120 mile commmute / short term rental (1-2 years)

[Venomized]

I commute about 120 miles a day 6x a week. I’m renting a townhouse I’ll probably be living in another year or two max. My P3D will be in the driveway unfortunately. Here is the panel pictured located in the garage. What would be my best option based off the panel I’m showing and not spending too much since it’s a short term rental? I’m not sure I can convince the owner to split the cost.
I will also need to run the wire connector under the garage door at night because of HOA rules.

 

[eprosenx]

I commute about 120 miles a day 6x a week. I’m renting a townhouse I’ll probably be living in another year or two max. My P3D will be in the driveway unfortunately. Here is the panel pictured located in the garage. What would be my best option based off the panel I’m showing and not spending too much since it’s a short term rental? I’m not sure I can convince the owner to split the cost.
I will also need to run the wire connector under the garage door at night because of HOA rules.

Most likely your best solution is to add a 50a breaker and a NEMA 14-50 receptacle in the garage. You will need to figure out how to run the cord out of the garage without damaging it with the garage door (this is very important).

There must be a main electrical disconnect (probably with the meter) somewhere on the outside of the house? Can you go take a picture?

Also, if you are comfortable and can do it safely I would like to see pictures of the panel with the cover removed. Also, pictures of the area around the panel and an orientation of how far it is from the panel to the garage door. Would a receptacle right below the panel work, or will you need to run conduit?

 

[eprosenx]

I commute about 120 miles a day 6x a week. I’m renting a townhouse I’ll probably be living in another year or two max. My P3D will be in the driveway unfortunately. Here is the panel pictured located in the garage. What would be my best option based off the panel I’m showing and not spending too much since it’s a short term rental? I’m not sure I can convince the owner to split the cost.
I will also need to run the wire connector under the garage door at night because of HOA rules.

FYI, this is the breaker you probably will end up with:

GE Q-Line 50 Amp 1 in. Double-Pole Circuit Breaker-THQP250 - The Home Depot

Looks like your panel has plenty of space. I am guessing you are on a 100a service main. I would not be concerned about the load with a 32a UMC based on what I am seeing in your panel.

120 miles a day is a pretty hefty commute. You will need four hours of charging a night on a 14-50 using a UMC Gen 2. Totally doable though as long as you plugin every day. If you owned the house and planned to live there long term I would probably do a Wall Connector.

So your parts list might be as simple as:

• The breaker listed above
• Some Romex 6-3 wire (6 gauge three conductor plus ground)
• A double wide receptacle box (sturdy constuction)
• A NEMA 14-50r receptacle
• Whatever strain relief clamp is needed to exit the panel, and potentially one to enter the receptacle box if it does not have them integrated

This list changes a bit if you need to end up doing surface mount conduit and/or a receptacle to get the receptacle closer to the door. It is silly cheap regardless.

 

[xyeahtony]

"permit required for a/c units" leads me to believe youre going to need permission and a permit to get a 240V outlet installed for your car as well.

As others have said, there is room for a 50A breaker and a NEMA 14-50 outlet installation. If they say no, then you're going to have to buy a long nema 14-30 extension cord and use your dryer outlet, which a lot of apartment people use.

 

[MikeATL]

I will also need to run the wire connector under the garage door at night because of HOA rules.

The closing on most garage doors can be adjusted to control where they shut - normally you’d want as close to the ground as possible but you may be able to adjust it so it stops a couple inches short which would allow the UMC cable to safely run under the door.

 

[NickFie]

The closing on most garage doors can be adjusted to control where they shut - normally you’d want as close to the ground as possible but you may be able to adjust it so it stops a couple inches short which would allow the UMC cable to safely run under the door.

When I ran UMC under garage door to charge at a cousin’s house, ran cable between two pieces of scrap wood. They were as thick as the cable, stopped garage door from pinching it.

 

[MikeATL]

When I ran UMC under garage door to charge at a cousin’s house, ran cable between two pieces of scrap wood.

Good idea... I’m sure the garage door doesn’t stop at precisely the same spot every time. Adjustment to the closing settings likely still needed as it may bounce back up if it comes in contact with an obstacle (the scraps of wood.)

 

[golfpilot]

Is there somewhere on the other end of the commute you can plug into a 110? If its always on a 110 while you aren't driving, you may be able to survive on 110. Mixed with some occasional supercharging you'd be all set

 

[Darmie]

We were able to survive with 110V for a year when we had the S. Driving that far on your commute will not work so well.

 

[COrocket]

If you drive 120 miles a day and recharge 5 mph you’d have to be plugged in 24 hrs a day to keep up....OP probably needs a faster charging setup to be practical

 

[Venomized]

Thank you everyone for the replies. I have plenty of supercharger stations during my commute that I can use (3 total). From what I read that’s not the best way to charge your vehicle daily. If I were to do that as my main charging source for the next two years, how much damage can I do to the battery?

 

[Venomized]

Most likely your best solution is to add a 50a breaker and a NEMA 14-50 receptacle in the garage. You will need to figure out how to run the cord out of the garage without damaging it with the garage door (this is very important).

There must be a main electrical disconnect (probably with the meter) somewhere on the outside of the house? Can you go take a picture?

Also, if you are comfortable and can do it safely I would like to see pictures of the panel with the cover removed. Also, pictures of the area around the panel and an orientation of how far it is from the panel to the garage door. Would a receptacle right below the panel work, or will you need to run conduit?

I’ll try to get some pics this weekend. The distance from the panel to driveway is a about 25-30ft at most.

 

[MikeATL]

If I were to do that as my main charging source for the next two years, how much damage can I do to the battery?

