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Wall charger [should I keep the wall connector or use mobile connector for my situation?]

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Hi, Thomas here from Texas with my first post, waiting for our first EV to arrive coming Monday, a Standard Model 3. It was recommended to purchase the wall charger to take advantage of the 48A charging possibility. However, after receiving the wall charger, it is clear the Standard M3 can only charge at 32A, in which case the mobile charger would have been enough, no?
I have already a 50A outlet for my wife her kiln in the garage, so I can just plug in the mobile charger and return the wall charger.

The question is, is there any other advantage justifying keeping and installing the Wall charger instead of just the mobile cable if 32Amp is the limit either way?
Thank you
 
Well, I actually bought one mobile charger that stays in the car, just contemplating a wall charger or plug for the home. I'm aware it's only a 200.- difference but wondering if there is absolutely no advantage, then why waste 200.- if there is no other advantage?
 
Hi, Thomas here from Texas with my first post, waiting for our first EV to arrive coming Monday, a Standard Model 3. It was recommended to purchase the wall charger to take advantage of the 48A charging possibility. However, after receiving the wall charger, it is clear the Standard M3 can only charge at 32A, in which case the mobile charger would have been enough, no?
I have already a 50A outlet for my wife her kiln in the garage, so I can just plug in the mobile charger and return the wall charger.

The question is, is there any other advantage justifying keeping and installing the Wall charger instead of just the mobile cable if 32Amp is the limit either way?
Thank you

Your situation, summarized if I understand it is:

1. Already have a 50amp outlet in garage for Kiln
2. Bought Model 3 RWD (used to be called SR+) That maxes out at 32amp

Given this set of circumstances, the mobile connector would be easier for you to use if you plan on using that existing connection. The only advantage to the wall connector in your situation would be aesthetics (if you like the look of the wall connector), slightly easier cable handling, and the ability to keep the mobile connector with the car if you were so inclined.

To use the wall connector, you would need to either re purpose that kiln circuit, or run another one, or throw a pigtail on it which it does not come with standard.

TL ; DR - easiest is to use the mobile connector and return the wall connector, unless you like the looks of the wall connector and are willing to go through the additional work to connect it.
 
Your situation, summarized if I understand it is:

1. Already have a 50amp outlet in garage for Kiln
2. Bought Model 3 RWD (used to be called SR+) That maxes out at 32amp

Given this set of circumstances, the mobile connector would be easier for you to use if you plan on using that existing connection. The only advantage to the wall connector in your situation would be aesthetics (if you like the look of the wall connector), slightly easier cable handling, and the ability to keep the mobile connector with the car if you were so inclined.

To use the wall connector, you would need to either re purpose that kiln circuit, or run another one, or throw a pigtail on it which it does not come with standard.

TL ; DR - easiest is to use the mobile connector and return the wall connector, unless you like the looks of the wall connector and are willing to go through the additional work to connect it.
Thank you Sir, sounds like the confirmation I was looking for. If there is no other advantage of having the wall charger in my cisrcumstances, another mobile unit will be suffciant.
 
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I will only add that I installed a wall charger on the side wall right opposite where my charge port on the car is located, and I really love the convenience of getting out of the car, pulling the charge cable end off the wall charger and plugging it into the car 3 feet away, and leaving the car connected for the night. Then the same ease when I get in the car next time. Pull it out of the charge port, hang it up, and get in the car. No need for disconnecting/connecting cables at the 50 amp receptacle. Doesn't likely sound like that big of a deal, but I find it so easy and convenient. Other than that, there is no real benefit to the wall charger other than it looks nice.
 
I'm assuming that @alvitdk is contemplating buying a new Wall Connector (WC) directly from Tesla and thus will end up with a Gen3 version (the latest model).

One advantage(?) of having a Gen3 WC that so far has not been mentioned is that there are means to allow/disallow charging of other vehicles (Charging Access Control) if need be. This is not available in the Gen2 version. Gen3 is also WiFi-capable so that means it can be easier to commission, or on the other hand, more finicky.
 
A few points to consider. Is that 14-50 outlet a Bryant or Hubble, or a Leviton? If it is a Leviton you need to replace it with a Bryant or Hubble and that should run you about $80. Is the breaker a GFCI breaker? If not, and if the outlet was not installed when the home was built, you will need to replace it with a GFCI breaker, which should run you about $150, add some sort of cable management system for $35 and are up to $265. And if you do not already own the mobile connector, that is another $230, which brings the total to $495 and that is more than cost of a wall connector plus a standard 50-amp breaker.

I would remove the 14-50 outlet and install the wall connector. The wall connector will charge at 40A on a 50A circuit, so you will be ready for your next car. And of course there is are the other advantage of the wall connector noted above.
 
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You might want to check exactly which type of receptacle that kiln uses - NEMA 14-50 or 6-50. If it’s the latter, you’d either need to buy the correct mobile charger adapter from Tesla or add a 14-50 receptacle.

Our kid’s kiln uses 6-50.
I already installed a NEMA 14-50 from Hubble a couple of years ago when the original cheap outlet that was installed when we build the home started to show some signs of overheating.
 
