I learned the hard way that the 14-50 receptical needs to be industrial grade. It’s not just the plugging and unplugging that is a risk. It’s the 7 -10 hours of current flow at 40 amps. They cost $70-90 at the supply house and are rated to deliver 40 amps 24-365. They are bigger and require a different faceplate. Could have burned my house down if it wasn’t concrete.
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240v Charger Installation Advice
- Thread starter StoicKiwi
- Start date
I may actually look into this. As a safety measure, I've been monitoring my charging sessions with FLIR and the 14-50s are getting quite warm ~120F after 20-30 minutes of charging. I've noticed when the temperature gets high enough, the WC starts de-rating down to 38A. I was looking at the Hubbell Wiring Device-Kellems HBL9450A, which seems to be the Tesla recommended plug for these applications.
Update: I did go ahead and order those industrial outlets along with some larger, industrial-grade, metal old-work boxes to ensure the wires are held in place better with fewer bends.
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I talked to my insurance agent about what would happen (they're really cool) and they said in the cases that they have seen where people did their own wiring and a fire broke out, the insurance company covered the damages and dropped them as a customer.
That being said, I didn't intentionally cut corners but now that I know an industrial outlet is recommended, I have them powered off until this weekend when I can install the new receptacles and boxes.
Sheesh--there is no "cutting corners" in this scenario. This is talking about a legit fully code compliant installation with proper wiring and fully UL certified receptacles. They just happen to be from a brand like Leviton that are a little bit weak and can be more susceptible to fail from prolonged heavy use. So it is recommended to use more robust brands of receptacles. And really, 120F isn't even all that warm for wiring stuff. Hot tubs are warmer than that, and people's garages get over 100 in the summers.
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Ostrichsak
Well-Known Member
Admittedly the odds of fire are low.
Just remember though, your friendly local insurance agent is the sales guy. Not the suit in the far away corporate office charged with keeping claims costs "in line".
All that being said, if your installation was done according to code by a licensed contractor and signed off by the city inspector - you should be Golden. And with things the way the are for the next month or two, my guess is contractors will be a little more negotiable on price.
Just remember though, your friendly local insurance agent is the sales guy. Not the suit in the far away corporate office charged with keeping claims costs "in line".
All that being said, if your installation was done according to code by a licensed contractor and signed off by the city inspector - you should be Golden. And with things the way the are for the next month or two, my guess is contractors will be a little more negotiable on price.
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