How would you solve my charging needs? THQP 40amp breaker ok?

[Mulkogi]

Hey tmc, im moving to new townhome and it has a 125amp panel next to garage entry door from kitchen. It uses normal THQL GE breakers and also THQP breakers which are 1/2” thick so the 40amp 2 pole breaker is 1”. Photo shows the 1 space i have left down in left bottom corner. Will it be fine using these slim breakers for charging? Not sure why the range and dryer breakers are full size. My guess is 40amp breaker for this should be ok. Im hardwiring to wall connector. Thanks

 

[Sophias_dad]

It does look like a THQP breaker will work for this. Its an odd panel, and can pick up both poles in the same 1" space.

Make sure the breaker feeding this is large enough for the new load(and don't just increase its size without consulting a professional!) Regardless of the 175A faceplate rating of the cover, the TLM1212CCU(which is referenced by the very same cover sticker!) is limited to 125A.

 

[Cosmacelf]

Yeah, if you have a 125A breaker feeding this, putting on a 40A breaker for an EVSE should work. You’d be charging at 32A, and can wire it with 8 gauge Romex, which makes it pretty easy. Unusual panel for sure being able to grab both poles from a 1/2” slot, but that’s one of the panel’s features.

 

[Mulkogi]

Thanks for the replies. The panel sticker actually says 125amp, just a little worn down. Not sure if it will work there since after some research I read that these breakers need to seat on B and A slots of different circuits. I’ll find out once we move in next week.
I want the full 60 for the charger but that will have to wait for now.

 

[tangible1]

Thanks for the replies. The panel sticker actually says 125amp, just a little worn down. Not sure if it will work there since after some research I read that these breakers need to seat on B and A slots of different circuits. I’ll find out once we move in next week.
I want the full 60 for the charger but that will have to wait for now.

the full 60A would be nice and good to try for.
but 48 or even 30 is good enough for a full charge overnight.

 

[Cosmacelf]

Thanks for the replies. The panel sticker actually says 125amp, just a little worn down. Not sure if it will work there since after some research I read that these breakers need to seat on B and A slots of different circuits. I’ll find out once we move in next week.
I want the full 60 for the charger but that will have to wait for now.

You might be able to move some existing breakers around to make it work.

 

[davewill]

Thanks for the replies. The panel sticker actually says 125amp, just a little worn down. Not sure if it will work there since after some research I read that these breakers need to seat on B and A slots of different circuits. I’ll find out once we move in next week.
I want the full 60 for the charger but that will have to wait for now.

By my reading of the sticker, It looks like that space in the lower left (#11) does cover both an A and a B slot.

 

[Mulkogi]

the full 60A would be nice and good to try for.
but 48 or even 30 is good enough for a full charge overnight.

Debating if I should just put a 50amp and lower the amperage for regular use and only bump it up when i truly need it

You might be able to move some existing breakers around to make it work.

Yeah i think thats the only way to do it

By my reading of the sticker, It looks like that space in the lower left (#11) does cover both an A and a B slot.

My understanding is that this kind of slim breakers need to seat in between slots like from 9 B to 11 A to get the 2 poles. So I might have to move some around. I’ll know better when i move next week.

 

[MN-MS100D]

Please perform a load calc on the panel and verify you have capacity for a charging circuit. You do not know what size the feeder to this panel is yet.

I would recommend repurposing the 40a range breaker to be your charging circuit, and buy a new tandem breaker for the range. This will help reduce heat buildup on the charging circuit, since it will have a full size two pole breaker.

 

[Rocky_H]

Please perform a load calc on the panel and verify you have capacity for a charging circuit.

I want the full 60 for the charger but that will have to wait for now.

Yeah, don't just assume you can add another 60A into the available capacity you have left. Do a load calculation, and it will show how many amps are counted as used and how many you still have free to add a new circuit. That may come out to some number like 31 or something. So then you could add a 30A circuit.

 

[Mulkogi]

So I had a few electricians come out and check and they all said I could add a 60 amp breaker in there and shouldn’t be a problem. Simply their calculations showed that since the actual draw is 48amps, I would have to be running all big appliances at the same time while charging full speed to overload the system and trip the breakers. Of course i do like the idea of having the full 60amps when needed but run it at lower amps for normal use. Conflicting decisions to make hmm

 

[Cosmacelf]

So I had a few electricians come out and check and they all said I could add a 60 amp breaker in there and shouldn’t be a problem. Simply their calculations showed that since the actual draw is 48amps, I would have to be running all big appliances at the same time while charging full speed to overload the system and trip the breakers. Of course i do like the idea of having the full 60amps when needed but run it at lower amps for normal use. Conflicting decisions to make hmm

Install the 60 then, not sure what the issue is?