Wall Connector Decision

[spark146]

I would appreciate some help to understand my wall connector options for my evolving EV ownership. Thanks in advance.

* For the past 3+ years, we have been a one-EV family: my Model 3 has been charged with my Tesla Gen-2 connector (sku 1050067-01-E) on a 60 amp circuit. Perfect.
* We now need to install a second Tesla wall connector because my wife has decided to get an EV. Power-sharing on the 60 amp circuit will be required. No problem so far.
* Her first EV is going to be a Volvo XC40 Recharge on a 3-year lease. After the Volvo lease ends, I’m hopeful that she will choose a Tesla…I’d say it’s a 50/50 chance.

So, my random questions are:
- does my exIsting wall connector model accommodate power sharing?
- for the second wall connector, should I (1) get a Tesla J1772 Gen 2, realizing that I would need to use a Tesla adapter if she replaced the Volvo with a Tesla? or (2) get a Tesla wall connector and buy a Tesla-to-J1772 adapter so long as she owns non-Teslas?

Many thanks!

 

[dmurphy]

Yes, your current wall connector supports power sharing. The problem is, the Gen2’s have been discontinued. You’d have to find a used one somewhere if you want to pair it up with another.

Me, personally, I’d say in your case, get the Tesla J1772 wall connector for her car. You’ve already got the J1772-to-Tesla adapter with your car, so that’s the best of all worlds. If she stays with Volvo, no problem. If she gets a Tesla, no problem. Easy cheesy. The J1772 adapter is cheap and plentiful; if she goes Tesla full time you could always buy an extra and just leave it attached to the charger. Very simple solution.

J1772 Gen 2 Wall Connector

Charge your electric vehicle at home with the J1772 Gen 2 Wall Connector, a convenient home charging solution for electric vehicle owners. Simply plug in overnight and charge while you sleep. Providing up to 9.6 kW (40 amp) power output for a single vehicle, the J1772 Gen 2 Wall Connector...

shop.tesla.com

Now all that said, To do power sharing, you’d need to replace your wall connector with a J1772 Wall Connector. It’s not a huge amount of work for an electrician, and you could recoup some (most?) of the cost by selling your Gen 2 Tesla WC. They are still commanding a good dollar on the used market.

 

[Empty tank]

We use 1 charger we or 2 EV's, The charger has a 16ft cable. why 2 chargers?

 

[dmurphy]

We use 1 charger we or 2 EV's, The charger has a 16ft cable. why 2 chargers?

We also have two chargers - "his" and "hers". Part of the challenge is that we park side by side in the driveway, and the cable from one charger wouldn't reach the car on the other side, so we'd have to shuffle cars around.

Could we get by with just 1? Sure. Is it more convenient to have two? Absolutely.

 

[jjrandorin]

From the little I read about here, tesla does not recommend pairing the J1772 wall connector with the standard wall connector for power sharing. The speculation seems to be because of the charging speed of the J1772 adapter and the "regular" gen 2 one is different (the J1772 one doesnt do 60 amps.

Tesla now selling Gen 2 Wall Connector with J1772 plug

Tesla is now selling a J1772 Wall Connector on the Tesla online store. You can read more about the Tesla J1772 Wall Connector here: J1772 Gen 2 Wall Connector Also, while still showing as Out of Stock the Tesla Corded Mobile Connector has a lower price. The price has been reduced to $400 US...

teslamotorsclub.com

 

[Rocky_H]

From the little I read about here, tesla does not recommend pairing the J1772 wall connector with the standard wall connector for power sharing. The speculation seems to be because of the charging speed of the J1772 adapter and the "regular" gen 2 one is different (the J1772 one doesnt do 60 amps.

Tesla now selling Gen 2 Wall Connector with J1772 plug

Tesla is now selling a J1772 Wall Connector on the Tesla online store. You can read more about the Tesla J1772 Wall Connector here: J1772 Gen 2 Wall Connector Also, while still showing as Out of Stock the Tesla Corded Mobile Connector has a lower price. The price has been reduced to $400 US...

teslamotorsclub.com

More than just "not recommend". I saw the thread where someone tested this, and it literally just won't work. It gives warning beeps that are defined in the manual for it that says it's a mismatch of the amp limit levels, so it's forbidden from operating.

So you have a few choices to share, but they can't be mismatched:

1. Get a used Gen2, so you have two of the same type.

2. Sell your Gen2 and buy two of the J1772 wall connectors that can share. But they can only be on up to a 50A circuit. You would need to change the breakers.