A few points to consider. Is that 14-50 outlet a Bryant or Hubble, or a Leviton? If it is a Leviton you need to replace it with a Bryant or Hubble and that should run you about $80. Is the breaker a GFCI breaker? If not, and if the outlet was not installed when the home was built, you will need to replace it with a GFCI breaker, which should run you about $150, add some sort of cable management system for $35 and are up to $265. And if you do not already own the mobile connector, that is another $230, which brings the total to $495 and that is more than cost of a wall connector plus a standard 50-amp breaker.

I would remove the 14-50 outlet and install the wall connector. The wall connector will charge at 40A on a 50A circuit, so you will be ready for your next car. And of course there is are the other advantage of the wall connector noted above.
It is already a Hubble NEMA 14-50 and I can't remove the outlet, otherwise my wife her kiln would not have anywhere to plug into if needed. I would have not hardwired the wall mount but thought about adding a pigtail to the charger and plugging it into the 14-50, to charge at 40A. Valid point you make and thank you for that, I should install a GFCI anyway when not using the wall charger as the outlet is on a regular 50A breaker (Cable is #6 size)
 
A few points to consider. Is that 14-50 outlet a Bryant or Hubble, or a Leviton? If it is a Leviton you need to replace it with a Bryant or Hubble and that should run you about $80. Is the breaker a GFCI breaker? If not, and if the outlet was not installed when the home was built, you will need to replace it with a GFCI breaker, which should run you about $150, add some sort of cable management system for $35 and are up to $265. And if you do not already own the mobile connector, that is another $230, which brings the total to $495 and that is more than cost of a wall connector plus a standard 50-amp breaker.

I would remove the 14-50 outlet and install the wall connector. The wall connector will charge at 40A on a 50A circuit, so you will be ready for your next car. And of course there is are the other advantage of the wall connector noted above.
I fully concur with the need for the more expensive and much safer Hubble type receptacle. The cheap ones are not safe for this application, as shown in numerous YT videos. I am not understanding why a GFCI breaker would be required, unless it is simply a more recent requirement of the electrical code for all garage receptacles?
 
It is already a Hubble NEMA 14-50 and I can't remove the outlet, otherwise my wife her kiln would not have anywhere to plug into if needed. I would have not hardwired the wall mount but thought about adding a pigtail to the charger and plugging it into the 14-50, to charge at 40A. Valid point you make and thank you for that, I should install a GFCI anyway when not using the wall charger as the outlet is on a regular 50A breaker (Cable is #6 size)

One point, you should not install a pigtail and plug a wall connector into a 14-50 outlet. This violates Tesla's installation requirements and will void the warranty. I think it would also be a code violation.
 
A point in favor of the wall connector in your case which is probably too minor to swing things is that using it means your mobile connector is a full-fedged spare which will build up wear and tear much more slowly than if you use it for routine charging use.

One other point to various concerns about possibly imposing higher current on connections, sockets, etc. than is quite the best: remember that every time you charge the car you have the option to dial down the charging rate from the maximum. With our model 3 RWD, for which the absolute maximum is 32 A, I set the limit to 27 A and still generally it is finished by midnight. I think in my usage pattern I could easily get by with 16A charging and still have it fit into my life schedule. I suspect even a Leviton socket is good enough at that rate.
 
One other point to various concerns about possibly imposing higher current on connections, sockets, etc. than is quite the best: remember that every time you charge the car you have the option to dial down the charging rate from the maximum. With our model 3 RWD, for which the absolute maximum is 32 A, I set the limit to 27 A and still generally it is finished by midnight. I think in my usage pattern I could easily get by with 16A charging and still have it fit into my life schedule. I suspect even a Leviton socket is good enough at that rate.
Leviton outlets seem to reach the mobile connector's heat limit at rates higher than about 26A in warm weather. If you look in the plug holes, you will see the half size steel contacts to the plug blades that are less conductive / more resistive than the full size brass contacts in other outlets.

Probably any outlet with full size brass contacts to the plug blades will work at 32A without reaching the mobile connector's heat limit.
 
my wife uses the kiln maybe once or every other month, so there is no constant re-connecting required.

To retain the outlet for the Kiln and also avoid the pigtail issue, perhaps you can replace the 14-50 outlet location with a sub-panel. You then use a standard breaker (not a GFCI) from the main panel to the sub-panel. Now you can run two circuits from the subpanel, one to a new 14-50 outlet using the required GFCI breaker and a second as a hardwire connection to the wall connector using a standard breaker.
 
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Hi, Thomas here from Texas with my first post, waiting for our first EV to arrive coming Monday, a Standard Model 3. It was recommended to purchase the wall charger to take advantage of the 48A charging possibility. However, after receiving the wall charger, it is clear the Standard M3 can only charge at 32A, in which case the mobile charger would have been enough, no?
I have already a 50A outlet for my wife her kiln in the garage, so I can just plug in the mobile charger and return the wall charger.

The question is, is there any other advantage justifying keeping and installing the Wall charger instead of just the mobile cable if 32Amp is the limit either way?
Thank you
On a 50A circuit, the wall charger will deliver 40A to the Model 3. The 32A limit is only for the mobile charging cord.

Your utility may have a rebate program for some wall chargers. I bought a ChargePoint charger that plugs into the 14-50. With the utility and federal rebates, total net cost was $40.