me with what you already have. Big deal if the car takes 3 hours instead of 4 hours to refill while you're sleeping.
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