Got a quote for 14-50 install in garage, please help!

[Rcmpnc]

I will end up getting the 14-50 NEMA adapter. However, wife and I wanted to keep our provided chargers in our cars and share a common charger.

The extra speed wasn’t “critical”. Regardless of which L2 charger method I chose, I had to install a new run. So 14-50 was the most flexible future proof option IMO.

The charger I chose is plug and go. Not hardwired.

Don't want to just get a $35 NEMA 14-50 adapter from Tesla and use the mobility charger included with the car?

Do you really need to charge that much faster? You'll spend what $500 on a charger and then need the electrician to come back out and wire it up?

 

[ArtK]

At least, install the next largest diameter conduit with a pull cord. Negligible additional expense. If you ever want to run a second outdoor outlet it could be done very inexpensively because conduit and pull cord already there.

I did just that -- had another cable pulled from the breaker panel to the garage at the same time. The cost was negligible and you never really know about future needs.

 

[Bikeman]

Besides going with 6 guage wire, I would also ask if it could be a 100% copper run rather than aluminum (or copper clad aluminum) for any decent length. If you are charging for 6 hours or more at 240v & 40-50A, resistive heat build-up is possible (but not probable) and that might help. I'd also re-tighten any screws that hold the wires down after a couple weeks just to insure maximum connectivity. Copper compresses slowly. If you think that is paranoid thinking, ask the electician what he'd do if the car and 50A service line was in his own home.

Re: 200A service... is the car going to take 50% or more of the service? What's the air conditioning using, or any other main appliance that is using electric?

I face the same problem with my 100A service, though, at present, the L2 charging doesn't have any higher load than 240v @ 16A since the 3.3kw charger in the plug-in hybrid I drive can't pull any more than that. A Tesla will, at a realistic minimum, need 240v and 40A for 32A charging. I know we can't be charging at night with central air on and using microvaves and countertop ovens and all the lights and TV's on at the same time, so I've wrestled with the 200A service question. Highly unusual to have everything on at once, but if a permit is pulled, an inspector or building department might ask those questions... maybe. Or they might only look to see if the work requested was done to code. More likely, the later.

 

[Feathermerchan]

You can always turn down the charge rate. To like 20A or so.

 

[jeremymc7]

Yep similar here.

1969 house:
100A service
Breakers are all full
Tesla Model 3
Audi E-Tron Hybrid Plug-In
Central HVAC
Two Frigs's
Electric Oven

Need to be to only charge the Tesla in the middle of the night when the rest of stuff is off.

Oddly I've never tripped the main or actually pulled 100A since I never have everything on at once. But too many things are on the same circuits and easy to trip certain circuits.

House really needs a new box at least, if not 200A and also at least a partial rewire. Not going to be done by me. Not staying here forever and too much money.

 

[Whitetiger]

A new electrician has entered the game!

"Run 1” conduit with #8 AWG to detached garage for a NEMA 14-50 receptacle. Connect it to 50 AMP 2 pole breaker in main panel"

He's charging $1450 for this, which I feel like is pretty fair considering the main panel is on the opposite corner of the lot from a detached garage (5,000 sqft lot, 50x100). He won't patch the grass or redo concrete, but the concrete is very minimal, and my grass is totally dead so who cares.

In addition, he wants to add two grounding rods, bond water main, electrical panel and water heater for an additional $800, as a precaution but slightly unrelated. He also suggested doing an entire update to my panel to upgrade it to 200amps because my current one is probably going to be pretty maxed out, but I'll probably leave that for another day.

Any thoughts?

Did you ever go through with this installation?

 

[noshadow]

Did you ever go through with this installation?

I didn't. If I need to go on a longer trip, I just stop quickly at a supercharger. Otherwise I can recharge most of what I need overnight. I'm not commuting or anything big, so it's not a big deal. I think if I was commuting a lot, then I would've gone forward with the install.