The 10 gauge cable is 10 mm wide. However, we can install two 4 gauge wire joined together and get the same result with up to 50 amp. My sparkie will provide the wiring for free. So we'll do that. After all we are, I would guess, 3 years away.
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40 amp vs 32 amp for your home
- Thread starter moose
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- Australia New Zealand
The 10 gauge cable is 10 mm wide. However, we can install two 4 gauge wire joined together and get the same result with up to 50 amp. My sparkie will provide the wiring for free. So we'll do that. After all we are, I would guess, 3 years away.
cashie
Member
I thought 10 Gauge cable was closer to 5mm2 (2.6mm wide) AWG to square mm Wire Gauge Conversion
4 Gauge wire would be larger than 10 Gauge I thought too..
So confusing.
Run 50 amp capable 3 phase cable to the wall adaptor location, even if only to a cut-off switch and then single phase to the wall adaptor because you may want 3 phase charging later. It is important to read the instruction manual for the wall adaptor. You need a 40 amp breaker if you want to run it at 32 amps which is what I have done. I also ran three phase cables. I will upgrade to a three phase adaptor when the long lead units are available.
If you want to charge at 40 amps you need to put in a 50 amp breaker and thick cable, the thicker the better, certainly 6mm. But put in three phase cabling into the wall if you're building. If you buy another Tesla later as a second car you're probably going to want a pair of three phase wall adaptors to share the load across the phases. They cooperate to do this efficiently.
If you want to charge at 40 amps you need to put in a 50 amp breaker and thick cable, the thicker the better, certainly 6mm. But put in three phase cabling into the wall if you're building. If you buy another Tesla later as a second car you're probably going to want a pair of three phase wall adaptors to share the load across the phases. They cooperate to do this efficiently.
BTW, a bit worried the sparkie is suggesting running cables in parallel and talking in "gauge". Is he an actual Australian licensed electrician? Pretty sure parallel cable like that is not allowed under the standard. (Don't tell me that is what Telstra do in their wall adaptor because yes they do but that isn't "fixed wiring".)
How long is the cable to the car that comes with the Tesla wall connector? While the Model 3 is still a long way off - especially to Australia - and I have no intention of talking to a Sparkie just yet, just thinking about my house and where the wall connector could possibly go. This depends on a number of variables such as how close the car needs to be to the wall connector. The only information I can find is https://www.teslamotors.com/sites/default/files/blog_attachments/Charging_at_Home_Australia.pdf
Can measure if you need exactly, but I think the single (and new 3 phase) are 7m. 3 phase is also 2m, which seems to be the current version. These are approximate.
If you need length, you can do what I did and mount up near the ceiling, and use use a swing arm to get the cable either to or away from the car. Added benefit of no cord on floor, and one hand unplugging with no coiling.
If you need length, you can do what I did and mount up near the ceiling, and use use a swing arm to get the cable either to or away from the car. Added benefit of no cord on floor, and one hand unplugging with no coiling.
We ran 3 phase to the power box. In Qld you need to justify why you require 3 phase, which we will require for the Powerwall and the solar system we are getting installed. Before Energex will hook up the 3 phase (in as best that I can understand) we need to sign a declaration along with the people installing our solar system, that we will limit the feed back into the grid to no more than 5 kw through the 3 phase. We had a bloke from Energex discussing our situation with our sparkie who contacted the Energex office to determine what needed to be done, which form had to be sent in and the process we would need to go through. A lot of it is above my head.
What breaker and cable gets installed is still to be determined. I have access from the meter box to the garage where the charger will be located. I ran a wire but not the correct wire. We are still a few years away from getting that piece sorted out. And yes we are talking about a 50 amp breaker but who knows what new technology will be available by the time our Model 3 hits our shores!
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I'm the one talking in gauges because that's what I was familiar with up over. I had to relearn, not only the English language, but many of the terminology in the building trade. Some are written the same way but pronounced totally differently. lol
Zoltrix77
Member
Yeah, sounds a bit odd. Cables greater than 4mm2 can be ran in parallel under AS/NZS:3000:2007 from memory, but it's pretty seldom done for sizes that small.
FlatSix911
Porsche 918 Hybrid
You have that backward ... 10 AWG is 2.59 mm and 4 AWG is 5.19 mm.
I thought 10 Gauge cable was closer to 5mm2 (2.6mm wide) AWG to square mm Wire Gauge Conversion 4 Gauge wire would be larger than 10 Gauge I thought too...So confusing.
Correct ... Smaller gauge cable is larger.
We don't know about Model 3 yet but on Model S it is on the LH rear in both LHD and RHD versions.
Given that all the supercharger stations are set up for this I imagine the Model 3 will be that same.
baillies
Member
In one of the videos from the 3 launch a guy asked if this was the charge port pointing to the standard location and the answer was yes. I cannot imagine they would change this.
I'm sorry about the confusion. Sparkie was referring to mm2 and I took it as gauge. Yes, he told me this evening that the minimum size that is legal to parallel in Australia is 4mm2. Two 4mm2 in parallel would carry 50 amp. We are a long ways from wiring for a charger. The 3 phase was wired with three 10mm2.
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