Attempt at having Tesla install wall connector.

[David29]

Maybe someone is going to educate me on this item. I must be out of touch with things, but I thought Tesla didn't do any wall charger installations. I thought they pointed people to independent electricians. At least that is what they did with me, but I guess that has changed? Even when they recommended an electrician near me, they quoted twice the price of what I eventually got it done by finding an electrician on Yelp.

Are you sure these guys were really from Tesla, or was it like Home Depot and Lowes where the guys show up with a Home Depot shirt, but really are independent contractors paying a percentage back to the hardware store?

For whatever it is worth -- I do not know if Tesla does initial installations. But my Tesla Wall Connector failed, so I called the Tesla home charging support line. They sent out a couple of Tesla electricians, who did the trouble-shooting and installed a replacement WC when they verified that mine was fried. I got the impression that these same guys work for the solar side of Tesla. Being licensed electricians, they apparently do both kinds of work when electricians are required. I do not recall asking if they do initial installations of the WCs...

 

[Cycle11111]

$2,700... wow! I had a 240v 14-50 outlet and a 120v GCI auxilery outlet installed a few weeks ago for $450 (for both). I liked the Tesla wall charger, but I though I'd rather just have the 240v 14-50 installed because whoever buys my house next may not have a Tesla, rendering the Tesla wall charger useless (for them). The aux 120v was just to have another double outlet 120v in the area.

View attachment 430614

View attachment 430615

I believe you can now buy the Wall Connector with a 14-50 plug vs hardwire in. Also a point I missed mentioning is many utilities will give you a rebate for a wall connector install of any brand - I got a $500 rebate from my utility - I just had to submit within 90 days of buying and installing. Effectively my install was covered by this rebate - again I did not have to run extra cable but it is hardwired into my panel.

 

[mreynolds767]

Maybe someone is going to educate me on this item. I must be out of touch with things, but I thought Tesla didn't do any wall charger installations. I thought they pointed people to independent electricians. At least that is what they did with me, but I guess that has changed? Even when they recommended an electrician near me, they quoted twice the price of what I eventually got it done by finding an electrician on Yelp.

Are you sure these guys were really from Tesla, or was it like Home Depot and Lowes where the guys show up with a Home Depot shirt, but really are independent contractors paying a percentage back to the hardware store?

While I do not know for certain, it seems like things may have changed at least in some markets. My brother bought from the dealer in Dedham, MA about 8 months ago. At that time any charger installs were not handled by Telsa, they would recommend someone or you do it on your own.

When talking to the same location just a week or so ago as I prepare to order, they described the process as handled 100% by Tesla now, same group as does Solar. Seems like they want an opportunity to upsell / cross sell the same customers so assign you to a Home specialist for your install of charger (who I suspect will then try and get you to buy Solar later). The pricing seemed set at $500 for the charger and $1000.00 for the MA home install which covers most applications*
My main breaker has room for a new 50 AMP circuit but is in my basement, level below, basement is finished with drywalled ceiling and breaker box on other side of house from garage so not sure how easy it is going to be.

 

[Sky-Pilot]

I believe you can now buy the Wall Connector with a 14-50 plug vs hardwire in. Also a point I missed mentioning is many utilities will give you a rebate for a wall connector install of any brand - I got a $500 rebate from my utility - I just had to submit within 90 days of buying and installing. Effectively my install was covered by this rebate - again I did not have to run extra cable but it is hardwired into my panel.

Yeah, I believe that SCE (SoCal Edison) is giving us $800 back (waiting for ours to get processed). We really lucked out, our electrical panel is right on the other side of the wall to which out outlets are attached.

