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Master Thread: Definitive 14-50 NEMA Outlet Guide
- Thread starter gilscales
- Start date
there is one listed on ebay showing standard screw heads
Pass & Seymour Legrand 3894 Range Receptacle Flush Mount 50A 125/250V 3P 4W 785007707205 | eBay
BrownOuttaSpec
Active Member
I was in Lowes Hardware the other day and saw another 14-50 plug to add to comparison. It appears to fall in the middle of the pack with quality but high on the list for availability and priced less than $9
Utilitech Black 50-Amp Round Industrial Range:
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Utilitech-Black-50-Amp-Round-Industrial-Range/3775483
Utilitech Black 50-Amp Round Industrial Range:
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Utilitech-Black-50-Amp-Round-Industrial-Range/3775483
This thread has been massively helpful! Thank you @gilscales for compiling this info!
I had 3x of the Leviton Home Depot special 14-50's that I just swapped out for 3x Bryant 9450FR's. I had read other "be careful" stories on the forums and just in the past month my car started being thermally limited while charging at 32A and downclocking itself. Upon investigation the plug was certainly quite warm, and the black plastic of the outlet socket was developing a white residue. Not wanting to take chances I started researching and found this thread which gave me all the info I needed. Long story short, as many have said already, the Bryant outlet is of a much higher quality and you can tell immediately when you pick it up. I showed the old and new plugs to a few people and it was obvious to everyone which part was the more robust one.
It may sound weird but just the way the plug slides into the Bryant is so much better than the rocking and a bit of wiggling I'd have to do everytime with the Leviton. It's better in everyway, except price, but put into perspective a good plug is much cheaper than my insurance deductible for a fire.
Back story - New construction, only a couple of years old at this point, and trying to future proof things we had the builder add these 3 outlets, 1 for each garage bay and 1 outside for future guests. We forgot to get specific with the outlet and the builder's electrician just went down to HD and grabbed the outlet. Overall annoying but the problem is now solved.
I had 3x of the Leviton Home Depot special 14-50's that I just swapped out for 3x Bryant 9450FR's. I had read other "be careful" stories on the forums and just in the past month my car started being thermally limited while charging at 32A and downclocking itself. Upon investigation the plug was certainly quite warm, and the black plastic of the outlet socket was developing a white residue. Not wanting to take chances I started researching and found this thread which gave me all the info I needed. Long story short, as many have said already, the Bryant outlet is of a much higher quality and you can tell immediately when you pick it up. I showed the old and new plugs to a few people and it was obvious to everyone which part was the more robust one.
It may sound weird but just the way the plug slides into the Bryant is so much better than the rocking and a bit of wiggling I'd have to do everytime with the Leviton. It's better in everyway, except price, but put into perspective a good plug is much cheaper than my insurance deductible for a fire.
Back story - New construction, only a couple of years old at this point, and trying to future proof things we had the builder add these 3 outlets, 1 for each garage bay and 1 outside for future guests. We forgot to get specific with the outlet and the builder's electrician just went down to HD and grabbed the outlet. Overall annoying but the problem is now solved.
How difficult is it to swap the outlet? My electrician just put a Leviton in... I was able to tell him a head of time what brand, just followed Tesla’s lingo for “high quality industrial grade.”
It is very, very easy, just make sure you turn off the break first!
There are four wires that go to the outlet, 2 of them are your 120v “hot” wires and that is where you get 240v, one is a neutral wire and finally a ground wire, you should be able to easily identify them when you pull the outlet out of the box before you disconnect them, the hot wires are interchangeable so it is ok if either one goes to either hot pole, ground and neutral are easy to tell apart, when installing the Bryant or Hubble make sure to get the correct size Allen wrench as you need to use 75 in lbs of torque to tighten them
Also check the wire to see that it is stripped to the right length and there are no large “nicks” in the strands, if so cut off the bad part and re strip the insulation to the appropriate length as you do not want any bare wire outside of the terminal box, ideally your stripped wire would bottom out in the terminal box while having no more than say 1/8” bare wire outside of the terminal area
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Here is the Pass & Seymour/Legrand unit compared to the Bryant
lots of differences to point out
1. main one being that besides both having the V type terminal boxes the Pass & Seymour has a very thin terminal contact strap and it is fixed with the screw clamping the wire and the Bryant has a very thick strap that pulls around the wire (think hose clamp type threads on the sides) so no twisting pressure from the screw to (possibly) damage the wire.
2. flat head screws vs. allen screws and much higher clamping pressure
3. heavier construction on the Bryant all around (148 grams vs. 251 grams)
4. made in the USA vs. made in China
This Pass & Seymour still seems to be better built than the Leviton (Home Depot) for sure but if one knows that they can get a Bryant for now approx. $40 on Zoro or a Pass & Seymour one for approx. $11 on Amazon, is the $29 really worth saving?ATTACH=full]436638[/ATTACH]
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M3BlueGeorgia
Active Member
Yep, pretty sure ground was on bottom (I'm at work right now).
How serious of a problem is this? Is it up to code to install it one way and just Tesla says ground up? Or if I call him back can I request they come out free of charge because it wasn't installed in the correct orientation?
What if I don't correct this?
Not sure what code is on this but you will need to get or make something to suspend the unit above the outlet so you won't have a strain on the cord/plug/outlet, better off to get a nicer outlet (Bryant or Hubble) and kindly ask the Electrician to change it out if you do not feel comfortable doing it yourself as he did install it upside down, would not take him more than 5 min.
The UMC won’t hang properly unless it’s plugged in with ground on top. Have him fix it. Here’s the installation guide from Tesla for 14-50 outlet:
https://www.tesla.com/sites/default/files/pdfs/installation-guides/nema-14-50-installation-guide.pdf
https://www.amazon.com/Hubbell-Wiri...Hubbell+9450a&qid=1564714037&s=gateway&sr=8-1
Is that one suitable for the Tesla? I can’t find any local (which is probably why he used the cheapo one) but can get this in by Saturday and hopefully he can swing by next week to make the change and have ground on top.
Will this fit in a standard size metal box (whatever he has the Leviton in) or is there a difference box I can order in off amazon too?
Is that one suitable for the Tesla? I can’t find any local (which is probably why he used the cheapo one) but can get this in by Saturday and hopefully he can swing by next week to make the change and have ground on top.
Will this fit in a standard size metal box (whatever he has the Leviton in) or is there a difference box I can order in off amazon too?
Yes this is good, you should have no problem with the mounting depth as the terminals are side fed, the other is probably back fed and would take up more room than the Hubbell
Do not forget the Hubbell SS701 cover plate as the outlet face is larger
Good call! Thank you! This guy? https://www.amazon.com/Hubbell-Wiri...r+plate&qid=1564720284&s=gateway&sr=8-1-fkmr0
That’s the one, your old one won’t fit the Hubbell
yes a 5 or 10 min job at most for your electrician, everything should go in just fine
I think the last question... is there a difference between 14-50R and 14-50? I think from that amazon picture the Hubbell says 14-50R on it... that will fit the 14-50 cord Tesla sells, right?
the 14-50 is the plug, 14-50R is the receptacle or outlet, all the 14-50 outlets will be marked with an R
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