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Master Thread: Definitive 14-50 NEMA Outlet Guide

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We're not very experienced with electrical work and originally thought to install a NEMA plug ourselves, but learned that there's a decent chance that we'll have to be replacing the plug in a few years even with the industrial grade one.
You were responding to my post about GFCI. This isn't in the outlet, so the nice industrial outlet will be fine and not need replacing. These require a GFCI breaker, so that's where the annoying cost is.
but apparently there's an option with the Tesla wall charger to set the amperage so we don't have to upgrade our service and move our panel to meet updated code. It'll charge slower at 15 mph but beats paying $10k+ to upgrade and all the hassle, sigh.
Yes, that is a really nice feature of the Tesla wall connectors, that they are adjustable devices. You can set it for circuits from 15A to 60A, so if you can only spare a 20 or 30 amp circuit, you set it for that, and it's perfect.
Could just buy a 6-20 adapter and install a 6-20 outlet. Simple ROMEX 12-2 install and would be very cheap if cost is an issue.
That still doesn't get around one of the cost problems. If it's an outlet being installed for EV charging, that has to have one of those twitchy and expensive GFCI breakers. But yes, a 20A circuit can probably avoid causing some big upgrade to the house electrical service.
 
That still doesn't get around one of the cost problems. If it's an outlet being installed for EV charging, that has to have one of those twitchy and expensive GFCI breakers. But yes, a 20A circuit can probably avoid causing some big upgrade to the house electrical service.
Depends on which version of the NEC has been adopted by the state the individual is in re: GFCI breakers. For example, my parents live in VA and they just adopted the 2017 NEC as of 7/1/21 with a 1 year grace period until 7/1/22 on the 2014 NEC. Additionally, the GFCI breaker was an after the fact amendment to the 2017 NEC I believe. So it is technically not included unless the state adopted the amendment as well.
 
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Can anyone tell me what the issue would be with buying the Leviton? My cousin is an electrician and i am having him come over to install my 14-50 and he just went on homedepot.com and picked out the 4 things i would need to install the outlet. One of them was, of course, this
Leviton
50 Amp Flush Mount Shallow Single Outlet, Black

Is this going to present an issue when charging my M3? I had never ran across this issue until now. thanks for the help!
I know I’m a bit late to the party here, but I think this should answer your question. This is a Leviton plug. It worked fine for three years and then….
 

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I know I’m a bit late to the party here, but I think this should answer your question. This is a Leviton plug. It worked fine for three years and then….
That's great... they might not have automatic plugging in, but at least they unplug automatically!

That reminds me... I wonder if there's a power outage whether the Tesla will still recognize the charge cable is still plugged into the car.
 
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Yes, but if I then(during the outage) hop in the car and try to drive away, will it let me? I'm guessing it'll try to close the charge port door, see it won't close, and not let the car actually get into gear.
Correct. The car will not allow the motor to run if it detects that the charge-port is open with a charger attached. Irrespective of whether it receives charge or not, your car knows if there is something attached. You can see it on the app, and the picture of your car.
 
If it's an outlet being installed for EV charging, that has to have one of those twitchy and expensive GFCI breakers....
I couldn't find twitchy breakers back when I was building my garage, so I only installed the regular ones. As there is no gas or water in my garage, I don't see the point. I pull 40 amps from my 50-amp breaker and charge without incident. I've only been charging my electric cars on this one circuit for about a dozen years, so what do I know? Neither did I spend a hunk of money on a fancy "wall charger" which would only do the same thing as my "wall plug" but cost more. So many people feel they have to have some fancy connector to do the job, but it's amazing how well even a 110 outlet will work if you've got all night -- like most of us. Unless one pulls into the garage to charge at 5:30 PM and has to leave at 6:30 to drive all night, the quick charger is silly.
 
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I’m currently working on a (temporary and infrequent) charging solution away from my house with a 14-30 outlet. I picked up the $10 Utilitech 14-30 in the pics below from Lowes; they have the same one available in a 14-50 as well. Based on the pictures I’ve seen in this thread, it certainly looks like a much more quality outlet than the Leviton for the same price. I’m not saying I would recommend this to someone as a permanent charging solution (you really should just buy the wall connector), but for the same price as the Leviton it certainly seems to be a much better choice for those with cheap outlets who didn’t spend $100 on the Hubbell outlet. For my purposes this should work perfectly fine as I’m swapping this outlet with an already wired dedicated circuit L14-30.

