NEMA 14-50 or 6-50 for garage charging?

[TGordon]

What does everyone recommend for a fresh installation of a high voltage charging outlet in a garage? I intend to use the mobile charger for the time being, although may upgrade to the Wall Connector later.

The charging capacity of the 14-50 and 6-50 seem to be identical. Is there a reason to pick one over the other? Is one cheaper to install? Is one more likely to be the "norm" for charging EV's several years down the road?

Second question - I understand it is a bad idea to unplug/replug NEMA 14-50s multiple times. Is the 6-50 the same? ALSO, is it safe to simply disconnect the adapter from the mobile connector and leave it hanging free plugged into the outlet if I want to take the charger with me?

 

[GHammer]

The 14-50 started out as the "norm" because that is the connector that is in widest use for RV parks and prior to the widespread availability of superchargers was a necessity for road tripping. However, the 6-50 is a more appropriate outlet for EV charging because EV's dont need a neutral which the 14-50 has. It should be slightly cheaper and easier to install a 6-50 since it omits the neutral wire. When I got my 3 I put in a 6-50 which I later connected to a Tesla Wall connector.

 

[F14Scott]

If he later decides to change to a wall connector, would that installation require the neutral? If so, that would be an advantage of the 14-50.

 

[COrocket]

If he later decides to change to a wall connector, would that installation require the neutral? If so, that would be an advantage of the 14-50.

No. A wall connector does not use a neutral wire so a 6-50 can be converted if desired. Since it uses one less wire it can be cheaper to install.

OP - it is true that some 14-50 outlets are not meant to be unplugged a lot. These consumer outlets are usually the $10 ones you find at Home Depot/Lowe’s etc. and used for home appliances that are not unplugged often. If you want, you can spend a little extra money and get an industrial grade outlet that you’d find installed at an RV park. These can be unplugged a lot.

I just went with a regular 14-50 outlet and my UMC hasn’t left my garage since. You may be tempted to bring it with you, but with the combination of super chargers and J1772 stations, I’ve never had the opportunity to use the UMC while traveling. The only places it would commonly help is at previously mentioned campsites, or if you are staying at someone’s house for several days and using a regular wall outlet has time to give you a noticeable range boost.

 

[Feathermerchan]

When I got my car, it came with UMC v2 (32A max) and three adapters. J1772, NEMA 14-50, NEMA 5-15. Went to visit my mother and bought a NEMA 6-50 to be able to charge there. Noticed the lack of neutral was universal among EV chargers. So I installed a 6-50 in my garage because it saved me on wiring. One less #6 AWG conductor. I carry the 14-50 on trips because it is common.

 

[F14Scott]

My AWD came with the 14-50, and I actually used it on my first road trip. We did an AirB&B over Memorial Day weekend, and I arrived there, after 15 minutes at the enroute Supercharger, at about 30% SOC, expecting to use the front door 120V outlet to trickle up for errands and the drive home.

But, the house was wired in the 1950s, and its 120V outlets were two wires only: hot and neutral but no ground. Without a ground on 120V, UMC no worky, I learned.

Fortunately, there was an RV campground about 200 yards down the road, so I gave the owner $10 to let me charge for a few hours on a 14-50. Worked perfectly: 32 amps and 30 MRPH.

 

[KJD]

Make sure you read this thread before you purchase a new outlet. Same information is good for 6-50.

Definitive 14-50 NEMA Outlet Guide

 

[davewill]

I've charged using a 6-50 on a 40a breaker for years. No EVSE requires the neutral, and there's no downside to not having it. The reason that the 14-50 became the outlet of choice for Tesla owners was simply that Tesla included the adapter with the car. Now that they don't, we may see more 6-50s.

In general, you don't want to plug and unplug ANY outlet constantly, if you can help it. There's not much reason to carry your UMC on a daily basis. If I didn't already have a permanent EVSE on the wall, I certainly wouldn't bother. In 8 years of driving electric, almost all of it in vehicles with much shorter ranges than a Tesla, I can count on my fingers the number of times I've needed to plug into an outlet away from home. None of those times were unpredicted in advance. They were all longer trips to hotels that I expected to find a plug, or airport parking where I also knew they had plugs.

 

[eprosenx]

What does everyone recommend for a fresh installation of a high voltage charging outlet in a garage? I intend to use the mobile charger for the time being, although may upgrade to the Wall Connector later.

The charging capacity of the 14-50 and 6-50 seem to be identical. Is there a reason to pick one over the other? Is one cheaper to install? Is one more likely to be the "norm" for charging EV's several years down the road?

Second question - I understand it is a bad idea to unplug/replug NEMA 14-50s multiple times. Is the 6-50 the same? ALSO, is it safe to simply disconnect the adapter from the mobile connector and leave it hanging free plugged into the outlet if I want to take the charger with me?

