Wall Connector Alternatives

A 32A tail for the Mobile Connector. You can buy one here.

As you may know Tesla has recently dropped the price of the Model 3 and as a result you no longer receive a High Powered Wall Connector (HPWC) with the car. This brings Australia into line with most all other global markets that have never supplied the HPWC by default.

You can still buy one however and at $700 it’s a great deal cheaper than any other EVSE that has such a long lead and 3 phase connectivity.

This leaves the question though - do I need one? The obvious answer, given most global Tesla owners live without one, is no. You can easily make up the consumption from the average Australian commute with either the 10 or 15 amp Mobile Connector tails included with the car.

Is there some middle ground, though? Something a bit less than $700, but a bit faster than the Mobile Connector? Yes - indeed there is.

As mentioned in my Charging Adaptors article the Mobile Connector can do 32A on a single phase. This means that if you only have single phase power in your house (like me) your mobile connector can charge the Model 3 just as fast as the HPWC if you have the right tail and socket.

My socket installation. The socket came from here.

What do I need, then?

A 32A tail for the Mobile Connector, like this, a socket to plug it into, like this, and a box to put it in. The same socket is available in a wall-mount enclosure from PCE, however you’ll have to ring CT-ALS to order it as they don’t list it on their website. I bought a generic box from an electrical wholesaler and mounted it with insulated nylon screws. Your electrician should be able to sort something out.

You can also get a 5 pin tail but then you’ll need a 5 pin socket and three phase power to wire into it. The 5 pin tail still only draws on one of the three phases.

At this point the rest of the infrastructure is the same as the HPWC - cabling, conduit, breakers, an isolator and all the usual bits your electrician can get locally.

In all this will cost you about $150AUD (plus installation)for something that charges your car just as fast as a $700 single phase HPWC.

Another option is the 16A version of the tail and the socket (you’ll have to call CT-ALS as its not listed on the site, but is available). This could be useful if you already have a cable run to your garage that will only do 16A. This will still be a significant improvement over the 8(10)A 12(15)A the included tails can do, and should only cost about $400 for the complete job. Some early cars delivered in Australia, and all of those delivered in New Zealand came with a 16A tail in the car so getting a socket for those is a very good idea.

Downsides?

The only clear one is that you can’t just leave the Mobile Connector in the car. If you’re going away you’ll need to remember to unplug it and take it with you. I don’t think this is a big deal, but it probably will be when you forget to do it :-D