Olle
Active Member
NEMA 14-50 seems like a no brainer. If needed for another EV in the future that can't accept 14-50 you could still keep the box and cable in the wall and just swap the receptacle ($10) for another 240V unit
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I have Nissan Leaf currently and have it installed at home. Will this work for Tesla (Model 3) as well?
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It is
EVlink 30 Amp Generation 2.5 - Enhanced Model Indoor Electric Vehicle Charging Station
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It is
Schneider Electric
Model # EV230WS
You could argue that I'm being sort of pedantic, but the cars' built in charger supports 240V, it's just the supplied EVSE that is dumbed down to 120V, as others have pointed out above.
I have a friend who charges her Volt on 120, since the battery is small enough to recharge overnight (and it isn't the end of the world if it didn't, since she can burn gas). For a full BEV, being limited to 120V charging isn't ideal, IMHO. You can only draw 12A continuous on a standard 15A/120V circuit (and that assumes no other shared loads). That's 1.44kW or 14kWh in 10 hours (not counting charging losses). Realistically, the small battery Leaf will take ~24 hours to fully charge on a standard outlet.
Honestly, I think the best options now are:
(1) Do nothing - why spend money to have an electrician do work that you won't need for 2 years or more?
(2) If you already have an electrician doing work in the garage, it may be cheaper to do the wiring now. A 14-50 on a 50A breaker would be a good bet (250+ miles overnight). You could always replace the outlet with something else if necessary. Don't go for a 6-50 (no neutral) - the wiring would be cheaper (1 less conductor), but a lot less flexible.
Another option (related to option 1) could be to swap out the 5-15 outlet for a 5-20 outlet if your garage wiring and breakers can handle it. It's a $5 upgrade that would give you a 33% increase in charging amps over a regular 5-15 outlet.
Hmm. I just remembered you'd need the 5-20 adapter for $45 so that would make the total investment $50. You might be able to use the 5-20 adapter when visiting relatives and possibly upgrade one of their outlets for $5 as well.
Hmm. I just remembered you'd need the 5-20 adapter for $45 so that would make the total investment $50. You might be able to use the 5-20 adapter when visiting relatives and possibly upgrade one of their outlets for $5 as well.
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Trev Page
Member
Not yet and don't expect to know even at the reveal.
Full specs and options won't be known until late in 2017 when the configurator opens. Look how secret they kept the Model X options and specs for all those years.
McHoffa
CyberOwners
It's not that you're being pedantic, your missing the point of the option. You can only install a 240 amp outlet in your garage without an EVSE if you have a cable for the car that supports it. He may not have stated it quite correctly, but it is definitely true that a 240 amp outlet in your garage would not be usable to charge most EVs without buying extra equipment (it's not that they don't support level 2 charging, it's that they don't support plugging into a 240v NEMA outlet like the Tesla UMC does).
True, but would you want to own a "real" EV (ie, not a plug-in hybird) without 240V charging? Would you recommend it to others? If you need to buy a "real" EVSE, so be it. Factor that into the cost.
I gotta believe that charging a non-hybrid BEV on 120V is a "doctor, it hurts when I do this" experience for many (most?) users...
I think you're missing the point of the thread and going off on a tangent. The only original statement was that installing a 240v NEMA outlet is probably the cheapest solution for charging a Tesla (it's what I did), but it has the downside of not being compatible for charging other EVs (which is true, if somebody brought their Leaf to my house they couldn't use the outlet I installed). The OP just slightly misstated the reason (it's not that they don't support 240v charging, it's that they don't come with a cable capable of plugging into a 240v outlet), but the main statement is a fair assessment.
strider
Active Member
Yes. A NEMA 14-50 outlet is the most future-proof you can get. As for placement I would assume that the Model 3 charge port will be on the left rear like the Model S and X. If your panel can't handle 2 50-amp breakers you can run 2 outlets from the same breaker and just take turns charging (that's what my wife and I do now). Or if you end up getting a Volt figure out how long it will take to charge (I'm guessing 2 hours or so at 40A) and have it start charging at 11:00pm and yours at 1:30am (or whenever your off-peak power kicks in.
