Cost to run dedicated 240v 60amp line to garage

[JeffreyC]

Currently I have a 120v 20amp line running from our house to a detached garage through a 3/4" conduit that is about 60-70' in length. The distance from the panel to where the conduit leaves the house is about 50' through a drop ceiling in the basement.

I had an electrician come by today and he said he could run a dedicated 240v 60amp line to the garage using the same route and conduit. He would just have to pull new wire through the conduit. In the garage he would install a sub-panel to provide service to the current circuits in the garage (lights, outlets and garage door opener) with 120v 20amp and then install a dedicated 14-30 Nema outlet for the Tesla. He would install a ground rod near the garage as well.

He wants $2,300 to do this. Seems like a lot to me. I am in northern NJ. For those of you who have done similar installs, do you think this is a fair price? Anyone have a recommendation for an electrician in northern NJ? Thanks.

 

[MorrisonHiker]

Currently I have a 120v 20amp line running from our house to a detached garage through a 3/4" conduit that is about 60-70' in length. The distance from the panel to where the conduit leaves the house is about 50' through a drop ceiling in the basement.

I had an electrician come by today and he said he could run a dedicated 240v 60amp line to the garage using the same route and conduit. He would just have to pull new wire through the conduit. In the garage he would install a sub-panel to provide service to the current circuits in the garage (lights, outlets and garage door opener) with 120v 20amp and then install a dedicated 14-30 Nema outlet for the Tesla. He would install a ground rod near the garage as well.

He wants $2,300 to do this. Seems like a lot to me. I am in northern NJ. For those of you who have done similar installs, do you think this is a fair price? Anyone have a recommendation for an electrician in northern NJ? Thanks.

I don't know the local going-rate for such jobs in your area but it doesn't seem that expensive to me. A few years ago, we upgraded the garage from 40 amps to 100 amps and installed 3 14-50 outlets. The wire run was about 100 feet. We had quotes $8000, $3300 and $1800. We went with the $1800 quote and it worked fine. Two years ago, we bumped the garage up to 125 amps when when we had solar, Powerwalls and 3 load-balanced wall connectors installed. That job cost $3000, including the 3 wall connectors.

For each job, we were able to get a 30% refund thanks to the Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Tax Credit. So if you end up paying $2300 for your job, you should be able to get nearly $700 back when you file your taxes next year.

 

[fparent]

He wants $2,300 to do this. Seems like a lot to me. I am in northern NJ.

Get at least 3 quotes.

 

[fparent]

I installed the whole thing myself, a breaker, a 70' cable and a some hardware and the whole thing cost me less than $300. The price he's charging you seems on the high-end.

 

[brkaus]

Is this with a permit and inspection?

Not outlandish, perhaps on the high end. Replacing the wire, adding and connecting a sub panel, reconnecting the old loads, and dealing with the city on permitting and inspection takes time.

You need another quote or two to find out what’s appropriate for your area.

 

[Akikiki]

And how badly do you want it? The real question comes down to what you are willing to pay to get it done how and when you want it.

 

[msun]

Do get multiple quotes. In central Jersey, I got mine with permit & inspection for 500 for install (60A breaker, 25ft from panel). Separately paid for the gen 3 Tesla wall charger. Definitely Anglielist/Homeadvier is your friend. I got quotes ranging from 500 to 2,200, median quotes was 700 and will depend on length from panel.

 

[fparent]

Is this with a permit and inspection?

Not outlandish, perhaps on the high end. Replacing the wire, adding and connecting a sub panel, reconnecting the old loads, and dealing with the city on permitting and inspection takes time.

You need another quote or two to find out what’s appropriate for your area.

I just wanted to provide a basis for figuring out how much labor was being billed for the job. It felt high.

 

[JeffreyC]

Thanks for all the responses. I will get at least two more quotes before I pull the trigger on this project.

 

[MrWattson]

Seems high considering what I have read from others. My electrician is coming out next week for a quote. We shall see where it lands. As other have said, get a couple quotes.

