Wall Charger or 220V?

[Neil M]

New owner of a Model Y here. My house came with a NEMA 14-50 outlet in the garage and so far I’ve been using that to charge at 32A , which is about 25 miles of range per hour. However, was looking for advice on continuing with that approach vs buying a wall charger.

Given that I already have a 220V outlet how hard will it be to set up the wall charger? Would an electrician just hard wire right into that, or does the wall charger have a 14-50 plug that I can just plug in?

 

[Jbuntz]

I would not bother with the wall charger if you already have a 14-50.

 

[Sophias_dad]

Unless you need the extra speed of charging, just stick with 240V. An electrician would just hardwire into the wires connecting to the outlet.

There is(sometimes) a version of the UMC that has a hardwired 14-50 plug on it. In the ancient times, Tesla even sold a Gen2 HPWC with a 14-50 plug on it.

 

[jcanoe]

The current Gen3 Wall Connector comes with a 24 ft charging cord. If that matters to you (the charging cord on the Mobile Connector is 18 ft long) then you could benefit from switching to the Wall Connector. The Wall Connector would enable charging at 40A on the existing 50A circuit (the Mobile Connector is limited to 32A) so it would be 25% faster if that matters to you. If you ever plan on charging a second EV in your garage the Wall Connector supports load sharing (up to 4 Wall Connectors) can share a circuit so both vehicles can charge at the same time (at reduced amperage while both are charging.) Otherwise, I would leave it as is.

The Wall Connector is designed to be hard wired, i.e. no plug. You can fit a power plug to the Wall Connector but this would not be to code. The current price of the Wall Connector just increased by $50, is now $550. If you install the Wall Connector by the end of the year (2021) you could qualify for the federal tax credit of 30% (up to $1000 for materials, equipment and labor) for installing what the IRS terms "alternative fuel vehicle refueling property" (only the federal government could come up with a term like that.) IRS Form 8911 is what you would need to file. (The installation would have to be completed by December 31, 2021 so better get crack'n.)

About Form 8911, Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit | Internal Revenue Service

 

[Usain]

It's strange that Tesla no longer offers a wall charger with a NEMA 14-50 plug. But there are plenty of high quality chargers that do.

I got a Clipper Creek 40 amp charger that plugs into my 14-50 outlet. Just mount it to the wall and plug it in. No electrician needed. But you might want to order an extra J1772 adapter. I keep one adapter in the garage and one in the car. Also, you can use it to charge non-Tesla EVs if you ever need to some day.

 

[dogmodes]

It's strange that Tesla no longer offers a wall charger with a NEMA 14-50 plug. But there are plenty of high quality chargers that do.

I got a Clipper Creek 40 amp charger that plugs into my 14-50 outlet. Just mount it to the wall and plug it in. No electrician needed. But you might want to order an extra J1772 adapter. I keep one adapter in the garage and one in the car. Also, you can use it to charge non-Tesla EVs if you ever need to some day.

Chargepoint Homeflex also comes with a 14-50, while expensive they might have a rebate from your utility for $500. Agree it might not be worth it unless you really need that extra or want to travel with the UMC.

 

[SilverString]

I think the reason they discontinued it is because it offers only a 1.9kW / 8 amp improvement over the Mobile Charger which is limited to 32 amps vs 40. It's kind of expensive when you consider the mobile charger needs no wall mounting, comes with the car, and for home charging is adequate by most standards. A hard wired HPWC offers twice that, or 16 amps more and utilizes the full capacity of the charger.

That being said I love having the HPWC and charging at 48 amps at home. It is a clean solution with a nice long cable and my version II has been flawless in its operation. You can convert the discontinued corded HPWC easily and reconfigure it as an option.

 

[EmbersDC]

New owner of a Model Y here. My house came with a NEMA 14-50 outlet in the garage and so far I’ve been using that to charge at 32A , which is about 25 miles of range per hour. However, was looking for advice on continuing with that approach vs buying a wall charger.

Given that I already have a 220V outlet how hard will it be to set up the wall charger? Would an electrician just hard wire right into that, or does the wall charger have a 14-50 plug that I can just plug in?

25 miles per hour is more than enough. Think about what you use per day and how much you're charging. Let's assume you get home at 6pm and don't leave until 6am the following morning. That's 12 hours of charging at 25 miles per hour. That's 300 miles. Unless you're driving 300 miles a day each morning you will be at 100%.

No need for stronger charger.

 

[Usain]

I think the reason they discontinued it is because it offers only a 1.9kW / 8 amp improvement over the Mobile Charger which is limited to 32 amps vs 40. It's kind of expensive when you consider the mobile charger needs no wall mounting, comes with the car, and for home charging is adequate by most standards. A hard wired HPWC offers twice that, or 16 amps more and utilizes the full capacity of the charger.

That being said I love having the HPWC and charging at 48 amps at home. It is a clean solution with a nice long cable and my version II has been flawless in its operation. You can convert the discontinued corded HPWC easily and reconfigure it as an option.

