Which 80 amp charger is best?

[shutterbug]

You need 2 accounts not 2 phones.

Yes, ok. But then you will need to sign out of one account and sign into another, every time you want to access the different charger. A pain

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[FloridaMan655321]

Tesla Universal is really nice. I rely on that software to manage the time when to charge. You can easily tell it to charge if outside those hours. One issue I had was with my wifi as I didn't have a dedicated 2.4ghz band. Just something to be aware of as I do band steering, at my house to push devices to 5ghz. Another reason I went with this is I plan on moving to a NACS vehicle in the future, but then my wife decided to buy a Tesla, so it really worked out great. I set mine to 40 amps just to be safe, even though I had the electrician wire it up for 50 amps. Certainly enough to charge overnight. Another reason I went with this charger was after other companies went bankrupt, I at least know Tesla is in this for the long haul.

 

[astrand1]

I recommend emporia. They are priced well and if you get their refurbished units they carry the same full warranty that new ones do. The app interface is really nice and you can have multiple chargers on it. I have 2 chargers on my app. You can change amperage right in the app and set up schedules etc.

 

[bc1]

I recommend emporia. They are priced well and if you get their refurbished units they carry the same full warranty that new ones do. The app interface is really nice and you can have multiple chargers on it. I have 2 chargers on my app. You can change amperage right in the app and set up schedules etc.

My guess on refurbished units on things like this are returns that some dufus ordered and figured out he couldn't install or something similar and not because it didn't work.

 

[astrand1]

My guess on refurbished units on things like this are returns that some dufus ordered and figured out he couldn't install or something similar and not because it didn't work.

That is my feeling as well. Both looked brand new from what I could see. No witness marks on the prongs from being plugged in etc. I chose to hard wire mine anyway but yeah I’d say they were new.

 

[Zprime29]

The EVSE not doing any AC-DC conversion does not mean it doesn't produce any heat. The conductors and everything they come in contact with will still get very hot. That's why the internet is full of pictures like this:

Using an EVSE and supporting connections that are oversized *should* last longer as they will create less heat from the current flowing through them.

At a smaller scale, I've seen tests for LED lightbulbs that show using a 100W and dimming it down to 60W will last longer than a 60W at full power.

Anyone recall the problems with the FCSP when it first came out over the summer? Mine still has problems with overheating and I have to derate to 60A or it will pause charging after an hour in midsummer.

I'm not an EE so I had to look this up, the power dissipated as heat is calculated using the formula P = I^2 * R. Where I is current and R is resistance. The larger the wire size, the lower the resistance it has, which means the less heat produced. Less heat -> less stress on equipment -> last longer...no?

My wife's XC90 maxes at 3.6kW (16A @ 240V), but I'm still putting in a 40A EVSE for her. Then I don't need to pay extra to upgrade the circuit if/when she decides to go full EV. Having the ability to use 80A is really nice when you forget to plug in one night and wake up to little charge. Just saying. Nothing wrong with the 48A units either, many get by using 30A. I'm a Boy Scout and like to "Be Prepared" so I chose to install my *free* FCSP vs selling it and getting a better EVSE.

Ok, morning ramble done.

 

[reddog21]

Having the ability to use 80A is really nice when you forget to plug in one night and wake up to little charge

It's irrelevant, the car is going to cap itself and ignore all the extra amps.

 

[Maquis]

It's irrelevant, the car is going to cap itself and ignore all the extra amps.

It’s relevant for his 22 Lightning ER!

 

[Zprime29]

It's irrelevant, the car is going to cap itself and ignore all the extra amps.

Not irrelevant for those who can use it and are following the discussion. Nor for future possible EV's that offer it. For instance, Volvo's EX60 is supposed to come with an 80A onboard charger.

 

[PJnc284]

Not irrelevant for those who can use it and are following the discussion. Nor for future possible EV's that offer it. For instance, Volvo's EX60 is supposed to come with an 80A onboard charger.

yup especially in the cold. Last night it was only 24F with the battery 34F. Coolant heater pulled 8kW of the 17ish coming from my FCSP for about 21 minutes to get the battery temp up to ~52F before turning off and allowing the truck to draw full power. Suspect it'd be even longer where it's actually cold.

 

[reddog21]

Not irrelevant for those who can use it and are following the discussion. Nor for future possible EV's that offer it. For instance, Volvo's EX60 is supposed to come with an 80A onboard charger.

All I was pointing out is that it doesn’t make sense to claim an 80-amp charger will charge a car faster if the car is limited to 32 or 48 amps. A lot of people assume bigger is better but that's not always the case.

 

[Zprime29]

My kids went swimming in the neighborhood pool on Sunday So I forget about the cold temp use cases.

@reddog21 My ramble was in response to the side discussion about whether an 80A EVSE would last longer when used at half power versus a 48A EVSE at full power. I hope I didn't imply that 80A would be faster IF you are limited to 48A, your 100% right on that.

 

[mr.Magoo]

The EVSE not doing any AC-DC conversion does not mean it doesn't produce any heat. The conductors and everything they come in contact with will still get very hot. That's why the internet is full of pictures like this:

The reason th internet is full of pictures like that is because the world is full of people who think they know what they're doing.

Something is wrong if your setup is getting hot, poor connections, undesired wiring, etc.

While heat is generally the enemy of electronics, I'm not sure spending $3000 on an overkill charger setup because it'll "last longer" is a solid investment when you can buy four new chargers for the difference in cost, but to each their own I suppose.

 

[JRDM2]

And we don't know if those were properly installed. Receptacles can cause problems if the terminals aren't torqued properly. I bought a torque screwdriver for installing mine because of receptacle problems I read about and the recommended torque turned out to be a lot tighter than I expected.

 

[Roy2001]

48A provides close to 12kWh or 24 miles per hour. That should be enough.

Moving to 60A is a big jump, to wire/breaker and installation cost.

Also recommend Tesla type charger (probably with an adaptor) for future proof.

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