How best to prepare before my Model S comes?

efusco · Dec 15, 2011

I have never had an EV, and I don't live near any of the Tesla dealerships, but I anticipate getting a Model S pretty early after they start rolling off the line (#R77).

I'll clearly need a charger (duh!) and would like to have that in place by the time the car is delivered so I can charge up right away and be ready to roll.

Currently there is a 240V outlet in my house in a pantry immediately adjacent to my garage. I do not know what amperage it is or how to find out. It seems to me that the easiest option would be to have an electrician add an outlet in the garage off of that particular line. But looking forward I think we might, one day, buy a second EV and I'm wondering if the smarter move is to have a separate line from the source that I can run directly to the garage at 40 amps and then have 2 240V outlets installed specifically for EV chargers. The other reason to consider a separate line is that I hope, one day, to have PV and/or wind turbine installed and tied in to offset my electrical use for the car(s).

But, if I install a standard 240V outlet, can I plug the charger directly into that or does the charger have to be hard wired?

If hard wired can/should I still have them run those lines and just leave them unconnected until I get the charger?

Will the charger be available for purchase prior to my getting the Model S or do they come together? Is the price higher if purchased separately? How does that work.

Any other advice or suggestions I haven't considered above?

Mycroft · Dec 15, 2011

Firstly, the "charger" is built into the car, so all you need is a receptacle to plug it into.

Best would be a 50 amp receptacle, but a 220v 30 amp would do fine.

If you want to charge both cars at the same time, you'd need two separate circuits.

efusco · Dec 15, 2011

Mycroft said:
Firstly, the "charger" is built into the car, so all you need is a receptacle to plug it into.

Best would be a 50 amp receptacle, but a 220v 30 amp would do fine.

If you want to charge both cars at the same time, you'd need two separate circuits.

I knew someone would bust my balls on the EVSE/Charger thing, but yes, I do understand that....guess I just like saying charger.

So, I'll see if 50 amp is an option and 2 circuits.

Dan5 · Dec 15, 2011

This is what I'm doing to "prepare"
Installing a 50 A 220 breaker in the garage, leaving wires exposed and breaker "Off" until I get the specs on the plug
Sheet rocking and painting the garage
Epoxying the garage floor

Mycroft · Dec 15, 2011

Sorry, didn't mean to bust any balls.

At a minimum, the car will come with a 110v cable and a 220v cable, so the most you'd have to buy would be a set of receptacle adapters for the various plugs.

The HPC that you may have been referring to will probably handle up to 90 amps and will be hard wired on its own circuit. It would be pretty, convenient, and be able to charge the car up in a few hours, but it would be overkill for most of us. Of course for those fortunate enough to be able to wire one up outside their garage, travelers would be ver grateful!

widodh · Dec 15, 2011

Dan5 said:
This is what I'm doing to "prepare"
Installing a 50 A 220 breaker in the garage, leaving wires exposed and breaker "Off" until I get the specs on the plug

Don't you have a end-cap for wires?

To the TS, for your convenience I'd suggest you might want to buy a HPC 2.0. Sure, you could just take a NEMA 14-50 outlet and always use the "Mobile" connector, but a wall-mounted EVSE with fixed wires seems safer to me and also more practical for daily use.

Robert.Boston · Dec 15, 2011

Dan5 said:
Epoxying the garage floor

Presumably a bright, glossy white so that the Model S will feel at home?

efusco · Dec 15, 2011

Will the plug be on the driver's side rear part of the Model S?

Robert.Boston · Dec 15, 2011

efusco said:
Will the plug be on the driver's side rear part of the Model S?

Yes, it is.

efusco · Dec 15, 2011

Robert.Boston said:
Yes, it is.

Thanks, I thought I remembered that. That's unfortunate b/c it's a pretty bad location considering my garage design. How long is the cord on the HPC/EVSE/Charger?

Mycroft · Dec 15, 2011

Unfortunately, we don't know yet.