I have worked with my electrician on other projects in the house. He fills out the permit paperwork and I do the legwork with the township and make the payment. If you want your electrician to do that legwork, it is billable time.

 

[Akikiki]

@JeffreyC, Maybe you should @fparent over to NJ to install it for you. Sounds from him that he can do it and knows what he's doing.

 

[seniorcitizen]

I am in mn. Mine is an attached garage but the wire length is still 70 feet. I also needed a new 60 amp circuit. I got 3 quotes from the electricians I found via Tesla web site. Quotes were $2200, $1650 and $1000. The guy who was at $1000 gets excellent reviews at Angie’s list. So get more quotes. Price varies so much because of the size of companies. The most expensive quite came from a salesman who was driving a Tesla.

 

[Maxpilot]

That's a very high quote. I had the same distance 6 gauge wire, 50 amp cb and outlet installed for just under $800. I have 3/4 conduit. The electrician had trouble pulling the 6 gauge wire through 3/4 conduit. For 60 amp, your really need 4 gauge wire so that would be even harder in addition to the existing 20 amp wire already in the conduit. I told my electrician I wanted the NEMA 14-50 outlet for an RV. I never mentioned a Tesla.

 

[user212_nr]

He wants $2,300 to do this. Seems like a lot to me. I am in northern NJ. For those of you who have done similar installs, do you think this is a fair price? Anyone have a recommendation for an electrician in northern NJ? Thanks.

Its not that high considering the area is expensive and the amount of work to install a sub-panel, ground rod. I wouldn't exactly say it is "fair" but you won't bargain it down much.

Also, the subpanel is a waste of money when you have so little power left on it. You should send at 100A to make the sub-panel worthwhile, or install a 30A circuit with no sub-panel and no ground-rod.

 

[seniorcitizen]

Adding subpanel makes it more expensive. In my case adding sub panel was at least $2000. So I chose to just get single circuit to a hard wired charger.

 

[Canefan456]

I paid $2500 to have a very similar job done. My electrician installed a new meter box with circuit breakers so that it could be run directly from the meter to the detached garage without tearing up my basement where the breaker panel is. Run was about 50ft, same as yours. Here's the thing though, they have to run 6 AWG wire which is thick, thick, thick. Good luck pulling that through a 60' 3/4 inch conduit... especially if there's any bends.

 

[kayak1]

The 14-30 Nema outlet is a bit of a disappointment...

If you have the Tesla Gen 3 Wall charger you should be able to put it on a 40 AMP circuit and have it charge at 32 amps vs 24 on the 14-30.

The sub-panel will be limited to 60 AMPS based on the 3/4" conduit. If you can run a 2nd conduit you won't be limited to 40 amps and won't need the new subpanel (assuming your main panel has space).

I would find another electrition to quote the job. Having the conduit in place is 3/4 the battle.

I wired my wife get 3 wall charger and 90% of the work was running the conduit as I am was a bit rusty with the conduit bender.

For me, it was a cheap job as I already had #6 THHN in Red and Black around I only had to purchase 30' of conduit and some #10 green for the ground.

 

[Blackmy21]

Holy cow I feel like I'm getting a heck of a deal then $250 plus materials to install a 200 amp box in my garage build and install a mast and new meter box and run a 80' 100amp service line to backfeed my house from the garage and install 2 220 outlets guess it pays to have a father in law that has electrician friends lol

 

[pilotSteve]

Holy cow I feel like I'm getting a heck of a deal then $250 plus materials to install a 200 amp box in my garage build and install a mast and new meter box and run a 80' 100amp service line to backfeed my house from the garage and install 2 220 outlets guess it pays to have a father in law that has electrician friends lol

Are they licensed and bonded? Something to know when evaluating quotes. You might save on install cost yet find your your homeowners insurance coverage invalid.

 

[Blackmy21]

State licensed and bonded