AMP and Charging Question

I thought the Prime was capped at 12 amps on both its charging voltages, so both of your ampacity choices above are plenty more than enough at the moment.

No idea on the future-proofing ...

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PS. OK, I see the chart showing different rates (2020 Owner's Manual, p. 134):

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Different max rates, but same reduced rate of 8A when lowered in the settings menus.

 

The Prime can handle a circuit that big, but the maximum it will draw is 16 amps.

Neither 32A nor 40A is future proof, but for the $50 difference I'd get the 40A. That will max out the capability of the circuit and may be a good selling point when you sell the home.

 

I would just get the cheapest level 2 charger that fits your outlet and upgrade later if you get a different car that can charge at a higher amperage. Since the Prime is only 16A max, higher amperage chargers won't make it charge any faster.

 

Since an outlet is already in place, I'd lean towards getting a 16amp EVSE for the Prime. The price difference is greater than $50. The EVSE that comes with a Tesla is already Level 2, and there are adapters available if your outlet doesn't work with the ones supplied with the car. Unless you are planning on getting a non-Tesla in the near future, I say save the money.

They are actually separate circuits? Guess the previous owner had an awesome workshop.

Technically, the stock EVSE only draws 12amps, but does work with the higher voltage. Charging will be much faster than Level 1, but a little slower than if it done at 16amps

 

i would go rob's route for 20 bucks, it seems to be working out well

 

Purely on price, yes, but there is a convenience factor to having a dedicated home EVSE that only needs to be plugged into the car and hung back on the wall.

 

Yep, build your own for roughly ~$20 dollars....

If you're not comfortable with building, I can make you one.

Your charging time will be roughly ~2:25 to ~2:28 depending on temperature.



Rob43

 

That may involve a lot of money to upgrade. For the $50 difference, you can be at the upgrade.

 

$50 is a small amount for an upgrade, if the 32A wasn't already an upgrade over the max the Prime could use. 16A to 32A is nearly $200.

Since we are considering future needs, a fair question is what had become of the Prime if/when this plug in needing a higher amp charger arrives. It could still be part of the household fleet at the time. Then a second EVSE is going to be needed.

 

Arctic, just a couple of details---

The charger is built inside the car. The charging station is what you're referring to, also called an EVSE. It has a smart controller that communicates with the car's charger and supplies the amperage needed at each stage of charge. The Prime charger will ask for a max of 16 amps on the 240 volt system, then taper off later. (you have 240 volts, not 220.)

Why buy the Level 2 EVSE? (240 volt unit.) It doesn't do a better job than the 120 volt unit supplied with the car, it just does it faster. Even at Canadian gasoline prices, it's hard to ever pay off the added cost. On the highway we get about 60 mpg after the battery is depleted. You're on your own to figure your kilometers per liter.

Some are using the original Toyota power cord with 240 volt power. It seems to work well. A plug adapter (pig tail) is needed to adapt from the original NEMA 5-15 plug to whatever is needed on the 240 volt receptacle. Rob43, above, will make one for you for US$49.

 

Or Tesla since the, I want to say beginning, but don't know what the original Roadster had.

@Arctic_White has the advantage that the wiring and outlets are already in place. If a second EVSE is wanted for convenience, the additional cost for a Level 2 that meets the Prime's needs isn't much over a Level 1. It might even be cheaper than Toyota OEM.