14-50 outlet, electrician installed 20 Amp Double-Pole Type QP Circuit Breaker...

[Dhomls]

so I got a 14-50 adapter for use at home, and had an electrician friend of the family install the outlet for me.
plugged it in, showed me 22mi/hh charge, happy and I close the door
next morning I see almost no change in the range, and circuit breaker tripped
looked at receipt, looks like its a 20 amp double breaker, from reading after all of that, should be a 50?
flipped it back and timed it, all of 3 minutes of charge before it tips again.

I was able to drop the charge down inside the car to 28A and am getting 20mi/hr and it hasn't tripped the breaker.

suggestions to just install the 50 in there? and im assuming also wire size up (im not sure which wire gauge he used) ?

any help is appreciated, hes coming by tomorrow to take a look at it in person.

 

[M3BlueGeorgia]

Match the outlet to the breaker.

So either keep the 20A breaker and change to a 6-20 outlet (and get the adapter from Tesla)

Or upgrade the breaker to 40A, but be very careful to ensure the wiring is actually rated for 40A.

Meanwhile, set your maximum charge rate to 16A (80% of 20A)

 

[Dhomls]

any ups or downs or preference to either one you describe?

 

[M3BlueGeorgia]

any ups or downs or preference to either one you describe?

If the wiring only supports 20A, then its expensive to go to 40 or 50A since you need to re-pull the wiring. And pulling the wiring is usually the most expensive part of the electrical installation.

If using a Mobile Connector, there's no advantage to going over 40A, since it won't pull more than 32A continuous, which is 80% of 40A.

So being able to use 14-50 and have the breaker and wiring rated at least at 40A is the best solution, if that isn't too expensive.

 

[doghousePVD]

Check to see what actual breaker is installed in the panel. Receipts are often wrong.You can charge at 80% of the breaker rating, so if is 20 A, charge at 16A. If it is a 30A, charge at 24A, etc.

A 14-50 is supposed to be installed with a 50A breaker, but some electricians install 40 A.

 

[Dhomls]

yes, using mobile connector.
looked and its definitely a 20 breaker, so for the time being I will charge at 16A, showing me 10mi/hr now.
wiring is very short, as I had him install it right under the box and is easily accessible. cant figure out what the wires are as receipt shows some numbers and going on the site that number is not found of course, weird. im sure he knows, and he has the remainder of the wiring looms.
hes a family friend so hes not charging me anything to do this, I just paid for whatever materials are used and gave him some good Serbian slivovitz (for Serbians, this is better than money hehe)

 

[Dhomls]

if not possible, a 40A breaker should be fine?

 

[Decibelle]

Is there a chance he has an earlier mobile charger? I’m not an electrician, but wouldn’t the car then pull 40A to the car so he needs a 50A breaker and at least a #6 wire?

 

[doghousePVD]

Is there a chance he has an earlier mobile charger? I’m not an electrician, but wouldn’t the car then pull 40A to the car so he needs a 50A breaker and at least a #6 wire?

That's correct. The OP has not stated anything yet.

 

[kkillebrew]

so I got a 14-50 adapter for use at home, and had an electrician friend of the family install the outlet for me.
plugged it in, showed me 22mi/hh charge, happy and I close the door
next morning I see almost no change in the range, and circuit breaker tripped
looked at receipt, looks like its a 20 amp double breaker, from reading after all of that, should be a 50?
flipped it back and timed it, all of 3 minutes of charge before it tips again.

I was able to drop the charge down inside the car to 28A and am getting 20mi/hr and it hasn't tripped the breaker.

suggestions to just install the 50 in there? and im assuming also wire size up (im not sure which wire gauge he used) ?

any help is appreciated, hes coming by tomorrow to take a look at it in person.

Call the wiring technician back and tell him to do it correctly. At least a 40 amp breaker - they are always double pole with three phase. #6 or #8 romex depending on run length.

 

[iluvmacs]

At least a 40 amp breaker - they are always double pole with three phase.

I don't know what you were trying to say, but this isn't it. If something is three-phase power, it has a three-pole breaker. But no car in the US takes 3-phase power input, so I suspect you were trying to say that you always use a double-pole breaker when supplying a phase-to-phase branch circuit from a split-phase or 3-phase power system (which is nearly always the case in the US).

 

[Dhomls]

Its a gen 2 charger.

 

[brkaus]

What wiring did they install? Picture of the receipt or the installation? Or both?

 

[Dmagyar]

so I got a 14-50 adapter for use at home, and had an electrician friend of the family install the outlet for me.
plugged it in, showed me 22mi/hh charge, happy and I close the door
next morning I see almost no change in the range, and circuit breaker tripped
looked at receipt, looks like its a 20 amp double breaker, from reading after all of that, should be a 50?
flipped it back and timed it, all of 3 minutes of charge before it tips again.

I was able to drop the charge down inside the car to 28A and am getting 20mi/hr and it hasn't tripped the breaker.

suggestions to just install the 50 in there? and im assuming also wire size up (im not sure which wire gauge he used) ?

any help is appreciated, hes coming by tomorrow to take a look at it in person.

Without any information on the size circuit that's been installed, you shouldn't do anything. Get in touch with whomever did the install and have the Electrician explain what is going on.
Problem is too many people think they know what they're doing regarding electrical installations, very few actually do.

 

[boaterva]

They need to match the breaker to the wiring. Anything else is illegal and a fire hazard. Tell the electrician you want (if possible) wiring and breaker for 50 amps as code specifies.

Seems simple to me. No idea why 20 Amp breaker was installed. I severely doubt your electrician friend is actually an electrician or he totally misunderstood what you wanted.

Any ‘real’ electrician would know a 14-50 would need a 50 amp breaker and wire to fit.

 

[Dhomls]

Hes been an electrician for 45 years
I probably didnt explain it correctly to him, as i had no clue what needed to be done
I get it now, so will have him do it that way.
You saying 14-50 would never have that breaker?

 

[Dhomls]

Here is the list of parts bought for install

 

[ucmndd]

Here is the list of parts bought for install

That suggests your friend used #10 THHN wire, which is good for a max circuit ampacity of 35 amps.

The whole thing is a veritable “WTF” in terms of what your “electrician” friend was thinking, but I suppose that’s neither here nor there. Your two options are:

1) Replace the 20A breaker with a 30A and replace the 14-50 outlet with a 14-30.

2) Replace the 20A breaker with a 50A breaker and replace the wire with #6 THHN to support the ampacity. Additionally, the receipt seems to indicate 1/2” EMT conduit was used, which will also need to be replaced with minimum 3/4” to meet fill requirements for #6 wire.

Do not leave it as-is. Frankly given all of the other head-scratching thoughts this install raises, I wouldn’t use it AT ALL until you find someone that knows what they’re doing to fix it.

 

[Dhomls]

I will show him this, but since i just got the 14-50 adapter i will go that route

 

[dark cloud]

Hes been an electrician for 45 years
I probably didnt explain it correctly to him?

this seems really strange. It doesn’t matter what you explained, the work completed just does not seem to be done from a licensed electrician. Or has he been a handyman doing some electrical for 45 years?