This thread has some useful details:
NEMA 14-50 is dead - all hail NEMA 6-50

As discussed, 6-50 and 14-50 are both 50 amp capable receptacles. The only difference is whether they have a neutral pin or not.

I am curious what the future will hold for EV charging receptacles. 6-50 could very well become the standard due to the fact that neutral is totally un-necessary. Though I could also see a lot of EV units continuing to come with 14-50 plugs because of the wide install base of 14-50's (in many cases driven by the fact that Tesla included a 14-50 adapter by default for so long).

As others mentioned, you don't want to put a large number of connect/disconnect cycles on either a 14-50 or a 6-50 receptacle. They were never intended for this many insertion cycles. I would say the same goes for the connection from the Mobile Connector to the adapter to the NEMA plug. I would not plug / unplug that way in order to avoid insertion cycles on your NEMA plug. Better to replace a NEMA plug once in a while rather than a $300 Mobile Connector.

I just went with a regular 14-50 outlet and my UMC hasn’t left my garage since. You may be tempted to bring it with you, but with the combination of super chargers and J1772 stations, I’ve never had the opportunity to use the UMC while traveling. The only places it would commonly help is at previously mentioned campsites, or if you are staying at someone’s house for several days and using a regular wall outlet has time to give you a noticeable range boost.

I would counter this with my own experiences: Everywhere I take the car traveling (for the weekend) I take my UMC and I *always* charge. Generally this is at friends houses / vacation homes. Even a 5-15 receptacle (regular wall outlet) is better than nothing. The best time to charge is when you are not waiting on your car (i.e. time you are hanging out / sleeping). I am pretty handy electrically and so most places I go I can actually charge at 240v. ;-)

I personally like always having my Mobile Connector with me just in the event of anything unforeseen. I have never needed it unexpectedly, but it is just nice in the event of an emergency. We can have inclimate weather here in Oregon that can on occasion shut down major arteries through the mountains. I have driven half way through the coast range mountains before just to get turned around due to a fatality accident and I had to drive back to the coast then up the coast to the next pass and then back home in the Willamette Valley. Knowing that I can charge from virtually any grid power source is a good safety blanket even if I don't use it.

 

[F14Scott]

This thread has some useful details:
NEMA 14-50 is dead - all hail NEMA 6-50

As discussed, 6-50 and 14-50 are both 50 amp capable receptacles. The only difference is whether they have a neutral pin or not.

I am curious what the future will hold for EV charging receptacles. 6-50 could very well become the standard due to the fact that neutral is totally un-necessary. Though I could also see a lot of EV units continuing to come with 14-50 plugs because of the wide install base of 14-50's (in many cases driven by the fact that Tesla included a 14-50 adapter by default for so long).

As others mentioned, you don't want to put a large number of connect/disconnect cycles on either a 14-50 or a 6-50 receptacle. They were never intended for this many insertion cycles. I would say the same goes for the connection from the Mobile Connector to the adapter to the NEMA plug. I would not plug / unplug that way in order to avoid insertion cycles on your NEMA plug. Better to replace a NEMA plug once in a while rather than a $300 Mobile Connector.



I would counter this with my own experiences: Everywhere I take the car traveling (for the weekend) I take my UMC and I *always* charge. Generally this is at friends houses / vacation homes. Even a 5-15 receptacle (regular wall outlet) is better than nothing. The best time to charge is when you are not waiting on your car (i.e. time you are hanging out / sleeping). I am pretty handy electrically and so most places I go I can actually charge at 240v. ;-)

I personally like always having my Mobile Connector with me just in the event of anything unforeseen. I have never needed it unexpectedly, but it is just nice in the event of an emergency. We can have inclimate weather here in Oregon that can on occasion shut down major arteries through the mountains. I have driven half way through the coast range mountains before just to get turned around due to a fatality accident and I had to drive back to the coast then up the coast to the next pass and then back home in the Willamette Valley. Knowing that I can charge from virtually any grid power source is a good safety blanket even if I don't use it.

There's a well-known saying in aviation.

Worthless things:
Altitude above you.
Runway behind you.
Gas in the truck.
The bathroom back at the terminal.

To that, I'll add:
The UMC sitting in your garage.

 

[SSedan]

When people ask about disconnecting the adapter instead of the outlet you are just moving the wear and I do not believe it is an any better point to withstand said wear, don't do it.

On which is the future, even if installing a 6-50 I might pull a neutral just because who knows what stupid might be written into the electrical code later. I understand EV charging doesn't use it, but when has rational decision making ever guided a government bureaucrat.

