Tesla Home charger Vs third party chargers

[dboyo]

Its not cheap but if you want the best of both worlds there is always the charger of your choice +

Unique Tesla charging cables - evChargeking

Tesla Model S and Model X charging cable with integrated chargeport opener and charge control.

www.evchargeking.com

looks a good shout!

 

[MrBadger]

Its not cheap but if you want the best of both worlds there is always the charger of your choice +

Unique Tesla charging cables - evChargeking

Tesla Model S and Model X charging cable with integrated chargeport opener and charge control.

www.evchargeking.com

Its good to have alternatives but I think before anyone dives into this solution they should search the forum for its pitfalls - import duty and reliability off the top of my head.

 

[DM206433]

I went for the Hypervolt, mainly because of the built in PEN protection, OLEV grant and the cable management. That and the choice for a couple of colours.

Money no object I'd have probably gone for the Andersen A2.

 

[Casss]

The andersens are stunning, but there are some downsides to them on a practical level (and availability) I found.

There is a Hypervolt thread if you haven’t already seen it @dboyo with some pictures of them installed (in both colours). I haven’t seen any of the grey ones yet. Here’s ours:

 

[dboyo]

The andersens are stunning, but there are some downsides to them on a practical level (and availability) I found.

There is a Hypervolt thread if you haven’t already seen it @dboyo with some pictures of them installed (in both colours). I haven’t seen any of the grey ones yet. Here’s ours:

View attachment 759285

Thanks @Casss - I’ve had a look on that thread and it’s definitely the Hypervolt I’d be looking at if going with a third party charger. They look really slick and have the smart features required to take advantage of the Octopus Go Tariff we have gone for

 

[Teddy69]

I have the tesla charger.

I'm on an E.on tarriff, I don't think they're selling it anymore, but E.on directly communicate with the car to control the charging between 12 and 4AM, so car is set to start midnight every night and e.on turn it off at 4AM, I have to go into the E.on app if I want to charge any other time and "boost" it.

If I was on Octopus I really wouldn't lose any sleep over scheduling, set the car to start at midnight, then on the rare occasion you need to charge more than 40% (I get 10% an hour) dial back the charge you want, i.e. car on 10%, set to 50% night 1, then say 80% night 2.

 

[khyros]

Thanks for the comments above. I guess in terms of scheduling the charge I can live with the above workaround (calculating the %charge so that it stops before end of off peak time)

My follow up question is whether this charger can be load balanced? I have a 100amp fuse but we own a heat pump so perhaps running the charger and heat pump at the same time might overload the system

 

[Casss]

Khyros, as long as you get it installed by a professional it will be fine on your 100amp fuse for 7kw, unless you have any other large draws besides the heat pump.

Afaik from my own research, whilst the gen 3 can do load sharing for multiple chargers, which would be linked to the primary unit, it does not do dynamic load balancing like other chargers (the max draw has to be inputted by the electrician in the setup process) which is why it has never been eligible for the smart charger grant because it didn’t meet the requirements. So as long as your electrician doesn’t mess up your max draw calculations you shouldn’t have tripping issues. Depending on how much overhead they insist on though, you could get lower charging speeds at times where you have extra juice available because the charger won’t be able to make use of it. (If this info is outdated I’ll happily stand corrected).

Wall Connector

The Tesla Wall Connector is the most efficient way to charge a Tesla at home — just plug in your vehicle overnight and wake up fully charged.

www.tesla.com

 

[WannabeOwner]

I can live with the above workaround (calculating the %charge so that it stops before end of off peak time)

I use TeslaFi for that. I like the car to start the charging (when my overnight cheap rate starts) so that if there is any Internet outage or COMMS failure it still starts (and it will start if I come home later from a good night out). Then TesalFi turns off charging at the end of cheap rate. If I come home "empty" it will take two nights to get back to 90% (but I can override that if I am going out long-distance tomorrow)

 

[p3k4y]

I'm interested in understanding this scheduled charging scenario more - outside what the app can currently do.

I'm in 1000% agreement the implementation in the app is very very bad. Highly confusing. What are the "use cases" folks wish were in the app but aren't?

I've written a Python program that has implemented a variety of "custom charging" scenarios for how my wife and I use our car. (For example, we've decided we want a min charge always in the car - for emergencies. So at night and when off-peak pricing has begun, if the car's charge is below that min we've defined, the car charges just up to the min we've established. And, during the day, we only charge when there is excess solar coming off our solar panels.)