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Comparing the 2 outlets recommended by Tesla with the sub $10 big box model as well as the one I think you should buy

1. Hubbell 9450a
2. Bryant 9450fr
3. Cooper 5754n
4. Leviton 279-S00

The Hubbell and Bryant are far and away the superior product here and since Hubbell owns Bryant and these outlets were recently redesigned you can see from the pictures that there is almost no difference in these products, looks to me that it may only be the size of the allen screws and that is it.

The main reasons these are superior are, Lug boxes with V shape and the heavy copper strap that when tightening gathers the wire together instead of separating them and the fact that these both use 75 in. pounds of torque instead of 25 like the other 2, they both handle higher temperatures and have heavier one pc. power and ground contacts, there is no comparison to any other 14-50 Nema outlets.

The Cooper is good and much heavier than the Leviton but still falls short of the Hubbell and Bryant.

The Leviton unit is like a toy compared to others as it's really poorly built with smaller contacts, screw terminals without a pinch lock causing the wire to be stressed when tightened, just a cheap design.

https://www.mc-mc.com/ASSETS/DOCUMENTS/ITEMS/EN/Hubbell_9450FR_Brochure.pdf

Best part is now you don't have to pay $90 to $100 or more for the Hubbel as you can get the Bryant for $21

Bryant 50A 4W Single Receptacle 125/250VAC 14-50R BK 9450FR | Zoro.com

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Thank you for this thorough review. I just read the post by @gaspi101 about his 14-50 that melted down, likely due to arcing at a loose terminal. I checked mine and it is Leviton.
I'm going to Walters Electric Supply tomorrow to get a Bryant.

My RV plug box at a vacation house cost me $40 at Home Depot, so I assume that it is also a cheapo outlet and may be smaller diameter than the Bryant. Got any advice for boring out the face plate hole to fit a bigger bryant outlet?
 
Thank you for this thorough review. I just read the post by @gaspi101 about his 14-50 that melted down, likely due to arcing at a loose terminal. I checked mine and it is Leviton.
I'm going to Walters Electric Supply tomorrow to get a Bryant.

My RV plug box at a vacation house cost me $40 at Home Depot, so I assume that it is also a cheapo outlet and may be smaller diameter than the Bryant. Got any advice for boring out the face plate hole to fit a bigger bryant outlet?
A dremel tool with a grinding wheel is probably your best bet. Rounded face file would do it as well, although it'll take a while. Hole saw will be incredibly dangerous, and they aren't commonly designed for wood. A large metal reamer would work well, but I don't think they make them(at a reasonable price) over around 3/4"

Be aware, by screwing with the faceplate openings you will most likely be removing any NEC or UL approvals the box might have. Its probably not a real big deal.
 
I couldn't find twitchy breakers back when I was building my garage, so I only installed the regular ones.
Sure, I was glad I got to do this back in 2014 as well, before this requirement was put into the code.
As there is no gas or water in my garage, I don't see the point.
It doesn't matter. The requirement is kind of pointless and dumb, but it IS a requirement now.
I pull 40 amps from my 50-amp breaker and charge without incident. I've only been charging my electric cars on this one circuit for about a dozen years, so what do I know? Neither did I spend a hunk of money on a fancy "wall charger" which would only do the same thing as my "wall plug" but cost more. So many people feel they have to have some fancy connector to do the job, but it's amazing how well even a 110 outlet will work if you've got all night -- like most of us. Unless one pulls into the garage to charge at 5:30 PM and has to leave at 6:30 to drive all night, the quick charger is silly.
Your bad attitude on this stuff is getting kind of tiresome.
 
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A dremel tool with a grinding wheel is probably your best bet. Rounded face file would do it as well, although it'll take a while. Hole saw will be incredibly dangerous, and they aren't commonly designed for wood. A large metal reamer would work well, but I don't think they make them(at a reasonable price) over around 3/4"

Be aware, by screwing with the faceplate openings you will most likely be removing any NEC or UL approvals the box might have. Its probably not a real big deal.
I may try to find a 2 1/2" step drill bit. Those things are easy and accurate for boring holes in sheet metal.