Electrician Mounted Wall Connector Backwards!

[dansev]

Hi everyone, here's a question I never thought I'd have to ask. I have a small cottage on Cape Cod, and asked an electrician to install a Tesla Wall Connector, while also doing some other punch-list electrical needs I've had lingering. This is a seasonal cottage and I'm rarely there in the winter. I left it to him to take care of this work on his own, after walking through it all, in person, in the fall. We determined exactly where the connector would go, and he did a nice job with it...except...it's facing the wrong direction! See pic.

In the end, I feel like this will be difficult to coil and wrap, especially on rainy days. I'll need to reach over the wet post, coiling a sandy, dirty cable. Definitely not ideal. And I can't fathom why he would have done this. If I ask him to reverse it, my sense is that even though this is 100% his fault, I will be charged as he has lots of other work to do and he will just roll that into the rest of the work. Would you just let it go? Maybe it won't be so bad, and as my wife suggested, it's kind of hidden and less advertising. Or...tell him to fix it and just pay the extra? Or be firm and tell him this is crazy, and demand it be changed without charging me?

You just can't let these folks do *anything* without standing behind them watching. You know? How could I have ever imagined that I'd need to specify that it should face the driveway???

 

[jjrandorin]

I dont know.... if he is doing a bunch of other work for you, hopefully it wouldnt be much issue for him to move it to the other side of the post.

If it were me, that is what I would ask for, since thats what you want, and because he is also doing other work for you. Seems like a very reasonable request to me, as long as you sound as reasonable to the electrician as you sound here.

 

[GlmnAlyAirCar]

I can understand how he would have made the mistake. The way he has it set up, you would be facing the car while plugging/unplugging. It looks like an honest mistake especially for someone who might not be familiar with the location of the Tesla charge port. I would think he would be willing to move it as a goodwill gesture or at least for a minimal charge.

 

[Resist]

This was not an honest mistake, OMG seriously?! He needs to fix it for free!

 

[moa999]

Does seem strange, but maybe they thought you'd like it a bit more hidden from view, particularly if you're not often there.

Reality is I look at the lights on the car when I plugin rather than the HPWC.

 

[aNullValue]

From a practical point of view, if the electric was coming right out from the house, it would have been *way* easier to get the wire up the pedestal (pole) the way he did it, as compared to how you want it. Particularly if he used a rigid conduit/pipe.

I'd just put a hanger on the other side of the pole and be done with it.

 

[!igs]

LOL

 

[GtiMart]

Maybe it's better that the charger is not visible from the street?

 

[theothertom]

From a practical point of view, if the electric was coming right out from the house, it would have been *way* easier to get the wire up the pedestal (pole) the way he did it, as compared to how you want it. Particularly if he used a rigid conduit/pipe.

I'd just put a hanger on the other side of the pole and be done with it.

Yeah, me too. The installation only reduces the length the cable will reach by what, maybe 4 inches?

 

[dansev]

From a practical point of view, if the electric was coming right out from the house, it would have been *way* easier to get the wire up the pedestal (pole) the way he did it, as compared to how you want it. Particularly if he used a rigid conduit/pipe.

I'd just put a hanger on the other side of the pole and be done with it.

So in the months since this happened, I have grown to both appreciate and be frustrated by this. In the end I will say it’s a good thing overall. It is a pain in the butt to coil up the cable and put the connector in the housing. BUT… The people in the cottage next-door to me are pretty close to the wall connector, and that thing lights up brightly on a dark night. As it is, it shines into my bedroom window when charging. The pulsating green LED is actually pretty annoying. Better my window than my neighbors!

 

[aNullValue]

So in the months since this happened, I have grown to both appreciate and be frustrated by this. In the end I will say it’s a good thing overall. It is a pain in the butt to coil up the cable and put the connector in the housing. BUT… The people in the cottage next-door to me are pretty close to the wall connector, and that thing lights up brightly on a dark night. As it is, it shines into my bedroom window when charging. The pulsating green LED is actually pretty annoying. Better my window than my neighbors!

that’s unfortunate. Maybe trim some black electrical tape and cover most of the light?

 

[Resist]

From a practical point of view, if the electric was coming right out from the house, it would have been *way* easier to get the wire up the pedestal (pole) the way he did it, as compared to how you want it. Particularly if he used a rigid conduit/pipe.

That really doesn't make any sense, as it wouldn't be any harder to get the wire up the pedestal at the front.

 

[RayK]

You have to trench past the post, turn 90 degrees to get in front of the post, then another 90 degree turn to go up the post. Or drill through the post and then up the front. Versus the single 90 degree bend to mount it as it is now.

 

[Resist]

You have to trench past the post, turn 90 degrees to get in front of the post, then another 90 degree turn to go up the post. Or drill through the post and then up the front. Versus the single 90 degree bend to mount it as it is now.

Yes, I know and I stand by what I said. It's still not that hard and lazy not doing it the right way, especially when you're being paid to do the job.

 

[Rocky_H]

Sometimes moving the goal posts is so simple.

it wouldn't be any harder

still not that hard

Absolute statement is absolute.

 

[RayK]

If I had to put a wall connector (WC) outside on a post, I'd probably be doing it so that the front of the WC (i.e., the status lights) faces away from the street. My electrical panel is mounted on the side of my garage, with respect to the street. I have a driveway that I park on but where I park is not directly in front of the garage door; majority of the car is on the pathway leading to the backyard. I also back in when parking. That puts my charge port closest to the garage / panel. There's a strip of plants between my driveway and the neighbor's but that's where the electrical feed from the street is buried. I'd also have to trench under the concrete walkway to get there. That leaves the small plot of dirt directly underneath the electrical panel to put the post and WC. It would also require that I dig up one or two of my wife's jade plants but that's another issue.

So, for my case, putting the WC so that it faces the street would require the double 90 degree bend in the conduit (around the post and then up). I'd still elect to put the WC on the post so it faces the backyard gate. It's not because of the annoyance the lights might cause to my neighbors; across the street is an S owner. Nor is it the "advertisement" factor; there's 24 houses on my short street and there's at least 5 other houses with a Tesla. Mostly it's just the simplest way to do the job. The cable can be coiled up on the side of the post facing the street. If you really didn't know about EV charging, it might look like a garden hose that's hanging there.

 

[Genie]

Having it mounted 90* from where it is puts the handle storage to the street and the indicators away from your window without extra elbows.

 

[Resist]

At the very least the electrician should have asked how the owner wanted the unit to be facing. But instead he chose to make that call on his own without regard for the homeowner. He needs to fix his mistake!