6-50 - best solution?

[brkaus]

Hi All -

What is the current best solution for a 6-50 plug for temporary use? For whatever reason, the breaker is 40A. Is this common?

I'm going to pull either the plug or the circuit breaker box cover to check what gauge wire they used.

I'm expecting the worse case and probably should be selecting a lower amp setting.

What amp setting?

What adapter is best these days?

Thanks!

 

[sdorn]

Hi All -

What is the current best solution for a 6-50 plug for temporary use? For whatever reason, the breaker is 40A. Is this common?

I'm going to pull either the plug or the circuit breaker box cover to check what gauge wire they used.

I'm expecting the worse case and probably should be selecting a lower amp setting.

What amp setting?

What adapter is best these days?

Thanks!

I have this exact setup currently. About to have a Wall Connector installed but in the interim I got a 6-50 to 14-50 adapter from EVSEadapters.com and set the charge level to 32 amps.

 

[brkaus]

Thanks! Looks like EVSEadapters.com doesn't list the 6-50 -> 14-50 anymore.

I'm hoping to find a capped neutral when I pull off the plate, but I doubt it will be there.

Is putting a 40A breaker on this outlet common? It passed inspection, for what that is worth.

 

[Tam]

...Is putting a 40A breaker on this outlet common? ...

Nema 6-50 needs to on a 50 ampere circuit.

Now that you know it is on a 40 A circuit, the maximum load should be:

40 x .8 = 32A.

 

[thecloud]

Thanks! Looks like EVSEadapters.com doesn't list the 6-50 -> 14-50 anymore.

Is this one not the right adapter?

 

[miimura]

Thanks! Looks like EVSEadapters.com doesn't list the 6-50 -> 14-50 anymore.

I'm hoping to find a capped neutral when I pull off the plate, but I doubt it will be there.

Is putting a 40A breaker on this outlet common? It passed inspection, for what that is worth.

It is legal because there is no specific 40A socket made. A 50 amp socket is the only available solution. However, it should have been labeled 40A. You could have an electrician check the wire size to see if it will support 50 amps or not. If so, changing the breaker is very simple and inexpensive.

 

[brkaus]

Is this one not the right adapter?

It is. Thank you. I totally missed it when searching.

 

[brkaus]

Can one easily tell wire gauge? It's romex, no labels on individual wires. On both ends, there are no markings that can be seen on the outer jacket. The outlet is about 4" below and 4" to the right of the box, but in the next stud cavity so couldn't easily pull new wire.

I should be fine with 32A (occasional visits only), so I'll play it safe.

 

[Obsoletion]

It looks like 6 awg to me *BUT* you need to find the rating on the wire jacket to know for sure.

Romex (NM-B) is rated as follows:

8 AWG - 40 AMPS
6 AWG - 55 AMPS

 

[ColdRauv]

I agree fully with Obsoletion that it looks like #6, but please check that it isn't #8.

 

[brkaus]

I'll go with 32a until I know for sure. It's for visiting family, so will work fine.

Definitely will not touch the 40a breaker w/o an expert or verifying markings.

Ordering the adapter and a Tesla extension cord soon.

Thanks!

 

[CmdrThor]

It is legal because there is no specific 40A socket made. A 50 amp socket is the only available solution. However, it should have been labeled 40A. You could have an electrician check the wire size to see if it will support 50 amps or not. If so, changing the breaker is very simple and inexpensive.

Exactly, and the device plugged in to the outlet very well may have specified a 40 amp breaker. This would be the case for any EVSE that charges at 30 amps and has a 6-50 plug. My EVSE for my LEAF is like that and I used 8 gauge wire and a 40 amp breaker with the NEMA 6-50. I'd definitely stick to charging at 32 amps until you could verify the wire or swap it out.

 

[sdorn]

Exactly, and the device plugged in to the outlet very well may have specified a 40 amp breaker. This would be the case for any EVSE that charges at 30 amps and has a 6-50 plug. My EVSE for my LEAF is like that and I used 8 gauge wire and a 40 amp breaker with the NEMA 6-50. I'd definitely stick to charging at 32 amps until you could verify the wire or swap it out.

That is what happened with me as well. I had an EVSE that required a NEMA 6-50 outlet on a 40 amp circuit (it pulled 30 amps) that I used to charge my Leaf. The electrician installed 8 guage wire. If I had done my research ahead of time I would have gone ahead and done a 50 amp circuit on 6 gauge wire, but I didn't know better at the time.

 

[tga]

I'll go with 32a until I know for sure. It's for visiting family, so will work fine.

Definitely will not touch the 40a breaker w/o an expert or verifying markings.

Ordering the adapter and a Tesla extension cord soon.

Thanks!

If it's just for visiting family, you'll be fine with 32A charging. That's 23 miles/hr, easy recharge overnight.

Just dial down the charge rate to 32A and double check it every time you plug in. It can reset to the default after a firmware upgrade or if the car gets confused about its location.

If it were me, I'd try to find a 10-30 or 14-30 UMC adapter, and build a custom extension out of 10/3 SOOW cord with a 6-50P on one end and a 10-30R or 14-30R on the other. You'll be stuck with 24A charging selected by the adapter - no need to dial down. That's what I do to charge from my parents' dryer outlet at around 19 mph.

 

[mach.89]

I think the Tesla 6-50 is back:

Tesla — NEMA 6-50

Just ordered it... hopefully I'm not hallucinating!

 

[miimura]

Well I'll be... So, it looks like all the UMC adapters that have ever been made are currently available, with the exception of the NEMA 10-30. The only useful one that is missing (and was never made before) is a NEMA 6-20.

Edit: as pointed out in another thread, the 6-15 is missing from the store also.

 

[brkaus]

Interesting. I bought the pigtail. Except being larger, I guess there is no downside to the pigtail. Both options limit at 40a - so wiring needs to be checked and current set as needed either way.