While I'm willing to give the software to anyone (it's on GitHub) it does require some techie skills to configure and keep running. After reading this thread I might venture into creating a real app (also for free......I do this stuff for fun) to make scheduled charging easier without having to mess with smart chargers.

I like this - is it using the “unofficial” Tesla API to tell the car when to stop/start charging?

I was toying with something similar to allow a low current charge when our Enphase solar api reports a solar surplus.

 

[WannabeOwner]

I was toying with something similar to allow a low current charge when our Enphase solar api reports a solar surplus.

Zappi charger will do that (but I don't know the details of "how")

 

[UrbanSplash]

I have an older ‘non smart’ Tesla wall connector. It’s been used for 2 years. Rock solid. I’m on octopus go. Just set the car to start charging at 00:30. Set the % to roughly when the 4 hours is up. Easy

For me, smart charging would bring nothing to the party. Tesla charger every time. It’s all about the magic button.

Might try Intelligent Octopus as my Go is up soon.

 

[spdpsba]

. Tesla charger every time. It’s all about the magic button.

Hmm, first world problem

 

[Haselsmasher]

I like this - is it using the “unofficial” Tesla API to tell the car when to stop/start charging?

I was toying with something similar to allow a low current charge when our Enphase solar api reports a solar surplus.

Yes - it is using the unofficial API. I use the API to 1/ get info on current state of the car (Is the car home? Is it plugged in? What is current battery level?). Then, based on solar panel output and house consumption (to ensure there is excess solar available) it either starts, stops or adjusts rate of charging.

 

[dazzap]

Bear in mind the Tesla doesn’t have ‘simple’ charging - no easy way to say ‘charge at 12:30 for 4 hours’. I use my zappi to control that.

I would like that unlock button but I’d find relying on the car scheduling a big limitation

These guys (Unique Tesla charging cables - evChargeking) have a tethered cable replacement with the magic button...

You know it would be a simple fix for tesla to provide an option to not lock the charge port when the car is at home. I know some will scream about pulling out a cable while the car is charging, but with my old outlander phev there was no control over charging other than connecting/disconnecting and the sudden removal of power shouldn't really cause any damage 'cos it going to happen in a power cut anyway. The charger will switch off the moment you disconnect too.

 

[WannabeOwner]

the sudden removal of power shouldn't really cause any damage 'cos it going to happen in a power cut anyway

I think the issue is that pins might short (if still live when cable is removed), rather than unexpected loss-or-power. I don't know the details, but I think the "data pins" are shorter, so that they disconnect first, and that gives time to cut the power - before the longer power-pins then get removed. So assuming something like that the pull-the-plug is designed to be safe. Dunno if it is a good idea though! as an arcing isn't good.

I thought a button (next to charge port) was added? being added? maybe I am remembering a completely different brand of EV? ... i.e. provided the car is unlocked you could then press that button (i.e. on the car) to then be able to remove the cable.

Years ago, when I had a non Tesla charger at work and charged every day, it was a pain to have to stop the charging and unlock the port. Either get into the car and do that from screen, or from phone (but neither mobile nor wifi signal in work car park), or use long-press on the boot-button of fob. That worked for me, but Wifee's fob was always buried somewhere in her handbag, which worked just find in all situations that didn't require pressing any of its buttons

 

[GRiLLA]

These guys (Unique Tesla charging cables - evChargeking) have a tethered cable replacement with the magic button...

You know it would be a simple fix for tesla to provide an option to not lock the charge port when the car is at home. I know some will scream about pulling out a cable while the car is charging, but with my old outlander phev there was no control over charging other than connecting/disconnecting and the sudden removal of power shouldn't really cause any damage 'cos it going to happen in a power cut anyway. The charger will switch off the moment you disconnect too.

I had that cable, the Tesla mechanism failed twice, the first time I sent it back and they repaired it, but by the next time it was out of warranty. From look at it there would seem to be poor waterproofing in the handle, and it seems to rely on cell sized batteries that aren't replaceable and go flat. I would steer clear.

 

[Haselsmasher]

A new version of my charging program has been put on GitHub.

If someone is even a little familiar with Python this could be modified to create a solution based on schedule only.

If there's lots of interest in having a pure schedule-only solution - and no one wants to do it - let me know and I will come up with a different version.

GitHub - Haselmaier/Suncatcher

Contribute to Haselmaier/Suncatcher development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com