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Supercharging idea--Silly, stupid, impractical or not?

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cpa

Active Member
May 17, 2014
3,802
5,876
Central Valley
Currently two stalls share the same master arrangement so that the second to plug in receives a lower charging rate unless or until the first to charge begins to taper. Sometimes the arrangement is 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B and sometimes the arrangement is 1A, 2A, 1B, 2B. A driver won't know until he gets out to charge how the pairing is fashioned.

This fact is well-known to experienced drivers, but the communication to new owners is largely word-of-mouth, forum-based, or after a distressed call to the Tesla help center. And could easily be forgotten even though we knew it at one time.

Additionally, (and I hate to sound doom-and-gloom), but the cables that are inserted into our cars will become worn, damaged, dirty/dusty or perhaps even vandalized by punks or coal-rollers or other jerks.

So, I got to thinking, what if the charging cable came with our cars? Have a cable with two male plugs, one for the car, and one to plug into a receptacle on the Supercharger? Each Supercharger stall would have two plugs (the A and B,) so a driver would know immediately which space(s) would be available for a faster charge rate. The placement of the stalls could be in the center of the parking spaces to allow for one driver to back in and one to drive in. Design the software so that you plug into the Supercharger first, then the car. When done, remove the plug from the Supercharger, then remove the cable from the car, so you don't leave your cable behind.

Another advantage might be a reduced supply cost as an 8-bay Supercharger would only need 4 stalls (I don't know anything about the costs for equipment or labor, so I could be wrong here.)

This might possibly reduce maintenance and upkeep and vandalism issues, since there are no charge cords for Tesla to worry about.

One disadvantage might be with snow removal at snowy locations. Another possible disadvantage might be dealing with the weight and bulkiness of this portable charging cable, and placement in the trunk.
 
Currently two stalls share the same master arrangement so that the second to plug in receives a lower charging rate unless or until the first to charge begins to taper. Sometimes the arrangement is 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B and sometimes the arrangement is 1A, 2A, 1B, 2B. A driver won't know until he gets out to charge how the pairing is fashioned.

This fact is well-known to experienced drivers, but the communication to new owners is largely word-of-mouth, forum-based, or after a distressed call to the Tesla help center. And could easily be forgotten even though we knew it at one time.

Additionally, (and I hate to sound doom-and-gloom), but the cables that are inserted into our cars will become worn, damaged, dirty/dusty or perhaps even vandalized by punks or coal-rollers or other jerks.

So, I got to thinking, what if the charging cable came with our cars? Have a cable with two male plugs, one for the car, and one to plug into a receptacle on the Supercharger? Each Supercharger stall would have two plugs (the A and B,) so a driver would know immediately which space(s) would be available for a faster charge rate. The placement of the stalls could be in the center of the parking spaces to allow for one driver to back in and one to drive in. Design the software so that you plug into the Supercharger first, then the car. When done, remove the plug from the Supercharger, then remove the cable from the car, so you don't leave your cable behind.

Another advantage might be a reduced supply cost as an 8-bay Supercharger would only need 4 stalls (I don't know anything about the costs for equipment or labor, so I could be wrong here.)

This might possibly reduce maintenance and upkeep and vandalism issues, since there are no charge cords for Tesla to worry about.

One disadvantage might be with snow removal at snowy locations. Another possible disadvantage might be dealing with the weight and bulkiness of this portable charging cable, and placement in the trunk.


L2 charging in Europe work this way. But it is a more expensive solution, even factoring in maintenance and replacement of permanent installs.

This is big cable, it isn't cheap. Having connectors adds even more cost. And Tesla would have to supply one with every single car (~40,000 so far). Versus supplying a cable with one less connector for every supercharge station (150 locations * 8 stalls = 1200 total cables). Much cheaper going permanent install.

Not to mention that carrying that cable in my car would be a real hassle.