Ok To Plug In To A 14-50R Outlet?

[beenmb]

A restaurant in my area just installed a 14-50R outlet. Is the R of the 14-50R ok for my Tesla Model 3's 14-50 adaptor that came with the car? Also, see the photo attached is the outlet installed up side down? Cable would go up not hang down going up possibly would damage the clear plastic outlet cover that opens upwards. Might add there are a lot of RVs in this area. Anyway got excited for we live in a condo, home charging not an option, Tesla Supercharger a pretty good distance away. No other fast charging in our city. Thanks so much. Very appreciated.

 

[dmurphy]

Yes, the "R" stands for "Receptacle".... so no concerns there.

It is "upside down" for our use - many people put the ground pin (the round one) on the bottom because it 'looks like a happy face'... but in all seriousness, it should be on top for any receptacle -- even the standard 120V ones in the home.

If you're concerned about the cover on the box, perhaps a short extension like this might give you enough extension for the connector to not hit the cover? This seems a bit overkill but might do the trick if you run into an issue .... Amazon.com: Progressive Industries 50 Amp Extension Plug: Sports & Outdoors

If the restaurant installed this receptacle specifically for EV charging, you may want to ask them if there's any way they can rotate the receptacle - almost all EV chargers are setup to expect the ground pin on top. Would make it truly functional for its intended purpose.

 

[LoudMusic]

A restaurant in my area just installed a 14-50R outlet. Is the R of the 14-50R ok for my Tesla Model 3's 14-50 adaptor that came with the car? Also, see the photo attached is the outlet installed up side down? Cable would go up not hang down going up possibly would damage the clear plastic outlet cover that opens upwards. Might add there are a lot of RVs in this area. Anyway got excited for we live in a condo, home charging not an option, Tesla Supercharger a pretty good distance away. No other fast charging in our city. Thanks so much. Very appreciated.

How long have you owned your car without being able to charge at home? Even a 120v15a circuit can get a lot of charging done if the car is parked for days at a time.

 

[jjrandorin]

It is "upside down" for our use - many people put the ground pin (the round one) on the bottom because it 'looks like a happy face'... but in all seriousness, it should be on top for any receptacle -- even the standard 120V ones in the home.

Really? Wow, lol. The only 120v outlets I have ever seen installed "upside down" (with the ground pin at the top) in any residence I have lived in, are the ones that are connected to a wall socket. I have only lived in southern california (with an exception of being on a couple different 9 month relocation assignments for work, one in Northern Cali, and one in Louisville KY), but I have also moved something like 24 times since i was 18 years old. That covers every place I have ever lived.

If the 120v is supposed to be ground pin side up, every place I have ever been is doing it wrong. Is it done that way (ground pin toward the bottom) just because people are used to seeing it that way? Why is it supposed to be on the top (not the 14-50, the regular 5-15 / 5-20 you mentioned).

Im just curious, not challenging you or anything.

 

[jjrandorin]

No other fast charging in our city.

14-50 would not be considered "fast charging" either. It would be somewhere around 37 miles an hour. A nice perk if someone is eating at the restaurant you are talking about, but certainly not something you are going to roll up to every couple of days and park there for a few hours.

 

[LoudMusic]

Really? Wow, lol. The only 120v outlets I have ever seen installed "upside down" (with the ground pin at the top) in any residence I have lived in, are the ones that are connected to a wall socket. I have only lived in southern california (with an exception of being on a couple different 9 month relocation assignments for work, one in Northern Cali, and one in Louisville KY), but I have also moved something like 24 times since i was 18 years old. That covers every place I have ever lived.

If the 120v is supposed to be ground pin side up, every place I have ever been is doing it wrong. Is it done that way (ground pin toward the bottom) just because people are used to seeing it that way? Why is it supposed to be on the top (not the 14-50, the regular 5-15 / 5-20 you mentioned).

Im just curious, not challenging you or anything.

Outlet Ground Pin Up or Down? - Archtoolbox

A discussion of whether a three-prong outlet should be mounted with the ground pin up or down.

www.archtoolbox.com

It's been a debate for a long time. I see value in each orientation.

If you look at marketing from people who manufacture plugs you mostly see ground pin down.

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However, NEMA 14-50 are almost universally installed with ground pin up. The determining factor is likely right-angle "shore power" plugs for RVs and campsites. So Tesla logically followed suit and built their NEMA 14-50 adapter to match.

 

[dmurphy]

Really? Wow, lol. The only 120v outlets I have ever seen installed "upside down" (with the ground pin at the top) in any residence I have lived in, are the ones that are connected to a wall socket. I have only lived in southern california (with an exception of being on a couple different 9 month relocation assignments for work, one in Northern Cali, and one in Louisville KY), but I have also moved something like 24 times since i was 18 years old. That covers every place I have ever lived.

If the 120v is supposed to be ground pin side up, every place I have ever been is doing it wrong. Is it done that way (ground pin toward the bottom) just because people are used to seeing it that way? Why is it supposed to be on the top (not the 14-50, the regular 5-15 / 5-20 you mentioned).

Im just curious, not challenging you or anything.

Of course!

The idea of ground-pin-up is that should the plug be loose and an object fall, it would hit the ground pin instead of shorting across hot & neutral. I've also found that because the ground pin is longer, it holds the plug a bit better when it's oriented at the top, especially on an older socket that's not as "springy."

