Electrician Woes [issues getting an electrician to quote me]

[SumOne]

I've been seriously considering buying a new Model 3 Performance for a while now, and first step in that process for me anyway is getting the charging at home 100% figured out before pulling the trigger on the car itself. To get started I did what most noobs I assume do, and I went on Tesla's website under the charger "find an electrician" section, and I must've filled out 5 different forms. Only heard back from one who said they don't service my zip code near Denver for some reason.

After that I resorted to just mass emailing the whole list; totally ignoring the forms. Only three responses so far and I'm still waiting like two more weeks before someone gets out here to take a look. Anyone else experience this? Should I try a different route? Any tips?

Also, while on the subject... Do I really need to get the tesla wall charger? Or should I just get a 240v outlet installed in the garage so I can easily charge a non-tesla... say for example I decided to upgrade my wifes Rav4 Hybrid to a Rav4 Prime which can be plugged in. Are adaptors the way to go or is the 240v outlet better?

 

[jjrandorin]

No, the wall charger is not a requirement in any way. You can simply get an outlet and use the mobile connector that comes with the car.

Construction people have a lot of work, getting peoples attention can be difficult. This also depends on how you emailed them. If it was "Hi, I am thinking about getting a tesla and want to figure out how to charge at home, can you contact me?", or anything that didnt imply "I am ready to spend money right now", the workload they likely have dictates they dont "have time for that, will get back to it later".

Unless your electrical setup is going to be problematic (very old house, panel a long way from where you park, very undersized panel, etc), you should be able to get SOME sort of 240V charging where you park, if you have a house and not a condo or something.

 

[glide]

I've been seriously considering buying a new Model 3 Performance for a while now, and first step in that process for me anyway is getting the charging at home 100% figured out before pulling the trigger on the car itself. To get started I did what most noobs I assume do, and I went on Tesla's website under the charger "find an electrician" section, and I must've filled out 5 different forms. Only heard back from one who said they don't service my zip code near Denver for some reason.

After that I resorted to just mass emailing the whole list; totally ignoring the forms. Only three responses so far and I'm still waiting like two more weeks before someone gets out here to take a look. Anyone else experience this? Should I try a different route? Any tips?

Also, while on the subject... Do I really need to get the tesla wall charger? Or should I just get a 240v outlet installed in the garage so I can easily charge a non-tesla... say for example I decided to upgrade my wifes Rav4 Hybrid to a Rav4 Prime which can be plugged in. Are adaptors the way to go or is the 240v outlet better?

Not sure if you’ve heard, but people in the trades have more than they can handle these days.

Getting an electrician to do a one-off $1000 install is going to be difficult.

 

[SumOne]

Pretty much told them I'm ready to go ASAP.

Sent pictures of my home, electrical fuse box inside and out. No HOA. Home was built in 95. Need a professional to tell me if my electrical is adequate for the charger... Otherwise, I'm G2G.

Did you all just reach out to local electricians instead of through Tesla?

 

[bruce4000]

How many miles do you drive a day? I am just using the mobile adapter plugged into 120v 15 amp circuit (run at 12 amp) and get 3 mi/ hr with my MY. I might upgrade next year but am avoiding as everything is difficult right now.

 

[SumOne]

How many miles do you drive a day? I am just using the mobile adapter plugged into 120v 15 amp circuit (run at 12 amp) and get 3 mi/ hr with my MY. I might upgrade next year but am avoiding as everything is difficult right now.

Probably 40 miles per day. I know its manageable with the 120v outlet to get just that by charging overnight, but part of the draw of this car is that I literally don't need to it to "fill up" anywhere.

 

[jjrandorin]

Pretty much told them I'm ready to go ASAP.

Sent pictures of my home, electrical fuse box inside and out. No HOA. Home was built in 95. Need a professional to tell me if my electrical is adequate for the charger... Otherwise, I'm G2G.

Did you all just reach out to local electricians instead of through Tesla?

I bought mine in 2018, which, at this point ,feels like a decade ago for some obvious reasons (lol). for 40 miles a day, you should be fine with just about any home charging. The adapter that comes with the car will not charge faster than 32amps, even though the model 3 performance can charge at up to 48amps.

32amps will be fine for your commute, however. The easiest thing to get put in would be an outlet, and any competent electrician can put one in your garage (outlet).

 

[Red Ryder 3]

Don't tell them its a charger for a Tesla. just a "...240V receptacle in my garage..."

 

[SumOne]

Don't tell them its a charger for a Tesla. just a "...240V receptacle in my garage..."

Good idea.

 

[SumOne]

Welp, sounds like so far the consensus it to just have a regular electrician install a 240 outlet in my garage and call it a day.

From this thread it looks like 14-30 is a dryer outlet, and most common, so I should probly tell the electrician a dryer is getting installed in my garage and call it a day? (Then buy the tesla adaptor here?)

 

[jjrandorin]

Don't tell them its a charger for a Tesla. just a "...240V receptacle in my garage..."

People recommend this a lot but its not something I would particularly recommend. The problem with this is, an outlet for a piece of equipment does not have the same 80% derating requirments as an outlet for continuous use like EV charging. If you tell your electrician that you want an outlet for some piece of equipment, they will quote you for that, including wiring etc for THAT and perhaps not suitable for EV charging.