I’m not sure if that’s true...have read conflicting information on overuse of Superchargers. Charging all the way up to 100% every time seems to not be recommended. In general, consuming and recharging your battery uses up its useful life, but that’s just how it is with any battery.

The bigger issue is do your really want a supercharger stop added to an already long commute. I’d think that would get old quick. Charging while you sleep is totally different. You need to just invest in a 14-50 outlet (or 14-30 If capacity limited.) Have a professional installation job done and get your landlord to agree that you won’t have to remove it when you leave (sell them that this is an improvement to their property that future tenants will benefit from.). Get that in writing!

 

[smatthew]

Thank you everyone for the replies. I have plenty of supercharger stations during my commute that I can use (3 total). From what I read that’s not the best way to charge your vehicle daily. If I were to do that as my main charging source for the next two years, how much damage can I do to the battery?

It's my assumption that you could limit potential supercharging damage by always picking a paired supercharger station - thereby limiting the kW rate. I recall reading some research on lithium ion batteries that basically stated charging too slow or too fast caused more potential cell damage. Based on that research (which I can't find at the moment), the urban 72kW superchargers may be best for long term battery health.

In the end does it really matter? Probably not. The car has a super smart battery management system that manages the battery way better than I can.

 

[eprosenx]

It's my assumption that you could limit potential supercharging damage by always picking a paired supercharger station - thereby limiting the kW rate. I recall reading some research on lithium ion batteries that basically stated charging too slow or too fast caused more potential cell damage. Based on that research (which I can't find at the moment), the urban 72kW superchargers may be best for long term battery health.

In the end does it really matter? Probably not. The car has a super smart battery management system that manages the battery way better than I can.

Lol, sounds like a great way to not make friends at supercharger stations (i.e. intentionally slow down their charge too).

The reality is that once both cars are over some state of charge the supercharger can’t use all of its capacity anyway. It is only when one or both batteries are pretty empty that it car use the entire capacity of the supercharger.

I wonder if Tesla will ever implement some kind of a priority for cars that showed up first? Like whoever hooks up first gets all the power they want and the second hookup gets he remainder.

 

[smatthew]

I wonder if Tesla will ever implement some kind of a priority for cars that showed up first? Like whoever hooks up first gets all the power they want and the second hookup gets he remainder.

That's how it works.... so no you're not slowing down the other persons charge.

 

[Venomized]

Thanks again for the replies! I got approval from my landlord to install only in garage. I snapped some more pics of the outside panel and side of the wall I would like to install outlet or HPWC. I have a friend who is an apprentice electrician and says he’s comfortable to install the equipment. He’s been doing work at google and other work locations for the past year. If I went the HPWC route and installed it on the right side of the door portion of the wall. When I do move out, maybe I can just uninstall it and take the HPWC with me? My buddy would do the work of course.

 

[MikeATL]

When I do move out, maybe I can just uninstall it and take the HPWC with me?

Since it’s not your house, I’d just do a NEMA 14-50 which requires you to do nothing when you leave and is also the cheapest.

If you decide you really want the wall connector, use a 50A breaker for conversion to NEMA 14-50 later. I believe the wiring might be different so make sure the wire installed can be used for either not just the wall connector.

 

[eprosenx]

FWIW, I am not a fan of running the cable under the garage door. Likely issues are:

• Crushing the cable
• Damaging the garage door
• Getting critters (mice, etc...) into your garage

You can protect the cable from crushing with wood blocks, but then you would likely need to adjust the limit switches for the garage door close distance/force, though again, it may damage the door to have it make contact only with wood blocks in one spot and not with concrete all the way across.

The rental complicates things, but if it was me, I would want a Wall Connector or receptacle (in water tight box) outside the house if that is where you are charging. I also would not want to plug/unplug the UMC every day if using a 14-50 receptacle and so the question is- How safe is your neighborhood to leave a $300 thing sitting outside? Maybe find a way to secure it?

I personally love my wall connector outside, but yeah, the rental sucks.

Any chance you can find a way to park in the garage? That makes this vastly simpler...

Oh, and if you leave and take your HPWC with you, you can just wire nut off the wires in an electrical box with a cover over it. Someone else later can install their own EVSE or receptacle on a proper sized breaker.

Note to fully make use of the charger on the car you want a 60a circuit or above if using a HPWC. Mine is on a 60a breaker.

 

[Venomized]

FWIW, I am not a fan of running the cable under the garage door. Likely issues are:

• Crushing the cable
• Damaging the garage door
• Getting critters (mice, etc...) into your garage

You can protect the cable from crushing with wood blocks, but then you would likely need to adjust the limit switches for the garage door close distance/force, though again, it may damage the door to have it make contact only with wood blocks in one spot and not with concrete all the way across.

The rental complicates things, but if it was me, I would want a Wall Connector or receptacle (in water tight box) outside the house if that is where you are charging. I also would not want to plug/unplug the UMC every day if using a 14-50 receptacle and so the question is- How safe is your neighborhood to leave a $300 thing sitting outside? Maybe find a way to secure it?

I personally love my wall connector outside, but yeah, the rental sucks.

Any chance you can find a way to park in the garage? That makes this vastly simpler...

Oh, and if you leave and take your HPWC with you, you can just wire nut off the wires in an electrical box with a cover over it. Someone else later can install their own EVSE or receptacle on a proper sized breaker.

Note to fully make use of the charger on the car you want a 60a circuit or above if using a HPWC. Mine is on a 60a breaker.

Facing the garage door from the outside to the bottom right there is a metal vent that I can easily modify and place the wire connector so that the garage door will never close on it.

Sort of like this: