First time Owner as of today, just needed clarification on the charger.

[easyfusionrain]

Hey guys, So I am going to receive my car today and I'm excited. I went and ordered the Tesla Wall Connector and it arrived today. I am trying to follow all the instructions in the manual. I bought a double pole 60 amp circuit breaker for my panel. As for the wiring, I was reading another thread on this forum about 4 gauge being safer? I remember reading the poster saying too much heat or voltage was dissipating with the 6 gauge. So do I get 4 gauge to be safe or will I be okay with 6 gauge that's rated at 90c.

My most concerning question was that in that manual it states

"Grounding Connections
Wall Connector must have a ground path back to the main equipment earthing point on site. Without a proper ground connection, the Wall Connector will fault during a ground assurance test. Equipment grounding conductor must be run with the circuit conductors and connected to the equipment grounding terminal in the wirebox. Install a ground (PE) wire sized according to local electrical code."

I'm not entirely sure what this means. Does this mean I have to do more than just the attaching 2 hot and 1 ground to my main panel and the wall connector? Sorry if they're obvious answers.

 

[easyfusionrain]

I forgot to add. If I'm doing it right then what does "install ground wire sized according to code" mean? Doesn't the 6 gauge cable already come with the ground copper wire inside of it? Would the ground wire be bigger if I bought a 4 gauge cable? Meaning, would the 2 hot and 1 ground all be 4 gauge inside the cable?

 

[Sophias_dad]

My first answer would be 'Get an electrician', but I'll answer the questions.

If its in conduit, 6 gauge INDIVIDUAL CONDUCTORS (and not just conductors pulled out of an NMB wire!) is fine. If its romex/NMB wire, 6awg needs to be derated to its 60C temperature rating, so is not fine. You are NOT allowed to run NMB through conduit(except for very short distances)

PE is Path to Earth. Ground wire. Two hot and one ground is all you need. The ground only needs to be 10 gauge. (8 gauge if you go with 4AWG conductors). And yes, if you get NMB cable it'll all be neatly packaged in a single sheath.

Note that in most areas, maybe everywhere in the US, wiring exposed in garages needs to be in conduit, so NMB is pretty much not allowed.

 

[easyfusionrain]

My first answer would be 'Get an electrician', but I'll answer the questions.

If its in conduit, 6 gauge INDIVIDUAL CONDUCTORS (and not just conductors pulled out of an NMB wire!) is fine. If its romex/NMB wire, 6awg needs to be derated to its 60C temperature rating, so is not fine. You are NOT allowed to run NMB through conduit(except for very short distances)

PE is Path to Earth. Ground wire. Two hot and one ground is all you need. The ground only needs to be 10 gauge. (8 gauge if you go with 4AWG conductors). And yes, if you get NMB cable it'll all be neatly packaged in a single sheath.

Note that in most areas, maybe everywhere in the US, wiring exposed in garages needs to be in conduit, so NMB is pretty much not allowed.

Thanks for the reply and yes I already bought the metal conduit and set that up as well. I just need to run the wires through it. I was going to get a 6-2 cable but I'm guessing that's NMB then. So instead I'll have to get 2 individual 6 gauge hot wires and one 10 gauge ground and run those through to the wall connector and my panel. My friend will be coming today to help me and he's more well versed in these things but just wanted to make sure. Thank you.

 

[jjrandorin]

Hey guys, So I am going to receive my car today and I'm excited. I went and ordered the Tesla Wall Connector and it arrived today. I am trying to follow all the instructions in the manual. I bought a double pole 60 amp circuit breaker for my panel. As for the wiring, I was reading another thread on this forum about 4 gauge being safer? I remember reading the poster saying too much heat or voltage was dissipating with the 6 gauge. So do I get 4 gauge to be safe or will I be okay with 6 gauge that's rated at 90c.

My most concerning question was that in that manual it states

"Grounding Connections
Wall Connector must have a ground path back to the main equipment earthing point on site. Without a proper ground connection, the Wall Connector will fault during a ground assurance test. Equipment grounding conductor must be run with the circuit conductors and connected to the equipment grounding terminal in the wirebox. Install a ground (PE) wire sized according to local electrical code."

I'm not entirely sure what this means. Does this mean I have to do more than just the attaching 2 hot and 1 ground to my main panel and the wall connector? Sorry if they're obvious answers.

The fact that you are asking these questions means you likely should hire an electrician. This is not an outlet like a 15/20amp 120v one in your home. This is an outlet that will continuously pull more electricity than any other outlet in your home. One that if done incorrect, can easily start a fire.

People normalize electricity because it looks simple, but when you get to continuous charging (many times done at night) this is not something people should try to save a few bucks on. The person who is right to install this themselves knows what "install ground wire according to code" is and likely knows that that code is for their area.

Hire someone to do this.

 

[Sophias_dad]

Thanks for the reply and yes I already bought the metal conduit and set that up as well. I just need to run the wires through it. I was going to get a 6-2 cable but I'm guessing that's NMB then. So instead I'll have to get 2 individual 6 gauge hot wires and one 10 gauge ground and run those through to the wall connector and my panel. My friend will be coming today to help me and he's more well versed in these things but just wanted to make sure. Thank you.

Yes, you need the individual conductors, THHN is what you'll normally find for this purpose but there are many others.

 

[Gauss Guzzler]

Thanks for the reply and yes I already bought the metal conduit and set that up as well. I just need to run the wires through it. I was going to get a 6-2 cable but I'm guessing that's NMB then. So instead I'll have to get 2 individual 6 gauge hot wires and one 10 gauge ground and run those through to the wall connector and my panel. My friend will be coming today to help me and he's more well versed in these things but just wanted to make sure. Thank you.

Correct. 6-2 cable can only be run inside walls/attics. You'll need individual lengths of Red/Black 6 AWG THHN and some bare or green 10 AWG. In the panel the ground wire goes to the bar on the side with all the other grounds. To answer your bolded question, national/local building codes require at least 10 AWG ground for a 60A circuit, that's all they're saying.

4 AWG is "better" in some slight way of course, but it's much more expensive and significantly harder to work with. Plus you might need to upsize your conduit accordingly. I suggest sticking with 6 AWG.

You'd be very wise to file for a permit/inspection. In my town this was quick, easy, and cost less than $150. The inspector can give you some assurance that it's done properly and the permit will be very valuable when you sell the house as an unpermitted EVSE is a huge red flag compared to a permitted installation which is a huge selling point.