As @LoudMusic said - it's kinda an age-old debate, but I do see the merit of ground-pin-up.

I'm not going to pull all the sockets around my home and flip them certainly, but if I were installing from scratch? You betcha.

And also - as for 14-50's specifically, like @LoudMusic said... as someone who owns an RV.... ground-pin-up definitely aligns with every RV park and outlet I've ever seen.

 

[jjrandorin]

@LoudMusic @dmurphy thanks for your answers. I love learning things


A slight correction to something I said above, which was:

. The only 120v outlets I have ever seen installed "upside down" (with the ground pin at the top) in any residence I have lived in, are the ones that are connected to a wall socket

What I ment to say (and appears you both understood) was that I had only seen the outlets upside down when connected to a wall SWITCH (not socket). In every place I have been out here in southern california, the "upside down" standard outlet in a room (ground pin on the top), is the way to know which outlet in the room is connected to the wall switch, so you know you can plug a lamp in there and switch it on and off (as an example).

I moved around a lot, from when i moved out of my home at 18, till about 8 years ago when I was finally able to buy a home. I am 54 now, so thats a lot of years of moving around, lol. If I walked into a place here, with all the outlets ground pin on top, I would have been completely perplexed!

Reasons make sense, though, so appreciate you both taking the time to explain.

 

[LoudMusic]

@LoudMusic @dmurphy thanks for your answers. I love learning things


A slight correction to something I said above, which was:


What I ment to say (and appears you both understood) was that I had only seen the outlets upside down when connected to a wall SWITCH (not socket). In every place I have been out here in southern california, the "upside down" standard outlet in a room (ground pin on the top), is the way to know which outlet in the room is connected to the wall switch, so you know you can plug a lamp in there and switch it on and off (as an example).

I moved around a lot, from when i moved out of my home at 18, till about 8 years ago when I was finally able to buy a home. I am 54 now, so thats a lot of years of moving around, lol. If I walked into a place here, with all the outlets ground pin on top, I would have been completely perplexed!

Reasons make sense, though, so appreciate you both taking the time to explain.

Actually I didn't understand what you were saying the first time. Thanks for the explanation!

I've only ever seen ground pin down, even on switched outlets. My wife gets really frustrated with switched outlets because she doesn't know which one is which or why anyone would wire them that way. I just say "Floor lamps! The '70s! You're too young!"

 

[dmurphy]

Actually I didn't understand what you were saying the first time. Thanks for the explanation!

I've only ever seen ground pin down, even on switched outlets. My wife gets really frustrated with switched outlets because she doesn't know which one is which or why anyone would wire them that way. I just say "Floor lamps! The '70s! You're too young!"

So true!!! My home is a ranch style; built in 1968. One of the very first things I did was install hi-hat lights everywhere I could fit them! As you can imagine, the entire dang home was designed for floor lamps. Ick. We have a finished basement with drop ceiling - it now has 27 of them....

 

[RayK]

Many (most? all?) 3-pin wall-warts (AC adapters), smarthome modules (X10 and the like), right-angle plugs, extension cards or power strips and multi-outlet extenders (converts standard 2 outlet into 6) designed for residential use, expect the ground pins to be on the bottom, away from the wall or opposite of each other. The only place I've seen a standard 5-15 outlet with the ground pin up is in a commercial building (workplace).

That said, I have a NEMA 10-30 outlet for my electric dryer that is installed upside-down. The plug's cord turns up, instead of hangs down. I've been in this house for almost 21 years and I've never bother to correct it. Instead, I hang the cord from a hook (with a zip tie) located several inches above the outlet.

 

[beenmb]

Yes, the "R" stands for "Receptacle".... so no concerns there.

It is "upside down" for our use - many people put the ground pin (the round one) on the bottom because it 'looks like a happy face'... but in all seriousness, it should be on top for any receptacle -- even the standard 120V ones in the home.

If you're concerned about the cover on the box, perhaps a short extension like this might give you enough extension for the connector to not hit the cover? This seems a bit overkill but might do the trick if you run into an issue .... Amazon.com: Progressive Industries 50 Amp Extension Plug: Sports & Outdoors

If the restaurant installed this receptacle specifically for EV charging, you may want to ask them if there's any way they can rotate the receptacle - almost all EV chargers are setup to expect the ground pin on top. Would make it truly functional for its intended purpose.

Awesome. Much appreciated. I'll mention it to the owner maybe he can get ole Sparkie the electrician to stop back by and switch it around. I can see someone breaking that cover.as it is now.

 

[tduffy50]

Be careful with that upside down plug. I almost found out the hard way that the charging cable will need support.


Post in thread 'SR/SR+ Waiting Room'
SR/SR+ Waiting Room

 

[beenmb]

Be careful with that upside down plug. I almost found out the hard way that the charging cable will need support.


Post in thread 'SR/SR+ Waiting Room'
SR/SR+ Waiting Room

Thank you, yes I sent an email to the restaurant owner of this outlet. Chances are the electrician who installed it is not familiar with Tesla or EV's.

 

[beenmb]

How long have you owned your car without being able to charge at home? Even a 120v15a circuit can get a lot of charging done if the car is parked for days at a time.

First year we lived in a house with a garage. That was great. We would plug in to the regular wall outlet and trickle charge every night adding around 50 miles, 15,000 a year of range. Last two years living in a high rise condo building. No electrical outlets available.