 

[juliusa]

On which is the future, even if installing a 6-50 I might pull a neutral just because who knows what stupid might be written into the electrical code later. I understand EV charging doesn't use it, but when has rational decision making ever guided a government bureaucrat.

Of all the things to worry about, that is not one of them. Besides, the government does not develop the NEC.

If you put in a 6-50, don't put in a neutral wire.

 

[SSedan]

Of all the things to worry about, that is not one of them. Besides, the government does not develop the NEC.

If you put in a 6-50, don't put in a neutral wire.

And the GFCI breaker rule creeping in to 14-50 installs is brilliant.............

 

[GPinzone]

I don't get the 6-50 bandwaggoning. A 4 wire run is going to be slightly more expensive that a 3 wire run. How much? Not much. Do you need the neutral? No, not now. In the future? Who knows? What if something different comes along in the future for charging (like higher amps or a direct DC from solar panels) and you wanted to convert that 240V line to 120V lines? You can't if it's just a 3 wire run. A 4 wire 14-50 can be converted to two dedicated 120V lines.

If you already have a 3 wire 240V 50A line in the garage, then by all means go for the 6-50. But if you're installing new wiring, go with a 4 conductor run that can support 60A and use the more commonly used 14-50. Stay away from Leviton outlets and you won't have to worry about plugging and unplugging.

 

[juliusa]

And the GFCI breaker rule creeping in to 14-50 installs is brilliant.............

Yes. And requiring weatherproof enclosures in wet locations is good too.

These were not added by the government.

 

[Feathermerchan]

I don't get the 6-50 bandwaggoning. A 4 wire run is going to be slightly more expensive that a 3 wire run. How much? Not much. Do you need the neutral? No, not now. In the future? Who knows? What if something different comes along in the future for charging (like higher amps or a direct DC from solar panels) and you wanted to convert that 240V line to 120V lines? You can't if it's just a 3 wire run. A 4 wire 14-50 can be converted to two dedicated 120V lines.

If you already have a 3 wire 240V 50A line in the garage, then by all means go for the 6-50. But if you're installing new wiring, go with a 4 conductor run that can support 60A and use the more commonly used 14-50. Stay away from Leviton outlets and you won't have to worry about plugging and unplugging.

So you want to make that 240V #6 run into 2X 120V. How are you gonna do that? A 50A panel? That's all you can do with #6. 50 Amps. Garages these days have at least one 120V outlet anyway.
If a neutral is ever required by NEC then existing installations will be grandfathered.

 

[Feathermerchan]

Gripe with Hubble 6-50 outlets - the 14-50 has a bar between the terminal screw and the wire so the effect is to clamp the wire. The 6-50 has no bar so the screw contacts the wire directly.

 

[timk225]

The 14-50 and 6-50 will charge at the same rate. But the one argument for the 6-50 that I don't like is "Oh, you'll save money on not having that extra wire". If your money is that tight, you're not ready to be a Tesla owner yet. Save up more.

 

[GHammer]

The 14-50 and 6-50 will charge at the same rate. But the one argument for the 6-50 that I don't like is "Oh, you'll save money on not having that extra wire". If your money is that tight, you're not ready to be a Tesla owner yet. Save up more.

What an elitist post. Paying attention to and avoiding small expenses over 40 years is what has enabled me to afford a Tesla (3 actually). I see no reason to put in a useless 4th wire.

 

[eprosenx]

I don't get the 6-50 bandwaggoning. A 4 wire run is going to be slightly more expensive that a 3 wire run. How much? Not much. Do you need the neutral? No, not now. In the future? Who knows? What if something different comes along in the future for charging (like higher amps or a direct DC from solar panels) and you wanted to convert that 240V line to 120V lines? You can't if it's just a 3 wire run. A 4 wire 14-50 can be converted to two dedicated 120V lines.

If you already have a 3 wire 240V 50A line in the garage, then by all means go for the 6-50. But if you're installing new wiring, go with a 4 conductor run that can support 60A and use the more commonly used 14-50. Stay away from Leviton outlets and you won't have to worry about plugging and unplugging.

I am generally onboard with the thesis of future proofing, but I think in this case there is zero chance that having a neutral would some day be mandated or needed. 120v is pitiful by modern standards. All of Europe uses 230v for all of their appliances. We just have if for backwards compatibility. All EV’s will always want the max voltage they can get which is 240.

As EV’s become more mainstream every last ounce of inefficiency will be squeezed out (as at scale it is a massive difference in cost) and so that neutral line won’t be run.

Now my question is: What kind of 6-50 receptacle do we use? My go to of the Bryant on the 14-50’s does not seem as great since the 6-50 version of it does not have the same clamping mechanism. I am NOT a fan of the screw directly into the wire. So what other options do we have that are cost effective?