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Change to charging cables delivered with UK cars

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arg

Active Member
Supporting Member
Aug 22, 2012
1,920
2,042
Cambridge, UK
Just had a phone call from Tesla, explaining that for the UK they are now including the type2-type2 charging cable with the car (previously £500 option), but no longer including the UMC.

Their rationale is that nobody needs it for home charging due to the availability of the subsidised chargepoints on the government scheme (Chargemaster etc) which works out cheaper than getting a blue 32A socket installed, and if you were thinking of using the 13A adapter on the UMC to charge at friends/relatives, why not get Chargemaster to install a free 16A station there too?

This was presented to me as "adding £700 value to your order" (£500 for the type2 cable, £200 for the parcel shelf which will be free even for those of us that confirmed while it was still £200).

While I do agree with their logic and think this is the right thing for them to do, the "adding value to your order" is a bit rich - the cable must be cheaper than the UMC with all its internal electronics, contactors etc. What is the spare-parts price for an UMC elsewhere in Europe?). Luckily they called me just before I was going to order myself a type2 cable from elsewhere!


Personally, I think I do still want to have an EVSE with a 13A plug to take on trips, but I don't think I will miss the other capabilities of the UMC. This way, I can find or build something dedicated to 13A which within the same weight/bulk as the UMC can have a much longer cable (not having to be rated at 32A) and not suffer the extra strain on the connection that the UMC with its adaptors suffers from: my thinking being that when you are forced to use 13A 'off the beaten track', the socket will often not be ideally located for charging, and I wasn't looking forward to using the UMC with a 13A extension lead.
 
What a very, very, very wise decision from Tesla to make!

Although I use the UMC very often (Used it in the UK as well) I think that for the mass the UMC is NOT safe. Without proper wiring they can easily do something bad by pulling to much current through a cable.

I would however advise you to buy a 13A EVSE. Although the UK has the Ecotricity network you still get to places where there is no EVSE.
 
Not wise at all. I ordered every charging option they offered because I did not want to be stranded somewhere for lack of a cable. Removing the UMC means that I cannot charge at relatives houses while staying there. It means I cannot hook into a blue or red socket at a camp site. With no superchargers in the UK and no chademo adapter, this is extremely bad news if it's true.
 
Similar things are happening in HK and Japan too. In HK Tesla decided to bundle Middle-Power Wall Connector (HK Specific) to all cars and made UMC not available. In Japan, Tesla will bundle HPWC (US spec) and CHAdeMO adapter to all cars and still wondering what to do with UMC, as CHAdeMO DC QC is widely available in Japan. Seems like Tesla wants to avoid risks of home plug charging, especially of high power. In Japan we are regulated to only have 200V 20A max (16A continuous) via outlets...
 
Hong Kong and China both are getting a Wall Connector instead of a UMC. This is because the standard UK plug (BS1363) has very poor thermal qualities and Tesla doesn't want to support it in case of plugs melting etc. At the HK forum you can download the manual for it and check it out.
 
Not wise at all. I ordered every charging option they offered because I did not want to be stranded somewhere for lack of a cable. Removing the UMC means that I cannot charge at relatives houses while staying there. It means I cannot hook into a blue or red socket at a camp site. With no superchargers in the UK and no chademo adapter, this is extremely bad news if it's true.
I have to agree as I use the UMC with a conversion from a Dutch to UK plug most times I visit the UK.
Will Tesla not allow you to have a continental european UMC ? Maybe you should contact them.
 
Design Studio is still showing UMC for the UK (parcel shelf is showing as included).

I don't care if they bundle the UMC and charge for Type 2, or bundle Type 2 and charge for UMC, as long as it doesn't cost any more for both options.
 
Design Studio is still showing UMC for the UK (parcel shelf is showing as included).

I don't care if they bundle the UMC and charge for Type 2, or bundle Type 2 and charge for UMC, as long as it doesn't cost any more for both options.

Yeah it seems a bit counterintuitive as most of us will need the UMC for those occasions when we just aren't anywhere near a Type 2 charger, or it's just more convenient to slow charge overnight (visiting relatives, etc.)
 
Yeah it seems a bit counterintuitive as most of us will need the UMC for those occasions when we just aren't anywhere near a Type 2 charger, or it's just more convenient to slow charge overnight (visiting relatives, etc.)

The way it was pitched to me: "why not get all your relatives to get the free Chargemaster point?"

Which is fair enough, and good to be encouraging people towards the safer option for their regular charging, but I still think I need a 13A plug EVSE for those one-off trips where a bit of destination charging could avoid the need for hanging about for an hour or two somewhere en-route.

Not sure I've got much use for the UMC's blue/red adaptors: although some of my customers probably have suitable sockets somewhere on the premises, they are unlikely to be convenient to the carpark, and the prospect of turning up for a business meeting and fussing around trying to get the car into the loading dock or wherever just doesn't feel like a practical proposition.
 
The way it was pitched to me: "why not get all your relatives to get the free Chargemaster point?"

Which is fair enough, and good to be encouraging people towards the safer option for their regular charging, but I still think I need a 13A plug EVSE for those one-off trips where a bit of destination charging could avoid the need for hanging about for an hour or two somewhere en-route.

Not sure I've got much use for the UMC's blue/red adaptors: although some of my customers probably have suitable sockets somewhere on the premises, they are unlikely to be convenient to the carpark, and the prospect of turning up for a business meeting and fussing around trying to get the car into the loading dock or wherever just doesn't feel like a practical proposition.

Yes I got the same pitch, and I agree you're just not going to find blue outlets near parking spaces, you're much more likely to find a 13A, I'll now have to buy the UMC instead of buying the type-2, no difference.
 
All of this presupposes that your relatives a) have a suitable off-road charging location and b) are happy to support your Toad-Of-Toad-Hall passion for EV motoring. (They may view it as some sort of obsession :)
Asking to recharge a mobile phone in an emergency is one thing. Turning up with an expensive car and then scrounging electrons is something else entirely. Fine if they already have their own EV as it is then a shared interest. Otherwise, just recharge during your journey over to visit them and don't impose EVSE installation on them. Even if it is free.