mxbadboy
New Member
OK, they installed some new Level 3 chargers by my local Target. As an electrical contractor and retired engineer I'm a bit confused why the chargers are labeled as "Up to 250 KW". The rating plate on the charger lists 500 VDC and 350 A. That works out to 175 KW. But it get's more interesting than that. The cord between the charger and car in no way has big enough conductors to carry anywhere close to those amps. Wire's are rated in amps and copper conductors rated for 350 A would be over an inch in diameter each. There's no exception in the electrical code for duty cycle so over amping the wires even for short time is a no go. I then watched a few video's of people charging their Tesla cars and the adjustable amp charging limit setpoint seems to be 35 to 40 amps which makes sense considering the cord conductor limitations. So that works out to 17.5 to 20 KW. Back to my original point. Why are these stations label "Up to 250 KW"?
As a side note all these new chargers have signs that read "For Tesla Vehicle Charging Only". They did install two Chargepoint stations rated at 6.6 KW AC. So much for Tesla letting other brands use their charging stations.
As a side note all these new chargers have signs that read "For Tesla Vehicle Charging Only". They did install two Chargepoint stations rated at 6.6 KW AC. So much for Tesla letting other brands use their charging stations.