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The connectors are much bulkier and the cables are stiffer (not sure if the second thing is a design flaw or an implementation flaw). Since all the manufacture

The connectors are much bulkier and the cables are stiffer (not sure if the second thing is a design flaw or an implementation flaw). Since all the manufactures want to use superchargers they will be forced to handle payments properly (certificates on the car not a flaky payment terminal on the charger). Should help for third party chargers also.

thatfrenchguy 3y ago
If you’ve ever been at a Tesla charging station in the EU you’d know the cables are, in fact, not stiffer :). Likely what will ship in the US is similar to the EU non-Tesla solution, where you just use their app.
pornel 3y ago
Slimmer cables on superchargers are Tesla being clever and pushing more amps over the cable than the cable is rated for, and monitors when the cable overheats. Everyone else seems to do it by the book and has cables thick enough for their max amperage. BTW, CSS2 supports 3-phase AC charging, which is common in Europe, but not in the US. In this regard NACS would be a downgrade for Europeans.
- katbyte 3y ago
  Maybe it’s just me but that sounds like a fire/problem waiting to happen if the temperature sensors fail?
  - rootusrootus 3y ago
    Assuming it's true, then probably the sensors are fail-safe. But I'm not totally convinced Tesla is going over the cable rating. A lot goes into the rating of a particular cable -- everything from conductor material and size to the insulation around the conductors, proximity of conductors, etc. Not to mention the liquid cooling. It's plausible that supercharger cables are rated for more than 600A.
  - SEJeff 3y ago
    Supercharger v1 and v2 cool passively. The v3 and v4 cables are actively liquid cooled. They’re designed to just stop if the sensors fail.
  - jandrese 3y ago
    Maybe, but over billions of charging hours I have not heard of any stories about chargers catching on fire yet. I have to assume that if one of them did catch on fire it would be all over the news, the media is starving for anti-EV stories.
    - katbyte 3y ago
      Your just not looking. 2 min google https://electrek.co/2019/11/18/tesla-supercharger-station-fire/ https://electrek.co/2019/11/18/tesla-supercharger-station-fi... Not to say they are unsafe or anything but it’s not unheard of

thatfrenchguy 3y ago

If you’ve ever been at a Tesla charging station in the EU you’d know the cables are, in fact, not stiffer :). Likely what will ship in the US is similar to the EU non-Tesla solution, where you just use their app.

pornel 3y ago

Slimmer cables on superchargers are Tesla being clever and pushing more amps over the cable than the cable is rated for, and monitors when the cable overheats. Everyone else seems to do it by the book and has cables thick enough for their max amperage. BTW, CSS2 supports 3-phase AC charging, which is common in Europe, but not in the US. In this regard NACS would be a downgrade for Europeans.

katbyte 3y ago
Maybe it’s just me but that sounds like a fire/problem waiting to happen if the temperature sensors fail?
- rootusrootus 3y ago
  Assuming it's true, then probably the sensors are fail-safe. But I'm not totally convinced Tesla is going over the cable rating. A lot goes into the rating of a particular cable -- everything from conductor material and size to the insulation around the conductors, proximity of conductors, etc. Not to mention the liquid cooling. It's plausible that supercharger cables are rated for more than 600A.
- SEJeff 3y ago
  Supercharger v1 and v2 cool passively. The v3 and v4 cables are actively liquid cooled. They’re designed to just stop if the sensors fail.
- jandrese 3y ago
  Maybe, but over billions of charging hours I have not heard of any stories about chargers catching on fire yet. I have to assume that if one of them did catch on fire it would be all over the news, the media is starving for anti-EV stories.
  - katbyte 3y ago
    Your just not looking. 2 min google https://electrek.co/2019/11/18/tesla-supercharger-station-fire/ https://electrek.co/2019/11/18/tesla-supercharger-station-fi... Not to say they are unsafe or anything but it’s not unheard of