 

[r1200gs4ok]

hi everyone.....i am new here so bear with me....i just got my new Model 3 on 20 Jun 19.....i was worried about charging so i purchased the HPWC and an extra $35 Nema 14-50 for the trunk just in case i need it when go places.....my point here is that I paid $500 for the charger and had an electrician install the outlet for $450 with militia Veteran discount.....i thought that was good....included all permits and was to code.....i could have done it but i was not sure whether our panel would need to be replaced.....we have 100amps into house with pool, so i wanted to make sure....i did all the math and was right on with their calculations......

we love the car and are getting ready to put PPF on front as it sits lower to ground, want little more protection in SoCal from trucks on the 405/5/91/133 freeways.....also looking at ceramic coating for the rest of the car even though it won't be a show car, wife will like the ease with which O have to wash it....heheheh

ok, thanks for listening

 

[r1200gs4ok]

As I understand it, Tesla is known to have reduced the charge speed of some Model S and Model X cars with, IIRC, 85kWh battery packs that have charged more than a certain amount of kWh on Superchargers. AFAIK, Tesla has not done so on cars with other sizes of battery packs, and has not done so on any Model 3s. Thus, it's not clear that frequent Supercharger use will result in reduced Supercharger speed in the future. Right now, it looks like there's a design flaw with the S/X 85kWh battery pack, and Tesla is protecting those cars alone from damage caused by extensive use of Supercharging. It's conceivable that Tesla will do something similar with other cars at some point, but that's far from certain.

That said, Supercharging is generally believed to be bad for batteries -- but not hugely bad. It's probably better to use Level 2 charging whenever that's practical, but if your life circumstances make that impractical, relying on Supercharging may be a reasonable option. The Model 3 has an 8-year/100,000-mile (for SR/SR+; 8-year/120,000-mile for LR) battery warranty, with 70% original battery capacity guaranteed in that period, and no mention of Supercharging in the warranty, AFAIK.

agreed....my research tells me the same thing.......my salesman told us that Tesla for the 2020 models S/X will get upgraded battery pack using the same technology as the current model 3

 

[WilliamG]

Running a circuit 70 ft isn't trivial. My thoughts is that the low-balled you on the estimate.

Definitely. I had a REALLY simple run of around 45 feet from my panel to my garage, and I paid around $1200 just for that, - providing my own HPWC. And that wasn't a "Tesla-certified" electrician (not that it matters).

 

[jebinc]

Definitely. I had a REALLY simple run of around 45 feet from my panel to my garage, and I paid around $1200 just for that, - providing my own HPWC. And that wasn't a "Tesla-certified" electrician (not that it matters).

I don't believe it does (Matter's being a Tesla technician for a HPWC) - If a solar or PowerWall install, I would say it does matter!

 

[Kleenerth3]

hi everyone.....i am new here so bear with me....i just got my new Model 3 on 20 Jun 19.....i was worried about charging so i purchased the HPWC and an extra $35 Nema 14-50 for the trunk just in case i need it when go places.....my point here is that I paid $500 for the charger and had an electrician install the outlet for $450 with militia Veteran discount.....i thought that was good....included all permits and was to code.....i could have done it but i was not sure whether our panel would need to be replaced.....we have 100amps into house with pool, so i wanted to make sure....i did all the math and was right on with their calculations......

we love the car and are getting ready to put PPF on front as it sits lower to ground, want little more protection in SoCal from trucks on the 405/5/91/133 freeways.....also looking at ceramic coating for the rest of the car even though it won't be a show car, wife will like the ease with which O have to wash it....heheheh

ok, thanks for listening

I see our Military Vets still pay attention to details! That's almost exactly my situation to a tee. HPWC, $500 installed. NEMA 14-50 for the road + the 120v. connector.
I had this company do the PPF Xpel clear bra.

You sound like you might be close to my area and Wasim came to the house to do the work. I did the ceramic paint coating myself with Adams ceramic and ceramic boost. The ceramic boost is what Xpel recommends to keep that super shine. Wasim also does the ceramics in his Escondido shop, but will keep your car a few days.
Either way, enjoy your 3 as much as I do!!
BTW- Thank you for your service, bro!

 

[Evangeline]

It just got interesting. Just received an email from Tesla asking to confirm install for $1,900. Called Tesla to confirm price was correct. They told me there should have been a $250 upcharge for the additional conduit not $1,200.

I approved the order for $1,900 we'll see what happens.

Mike

That's great! Worth it I think. I get by with a combination of Level 2 charging at places in the area and some 120V charging (I'm in an apartment so the charging situation has been complicated, to put it mildly), but the peace of mind of being able to have a full charge every day, not having to go to the (albeit minimal) effort of plugging it in every day, and not having to deal with the inconvenience of having to travel to and wait for a supercharger when needed would all make a $1,900 quote or even a $2,700 quote worth it to me (though not sure I'd go over $3k).

