Worth it to Un-Install a Gen 2 charger when moving?

[Dante]

Hi everyone, I think I'm posting this in the right place, but if not, please feel free to move to the right section (seems to be both a supercharging and home charging forum). I'm going to be moving homes, and currently have a Gen2 Tesla Home charger installed. I don't know how much an electrician would charge to un-install the charger in the garage, so that I could take it with me to the new house. I've read some mixed reviews about the new Gen3 HPWC vs. Gen 2. It cost $1k for the charger install here (including wiring from the basement). I assume it probably will cost less than 500$ to just detach the charger from the wall and do whatever needs to be done to leave a safe "stump" plug.

My question: Is it worth the hassle of having the Gen 2 charger removed to take to the new house? I'm not sure how much of a selling point it will be to any potential buyer. We are an all-tesla household, with 2 cars, and we've just bounced between using the HPWC and the regular 120V plug that comes with the car to trickle charge the second car and alternate when needed. I guess potential considerations for the new place are to either use same setup (works just fine for us) vs. using 2 HPWCs to load share. My understanding is that the gen 2 vs 3 HPWC are not compatible with each other, and if you want to load share, you'll need them to all be of the same 'generation'. The Gen 3 charger seems to deliver a slightly slower max charge rate (I think something like 70 vs. 74 km/hr in Gen 2). That doesn't really make a difference to me. Any other reason to prefer one version over the other? Is the hassle of uninstalling the charger worth it given the cost (I'm assuming at least $1-200 to remove the old charger vs. $500 to buy a new one). Anyone been in this situation before/have any advice?

 

[Ostrichsak]

If you don't currently have or don't anticipate getting a car in the future that's capable of taking advantage of the 80A charging capability then the other reasons to go to that effort are pretty insignificant IMHO.

 

[Black306]

Not willing to remove the HPWC yourself? Flip the breaker off, remove the HPWC, and cap the wire ends. It’s pretty easy.

 

[Dante]

I've got 2 model 3's, and the HPWC is on a 60A circuit. I thought there was no benefit beyond 60A for a single HPWC?

Also I'm pretty electrically incompetent. I guess I could search for instructions on how to remove it? I just assumed there was a lot of energy going through that thing, and I probably should leave it to the experts. If it's pretty simple, I guess I could give it a shot... or consider giving it a shot hahaha.

 

[Ostrichsak]

I've got 2 model 3's, and the HPWC is on a 60A circuit. I thought there was no benefit beyond 60A for a single HPWC?

Also I'm pretty electrically incompetent. I guess I could search for instructions on how to remove it? I just assumed there was a lot of energy going through that thing, and I probably should leave it to the experts. If it's pretty simple, I guess I could give it a shot... or consider giving it a shot hahaha.

Unless you own a car that has the "High Speed" charging option (read: 72A or 80A onboard AC Chargers) then nothing I said is relevant to your needs. I don't believe this was even an option though on the Model 3 so the benefits of the Gen2 HPWC are largely meant for those with Model S/X that had the high speed home charging option. I've got older Model S cars, for instance, that both have that option so with the proper Gen 2 HPWC and the proper wiring/breaker I can charge them at 72A or 80A depending on which car it is. If you have a Model 3 and won't care about the lost 5-6ft of cable length you likely won't notice any downside to just buying the new Gen 3 and installing that instead.

That said, turning off the breaker, assuring power is disconnected and then removing the HPWC before capping off the wires isn't a difficult task. If you want, you can get an electrician involved and even have them put in an outlet in it's place since the wiring is already there. Outlets are cheap and if he's already charging the trip fee that shouldn't cost you much more than $20 or so on top of whatever they charge to remove the HPWC for you.

 

[Black306]

I've got 2 model 3's, and the HPWC is on a 60A circuit. I thought there was no benefit beyond 60A for a single HPWC?

Also I'm pretty electrically incompetent. I guess I could search for instructions on how to remove it? I just assumed there was a lot of energy going through that thing, and I probably should leave it to the experts. If it's pretty simple, I guess I could give it a shot... or consider giving it a shot hahaha.

The electrical part is actually very simple; 3 wires (2 hots and a ground). As long as the circuit breaker is off, you should be OK. The HPWC should be visibly powered off, but it would be a good idea (and good habit) to have a voltmeter handy to confirm. I’d say if you are mechanically competent, you could do it.

Disassembly is going to be slightly different whether or not a top entry bracket was used. Here are the install instructions. Disassembly would obviously be the reverse.

https://www.tesla.com/sites/default/files/downloads/wall_connector_installation_manual_80A_en_US.pdf

If the intent is to save money and not hire an electrician, I wouldn’t install an outlet after removing the HPWC. Chances are there isn’t a gang box to mount an outlet and it doesn’t sound like you’re interested in going though that kind of trouble to install a gang box. Plus, a new resident may (a) install another EVSE or (b) not use the circuit at all. In either case, installing an outlet would have been a waste of time and effort.

 

[SageBrush]

Also I'm pretty electrically incompetent.

Open panel
Flip breaker switch
Use screwdriver
* After you remove the face plate, verify wires are de-energized. The simplest way is to buy a ~ $10 doodad that buzzzes near hot wires.
Cap wires or install receptacle

This is monkey level work.

 

[Rocky_H]

Yeah, that's a valuable piece of equipment; of course remove it and take it with you. And this is definitely a case where putting something in is skilled work, but taking something apart isn't.

I wouldn’t install an outlet after removing the HPWC.

Other people have described the steps. Make sure to turn off the breaker, and then just start unscrewing and unhooking things. And yes, I would probably not bother putting some specific outlet on there. Having the wires already in place is the main benefit to the next owner. They can mount whatever they want on it if they want to use it. So I would just buy a bag of those little screw-on wire nuts to cap the wires, and then just buy one of those blank face plates that you can screw in over the hole, and call that good.

 

[SilverSp33d3r]

Yes it’s worth it to take the wall connector with you.
Follow the steps in the Manuel pages 19-22. Technically to install but just reverse the process. Here is a link
https://www.tesla.com/sites/default/files/downloads/wall_connector_installation_manual_80A_en_US.pdf

I see that your in Canada but the process should be the same.

 

[F14Scott]

Since you have a Gen 2, if you want to load share at the new place (and it's a rely nice feature; I just started doing it with my wife's TM3+ and my brand new MINI Cooper SE (with a Tesla to J-1772 adapter)), you'll need a second Gen 2, and they'll need to be connected together with a communication cable. However, Tesla sells and then doesn't sell the Gen 2 in their store, so you may need to hunt one down.

The Gen 3s are for sale, and they are purported to eventually load share via WiFi, but that functionality will be added via OTA update to the HPWC at a later date, supposedly.