In most cases charging at 48 amps is not needed. The time saved from the faster charging rate of 48A versus 40A probably occurs in the late evening or early A.M. hours when you would not be driving. Install a 50 amp circuit breaker, 6/2 NM-B wire. Set the Wall Connector for a 50A circuit and be confident that the installation is up to the task, correct and code compliant.
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Need assistance on installing Tesla Wall charger ver 3
- Thread starter canbonbon
- Start date
No, it means the homeowner MIGHT be successful in a lawsuit after your house burns down, either against the electrician or even the inspector, or both. The homeowner should definitely NOT need to check on the work of the electrician.
I misremembered:Thanks. I can't publish their names but I found them through this link:
Find a Certified Installer | Tesla
Tesla partners with local installers to install Wall Connector, Powerwall and Solar Roof. Find Tesla Certified Installers for an estimate, timeline and more.www.tesla.com
https://www.productinfo.schneider-e...map/$/CorrectionAndAdjustmentFactors-F20BC8E5 suggests for 59F I could drag 44*1.22=53.68 amps out of #6, or 44*1.15=50.6 amps at 60-68F, o 44*1.08=47.52 amps at 69-77f.
So unless your basement is heated, you should be fine at 48 amps. Even if its heated to 70, you are only off by 0.5 amps anyway!
My comment was a bit tung in cheek, but if done in good faith by hiring a professional I’d have to think insurance would stand behind it and deal with the electrician/inspector if they felt necessary.
Now if it was DIY and questionable, then bets are off.
Of course in all cases, avoiding any future problems is always the priority. No one wins on a home fire.
zoomer0056
Active Member
Just a nit: its a wall connector. The charger is in the car. As I nitpick I'm asking myself ... if the charger is in the car and its called a wall connector, why are they called Super Chargers instead of Super Connectors?
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This is what I did, getting 38 miles per hour overnight is perfectly acceptable. You also don’t need a separate shut off switch for 50 amps.
A shutoff shouldn't be needed for 60a
Section 625.43 indicates that for equipment rated more than 60 amperes or more than 150 volts to ground, the disconnecting means shall be provided and installed in a readily accessible location.
My installer put one in for 50a (a simple HVAC blade disconnect style one).
Hokay. Back in 2018, when the S.O. and I became proud owners of a M3 LR RWD, I used that list to find an electrician. I could go upstairs and dig around the file cabinet to get the names, but that doesn't matter.Thanks. I can't publish their names but I found them through this link:
Find a Certified Installer | Tesla
Tesla partners with local installers to install Wall Connector, Powerwall and Solar Roof. Find Tesla Certified Installers for an estimate, timeline and more.
Main point: The process.
- Spoke with the real, live Master Electrician with the License. He said pictures of the garage, the breaker panel (also in the garage), and where we wanted the TWC was cool. Pictures included the breaker panel with the doors open.
- From the open-door breaker panel view, this guy could do and did do the load calculation. (That's the calculation to determine whether or not the breaker panel has the capacity to add a 60A circuit.)
- I had already bought the Gen 2 TWC and let him know they didn't have to get one. He was cool with that and gave me a bid, around $500, if memory serves.
- A week later, two guys and a truck show up. They drilled holes, ran conduit, installed 240 VAC breakers, ran wires, installed and wired up the TWC, and (this is the cool part) took pictures of their work, before, during, and after they finished.
- Last thing: Plug in the car and verified it charged. Yep. And that car and a 2021 MY we bought both have been using the TWC with zero problems.
- Really cool thing: After the job was done, we got an email with a link in it to Tesla's Web Site. A specific location. Navigated to the site and there, in all their glory, were the pictures that the installers took.
My co-worker gave the Tesla phone number in the install manual a call. OK, this was back in 2018, an earlier time. But he up and practically fainted when the phone was answered by a human on the second ring. And he darn near died in shock when the person so contacted, after doing a bit of remote troubleshooting, said that Tesla would drop-ship him a replacement TWC, free of charge. The co-worker's extremely electrically competent, at least with 48V Central Office 4 GA wire, so he went ahead and installed it, this time being careful about when the breakers were turned on. Been working OK since.
My guess about the pictures: Tesla's had their fair share of idiot electrical contractors over time. The trained guys send pictures to Tesla, so, when Things Don't Work, the techies over at Tesla look at the pictures and say, "Yeah, the idiot put the ground where the hot should go!" or whatever. Which certainly speeds the repair job up a bit, assuming nobody got killed by an ungrounded chassis.
So, I might have gotten the job done cheaper. But I'm glad I used the Tesla-trained bunch. Fast, quick, and It Just Worked.