 

[r1200gs4ok]

I see our Military Vets still pay attention to details! That's almost exactly my situation to a tee. HPWC, $500 installed. NEMA 14-50 for the road + the 120v. connector.
I had this company do the PPF Xpel clear bra.View attachment 430926 View attachment 430926 You sound like you might be close to my area and Wasim came to the house to do the work. I did the ceramic paint coating myself with Adams ceramic and ceramic boost. The ceramic boost is what Xpel recommends to keep that super shine. Wasim also does the ceramics in his Escondido shop, but will keep your car a few days.
Either way, enjoy your 3 as much as I do!!
BTW- Thank you for your service, bro!

thank you my friend.....the Marine Corps was good to me but left a lot to be desired.....as an upper field grade officer, things were good.....i really enjoyed flying jets......separation from family was the hardest.....

i looking at ELITE Finish for my expel........was thinking about 3M Scotchgard Pro series 4, but have done little more research and will go with expel....

 

[bitexploder]

Here in Tucson it cost me about $1800.00 to have an electrician install a 60 amp branch 125 feet from the main panel
To my garage using 3 lines of no 4 THNN with a ground running through 1.5 “ rain tight EMT. The Pima county building permit was included

View attachment 430620
View attachment 430616
View attachment 430619
View attachment 430621

Interesting that they used #4 THHN. Is that something related to the heat or did you request that? #6 THHN is rated to 75 amps. #4 goes up to 95 amps. THHN is good for up to 194F. I recently installed my supercharger myself going with a similar setup, though we used 1" conduit since #6 is a bit smaller. HPWC $500, 50ft THHN, conduit, connectors, straps, 60A breaker, etc. ~$400-500 in parts in Colorado. My dad is an industrial maintenance tech/electrician and helped out, but it is really straightforward and I specced everything out myself and he just made sure it was up to code (which it is/was).

Of course, a lot of folks like to plan for furture EVs and are happy to run more expensive wire for ease of future charging on a 100A circuit.

So, basically, for the average 50ft job parts are about $1000. Labor is probably 6-8 hours depending. It took me about 10 hours, but I spent two of those playing with the conduit bender and learning bending formulas, which was fun

 

[Dogtone]

They went to no 4 wire because of the voltage drop over 125 feet. My car is seeing 48 amps even with my AC going when it is 110 degrees plus outside.

 

[jebinc]

They went to no 4 wire because of the voltage drop over 125 feet. My car is seeing 48 amps even with my AC going when it is 110 degrees plus outside.

#4 (or even #3 even) is the only way to go, in my opinion - for the many reasons already discussed.

 

[bitexploder]

#4 (or even #3 even) is the only way to go, in my opinion - for the many reasons already discussed.

Interesting. Thank you for sharing. We do have a shorter run (around 45-50 ft), but I have seen a number of folks go with #6 for one HPWC with no load sharing planned. I am no expert so I am sure all that was taken into consideration by the electrician, I just wanted to know what the reasons and concerns are/were. I did see on many self install discussions that #4 THHN was a common choice as well for capacity reasons.

edit: FWIW we get 48A as well and my dad had a FLIR heat viewer and everything runs nice and cool/warm with no hotspots anywhere at full charging clip (even after an hour or more of 48A charging). More importantly, people should realize how great it is to charge at 30A+ at home. It is a game changer and worth the effort. It reduced/eliminated all of our charging anxiety / EV anxiety in general.

 

[jebinc]

Interesting. Thank you for sharing. We do have a shorter run (around 45-50 ft), but I have seen a number of folks go with #6 for one HPWC with no load sharing planned. I am no expert so I am sure all that was taken into consideration by the electrician, I just wanted to know what the reasons and concerns are/were. I did see on many self install discussions that #4 THHN was a common choice as well for capacity reasons.

edit: FWIW we get 48A as well and my dad had a FLIR heat viewer and everything runs nice and cool/warm with no hotspots anywhere at full charging clip (even after an hour or more of 48A charging). More importantly, people should realize how great it is to charge at 30A+ at home. It is a game changer and worth the effort. It reduced/eliminated all of our charging anxiety / EV anxiety in general.

