NEMA 14-50 Location

[cleveland97]

If you put the outlet at the front of the car I would HIGHLY recommend some kind of setup where the charge cable actually hangs on a hook or something near the rear of the car, as some others have suggested. I think you would regret having to unwind (to plug in the car) and rewind (when you unplug) 10' of charge cable every single day. It will lay across the ground and get dirty, and that dirt will end up on your hands twice a day and (if you're like me) you'll be concerned about dragging the dirty cable across the side of the car and scratching it.

In my opinion this is a no brainer - pay the extra $250 to put it at the rear of the car. Plugging and unplugging every day will be a breeze and you can charge the car (or someone else's) in your driveway in a pinch. I put my wall charger near the back of the car and I'm very glad I did.

 

[dcdttu]

Late to the discussion, but my $0.02. I had to have my line trenched through the front yard and brought in from the outside. I was originally going to have the HPWC installed where the line came in, on the passenger side of my car, but at the last minute had them run a conduit over and install it on the driver's side, right by the plug on my car. Boy was I glad I did that. Since I plug/unplug every day, the convenience is totally worth it. Picture attached where it ended up being located vs. the other side.

Bonus is that it can charge both sides of the garage now and I don't have to open the garage to unplug the charger and hang up the cord.

 

[DaveG_NJ]

My install will be a little tedious since the breaker box is in the basement and to get to the back of my garage, I have to run the raceway across 20' of basement, 12' of crawlspace and another 20' of the garage with a few elbows. My town doesn't require a permit pulled for this type of work, but I figured I'd help out a local electrician and hire someone (would also save me the time). So far, I reached out to three electricians recommended on the Tesla page and have yet to have someone return my call. I'll keep trying but may just wind up doing it myself.

 

[imola.zhp]

Old thread but to anyone that see's this, if you ever want to charge on your driveway you may want to consider putting your Nema 14-50 near the door.

 

[Xian]

Old thread but to anyone that see's this, if you ever want to charge on your driveway you may want to consider putting your Nema 14-50 near the door.

Actually looking at precisely this ^^ for myself. The breaker box/panel for the house is at the very back of the garage. The electric meter is on the exterior of the house but toward the front of the garage so it appears it should be significantly easier to tie into the system there and have the charger at the front.

 

[AxlxA]

My install will be a little tedious since the breaker box is in the basement and to get to the back of my garage, I have to run the raceway across 20' of basement, 12' of crawlspace and another 20' of the garage with a few elbows. My town doesn't require a permit pulled for this type of work, but I figured I'd help out a local electrician and hire someone (would also save me the time). So far, I reached out to three electricians recommended on the Tesla page and have yet to have someone return my call. I'll keep trying but may just wind up doing it myself.

how much do you expect the quotes to be? I'm gonna guess $2-3k based on your description.

 

[brkaus]

Actually looking at precisely this ^^ for myself. The breaker box/panel for the house is at the very back of the garage. The electric meter is on the exterior of the house but toward the front of the garage so it appears it should be significantly easier to tie into the system there and have the charger at the front.

The outlet will have to connect to a breaker. If there is no breaker panel by the meter, it will likely have to come off the breaker panel at the back of the garage.

 

[DaveG_NJ]

how much do you expect the quotes to be? I'm gonna guess $2-3k based on your description.

Yikes I hope not. I could do it myself, but it does require an inspection. I was wrong about the permit. You can do the work, but it requires a permit/inspection within 5 days of completion. I was figuring about $1500 to go into the garage and all the way to the other side. Maybe $1200 just to the front of the garage.

I wonder about the GFCI, though. The mobile charger is supposed to have one, but anything going into the garage has to have one at the receptacle or breaker (I believe). I finally got a call back from one of the three companies recommended. Estimate in two weeks. I guess business is good.

 

[AxlxA]

Yikes I hope not. I could do it myself, but it does require an inspection. I was wrong about the permit. You can do the work, but it requires a permit/inspection within 5 days of completion. I was figuring about $1500 to go into the garage and all the way to the other side. Maybe $1200 just to the front of the garage.

I wonder about the GFCI, though. The mobile charger is supposed to have one, but anything going into the garage has to have one at the receptacle or breaker (I believe). I finally got a call back from one of the three companies recommended. Estimate in two weeks. I guess business is good.

I just re-read your initial comment. You have crawl space and just running wiring through conduits right? should actually be sub $1k. If you have to trench into the dirt or blow through walls, then back to $2k.

GFCI - you do not need one. I asked an electfician. That's for the typical 15A circuits. The NEMA14-50 does not need it. His words, he didn't reference a NEM code so I can't back it up.

 

[Xian]

The outlet will have to connect to a breaker. If there is no breaker panel by the meter, it will likely have to come off the breaker panel at the back of the garage.

100% correct. I was chatting with a buddy of mine this afternoon who’s an electrician. He suggested either doing the long run from the breaker panel or pulling from the panel adjacent to the meter and adding a breaker before the outlet. Not sure which way I’ll go as the garage walls have a drywall bump out for a wash sink+water softener which means the run would be a slightly larger PITA than ideal.

 

[jenzfc]

Well. I paid $1,100. But it wasn’t easy. Breaker box is in the back. He had to run all of this to the front. Like 200 ft of wiring. I think it was a good fair price.

 

[brkaus]

GFCI - you do not need one. I asked an electfician. That's for the typical 15A circuits. The NEMA14-50 does not need it. His words, he didn't reference a NEM code so I can't back it up.

Depends which version of electrical code used by your jurist and if you tell them it will be eased for EV charging.

 

[Kevin-rf]

We have a two bay garage and placed the HPWC on the center pillar between the two garage doors. It makes life easy, especially if you park in the right hand bay. Get out of the car, lift plug, insert. Don't even need to coil and uncoil. It's easier than using a pump at a gas station.

If I had to do it again, I would still place the HPWC by the rear of the car between the pillars. It is the best location.

If you have a remote chance of ever thinking about upgrading to a HPWC, still use the 50 amp breaker now, but upsize the wire for 60amp. That way all you have to do is replace the breaker when upgrading to a HPWC.

The only times I actually need the full 48amps is getting home from work(45 miles each way), run a bunch of errands(more miles), and then have an unexpected trip, like say into Boston. 48amps can put some meaningful mileage in the battery while you spend 30-45 minutes practicing cat herding getting everyone into the car. In two years, this has happened maybe five or six times, but was a life saver (All where hospital or ER visits and saved a Supercharger visit on the way to).

 

[DaveG_NJ]

Well. I paid $1,100. But it wasn’t easy. Breaker box is in the back. He had to run all of this to the front. Like 200 ft of wiring. I think it was a good fair price.

200' of 6/3? Yeah, that's a good price installed.