Robert.Boston · Dec 15, 2011

efusco said:
Thanks, I thought I remembered that. That's unfortunate b/c it's a pretty bad location considering my garage design.

Could you back into your garage? Most people drive in head-first, then need to back out, but it's not usually harder to back in, then drive out directly.

efusco · Dec 15, 2011

Robert.Boston said:
Could you back into your garage? Most people drive in head-first, then need to back out, but it's not usually harder to back in, then drive out directly.

I could, but it's going to be pretty tight. The current HPC (for the Roadster) has a 25' cord, if the one for the Model S is that long I could install on the back wall and it would be out of the way and not an issue....IF I have a dedicated circuit installed. If I have to run it off of the outlet I mentioned in the first post it's going to run directly across the area we walk by to get to/from the cars and in and out of the garage.

I think, this Spring, I'll start looking into a dedicated circuit. Looking at the info in the Tesla Store online site it appears there's a HPC capable of handling up to 90 amps and the HPC states a max rating of 70 amps....so I'll see if I can target that.

Jkam · Dec 15, 2011

Currently there is a 240V outlet in my house in a pantry immediately adjacent to my garage. I do not know what amperage it is or how to find out.

Usually if you look at the electric meter to your house, it'll indicate the volt/amp service coming into your house.

Robert.Boston · Dec 15, 2011

Jkam said:
Usually if you look at the electric meter to your house, it'll indicate the volt/amp service coming into your house.

That won't tell Evan the amperage to that outlet, though. Usually 240V outlets have a dedicated circuit off the breaker box; look for a doubled breaker and read the amperage on it. As a rule of thumb, you shouldn't load more than 80% of the stated breaker limit, so a 50A breaker indicates 40A of useable current at the outlet.

Dan5 · Dec 15, 2011

Yeah, did endcap the wires, but that's standard for any wiring until I attach it to the outlet. The breaker is "OFF" so I wouldn't have to worry either way. Hardwiring the charger is definitely the way to go.

The Tesla facility is what gave me the idea to epoxy the floor (although going with grey with blue/black/white flakes)

William13 · Dec 15, 2011

The battery engineer said the cord would be 20 feet. The samples were about 6 feet long though. Obviously everything is subject to change. One small irritation is that NEMA 14-30, 14-40, and 14-50 each use different plugs. I hope adapters are available for all at launch.

doug · Dec 15, 2011

At least a couple threads covering this topic already:

How to wire the garage...question for the electrical engineers in the crowd......
How to design my garage?

richkae · Dec 15, 2011

Dont put dead wires in your walls. Put in a 50amp breaker and connect it to a Nema 14-50 outlet. The outlet is $7 at Home Depot. If you end up removing the outlet and hard wiring in an EVSE you will be out $7. Do what I do with the extra Nema 14-50 outlet - keep it in your trunk and whenever you go somewhere that doesn't have charging offer it to them for free if they will install it.

I have two Nema 14-50 outlets on separate 50 amp circuits in my garage. My Roadster charges from a mobile connector plugged into one of these every day. I plan to do the same with the Model S.
If you think you might want to charge faster in the future, run bigger wire so you can put in a bigger breaker when the time comes. You are always allowed to use heavier wire than you need for your breaker.

Todd Burch · Dec 15, 2011

This weekend I'll be doubling two 15 amp circuits onto a tandem breaker (just about out of space in my panel), then installing a 50A 240v circuit with a NEMA 14-50 in the garage.

I'd rather not back into the garage and due to logistics will be parking on the right side of the 2-car garage, so my cord will run across the back of the car from passenger's side to driver's side.

It should be interesting to see if I pop any breakers when charging. I've got 200A service, but have an instantaneous electric water heater that has 3(!) 240v, 50A circuits. It's probably going to cut it close if someone's taking a shower while I'm charging at 40A, but I doubt the water heater actually draws anywhere near 120A unless several showers are going at once (rare in my house).

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