Yes, 6 AWG is probably the minimum to meet code (and maximize profit for the electrician). 4 AWG wire is nearly double the cost of 6 AWG wire (or at least the 4/3 cable is). I like no chance of having a voltage drop at the HPWC, or any wire getting warm to the touch - which I achieved with my "over-kill" 4 AWG installation (35' from main panel).

 

[richtrav]

Do you have a dedicated appliance 5-20 plug in your garage? Or any type of 240V already? Might be some easier/cheaper solutions to get you decent home charging

This right here. It's pretty easy to change a dedicated 5-20 to 240v, it adds 15 miles/hour to your car which is more than enough for me, and I drive over 100 miles many days. You will need to get the 6-20 adapter from Tesla ($35).

If you're only driving 200 miles per week and find you just need to be adding a little more range every day (like 20-25 miles) you might consider buying the $35 5-20 adapter for the charging cable that comes with the car (as long as you have a plug in your garage that's on a 20 amp breaker, you probably do). It will add 7 miles/hour at 110v vs the 5 miles/hour you get with the adapter Tesla ships and requires zero work. It's not much but it does make a difference if the car stays plugged in for long periods, 20 miles a day adds up to 140 extra miles a week. If it's not enough, no big loss, you're out $35 if you don't resell it.

You can still get a Tesla Wall Connector if you want, it has an internal dial adjustment that works for all these scenarios and then some if you ever want to upgrade, but it sounds like a bit overkill for someone who's driving 200 miles/week.

 

[King_M3D]

Just remember to don your PPE (Personal Protective Equipment). It's quite easy to do. Just make sure the main breakers are off, and that your wearing rubber gloves when working in the main panel - just for extra caution. Let's me first state that I am not an electrician, so consult one or your local code requirements - Now that's out of the way, consider going with 3 or 4 gauge THHN wire in a conduit to a new 60 amp DP breaker. Some cheaper electricians may run 6 gauge THHN, which may be the minimum for code, but I wouldn't (runs warmer and voltage drop) - especially since you're going 70' (voltage drop). Future proof by running a black, red, white and green (ground) in the conduit. You won't use the neutral white wire for the HPWC, but it's good to have ran it - in case down the road you dump the Tesla and go with another brand. Then, it's easy-peasy to install an NEMA 14-50 plug for whatever. Of course, then you would have to replace the 60 amp DP breaker in the panel with a 50 amp DP, as the NEMA 14-50 is only rated for 50 amps. Process wise, you can wire everything but the main panel first. Then, if you don't have the "stones" to do the main panel, you can hire out just the hook up. Just a thought...

EDIT: My run was 40' and I used 4/3 cable, as HD was out of 3 and 4 AWG THHN

Losses from a 70ft run of 6AWG wire is about the same as having a 60W light bulb on while charging. By comparison losses from 4AWG wire would be similar to having a 40W light on. Not much difference considering that it is delivering 11.5kW.

 

[King_M3D]

Yes, 6 AWG is probably the minimum to meet code (and maximize profit for the electrician). 4 AWG wire is nearly double the cost of 6 AWG wire (or at least the 4/3 cable is). I like no chance of having a voltage drop at the HPWC, or any wire getting warm to the touch - which I achieved with my "over-kill" 4 AWG installation (35' from main panel).

Voltage drop from 70 ft run of 6 AWG is 1.327V. Voltage drop from 70 ft run of 4 AWG is 0.835V. There is about 20W difference in power lost. Pretty negligible when charging a 75,000W battery pack.

 

[jebinc]

Voltage drop from 70 ft run of 6 AWG is 1.327V. Voltage drop from 70 ft run of 4 AWG is 0.835V. There is about 20W difference in power lost. Pretty negligible when charging a 75,000W battery pack.

Thanks. The "overkill" for me (4 AWG) was for both voltage drop (which I think varies with ambient temperature) and wire heating - I didn't want cable/wires that felt warm to the touch - even if still within code. YMMV