Type 2 Charging Limits on Model 3

[Andy_T_73]

Hi folks, been looking at charging, cables, etc and I'm a little surprised or just not getting it...

Looking at the Tesla website, it says the Model 3 comes with a Type 2 cable that has a max charge rate of 11KW. Looking around at public chargers I see that they can offer much higher charging rates than 11KW, on Zap Map I see loads of 22KW type 2 connections and some at 43KW.

Now from what I've seen in the flesh the 22KW ones you have to use your own cable and the 43KW ones are tethered.

Thus if I take the Tesla supplied cable and plug it into a 22KW public charger then seems I'll only get 11KW max due to the cable limit?

Plugging into a 43KW point with a tethered cable, will I get all 43KW or thereabouts (depending on charge state, temp, other cars sharing the charger etc). Or am I going to be limited to 11KW on a type 2 connection regardless because of the car?

I know it will charge much faster on CCS and Tesla Supers but what about the 22KW and 43KW type 2 which are more common? Is Model 3 limited to 11KW on these connections regardless of the supply?

Help!

 

[Roy W.]

Th

Hi folks, been looking at charging, cables, etc and I'm a little surprised or just not getting it...

Looking at the Tesla website, it says the Model 3 comes with a Type 2 cable that has a max charge rate of 11KW. Looking around at public chargers I see that they can offer much higher charging rates than 11KW, on Zap Map I see loads of 22KW type 2 connections and some at 43KW.

Now from what I've seen in the flesh the 22KW ones you have to use your own cable and the 43KW ones are tethered.

Thus if I take the Tesla supplied cable and plug it into a 22KW public charger then seems I'll only get 11KW max due to the cable limit?

Plugging into a 43KW point with a tethered cable, will I get all 43KW or thereabouts (depending on charge state, temp, other cars sharing the charger etc). Or am I going to be limited to 11KW on a type 2 connection regardless because of the car?

I know it will charge much faster on CCS and Tesla Supers but what about the 22KW and 43KW type 2 which are more common? Is Model 3 limited to 11KW on these connections regardless of the supply?

Help!

The 11kW limit isn’t the cable, but the capacity of the inverter on the M3. The inverter needs to convert the AC coming in to DC to charge the battery.

So you can only charge at a faster rate using a DC charger, so CCS or Supercharger with the M3.

 

[dst87]

I asked this recently, and was also surprised that the Model 3 was limited to 11kW.

Then I looked at all other modern vehicles. CCS is the standard for rapid charging and what is being deployed everywhere now. It presumably saves money (and weight) to put a smaller inverter in the vehicle given DC charging is where everyone is moving for rapid charging.

Sadly, Scotland does have a decent network of rapid Type-2 chargers (some up to about 43kW, but commonly 22kW).

If you compare to other modern EVs with CCS, all have similarly slow Type-2 speeds.

 

[Andy_T_73]

Thanks for the feedback. So for quick charging always aim for CCS or Supercharging. Understood now.

 

[dst87]

Thanks for the feedback. So for quick charging always aim for CCS or Supercharging. Understood now.

Yeah, it's a bit of a bummer but it is what it is. We're going to be almost 2 months without a home charger (Andersen lead times) so we'll be really dependent on the central Scotland ChargePlaceScotland network. Hopefully it serves us well!

Is it much the same through Prestwick way?

 

[Andy_T_73]

Is it much the same through Prestwick way?

I'm the same, will be using public chargers a lot for the first few months. We've a decent number of 22KW public points round here and a few 43s so a shame about the 11KW limit. Hey ho, means I'll be less fussy to get to the higher rated points. There are a few 50KW CCS here but not as many as the 22 T2s.

 

[Roy W.]

Yeah, it's a bit of a bummer but it is what it is. We're going to be almost 2 months without a home charger (Andersen lead times) so we'll be really dependent on the central Scotland ChargePlaceScotland network. Hopefully it serves us well!

Is it much the same through Prestwick way?

