That is the only benefit right? I'm having a 14-50 circuit installed (was going to do it myself but honestly don't have time to deal with the permit crap). I've been charging on a 10-30 dryer outlet and that has been doing just fine.
-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
Wall charger - just a faster charge?
- Thread starter Nocturnal
- Start date
Charges faster, looks nicer (subjective), and allows you to leave the mobile connector in the car if you need to use it away from home. Also means you have a backup in case one of them breaks.
You’re referring to the Wall Connector. The “charger” is in the car. You’re right, the only advantage is higher amp charging, which may or may not be an advantage depending on your needs. As you’re happy with 24A charging from the 10-30, you’ll be even happier with 32A charging from the 14-50, and probably don’t need 48A charging from a Wall Connector.
Higher amp charging is an advantage for people with inexpensive nighttime electricity rates that only lasts a few hours, or if they have more than one Tesla. Otherwise what difference does is make whether your car finishes its overnight charging at 2 AM or 5 AM?
Don’t listen to people who tell you to keep the UMC in the car. Leave it plugged in and hanging on a hook in the garage and just take it with you on out of town trips. That’s what the vast majority of Model S owners have been doing for the past five years.
Higher amp charging is an advantage for people with inexpensive nighttime electricity rates that only lasts a few hours, or if they have more than one Tesla. Otherwise what difference does is make whether your car finishes its overnight charging at 2 AM or 5 AM?
Don’t listen to people who tell you to keep the UMC in the car. Leave it plugged in and hanging on a hook in the garage and just take it with you on out of town trips. That’s what the vast majority of Model S owners have been doing for the past five years.
I thought that the Dryer Outlet was grounded to the Common not to the Ground and was thus dangerous for EV. Or perhaps one of the dongles provided with the Model 3 changes that outcome? Yeah, not an electrician here, but i know that certain wires are the same color as a hearse.
Knightshade
Well-Known Member
that's what I did too... cheaper than the wall charger by a couple hundred bucks and both will be done while I"m sleeping anyway
The old style dryer and range outlets (NEMA 10-30 and 10-50) use the neutral as a ground, but they haven’t been allowed in new construction since 1996 I think. The current design outlets, NEMA 14-30 and 14-50, have a separate ground connection.
Running a larger circuit or at least the wire makes it easier to support a second car later. I presume we all agree EVs are here to stay and even possible we will have multiple.
As such I think it makes sense to be prepared, oversize the wire today so you don't have to do it again.
I think load sharing on wall connectors will become standard as more homes go multiple EV.
As such I think it makes sense to be prepared, oversize the wire today so you don't have to do it again.
I think load sharing on wall connectors will become standard as more homes go multiple EV.
Yes, the NEMA “10” series has a neutral and no ground.
It isn’t really a problem with an EV because no current goes through the neutral. So the neutral remains at exact ground potential.
The problem with these outlets is when there is current through the neutral (for example, a dryer that used 240v for heating element and 120 for the motor, the current from the motor will go through the neutral) there is then a voltage drop on the wire segment (current * resistance). The neutral at the dryer will be slightly above ground. This is connected to the chassis... so the chassis of the dryer is then higher than other things - washer, faucet).
I remember as a kid, frequently feeling a tingle when touching two metal pinball machines.
Its late, I probably didn’t word well..,
For me it was when I stayed up late and watched Cinemax but I guess we all have different tastes.
Oh yeah! I remember that at a roller skating rink when I was a kid. If I would touch the metal frames of those two pinball machines at the same time, I would feel that electrical buzzing going up my arms.
cgalpin
Member
I was kind of surprised to see that I can't rate limit the wall charger. As @Knightshade says it will be done in the morning if I used the UMC anyway, so why can't I limit the charge to "trickle" charge the battery instead of doing it at 48A every time (just when desired/needed). This would be better on the battery wouldn't it?
You can set the desired charging rate to whatever you want in the car. I have the wall charger but I normally set the charge rate to 24 or 30 amps with a scheduled start at 1 AM. I only raise it up to 48A if I need to fully charge after a big road trip.
mal_tsla
Member
Another hpwc benefit is load sharing. If you get a second Tesla, you can have two hpwc and they'll share the available amps intelligently to charge up both cars without you needing to figure it out yourself.
We will be doing this soon if I get a model 3.
We will be doing this soon if I get a model 3.
Eno Deb
Active Member
48A sounds like a lot, but it really isn't if you consider that it's distributed to over 4000 battery cells.
This is still quite a low charge rate from the perspective of the battery, and less than a tenth of what the battery can accept via DC fast charging ...
cgalpin
Member
Good point. Maybe I’ll put it back to 48A so when I do need the faster charge I don’t forget to increase it!
48A sounds like a lot, but it really isn't if you consider that it's distributed to over 4000 battery cells.
Ebony Star
Member
Another benefit is the wall connector has a heavier cord. The heavier cord does not tangle easy. Also the wall connector can be configured for different amps/volts.
I used my portable connector for two years. I forgot to carry it on trips more than once. After installing wall connector, portable connector stays in the car. Cord does not tangle any more, indicator light helps, and it was a easy conversion from 14-50. I just removed 14-50 outlet and wired in wall connector.
Wall Connector:
<=48A charging, compared to <=32A for the UMC
Lower gauge wire(I believe)
Multiple wall connectors can be connected to limit maximum load when charging multiple cars.
A flexible compromise solution is to buy a 2nd UMC and leave it plugged in. It would be a portable back-up in the event the other fails, as well as allowing you to use the 14-50 socket for other things. (Not that I'd have any need.)
<=48A charging, compared to <=32A for the UMC
Lower gauge wire(I believe)
Multiple wall connectors can be connected to limit maximum load when charging multiple cars.
A flexible compromise solution is to buy a 2nd UMC and leave it plugged in. It would be a portable back-up in the event the other fails, as well as allowing you to use the 14-50 socket for other things. (Not that I'd have any need.)
The dryer circuit works great for us. as most, we purchased a Gen2 wall connector and that's what we use. There is a product that will allow you to share the dryer for charging and drying called dryer buddy. Dryer Buddy™ #1 30A 240v Splitter 5ft. cable NEMA 10-30(before 1996) with optional meter
Similar threads
- Question
