4/3 MC Cable for the Charger

[ATPMSD]

Sure!!! I am not planning to install myself, Just buying the material and will be using a Licensed electrician.

Too many electricians do not understand the requirements for EV, so I applaud you in taking the time to figure it out and to use the electrician for the labor.

BTW, I assume you have determined you have the extra capacity to run the wall connector at 48a and also that you have two adjacent slots in the breaker box to accommodate the 60a dual-pole breaker you will need?

 

[howardnj]

Sure!!! I am not planning to install myself, Just buying the material and will be using a Licensed electrician.

Why are you buying the material?
A professional licensed electrician does not go to Home Depot to purchase their material.
They deal with electrical supply houses that sell higher quality material than big box stores.
My NJ licensed electrician used #2 four conductor aluminum for a over 150 ft run from my basement 200 amp main breaker to the sub panel in my garage with 60 amp breakers. I would never have thought of using the cheaper aluminum cable for such a long run as it requires skill and proper terminations and is safe to use if you know what you are doing.
What makes you think that you are smarter than a licensed electrician. Make sure proper permits, inspections, and load/data forms are properly submitted to your utility as you may qualify for BTM rebates like we do in NJ
Good luck

 

[ATPMSD]

A professional licensed electrician does not go to Home Depot to purchase their material.

Anything an electrician buys will be marked up to include a profit. If you want to better support the electrician this is a good thing to do, but you can get high qualify materials from Home Depot.

What makes you think that you are smarter than a licensed electrician.

There are so many posts of electricians, including ones on Tesla’s list, that clearly did not know what was needed for an EV circuit. Examples:

• Using #6 Romex on a 60a circuit - this not allowed
• Using a 60a breaker on wire rated to 55a - not allowed when running a wall connector at 60a
• Using a cheap “Leviton” outlet instead of one designed for a continuous load such as a Bryant or Hubbell outlet
• Installing a standard breaker when a GFCI is required, and vice-versa

So when it comes to EVs, a person who takes the time to understand what is needed is smarter than far too many, but not all, licensed electricians. So even if you want to let the electrician to do it all, you need to make sure you know what is needed and to confirm they do.

Make sure proper permits, inspections, and load/data forms are properly submitted to your utility as you may qualify for BTM rebates like we do in NJ

Agree

 

[rajesh G]

Why are you buying the material?
A professional licensed electrician does not go to Home Depot to purchase their material.
They deal with electrical supply houses that sell higher quality material than big box stores.
My NJ licensed electrician used #2 four conductor aluminum for a over 150 ft run from my basement 200 amp main breaker to the sub panel in my garage with 60 amp breakers. I would never have thought of using the cheaper aluminum cable for such a long run as it requires skill and proper terminations and is safe to use if you know what you are doing.
What makes you think that you are smarter than a licensed electrician. Make sure proper permits, inspections, and load/data forms are properly submitted to your utility as you may qualify for BTM rebates like we do in NJ
Good luck

Thanks for your reply. First thing I am from Ohio and we dont have any rebates. The electrician i Hired was not able to find 4/3 from the local stores rather suggesting to get Romex from the Big stores, so i was just trying to look online and found this store which has a very reasonable price and i was here to see if any one used the website/MC cable and again i am not making any decisions of his behalf other than what Gauge and location i want to use for my install(which he asked) and he is the one who will decide. I am just trying to be more cautious getting some feedback from here and to learn some tips from the experienced users rather than rushing, As i have heard a lot of stories where even Licensced Electricians are not so up to mark,so i am just trying to be more proactive and i dont see any harm in taking that extra time to be smart about your home.
Just curious when you say cheap aluminum cable are you talking about the shield? So are you saying MC Cables are cheaply made and not suggested for EV charging?

 

[terranx]

Thanks for your reply. First thing I am from Ohio and we dont have any rebates. The electrician i Hired was not able to find 4/3 from the local stores rather suggesting to get Romex from the Big stores, so i was just trying to look online and found this store which has a very reasonable price and i was here to see if any one used the website/MC cable and again i am not making any decisions of his behalf other than what Gauge and location i want to use for my install(which he asked) and he is the one who will decide. I am just trying to be more cautious getting some feedback from here and to learn some tips from the experienced users rather than rushing, As i have heard a lot of stories where even Licensced Electricians are not so up to mark,so i am just trying to be more proactive and i dont see any harm in taking that extra time to be smart about your home.
Just curious when you say cheap aluminum cable are you talking about the shield? So are you saying MC Cables are cheaply made and not suggested for EV charging?

He doesn’t know what he’s talking about

MC cable is copper wire inside an (typically) aluminum flexible conduit. The cable I bought from the above company (which was the 6/3 variant) had wire marked as xhhw-2 — which is technically better than and typically more expensive than thhn-2. Perfectly safe to use.

Aluminum wire *can* be used, but is harder to work with and the final leg would have to copper wire (spliced via Polaris connector or similar).

 

[rajesh G]

Too many electricians do not understand the requirements for EV, so I applaud you in taking the time to figure it out and to use the electrician for the labor.

BTW, I assume you have determined you have the extra capacity to run the wall connector at 48a and also that you have two adjacent slots in the breaker box to accommodate the 60a dual-pole breaker you will need?

Thanks, Yes i have determined two adjacent slots in the breaker box and i have extra capacity to run the wall connectorr at 48a.

 

[rajesh G]

You can run MC cable exposed and without conduit. But you'd be fine with 6/3 (good for 65A). Or 6/2 even. I had bought the cable for my install from the above vendor. No issues.

Did you connect it from the top or from the back of the tesla panel? Did you use bushes or any connectors(like conduit connectors) while pulling into the tesla panel?

 

[terranx]

Did you connect it from the top or from the back of the tesla panel? Did you use bushes or any connectors(like conduit connectors) while pulling into the tesla panel?

From the top. I used these to hold the cable in the box Amazon.com

 

[rajesh G]

From the top. I used these to hold the cable in the box Amazon.com

Thanks