As Trev Page says we will probably not know anytime soon. However we do know from various comments by JB Straubel and Elon Musk that faster charging is viewed as a critical path element for greater acceptance. We also know that the Model X is supplied with a single 72 A onboard charger. Further we know that DC Fast charging is the forward path for Tesla public charging, so the onboard charges are not relevant from that perspective. A single 72 Amp charger is simpler, cheaper and lighter than two 40's, and in home charger will not really make an appreciable difference anyway. I therefore speculate that Model 3 will end out with a single 72 amp or something like that. In any event almost nobody needs taht capability in a home charger. My P85D is charged at home with 208/30 so actually gets 200/24 or so, in practice. That still will charge me overnight with no problem. In sum, two years out don't worry about it. 208/30 or better will be good enough. If you're having other electrical work done more is better and will have minimal additional cost.
So here is an interesting twist to ask...
I have an old Hot Water Heater line that is run to the front wall of my house. 40A circuit. Placing it outside on the front wall of the house would be easy. Would this be the best option or should I consider upgrading it to a 14-50 ? Given that my panel is pretty full I am thinking to stay with the existing 40A. What would the charging difference between to two be ? I drive very few miles/day - like less than 20 except on the weekends.
I have an old Hot Water Heater line that is run to the front wall of my house. 40A circuit. Placing it outside on the front wall of the house would be easy. Would this be the best option or should I consider upgrading it to a 14-50 ? Given that my panel is pretty full I am thinking to stay with the existing 40A. What would the charging difference between to two be ? I drive very few miles/day - like less than 20 except on the weekends.
That's correct...I apologize for the confusion. Yes, I know that L2 is 240v and is standard for fast charging, but only Tesla gives you the ability to use 240v with the cable the provide when you buy the car. I test drove the 2016 Volt the other day and it was only a 120v cable they provided. So my question was basically which option would be best, given how the 240v outlet would be cheaper than the Tesla wall connector, but neither would work with any other brand of EV. Thanks for all the responses, btw.
As I just mentioned in a previous post I live wit 208/30 for my P85D and always can charge whatever I need overnight. If your travel patterns are as you suggest they will be you're fine as is. Don't change a thing. When your tesla arrives you might want to spring for a Tesla connector so you don't need to use an adapter, but that is certainly not necessary, or even desirable if you might sometimes charge something non-Tesla..
Thanks. That is the conclusion I came to as well but it is good to hear it works from someone with actual experience. I will be doing quite a bit of long distance travel on the weekends but that is what superchargers are for !!
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Also, i live in a Townhouse. Is it better to charge everyday for a little bit or once a week for a couple hours? Or does the car not really care one way or the other ?
That's correct...I apologize for the confusion. Yes, I know that L2 is 240v and is standard for fast charging, but only Tesla gives you the ability to use 240v with the cable the provide when you buy the car. I test drove the 2016 Volt the other day and it was only a 120v cable they provided. So my question was basically which option would be best, given how the 240v outlet would be cheaper than the Tesla wall connector, but neither would work with any other brand of EV. Thanks for all the responses, btw.
The Volvo XC90 T8 comes with the dual voltage TurboCord: 2016 Volvo XC90 T8: First Plug-In Hybrid With 240-Volt Charging Cord
strider
Active Member
You'll be fine. We charge 2 Tesla's on a single 240/30A circuit (24A charging). It charges at 20mi/hr. My commute is 60-miles round trip and my wife's is 30. We take turns charging one car each night starting at 11:00pm (when our cheap power rate kicks in). We have no trouble at all filling up every other night.
We live in an old house. The less you have to touch your panel the better
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Car doesn't care. It's not good to let the car sit with a full battery (100% or what some people call a Range charge) but if you charge to the standard 80 or 90% you can charge every day and it'll be fine to sit until you need it. But if it works better with your lifestyle to just drive it several days and do a long charge that's fine too.
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