3. Sell your Gen2 and buy two of the Gen3 wall connectors. Then they could share the 60A circuit, but they are Tesla plug handles. You would need to buy one of the 3rd party adapters that can switch that plug end to a J1772.

 

[TydalForce]

This may be a bad idea but figured I'd share it anyway and let you all weigh in (c:
The Gen2 connectors have a dial inside to set the max amperage. If the intelligent sharing won't work between a Tesla-plug Gen 2 and a J1172 Gen2, would it be a valid configuration to have them both set to a lower amp, say 20a each? That way even if they're both in-use simultaneously they won't exceed the breaker & wire rating.

It would unfortunately mean slower charing for both cars all the time, but might be an option?

 

[ArchEtech]

60A service 30A breaker with a 14-30 240 outlet - 22-24 miles of charge an hour.

 

[freeAgent]

You could also consider installing a NEMA 14-50 outlet and using a splitter device like the Neocharge or even a dumb splitter like this one: NEMA 14-50 Y Splitter – EVSE Adapters

The NeoCharge will charge one care and then the other. A dumb splitter will allow you to charge both slowly. The major disadvantage I see to doing that is that you would have to downsize your breaker to 50amps to stay in compliance with a NEMA 14-50 outlet, so your max charging rate would drop from 11kW to 8.8kW. However, that would allow for a lot of flexibility.

 

[MYA1]

Hi on a related question, is there a measurable difference between simply using the existing cables and plugging into a 15 amp socket, and plugging it into a destination charger? My sister, who also has a Tesla model 3, tells me that a neighbour, also with a model 3, claims that he has both and does not see a measurable difference between charging his car through the 15 amp plug and through his destination charger? Can this be right? If so, why would one bother to go to the extra expense of purchasing a destination charger?

 

[a64pilot]

A few points,
First these things we keep calling a chargers, are not chargers, the AC charger is in the car, Whether WC, or destination “charger” or travel “charger” or whatever, they aren’t much more than sophisticated plugs really, they provide a safe connection from the Grid to the cars on board charger.

DC chargers like Superchsrgers are actually chargers, maybe that’s where the confusion come from?

So it doesn’t matter what “charger” you have, if it’s only connected to a 15amp supply, then it can only charge at 15 amps.
Rather than a splitter, I’d rather install a second 14-50 plug

 

[jjrandorin]

Hi on a related question, is there a measurable difference between simply using the existing cables and plugging into a 15 amp socket, and plugging it into a destination charger? My sister, who also has a Tesla model 3, tells me that a neighbour, also with a model 3, claims that he has both and does not see a measurable difference between charging his car through the 15 amp plug and through his destination charger? Can this be right? If so, why would one bother to go to the extra expense of purchasing a destination charger?

There are a few reasons that could be. The simplest one would be that the car tends to remember what speed it was charged at in a given location, so if your sisters neighbor charged with the mobile connector off a 15 amp circuit, then "later" got a wall connector installed (what you are calling the "destination charger" is a wall connector), the car could still be set for the charge rate from the regular plug.

Thats the most simple explanation. Its also possible that someone installed a wall connector on a regular 15amp circuit. Not likely, but certainly possible. We dont know anything about your "sisters neighbor", but both of the above could be the reason.

To answer your other question, "no, its NOT expected that someone charging using a wall connector would be charging at the same 15amp speed as the 15 amp adapter on a mobile connector".

 

[Gauss Guzzler]

Well overnight is overnight @MYA1 so yeah, one could certainly argue that there's "no difference" between the fast and slow home charging options.

But a regular 15 amp socket only supplies 1400 W so a 10 hour overnight charge only nets 14 kWh or about 17% of the car's 80 kWh capacity. That may be fine as it amounts to at least 50 miles of range per day and of course most people are home for much more than 10 hours/day. But obviously it's inadequate for a busy weekend with multiple trips to the airport, etc.

The wall charger is 580% faster so there's no reasonable scenario in which you might need to plan around charging times.

 

[Rocky_H]

Hi on a related question, is there a measurable difference between simply using the existing cables and plugging into a 15 amp socket, and plugging it into a destination charger?

There's some misunderstanding on that. The piece of equipment doesn't really make the charging speed or do anything faster or slower. It just does some sensing and communication and then closes a switch to connect the circuit to the car. So if it's a certain power level of circuit, like 240V and 30A, you will get the exact same charging speed, regardless of what piece of equipment is being used to make that connection.

The wall charger is 580% faster

No it isn't. It is whatever speed that you would get, depending on what level of circuit it's installed on. It isn't necessarily faster or slower. It does have capabilities of possibly being installed on larger circuits than the mobile charging cable, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's so if you don't know what circuit it's on.