The main advantage of the wall charger is not the charge rate. The real advantage is that you can keep the portable charger in your car and know you always have it with you. I would hate to take off on a weekend junket where I needed my portable charger and then find I left it at home.

My neighbor's daughter did this recently. She came home to stay a few days and show off her new Model S Plaid. But she forgot to pack the portable charger and she was stuck at her parent's house many miles away from a supercharger. So she came over and used my charger. And luckily, she let me drive the Plaid.

 

[EmbersDC]

The main advantage of the wall charger is not the charge rate. The real advantage is that you can keep the portable charger in your car and know you always have it with you. I would hate to take off on a weekend junket where I needed my portable charger and then find I left it at home.

My neighbor's daughter did this recently. She came home to stay a few days and show off her new Model S Plaid. But she forgot to pack the portable charger and she was stuck at her parent's house many miles away from a supercharger. So she came over and used my charger. And luckily, she let me drive the Plaid.

The cost of installing a wall charger at home is x2-x5 more than purchasing another mobile charging cord to keep in the car. There are even third party mobile charging cords for under $100 to keep as a spare in the car (which I'd recommend if you travel often).

 

[Usain]

The cost of installing a wall charger at home is x2-x5 more than purchasing another mobile charging cord to keep in the car. There are even third party mobile charging cords for under $100 to keep as a spare in the car (which I'd recommend if you travel often).

Yes, but we are talking about a situation where there is already a NEMA 14-50 plug in the garage. So there is no electrician needed and installation cost is basically zero.

 

[thebarold]

I think the other reason for the wall connector over the mobile connector is weatherproofing? My connector will be outside and exposed to the elements - I imagine the mobile connector is not as weather sealed as the wall connector?

 

[Sophias_dad]

I think the other reason for the wall connector over the mobile connector is weatherproofing? My connector will be outside and exposed to the elements - I imagine the mobile connector is not as weather sealed as the wall connector?

This is definitely correct. The HPWC is very close to watertight, certainly good enough to withstand windblown rain and snow.

 

[Rocky_H]

Every time I see the title of this thread, I cringe, because in only four words it has three things wrong with it.

 

[Frankbarnes]

Can someone explain why Tesla limits the mobile charger to 32 amps? I would think it would be limited to 80% of the 50 amp circuit which would be 40 amps of available charging. Thanks

 

[jcanoe]

Can someone explain why Tesla limits the mobile charger to 32 amps? I would think it would be limited to 80% of the 50 amp circuit which would be 40 amps of available charging. Thanks

The first generation (Gen1) of the Tesla Mobile Connector would support charging at 40 amps when using the Gen1 Mobile Connector NEMA 14-50 power plug adapter. Unfortunately some of the Gen1 Mobile Connectors with the 14-50 plug adapter overheated and caused electrical fires. For an additional margin of safety the Tesla Gen2 Mobile Connector only supports charging at 32 amps when using the NEMA 14-50 or 6-50 plug adapter. (There is a separate Corded Mobile Connector that supports charging at 40 amps with a fixed (not modular) NEMA 14-50 power plug. The Corded Mobile Connector has been Out of Stock on the Tesla.com site for more than 1 year with future availability unknown.)

 

[Rocky_H]

Can someone explain why Tesla limits the mobile charger to 32 amps? I would think it would be limited to 80% of the 50 amp circuit which would be 40 amps of available charging. Thanks

There are the factors that @jcanoe mentioned about the pin in sleeve connections of the adapters having some struggles with the old version supporting the heat of 40 continuous amps, but I think there is one other factor that is more significant and was probably the more relevant one that drove the decision.

There is an odd case in electric code, where there is no outlet type made for 40A rated circuits. So the code does allow specifically to use a 50A outlet type on a 40A rated circuit. So it is legitimate to find buildings or houses where someone had a 6-50 or a 14-50 outlet that only has wire and a breaker suited for a 40A rating that should only be allowed to pull 32A continuous. But the mobile charging cable doesn't have any way to detect or know what is behind the wall. It can only tell what specific adapter plug you have attached. So if people would find these 14-50 outlets and plug into them, it might draw 40A continuous on underrated wire, and then what would happen in that problem situation? Running at full spec for a long time is supposed to trip the 40A breaker if it is functioning well and within tolerances and not old and degraded. Hopefully that will happen before there is too much heating and something melts and catches on fire.

So I think this was more of an intentional decision on Tesla's part to just design for the lowest common denominator for safety and liability reasons, since 14-50 outlets might be 40 or 50 amp circuits, and people might not know which it is and just plug into it.

 

[jcanoe]

I realize that not all garage 14-50 receptacles are labeled (my electrician did this); If the circuit is rated for 40A then the receptacle should be labeled to help avoid any issues such as the one @Rocky_H noted.

 

[Sophias_dad]

Another factor may be the bulk/expense of the charging cord. A cord capable of 40 amp charging might be getting a little chunky for the in-the-car bag/space.

 

[Dimundz]

We have a gen 1 wall charger and will be receiving MYP in the next few weeks. The cable seems very stiff to me however it is -20c outside. Is it worth upgrading to gen 3 for wifi? Does it have a lighter more flexible cable?