Question about home EV charging stations

p911dad · p911dad's Garage

OK, supposing a family where to have both a Tesla and a GM EV. Does that person need two diffferent charging stations, or will one be enough with a cable adapter to fit the different recepticals?

gregpark · 10-27-2021, 07:16 AM

I believe charging receptacles are the same in all EVs by law (for home charging). One charging station will work if you don't mind playing musical chairs with vehicles? I have a 220v station and a 110v station. I seldom charge with the 220

vash · vash's Garage

our tesla came with an adaptor to use at a standard charger. i think i just flip it to go the other way.

we got the Tesla charger tho.

1990C4S · 10-27-2021, 07:20 AM

If there were no common charge cable or adapter, personally I would install for one vehicle, then add a second cable after I passed my inspection. Or if I would add a switching contactor, select between Tesla and GM.

asphaltgambler · 10-27-2021, 07:27 AM

The actual cable-to-vehicle connectors from the 'disperser' (charging station) are the same by Fed standards. But, it would depend on how the disperser is configured. I will tell you that no single disperser is configured for charging 2 at the same time, but rather alternately.

Neilk · 10-27-2021, 07:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gregpark

I believe charging receptacles are the same in all EVs by law (for home charging). One charging station will work if you don't mind playing musical chairs with vehicles? I have a 220v station and a 110v station. I seldom charge with the 220

You really don't use the 220V? 220V is about 8 times faster than 110v for our Tesla.

gregpark · 10-27-2021, 07:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neilk

You really don't use the 220V? 220V is about 8 times faster than 110v for our Tesla.

If I need a fast charge I use the 220 but I seldom need to. In my mind slow charging a battery is better for the battery life but I could be wrong

MysticLlama · 10-27-2021, 07:58 AM

Most cars convert internally up to the 240v, so there is about a 15-20% efficiency loss on 120v.

On a Tesla you can change the rate of charge and still charge at low amps on 240v, not sure of the options on others.

ErVikingo · 10-27-2021, 08:02 AM

For what its worth, 110 on our eTron takes over 10 hours to charge 90%. 220 only 4 hrs

stevej37 · 10-27-2021, 09:16 AM

Car and Driver had an EV issue this last summer. I think they had an article in there about that.
I'd look it up, but I pitch their mag after reading it now.

Aerkuld · Aerkuld's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by p911dad

OK, supposing a family where to have both a Tesla and a GM EV. Does that person need two diffferent charging stations, or will one be enough with a cable adapter to fit the different recepticals?

It much depends on how much charging you need to do, and that depends on how far you drive on a daily basis.

Is it possible to have one charging station with a J1772 cable? Yes. Tesla has an adapter to convert the J1772 charge cable to their on-car receptacle, and the GM vehicle will have J1772 anyway.
However, if you want to charge overnight you'll have to have one car charge one day, then swap them over the next night. Provided you can go two days on a charge you'll be fine.

We have a full electric plus a plug-in hybrid and have two 220V charging stations. One is a Juicebox hardwired in the garage, the other is one of the 'portable' charge leads which plugs into a dryer outlet. That runs outside on to the driveway. We could manage with one, but two makes it much more convenient.

Scott R · Scott R's Garage

You can link multiple Tesla chargers together for charging multiple cars. They will distribute the load. But first check with your power company. Mine offers the Juicebox and one other at deeply discounted prices plus the install, then money off your charge rate.

p911dad · p911dad's Garage

Thanks guys. We have been considering a Tesla, but may eventually end up with two, and I really don't know much about the actual nuts and bolts of ownership issues. We have a 9 station Tesla fast charger about 8 blocks from here and only see Teslas plugged in there, so does the Tesla have a unique plug or is it software that only allows Teslas to charge there? Or do Tesla owners use a card to activate the charger? thanks

Scott R · Scott R's Garage

At the supercharger you just plug in and it debits the account you have on file. I don’t think Tesla has released the reverse adapters for their Superchargers to other cars yet.

Evans, Marv · 10-27-2021, 04:16 PM

My wife's s Tesla came with a plug in wall charger along with an adaptor to use with non Tesla chargers. We only have the one EV, and I asked the guy at Tesla if we needed the $600 wall mounted one. He said the one that came with the car was all we needed. I did have to order the 230/240V pigtail ($35) to match the receptical (30A) I installed in my compressor outlet. I originally installed a 50A, but it drew right at the limit of my circuit & triped the breaker a couple of times. so I switched to the 30A.

Steve Carlton · 10-27-2021, 04:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by p911dad

We have a 9 station Tesla fast charger about 8 blocks from here and only see Teslas plugged in there, so does the Tesla have a unique plug or is it software that only allows Teslas to charge there? Or do Tesla owners use a card to activate the charger? thanks

Tesla does have a "non-standard" non-J1772 plug that goes into their cars. The Tesla charging stations will recognize your car and charge your account.

I think the cost is higher than doing it at home and the charging is faster, which is hard on your battery and "wears" it out faster. I would just add the Tesla adapter to the J1772 plug in your home station.