You’ll be fine just using the UMC plugged into a 13A socket until you get your home charger fitted. When I first got the Leaf in 2015 we were having a new garage built over that summer, so I didn’t have a charger in my new garage for 4-5 months. I managed fine with the granny charger with the cable going out of the front room window

 

[ACarneiro]

Sorry to be a pedant, but they're not inverters. An inverter will convert DC to AC.
The onboard charger converts AC to DC and is indeed limited to 11KW (but only on triphasic power) or 7Kw (on the more ubiquitous British monophasic power).

 

[davidmc]

Sorry to be a pedant, but they're not inverters. An inverter will convert DC to AC.
The onboard charger converts AC to DC and is indeed limited to 11KW (but only on triphasic power) or 7Kw (on the more ubiquitous British monophasic power).

Isn't it called a rectifier?

 

[ACarneiro]

Rectifiers convert AC to DC and inverters convert DC to AC.

 

[Roy W.]

Sorry to be a pedant, but they're not inverters. An inverter will convert DC to AC.
The onboard charger converts AC to DC and is indeed limited to 11KW (but only on triphasic power) or 7Kw (on the more ubiquitous British monophasic power).

Pedants are welcome in this house! I do know the difference between a rectifier and an inverter, but used the term inverter because that seems to be used across the EV industry. Incorrectly of course!

 

[Andy_T_73]

My head hurts.....so a 7KW charge point will give me 7KW into the car. A 22KW point I'm assuming is 3PH so that'll give me 11KW or am I wrong to assume you need 3PH to get 22KW at 230V. Physics was never my strong point.

 

[DELECO]

I assume, i can use a normal (3 pin) plug socket and will have an adapter provided for that purpose as standard by Tesla?

If so - my assumption is i will get 5-10 miles per hour using this method?

 

[MrBadger]

2.3kW, AKA 10A/13 pin 8 miles per hour
16A blue commando 14 miles
both via mobile connector

7kW wall connector 27 miles

Home Charging Installation

 

[Artiste]

Th

The 11kW limit isn’t the cable, but the capacity of the inverter on the M3. The inverter needs to convert the AC coming in to DC to charge the battery.

So you can only charge at a faster rate using a DC charger, so CCS or Supercharger with the M3.

That is a bummer. I’ve got a three phase power supply at home and I was thinking of getting a 22KW Andersen, but if the M3 will only allow 11KW I’m not sure it’s worth it. Could be good for future proofing though.

 

[Roy W.]

That is a bummer. I’ve got a three phase power supply at home and I was thinking of getting a 22KW Andersen, but if the M3 will only allow 11KW I’m not sure it’s worth it. Could be good for future proofing though.

11kW is actually pretty good! My 2015 Leaf could only manage 3.6kW, and the Kona Electric only 7.2kW. It’s all to do with the cost and weight of adding more capacity to the car. Also home chargers have generally been either 16A or 32A, so 3.6 or 7.2kW.

With 3-phase you could probably have your own DC fast charger installed if you’ve got £50k to spare!

 

[Artiste]

With 3-phase you could probably have your own DC fast charger installed if you’ve got £50k to spare!

Well I’ve got three 100amp fuses. Will that be enough for a V3 Supecharger?!

 

[NorfolkMustard]

I assume, i can use a normal (3 pin) plug socket and will have an adapter provided for that purpose as standard by Tesla?

Yes, that's the "UMC" Universal Mobile Connector. You'll also get a blue double-ended cable for connecting to type-2 AC public chargers

Charging Connectors

 

[ACarneiro]

It’s

That is a bummer. I’ve got a three phase power supply at home and I was thinking of getting a 22KW Andersen, but if the M3 will only allow 11KW I’m not sure it’s worth it. Could be good for future proofing though.

50% faster. Don’t knock it!

 

[miimura]

Well I’ve got three 100amp fuses. Will that be enough for a V3 Supecharger?!

Ha ha. Sadly, no. Superchargers are 192A per phase.