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Choosing the Right Charging Options for your Model S

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I have been told at the store in Santana Row that twin/single charger is irrelevant for super charging. The super charger bypasses the onboard chargers somehow and goes straight for the battery.

Yes, this would make sense. It speaks to the extra hardware/software needed for the superchargers. Plus, the rate of charge they imply is higher than even the twin chargers could supply anyways. I think of it as a defibrillator type of shock charge to the battery. Thus, not something you'd want to do on a regular basis.
 
Here's a question for ya'll... according to their website:

"While many of the public stations being installed today can be used at full power with just the Single Charger, you may encounter some high amperage charging stations in the wild. If you plan to take road trips, we recommend outfitting your Model S with Twin Chargers."

I don't plan on taking super long-distance road trips, but I also plan on having this car for 8-10 years, and things will probably change (especially as the kids get older). I get a tinge of the "range anxiety shivers" when I see a note basically saying not all charging stations will be able to give me electrons unless I go with the Twin Chargers. My daily commute is a whopping 6 miles. On the weekend, I usually clock about 40 miles, and then about once a month, we take a trip that covers 150 miles one-way (I'll be able to charge overnight on the long trips without any problem).

This car is already pushing the upper bounds of my budget, and I'd hate to drop another $1500 on the Twin Chargers and then never use that feature. Are there really a growing number of "high amperage charging stations in the wild", or is this hyperbole?
 
PattyChuck, Tesla reps have said in the past that it'd be possible to install the second onboard charger (making it the Twin Charger configuration) after-the-fact.

So, if you see the need for faster charging while on the road and see 80A charging stations popping up around where you want to take long road trips, then, you could always get Tesla to install the second charger at that time. That's what I'm thinking of doing as well.
 
This car is already pushing the upper bounds of my budget, and I'd hate to drop another $1500 on the Twin Chargers and then never use that feature. Are there really a growing number of "high amperage charging stations in the wild", or is this hyperbole?

What area of the country do you live in? Basically, 70A Tesla HPCs are nonexistent for the public outside a few places in California. They're really only at other Roadster owners houses but there may be a few out there. Basically, you're probably better off getting the Supercharger option to future proof your car than the twin chargers, especially if you can install it after delivery and if you have a place to charge after your 150 mile trip (would probably need the 60 kWh pack for that trip anyway so Supercharger would be an option).
 
I have been told at the store in Santana Row that twin/single charger is irrelevant for super charging. The super charger bypasses the onboard chargers somehow and goes straight for the battery.

That is correct. The onboard chargers are only needed to convert AC current into DC current. The superchargers already put out DC current, so that hardware is not needed.
 
I have been told at the store in Santana Row that twin/single charger is irrelevant for super charging. The super charger bypasses the onboard chargers somehow and goes straight for the battery.

Yes, that sounds correct. The Supercharger provides DC 'direct' to the battery. Basically the Supercharger is like having 9 chargers sitting outside of your car waiting to work together to recharge your pack quickly.
 
A high amperage EVSE (eg 80A) will throttle back to 40A if you have a single charger. So it will work just fine at charging your car. It just won't charge it as fast as it would with twin chargers.

I wonder about the supercharge Tesla stations; will they only do the "hurts the battery" defib charge, or will they have an option to charge like a 40A or 80A or whatever--the kind that won't hurt shorten battery life...? I guess we can't know yet....
 
I wonder about the supercharge Tesla stations; will they only do the "hurts the battery" defib charge, or will they have an option to charge like a 40A or 80A or whatever--the kind that won't hurt shorten battery life...? I guess we can't know yet....

Supercharging is all about DC charging. That's what Tesla's network is set to offer as Tesla has repeatedly said. It's for the relatively quick fill-and-go.

The onboard hardware on the 85 kWh setups and which is optional on the 60 is meant for that alone. This is different from the single charger / twin chargers onboard that are meant for the AC charging (at 40 A or 70 A) - the 'less damaging' variety that can be done at J1772 EVSEs and such. Tesla never said that they'd offer such charging stations.
 
Supercharging is all about DC charging. That's what Tesla's network is set to offer as Tesla has repeatedly said. It's for the relatively quick fill-and-go.

The onboard hardware on the 85 kWh setups and which is optional on the 60 is meant for that alone. This is different from the single charger / twin chargers onboard that are meant for the AC charging (at 40 A or 70 A) - the 'less damaging' variety that can be done at J1772 EVSEs and such. Tesla never said that they'd offer such charging stations.
I agree they haven't said they will offer this. But it would be nice if they had a 14-50 outlet or 2 at the stations too.