If you try to flip it on them when they get there, they may not have the appropriate wiring, OR may raise the price because they need to use higher gauge wiring, etc.

Not a good idea to hide this, in my opinion, although people do because they dont know or dont care about this concern.

 

[jjrandorin]

Welp, sounds like so far the consensus it to just have a regular electrician install a 240 outlet in my garage and call it a day.

From this thread it looks like 14-30 is a dryer outlet, and most common, so I should probly tell the electrician a dryer is getting installed in my garage and call it a day? (Then buy the tesla adaptor here?)


View attachment 729461

If you want a 30amp circuit that will charge at 24 amps that would work.... but as I said earlier I wouldnt recommend hiding it, for the reason I specified.

 

[Red Ryder 3]

I stand corrected....

 

[qdeathstar]

I've been seriously considering buying a new Model 3 Performance for a while now, and first step in that process for me anyway is getting the charging at home 100% figured out before pulling the trigger on the car itself. To get started I did what most noobs I assume do, and I went on Tesla's website under the charger "find an electrician" section, and I must've filled out 5 different forms. Only heard back from one who said they don't service my zip code near Denver for some reason.

After that I resorted to just mass emailing the whole list; totally ignoring the forms. Only three responses so far and I'm still waiting like two more weeks before someone gets out here to take a look. Anyone else experience this? Should I try a different route? Any tips?

Also, while on the subject... Do I really need to get the tesla wall charger? Or should I just get a 240v outlet installed in the garage so I can easily charge a non-tesla... say for example I decided to upgrade my wifes Rav4 Hybrid to a Rav4 Prime which can be plugged in. Are adaptors the way to go or is the 240v outlet better?

You can just use a 50 amp outlet. (30 would also work, but you get faster charging with the 50) then get the adapter for the car you are buying.

Google electrician I google, see what comes up, then read their reviews and pick a few to get you a price. It doesn’t have to go be a Tesla electrician. Should run 600+ depending on difficulty. 30 amp would be 400+.

Also, current code specifics GFCI protection for plug in car charge, however most localities aren’t on the current code and aren’t enforcing it. If you want it GFCI protected you should tell the electrician ahead of time, it should add $200 to the cost.

 

[Red Ryder 3]

Price highly depends on where you live!

 

[LoudMusic]

I'd go with NEMA 14-50, 240v50a circuit. That'll get a Model 3 or Model Y up to their maximum AC charge rate of 32 amps. It's also a very common plug at RV sites if you're into that sort of thing. Install price will likely be very similar. And the extra current will charge the car a little quicker - enough to get from completely dead to completely full in less than 10 hours.

 

[jjrandorin]

You can just use a 50 amp outlet. (30 would also work, but you get faster charging with the 50) then get the adapter for the car you are buying.

Google electrician I google, see what comes up, then read their reviews and pick a few to get you a price. It doesn’t have to go be a Tesla electrician. Should run 600+ depending on difficulty.

I hate to put you on the spot here (but I dont think you will mind).... but I know you are an actual licensed electrician. Can you give feedback on, at a high level, why telling not telling an electrician the outlet is for EV charging might be a bad idea?

What safety concerns do you have (if any) with this?

What do you do, for example, if someone asks you for a quote for <insert random shop equipment> and you arrive on site then they tell you its actually for an EV?

I know there is a moral thing here too but thats not what I am talking about, I am talking more about safety (ensuring when someone is charging its correct) or what might be a difficult conversation if you arrive and they drop it on you.

 

[qdeathstar]

I hate to put you on the spot here (but I dont think you will mind).... but I know you are an actual licensed electrician. Can you give feedback on, at a high level, why telling not telling an electrician the outlet is for EV charging might be a bad idea?

What safety concerns do you have (if any) with this?

What do you do, for example, if someone asks you for a quote for <insert random shop equipment> and you arrive on site then they tell you its actually for an EV?

I know there is a moral thing here too but thats not what I am talking about, I am talking more about safety (ensuring when someone is charging its correct) or what might be a difficult conversation if you arrive and they drop it on you.

The major difference is that a dryer or welder is not a continuous load where as an EVSE is. Your panel nights be fine to deal with a dryer which is only used intermittently and whose main power consumption (the heating element) isn’t even constantly on while the dryer is running but not an evse witch will draw 24 amps for 12 hours at a time continuously.

Higher level, when you go to see a doctor you wouldn’t hide some symptoms from him hoping to get a discount treatment, why hide information from your electrician? It makes no sense.

If someone told me it was for an EV after telling me it was for a dryer I would recommend they install a 50 amp receptacle instead, evaluate the panel to see if there was enough current, notify them of the unenforced GFCI requirement and then see what they wanted to do.

 

[SumOne]

Great advice here. Thanks everyone. I'll be calling a local electrician in the morning!

 

[Rocky_H]

The problem with this is, an outlet for a piece of equipment does not have the same 80% derating requirments as an outlet for continuous use like EV charging. If you tell your electrician that you want an outlet for some piece of equipment, they will quote you for that, including wiring etc for THAT and perhaps not suitable for EV charging.

Huh? None of that is true. The 80% has nothing to do with it, and does not change the installation of how it's done or what kind of wiring it uses. There is a possible thing about whether it gets a standard breaker or GFCI breaker, but that's another thing that's been talked about elsewhere. And someone might request one of the more robust brands of outlet instead of the cheapy Leviton, but that's not a code issue.