Brass Guy
Active Member
Yes, if you want it to be EASY. Probably a difference of 6 mph vs 8 mph, maybe not that big of a deal.
-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
Charging Challenged - Service Panel Too Small
- Thread starter habanero69
- Start date
Joining the chorus of others: If you can do a 6-20 outlet you can also do a HPWC turned down to 16 amps if you would like that setup instead. Though I'd be surprised if you couldn't sneak a 30 amp double pole breaker in there instead and run 24 amps to a HPWC. Of course if there are enough defined loads already that you're full there's nothing else to be done. The 6-20 should work for everything that doesn't need Supercharging.
12AWG is good for 20A (reasonable length run)
10AWG is good for 30A (reasonable length run)
I am just a hack, so I would recommend consulting a real electrician.
Btw, it wouldn't surprise me if the youngster handling the UMC adapters wises up and re-releases the 14-30 (we have heard that from another owner), replaces the rare/silly 6-15 with a 6-20, and adds either a TT-30 or 5-30 since the demand for these new adapters will positively soar when M3 ships since many folks will have very limited additional load center capacity.
FlatSix911
Porsche 918 Hybrid
A quick look at Home Depot returned this result for the Double Throw safety switch that would allow you to pass power to either a clothes dryer or a 30 amp EVSE. Note the 3 position ON-OFF-ON lever action. There is also a 60 amp version.
GE 30 Amp 240-Volt Non-Fused Indoor General-Duty Double-Throw Safety Switch-TC35321 - The Home Depot
GE 30 Amp 240-Volt Non-Fused Indoor General-Duty Double-Throw Safety Switch-TC35321 - The Home Depot
Electric700
Active Member
I'm in a condo. The feed to the meter is underground to a transformer pad/enclosure. The meter feeds my 125A disconnect adjacent to the meter, then the wires go underground/under-pad to my garage where they enter the service panel. Short of pulling new wires from disconnect to main panel, not much I can do. Even then, both disconnect and main and disconnect panel have to be replaced. The main panel is marked max 125A.
I don't know why, but pulling a permit in my area an electrician is about $350 give or take. Highest in the county and maybe state... The person that posted adding a 240V 20A circuit seems to be the most plausible and cheap. I can do myself; no permit. That might be my best bet. Doing google on a 240v outlet yields quite a few options. That is where I may need Mr Fixit.
You may want to install a 6-15 outlet (15 A, 240 V) instead if you are interested in using the MC. Tesla doesn't have a 6-20 adapter for sale now. Here's the 6-15 adapter link: Tesla — NEMA 6-15. With it you'll be able to get about 8 miles / hour of added range.
Since your panel can accomadate a 20 A, 240 V circuit, I would install a proper 6-20 outlet. That should be safe and to code, and OK to leave as is when you move.
As already suggested, you can charge at 12 Amps with Tesla's 6-16 UMC adapter, and be 100% "kosher."
To charge at 16 Amps, buy Tesla's 5-20 UMC adapter. Then make a short 6-20P to 5-20R extension cord. Label it "CAUTION 240 V - for EV charging Only."
Good Luck,
GSP
As already suggested, you can charge at 12 Amps with Tesla's 6-16 UMC adapter, and be 100% "kosher."
To charge at 16 Amps, buy Tesla's 5-20 UMC adapter. Then make a short 6-20P to 5-20R extension cord. Label it "CAUTION 240 V - for EV charging Only."
Good Luck,
GSP
Electric700
Active Member
Brass Guy
Active Member
It seems I've underestimated 240V charging at lower amperage. In my previous post I wrote a 20A circuit would replenish the 20 miles per day plus 60 additional miles. II'll update my opinion and say the best solution is the 6-15 outlet and Tesla's 6-15 adapter. That should give the OP plenty of miles overnight.
brucet999
Active Member
I just had the electrician over to assess adding the 14-50 wall outlet. No go. My service panel is 125A and the ONLY addition I can make is adding ONE measly 115v 20A circuit. I would have to replace my house disconnect, wires from meter to main panel and the main panel itself to add a 14-50 at a cost of $4,000+. Not going there...
I have a dryer outlet 10-30 in the laundry room off of the garage, but I can't reach even backing in without some form of extension. Can someone be so kind as to tell me or link me to a extension cable/adapter that I could use? Otherwise, at the 115v 20A I might get 6 mph... Although that would probably work for during the week as my work commute is ridiculously short, weekend's mean a trip to a super charger for sure...
THX,
M
It is very easy to extend that dryer outlet circuit to a convenient place for charging and install a 30A outlet there. If you don't use an electric dryer, you can simply use the old outlet in the new box downstream.
Your electrician can do it easily or, if you are pretty handy, you can do it yourself as I did.
Shut off the 30A breaker
Remove the 10-30 outlet
Add an extension box onto the dryer outlet box
Run conduit from there to a new box at the charging location
Pull white, black, and red #8 wire (I know, code calls for #10 for 30A, but #8 will minimize additional line loss) through to the new box. If the old box is metal and grounded, you can use metal conduit without a separate grounding wire, Otherwise pull a grounding wire as well.
Splice the new wires to the corresponding colored wires in the dryer outlet box and install a cover on the box
Install 10-30 outlet in the new box
The Siemens panel I have has breakers that are normal width and offer one 120v branch, but they also have a double breaker that fits two independent 120v branches in the same amount of panel space - call it one slot. By swapping out several normal width breakers and compressing several branches down into half the panel space you might be able to free up enough for a double pole 240v breaker for a hefty branch of your liking...
This is exactly what I did (except with a Cutler Hammer CH panel) to free up some extra breaker slots. I then fed a new 100 amp subpanel in my garage, which will give me more than enough extra breaker space for the future.
BrokerDon
Active Member
The Tesla recommended electrician we selected "doubled up" a couple of our breakers and did a "load calc" to install our 80A Tesla HPWC ("High Power Wall Charger") on a 100A breaker in our 200A combo meter / main service panel. The load calc was required since our panel has well over 200A in connected circuits including a 100A subpanel. I took his load calc to our county Building Dept., got an electrical permit, and their inspector signed off. Its worked flawlessly for 12 months now including a couple of "maximum amperage" charges at 80A. We typically charge at 50A which keeps the HPWC cable and Tesla connector cool here in typically warm sunny SoCal.
Xenoilphobe
Well-Known Member
replace your electric dryer with a gas one and reuse the same circuit for your car (should be way less the $4000)
GET A DRYER BUDDY via Dryer Buddy's
......I Have no affiliation to Brad S. Apelgren (BSA Electronics) But he seems to have many work arounds.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/hc6ei1dkkqwbiwz/BSAelectronics%20EVSE%20flyer.pdf?dl=0
......I Have no affiliation to Brad S. Apelgren (BSA Electronics) But he seems to have many work arounds.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/hc6ei1dkkqwbiwz/BSAelectronics%20EVSE%20flyer.pdf?dl=0
Last edited:
Similar threads
- Question
