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Charging my Y with a NEMA 14-50
- Thread starter SCYC
- Start date
Can someone here share me the items list ? I'm planning to buy them in Home Depot or Lowes. I also wanted to know if we have setup a 60 Amp breaker and run them them to a Nema 14-50R oulet using the Romex 6/3 Wire in a conduit ? 60 Amp instead of 50 amp is just for future proof just in case i change from the Nema 14-50 outlet to the Tesla Gen 3 wall charger. Pls let me know.
60 breaker with Romex needs a 4 gauge wire. You can run a 4/2 and use a 6-50 outlet - neutral isn't needed. You also aren't allowed to put a 14-50 on a 60 amp breaker.
Romex (NM) doesn't go in a conduit. You can use 90C THHN for that. If you go that route, you can put a 60A breaker on 6 gauge. (Not an electrician, but I read a lot.)
Romex (NM) doesn't go in a conduit. You can use 90C THHN for that. If you go that route, you can put a 60A breaker on 6 gauge. (Not an electrician, but I read a lot.)
My electrician installed 6 AWG with a 60 amp breaker for my Gen 3 wall connector. Said it was good for what I needed. Max amps it can pull is 48A anyway.
If he used NM (romex), that's against code. 55 amps is the max breaker 6 gauge NM for a 0.8 * 55 = 44 amp max continuous load.
I have no idea what he used other than it's 6 gauge. Maybe because it's a 4ft run and the wire has more insulation? Just a guess. TBH I thought it would have to be 4 gauge too but in the end: they're the licensed electrician, I'm not, and if they say it's up to code and are willing to put their stamp of approval on it then I believe them.
According to this chart it's perfectly acceptable to run my 4 ft length with a 60A breaker and 6AWG copper wire. But again, I'm not an electrician, this was my electrician's call.
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You're not reading the distinction. If the method used is separate individual wires in a conduit, then that has more free air space around it, and then yes, that can vent heat better and has a higher current rating, and 6 gauge wires CAN be used for a 60A circuit. But if it was Romex cable, where it's the wires bundled tightly together in that plastic sheath, they can't release the heat as well, so they have to use a lower temperature rating, and 6 gauge wires in that kind of cable CAN NOT be used for a 60A circuit.
Sounds good. Are you an electrician? Because I'm not and I really don't know what my electrician decided to do other than he put 6AWG on the work order so I know it works. Happy to ask him though.
Also being located in the Bay Area, do you mind sharing what you paid for installation?
Paid $500 for a 4 ft run. Electric box is right outside my garage so they just drilled through the back, into the garage, and went a couple feet over. Took them about 2 hours to get everything installed. He's actually a friend of ours whose been doing this a long time so I didn't ask anyone else to be honest, not sure if he gave me a good rate or not (he claims he gave me the "friends and family rate") but considering this is the Bay Area, I figure it's not bad.
Agreed that Romex/NM-B cable has a max ampacity of 55A in 6AWG. If you used separate wires in conduit then 6AWG is fine for 60A.
BTW @NevadaFrenchy , that graph you shared appears to be for DC circuit capacity in boats, not AC capacity according to the National Electric Code. Google "ampacity chart" and you'll get many hits. Here's the first one - Ampacity Charts - Cerrowire
NM-B/Romex must be read from the 60C column, THHN in conduit can usually be read from the 75C column.
In any case, as you said it's the electrician's license at stake if something happens...but it's your house that could burn down.
BTW @NevadaFrenchy , that graph you shared appears to be for DC circuit capacity in boats, not AC capacity according to the National Electric Code. Google "ampacity chart" and you'll get many hits. Here's the first one - Ampacity Charts - Cerrowire
NM-B/Romex must be read from the 60C column, THHN in conduit can usually be read from the 75C column.
In any case, as you said it's the electrician's license at stake if something happens...but it's your house that could burn down.
I have a question related to the NEMA 14-50 plug for the UMC charger. I know the Neutral wire (white) is not used because there is an optional NEMA 6-50 plug (red, black, ground). It is the same with the Wall Charger, two line plus ground used and neutral is unused.
To start charging, does the UMC charger check if the Neutral wire is connected or not when using the 14-50 plug?
I am asking this question because I have two house. First has 6/3 wire and a 15-50 receptacle in the garage, second has 6/2 wire to a disconnect junction box in the garage but no receptacle. For the second house, can I install the 14-50 receptacle without neutral connection or should I install a 6-50 receptacle and buy the Tesla 6-50 plug?
To start charging, does the UMC charger check if the Neutral wire is connected or not when using the 14-50 plug?
I am asking this question because I have two house. First has 6/3 wire and a 15-50 receptacle in the garage, second has 6/2 wire to a disconnect junction box in the garage but no receptacle. For the second house, can I install the 14-50 receptacle without neutral connection or should I install a 6-50 receptacle and buy the Tesla 6-50 plug?
No, it doesn't do anything with that neutral pin. That is actually a dummy piece of metal that is just there for structure, but isn't connected to anything inside the plug adapter.
That would be exceedingly strange, as a 15-50 is a very odd and rare outlet type. I'm thinking this is a typo. Do you mean 5-15 or 14-50? Those are both pretty common.
No, definitely don't put a 14-50 receptacle, which is supposed to have all four wires, onto only a three wire line that is missing the neutral. Not only is that a code violation, but it can be pretty dangerous if someone were to ever plug an RV into that outlet with the missing neutral. I didn't know how this would work before until I saw some Youtube videos about it, but appliances or lights in the RV, which are expecting 120V, can get very uneven voltage levels across them, up to 240, and can blow up. It's not a good thing. So put the proper 6-50 on there and buy Tesla's 6-50 adapter.
We started with the 40 amp Juicebox for the first month. Dealing with the adapter was a little bit of a pain. So we decided to run the mobile connecter that came with the car for awhile. Either way it was charged in the morning. So we took the Juicebox down and put the UMC up. It is lighter, smaller and for the most part the car gives most of the info the WIFI jucicebox gave other than the charge graph. We don't miss the extra 8 amps. We are currently selling the Juicebox and will buy a second UMC to leave in the trunk. The Juicebox was great for the Leaf though.
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Well, that is a different specific code violation. Even though they are both nominally at 0V potential, NEC requires that neutral and ground lines be kept separate all through your house. There must only be one place where they are tied together, and that is in your main electrical panel. It's a violation to tie them in an outlet or in a subpanel.
You misunderstood, for safety measure I was thinking connecting together the ground female and neutral female of the 14-50R socket and then connecting to the ground wire. The electrical panels (2 panels for a total of 400A) are the only location where ground and neutral are bonded together. The problem is the electrician installed 6/2 wires, 3 years ago when house was built. Now, I will put a 6-50R socket and get the Tesla adapter.
Thanks again
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