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Survey of All Alternatives to High Power Wall Connector

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I am trying to figure out what high-power alternatives there are to the Tesla High Power Wall Connector, for charging a Model S. Please post here with all of the options! I am searching for alternatives, because I would like something that is less expensive than the HPWC (less than $1200), delivers more juice (more than 10 kW / 50A breaker / 40A draw), or both.

Criteria: to be on the list, the EV charging station must be a Level 2 charging station, that delivers at least 10 kW (50A breaker / 40A draw @ 240V). Post the make and model, and the street price, preferably with links.

There are a lot of EV chargers on the market, but most are rated to deliver less than 10 kW. Those that are, seem to be way over 10 kW, which is not only a waste unless you have twin chargers onboard the Model S, but puts you in a very different price category (I have seen $3500+ for heavy-duty commercial chargers). Of course, I could just get the Tesla High Power Wall Connector, but the connector end will not be compatible with other EVs on the market.
 
The first question you need to ask yourself is: "How fast do I need to charge?" Once you've answered that question, then the solution for a connector (the charger is in the car) becomes easy.

1. If you charge overnight and seldom drive more than the range of the Model S during a day's driving, then a 14-50 RV plug is the way to go. it delivers 40 amps. You might consider purchasing a second UMC so that there will always be one in the car for away-from-home charging.

2. If you frequently use up the range, come home and need to go out the HPWC is really the most economical.

Most of the commercial chargers are expensive because they are able to take credit cards and monitor the amount of charging. A lot of the non-commercial chargers appear to be expensive because they feel people will pay that much and won't actually do their homework.

Because the standards are still evolving, worrying about compatibility is a bit pointless unless you have a second EV--in which case you get one that is compatible with that.
 
Maybe this is a dumb question, but why would you want to build your own EVSE? The standard charger comes with the car and that fits the criteria in the OP, for more power you'd save a couple of hundred bucks vs a Tesla HWPC but is that worth the risk that a homemade unit might carry given you want to plug in a car that cost $60-$100k?

P.S. What say the insurance company if there's an electrical fire resulting from a homemade EVSE?
 

That's 75A OpenEVSE link is mine, I wrote up the Wiki last night.

I bought the 75A J-1772 cable on eBay for $250, so my cost to build the EVSE was under $675 or little over half the cost of the HPWC. There's very little fire risk, in fact probably less than with a commercial product, as I controlled all of the components that where used, the critical ones are these: 2 pole 100A circuit breaker, #3 AWG copper conductor feeding the input to the 75A contactor, the 75A contactor itself (can't get much better than SquareD), and the U.L. Certified 75A ITT J-1772 cable.

Btw, the unit is only temporarily wired now to a 14-50, while I was testing/debugging it, being hard wired on the weekend.

When Tesla makes the Model S connector available for sale, I might add that in. They already sell the Model S to Roadster cable, but $650 is a bit pricey. If the don't make the connector availble, the J-1772 adapter will work.

Edit: Leviton now has a 75A, 25' J-1772 cable availble for $218.69
75 Amp J1772 Level 2 Electric Vehicle Charge Connector with 25 Ft. Cord, A2055-PEV : J1772 Charge Connector and Cable

Lowers the total cost to $637.83, just a little over half of the HPWC now, I have updated the OpenEVSE 75A wiki to reflect this newly available cable :)
 
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Criteria: to be on the list, the EV charging station must be a Level 2 charging station, that delivers at least 10 kW (50A breaker / 40A draw @ 240V). Post the make and model, and the street price, preferably with links.

This is my solution:

IMG_0998.JPG



It's a surface-mount NEMA 14-50 with a 60 amp load break switch. I'll plug a standard Tesla UMC into this and I'm done. This is fed from a 50 amp 240 volt breaker and can deliver 40 amps continuous. You could get away without the switch, but my garage floor can get quite wet in the winter with the snow and salt brine falling off my cars, so better safe than sorry. Total cost (excl. UMC) under $100.
 
Tesla UMC

To be clear: Tesla UMC = Tesla Universal Mobile Connector, right?

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Maybe this is a dumb question, but why would you want to build your own EVSE? The standard charger comes with the car and that fits the criteria in the OP, for more power you'd save a couple of hundred bucks vs a Tesla HWPC but is that worth the risk that a homemade unit might carry given you want to plug in a car that cost $60-$100k?

I agree. In my case (as the OP), there is a $2000 LADWP rebate for installing a level 2 residential EV charger, if you meet certain criteria. Homemade ones don't count. (The Tesla HPWC counts, but obviously only works with Teslas--and for that matter, only with Model S.) And in any case, I am rational. Cost of charger << cost of damaging car or self if done wrong.
 
It was posted on this forum previously that they would be $500 but the person I talked to could not verify that. They are not yet available, but will be soon as the production catches up with those being delivered with the cars. You can order them through the service department, or on the store online when they are listed there.