If you have a Tesla and you would like to install your own wall charger, you’re wondering whether you will be able to safely use it during a winter storm or during a rainstorm. You may be worried that the high level of current that is going into your vehicle will be enhanced if the connectors are wet.
Is a Tesla charger waterproof? Tesla chargers are waterproof. They have been designed to work correctly when confronted with different weather hazards such as rain, sleet, and snow. Nevertheless, if your charger is covered in snow, make sure that you brush it off so that it would be seated correctly into your Tesla’s port during charging.
Is the Tesla home charger waterproof?
The Tesla home charger that people purchase is waterproof. In most cases they are installed within a garage that is attached to their house which makes the electrical connections easier to accomplish. The chances of water getting into the charger are a lot less than if you were to install your home charger outside.
Nevertheless, you can install the charger at the side of a house or even on a post that is adjacent to the driveway. A lot of people feel that this is where the danger of water can come into play since the charger is then exposed to the elements. However, the wiring mechanism is well designed providing more than adequate protection. The chance of electrical shock is not there.
If you’re wondering whether a home charger that is wet will damage your car, the likelihood is low. Even when wet, the charger will maintain the correct amperage and the charge time for your vehicle will be the same.
I read a post on a forum from one owner that stated that he was worried about installing his home charger outside. He only has a one car garage. His wife’s car was the one that was always in the garage. He never was concerned about charging his car outside because the manual states that charging outside was fine if the charger is not immersed in the water. Of course, the chances of this happening are zero.
One extreme case that I read about regarding external installation of the charging port was in another car forum. This particular owner had to deal with hurricane Irma, but his charger was still intact. Imra had intense winds along with 10 to 50 inches of rain. These conditions would have damaged easily some other electrical devices. Nevertheless, zero damage was reported by this Tesla owner to his charger or to his ability to continue to charge outside.
If you are a Tesla owner that has not installed a home charger yet, you might wonder if the mobile charger that comes with a Tesla is waterproof.
Is the Tesla mobile charger waterproof?
The mobile charger by Tesla is not constructed as well as a home charging unit that can be purchased for a high price. For this reason, I feel that it might not be as waterproof as a wall model. I searched on forums to find out if people are having problems with their mobile charger during rainstorms.
One owner explain that he’s not worried about water entering the charger that’s mobile because a few drops of the water is not going to cause a short circuit. Plus, he feels that since people are branching to superchargers during rainstorms, that this mobile unit should be fine. Nevertheless, it is not sealed as well is the connectors with a supercharger that cost over $10,000 to install.
Another Tesla owner said his first mobile charger wasn’t charging correctly. He had attached an extension cord to it and error messages started to appear after a heavy rainstorm. He had stated that no such problems occurred with this Model S mobile charger even during severe rainstorms.
Tesla replaced his mobile charger because they felt that it was defective. However, this second one had the same problem a few weeks later. The Tesla owner was becoming very frustrated because he thought a company like Tesla would provide clients with a charger that well insulated from moisture.
The following Tesla owner had problems with his mobile charger during a rainstorm. His charger stopped charging and then it displayed an adapter error. You may be wondering if he had the whole unit exposed to the rain or just the connector that plugs into the Tesla. He stated that it was just the connector to the Tesla that had been exposed to the rain.
I noticed that in the manual for Tesla mobile connector there’s a warning that says you should not expose it to snow, severe rain, use it during an electrical storm or any other extreme weather condition. They also suggest that you always protect it from water and moisture.
If you are planning to install a 50-amp outlet for charging your Tesla, you will need a outdoor rater receptacle. I recommend the TALON LGP1S 50-Amp receptable. Click here to see the pricing on Amazon.
If you have any problems with Tesla mobile charger, it is advisable to notify a Tesla Outlet to have it tested. If it’s just being exposed to an average rainstorm, it should work fine in most cases. For instance, I read about a customer in Oregon that didn’t have any issues even though it can rain for weeks on end in that State.
Is it necessary to have an outdoor cover over your tesla mobile charger?
You may have read forum stories of people that had used the Tesla mobile charger in the rain without incident. However, there are owners that have been worried about charging their Teslas overnight during a rainstorm that could last for hours. Many people have suggested that you should add a cover to your charging unit instead of placing it inside your home or your garage to protect it from a long rainstorm. It is evident that you cannot let it sit in water because any electrical device will have some current escaping from it no matter what degree of insulation is added to the wiring.
A protective cover doesn’t seem to be a device that’s offered by Tesla to protect your mobile charger completely. Tesla does state that it is best not to let it sit in rain or to allow it to be stored in a snowy environment. The warnings are to protect themselves so that they will not receive tons of defective mobile chargers just because of weather conditions. Nevertheless, there are products that you can purchase that will protect your mobile Tesla charger.
I scoured Amazon and I found a couple of products that were designed for protecting Broadband wiring. Nevertheless, if the interior is large enough to contain your whole mobile connector, that might be adequate instead of having to store it in your Tesla on a constant basis.
For instance, the Extreme Broadband heavy duty waterproof multi-purpose enclosure might be exactly what you need to protect your mobile charger from rain. Click here to view pricing on Amazon. I’m not suggesting you keep your charger in this enclosure while you’re charging, but when you are not charging it is an innovative idea to store it in an enclosure to protect it from snow and water. This heavy-duty enclosure will protect your charger for years into the future. It is easy to use because it allows you to snap in place cabling without having to use screws.
If you are on the move, using an enclosure would not be a good plan because of possible theft. Nevertheless, if you are parked for most of the day due to work, protecting the cable during rain is advisable. I read a report from one owner that stated that he needed to protect his UMC charger while at work. The charging ports at his work location were not protected from rain and he worked in a city that had to deal with a lot of rain.
To protect his mobile charger, he simply secured it in a waterproof bag while it was charging using zip ties. You would need to make sure that the bottom remains open so that any trapped water could escape easily. This might sound like a primitive solution, but he reported that it worked fine even during a heavy downpour.
A plastic bag is reliable during rain, but I suggest that you use an enclosure to store your charger for longer periods of time when not in use. This option is less of a hassle rather than storing your charger in your Tesla each time that you unplug it.
Unplugging the mobile charger constantly to store it is another concern that some owners had. They believed that it would affect the connectors over the long-term. Since I haven’t read any reports of this damage occurring, I can assume that the construction of the connectors is quite stable.
The connectors for the mobile unit are stable, but what about the supercharger ports. Is a supercharger station immune to moisture?
Can you use a Tesla supercharger in the rain?
I noticed in the Tesla manual that the response to the question whether or not you can charge a Tesla at a supercharger station in the rain was not answered directly. The manual states that Teslas are designed to be charged even during inclement weather conditions. There’s no mention of the reliability of the superchargers during rain. Nevertheless, because of the expense involved in setting up a supercharger, the internal components are protected from rain.
Here is a video explaining whether it is dangerous to charge at a supercharger during rain:
One element of the supercharger is that the power from it will be disconnected as soon as you press the button on your plug to disconnect the DC power. If you are paranoid about electricity, you can have your app shut off the DC power before you even touch the cable; that way you know for sure that no power is entering into your Tesla.