The Tesla Gen3 Wall Connector Installation Manual, Page 6 states
"NOTE: External disconnect switches are neither required nor recommended".
https://www.tesla.com/sites/default...ng/Gen3_WallConnector_Installation_Manual.pdf
As regards permitting: It Depends.
I happen to have solar on the roof. One Fine Day the local PUC decided that every generator of electricity for Money (that's me) had to have a utility-grade meter on the inverter output. I read various State Statutes and discovered that while the State had Opinions about when and where permits were required, it came down to the opinion of the local municipality. I checked, and had to pay $30 for a piece of paper and an inspection. Did the work, the inspector came, showed him all the little toroids, and he spent more time oohing and aahing over the (I guess to him) impressive bunch of inverters, breaker boxes, quick disconnects, and all that jazz. And signed off on the piece of paper.
Did the same fun and games for the TWC. If memory serves, in 2018, in the State of New Jersey, and in my municipality: If one was simply replacing a faulty socket, they didn't want to hear about it. Adding a new, single 120 VAC socket, they didn't want to hear about it. Adding a 240 VAC socket, they didn't. Adding a piece of equipment like a TWC and, yeah, they did. But, interestingly, one didn't need to get the permit first: One could do the work, then go to City Hall, pay up, and then they would send somebody out to do a look.
Try this in a different State and Municipality and YMMV.
My general impression is that the inspectors are trying to save people from immolating themselves.
Back in the 1990's the SO and had a kitchen reno done, and had this 1960's house we lived in brought up to code. That included the electric, which, as these things do, ballooned in cost because (for one thing) the breaker panel was made by a defunct firm, Federated, and (for another) a good deal of what electrical work had been done over the decades made my electrical contractor, a Master Electrician, hair stand on end.
This guy was, actually, my across-the-street neighbor. Yes, I did pay him going rate, and acted as his helper when needed.
So, come the day when the rough-in inspection was due. The neighbor was out of town that day, the inspector walked in, saw me, and started asking lots of picky questions and poking around at the junction boxes and wires. He then asked, "Who was doing all this work, anyway?", and I answered with my neighbor's name.
The guy threw a fit. "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THAT ALREADY!". If he had had a hat, he would have thrown it to the floor and stomped on it. "MY LOOKING AT THIS STUFF IS JUST WASTING MY TIME!"
Snatched the building permit paper from me, signed it, and blew out the door.
Um. I guess certain electricians get a certain rep with the local inspectors. Ya think?
I happen to have solar on the roof. One Fine Day the local PUC decided that every generator of electricity for Money (that's me) had to have a utility-grade meter on the inverter output. I read various State Statutes and discovered that while the State had Opinions about when and where permits were required, it came down to the opinion of the local municipality. I checked, and had to pay $30 for a piece of paper and an inspection. Did the work, the inspector came, showed him all the little toroids, and he spent more time oohing and aahing over the (I guess to him) impressive bunch of inverters, breaker boxes, quick disconnects, and all that jazz. And signed off on the piece of paper.
Did the same fun and games for the TWC. If memory serves, in 2018, in the State of New Jersey, and in my municipality: If one was simply replacing a faulty socket, they didn't want to hear about it. Adding a new, single 120 VAC socket, they didn't want to hear about it. Adding a 240 VAC socket, they didn't. Adding a piece of equipment like a TWC and, yeah, they did. But, interestingly, one didn't need to get the permit first: One could do the work, then go to City Hall, pay up, and then they would send somebody out to do a look.
Try this in a different State and Municipality and YMMV.
My general impression is that the inspectors are trying to save people from immolating themselves.
Back in the 1990's the SO and had a kitchen reno done, and had this 1960's house we lived in brought up to code. That included the electric, which, as these things do, ballooned in cost because (for one thing) the breaker panel was made by a defunct firm, Federated, and (for another) a good deal of what electrical work had been done over the decades made my electrical contractor, a Master Electrician, hair stand on end.
This guy was, actually, my across-the-street neighbor. Yes, I did pay him going rate, and acted as his helper when needed.
So, come the day when the rough-in inspection was due. The neighbor was out of town that day, the inspector walked in, saw me, and started asking lots of picky questions and poking around at the junction boxes and wires. He then asked, "Who was doing all this work, anyway?", and I answered with my neighbor's name.
The guy threw a fit. "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THAT ALREADY!". If he had had a hat, he would have thrown it to the floor and stomped on it. "MY LOOKING AT THIS STUFF IS JUST WASTING MY TIME!"
Snatched the building permit paper from me, signed it, and blew out the door.
