Single versus Dual Chargers

Only of the HPWC you are plugged into is also supplying >40A in its feed.

Are you sure the HPWC that you're connected to is such? It could be configured to only feed at 40A

The charging screen displays two numbers for amps. The first is what you are charging at and the second is what is available. Did your screen say 40A/40A or 40A/80A?

Is this your HPWC or someone else's?

If you want to charge at 80 amps, you actually need a 100 amp breaker. Even if you switched your breaker out to 100A, the wiring you have in place now may not be capable of handling it, so you would want to be sure of that first. Finally, the HPWC itself has dip switches inside that need to be flipped to the correct configuration to engage charging at 80 amps.

I would highly recommend consulting with a certified electrician before making any changes to your system.

Tesla S1 said:

Interesting. Just opened panel and dip switch was set to 50A. I have no idea why electrician would have done this. QUESTION NOW is: to take advantage of dual chargers WHAT should I position should dip switch be in?
i.e. I have a choice from 40A to 100A. To be safe, I would presume 80A to not load circuit breaker at 100A. ADVICE?

Click to expand...

The first thing to do is to be sure both 50 amp breakers are actually ganged together rather than going to separate circuits. The second thing is to insure the wiring is the correct gauge. If those are correct, then the manual shows the dip switch settings.

Dude, you do not add up two circuit breaker amperages. Two ganged 50 amp breakers does not add up to 100 amps.

Do not adjust the dip switches.

Either your electrician screwed up and installed 50 amp rated wire, or he screwed up and used 100 amp rated wire, but used a 50 amp breaker.

Either way, you need to understand more about this stuff to fix it...

In particular, changing the dip switches without also swapping out the breaker (and maybe wires) will only result in a tripped breaker.

Right now, you have an HPWC set for a 50 amp circuit, and a 50 amp breaker, which is consistent. The question now is, what gauge of wire did he use?

Cosmacelf said:

Dude, you do not add up two circuit breaker amperages. Two ganged 50 amp breakers does not add up to 100 amps.

Do not adjust the dip switches.

Either your electrician screwed up and installed 50 amp rated wire, or he screwed up and used 100 amp rated wire, but used a 50 amp breaker.

Either way, you need to understand more about this stuff to fix it...

Click to expand...

Can you show me your breakers? I would call an electrician, but I 100% agree with Cosmacelf. I think you are reading 2x50 wrong. My guess is that it's actually a 50A dipole (double pole) breaker ... it's twice as wide as the regular breakers in your panel. But because it's twice as wide and says 50 and 50 on them, it does not add to 100. It's simply a 50 drawing two hot 120v legs to make 240v, with max 80% continuous draw at 40A. Do not change your DIP switches. You will need to have 3 AWG wire and a 100A breaker for full 80A charging.

Stay safe around electricity! Always call an expert to do something that can kill you or light up your house on fire ... or worse: damage your Tesla.

- K

- - - Updated - - -

Here is an example of a dipole 50A breaker. It says 50 twice, but that is not 100A total ... it's 50A, meant for 40A continuous max. draw.

I want to make sure everyone understands how serious this is. It sounds like a 50A circuit. If you change the dip switch settings, the breaker should trip before the place burns down. If you replace the breaker and set the dip switches, there's a high probability of fire. It's a good thing Cosmacelf posted and the OP checked back here before changing any settings.

WRONG! For 80A output, the HPWC would need to be fed by a 2 pole 100A breaker (two 100A breakers with a common handle). You do NOT add amps!

Since you have a two-pole 50A, that means your HPWC is wired for 40A only. I suggest you call your electrician. It's possible your electrical system in house cannot support more than that.