Um. I guess certain electricians get a certain rep with the local inspectors. Ya think?
Pricedm
Member
Disagree on Romex. I used THHN as you mentioned in your original post.Thank you. Got it. Will go for Romex instead. More specifically: a 6/2 NM-B Wire w/ Ground. Its reasonably priced and provides 55 Amps from Ampacity prospective. I am hoping I won't need any conduit for this one. Let me know.
6-2 Romex® Brand SIMpull® Type NM-B Cable - Cable Cabana
Nonmetallic-Sheathed Cable. 600 Volt. Copper Conductors. Color-Coded Jacket. Four Conductor Available With Two Neutrals. SIMpull® Jacket Designed for Easier Pulling. Southwire® Romex® Brand SIMpull® NM-B (nonmetallic-sheathed) cable may be used for both exposed and concealed work in normally dry...cablecabana.com
Or this
Amazon 6/2 Wire
I ended up purchasing black color conductor from Lowes and red color conductor online. Different colors for the two hot conductors make life easier for cable management.
#4 AWG THHN wire for conductors (one black, one red)
#6 or #8 AWG THHN wire for ground (green). Check code.
60a breaker
48a continuous load
Put all wires in conduit like PVC Schedule 80. Check code--I think 2 inch conduit is required
With this config, keep the wire length under approx 80-100 feet (check online for voltage drop, etc. to get accurate max conductor length).
Lugs for the conductor termination into the Tesla wall unit
*** make sure panel is not hot so you don't get fried ***
Save receipts and file IRS 8911 "Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit" to claim tax credit.
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Clearly #4 THHN is better choice but the real issue for me is the conduit. I cannot put a 2" conduit on the basement ceiling along with other wires. I mean it can be done but it will be a lot of labor to get what? Just 8 more amps? I think I might stick with #6/2 Romex (much easier to install) and reduce the charging to 40 Amp instead. Not the end of the world because even at 40 Amp we would get like 300 miles in 8 hours. We don't drive 300 miles per day so should not be an issue.
Out of topic but..
The supercharger is called a "supercharger" because it bypasses the car charger and delivers the DC power directly to the battery.
The onboard charger can do 48A maximum (about 11 kWh), while the supercharger delivers up to 250kWh.
This site is similar to wires and cables your way but cheaper prices.
4 THHN THWN-2 Stranded Copper Building Wire
Specifications : Size AWG : 4, Weight per 1,000 ft : 155 lbs, Outside Diameter : 0.330 inches, Conductors : Annealed Soft Copper per ASTM B3 and ASTM B8, Number of Strands : 19, Insulation : PVC, Insulation Thickness (mils) : 40, Nylon Thickness (mils) : 6, Jacket : PVC, Houston Wire Part # ...
nassaunationalcable.com
Thanks. But to be safe, we are installing #/6/2 MC wire. That was a happy compromise without any extra cost. The electrician who is installing was able to get the MC at the similar price somehow.
From what I understood in this board, if I use THHN wire, I need to put it in a conduit (Although Youtube has many videos not doing that, but youtubers can be stupid). A conduit is not practical in my case. So we moved to #6/2 Romex but then I found out that you cannot do 48 AMP from it (or we should put it in a conduit as well). So initially I had thought of reducing to 40 AMP and go with Romex. Someone else recommended that #6/2 MC *can* be used for 48 Amp draw on a 60 Amp circuit breaker Circuit. So I discussed with the electrician and he said yes he can do that.
Now your post is confusing me. Are you saying we can use #6/2 Romex for 48 Amp draw? If so, then there are atleast dozens of posts saying precisely *NOT* to do that. Can you give more details?
Not stated or implied that you could use 6 gauge NM-B (Romex) for a circuit greater than 55 amps. I was pointing out that the wire used in NM-B is THHN rated for 90C temperature. For 6 gauge NM-B the maximum rated circuit amperage is 55 amps. This limitation is due to the way the NM-B cable is constructed. Following the 80% rule, 55 amp maximum you could use 6 gauge NM-B for a circuit for EV charging at up to 44 amps. This amperage setting limit is unavailable on Tesla Wall Connector, only supports ... 32/40/48 amps. If you use 6 gauge NM-B and a 50 amp circuit breaker you can set the Wall Connector for 40 amps but not 48 amps.
Metallic clad (MC) cable has a flexible (but not waterproof) metal sheath surrounding, protecting the individual wires. In dry locations, indoors MC eliminates the need for conduit. MC cable uses 90C rated THHN wire. Because there is ample space around each conductor for airflow and cooling the maximum amperage of 6 gauge MC is higher than NM-B, can be used with circuits rated for up to 75 amps.
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