Tesla Wall Charger - 60 amp circuit - 6/4 wire?

[LennyGee]

I am awaiting my Tesla 3 extended range vehicle and I have just received my Tesla Wall Connector for home charging. The electrician I contacted said he would install it as 240Volt Single phase with neutral / 60 amp.

He said he would use 6-4 wire for this installation. Does this sound correct ? Thanks

 

[ucmndd]

The wall connector doesn't need a neutral (in fact there's no place to even terminate it).

Terminology like "6/4" usually refers to bundled NM cable (typically called "romex", which is a brand name), where the first number is the conductor size (6 awg) and the second number is the number of conductors (in your example, 4).

First point, as I mentioned you don't need four conductors for a wall connector - you need two hots and a ground.

Second point, generally speaking by code 6 awg bundled romex is not sufficient for a 60 amp circuit as it is rated to carry a max of 55 amps at 60 degrees celsius. If you instead ran individual 6awg conductors inside a conduit, 6 awg would be appropriate.

 

[z06tim]

I went with 4 guage wire. I had a longer run so 6 guage is not recommended. How long is your run?

They don't make those bundled wires in 4awg that I could find. They stop at 6awg so that cable is easy to run. I had to run my wires individually.

 

[LennyGee]

I went with 4 guage wire. I had a longer run so 6 guage is not recommended. How long is your run?

They don't make those bundled wires in 4awg that I could find. They stop at 6awg so that cable is easy to run. I had to run my wires individually.

Run is 60 feet.

 

[jmaddr]

It’s distance dependent in addition to amperage.

6 guage is likely good (it’s what I used for a <20’ run). 4 conductor is not necessary for the HPWC so you might be able to save by dropping to 3 conductor. However, if you ever move and wanted to take your HPWC with you, then running 4 conductor will allow you to replace the HPWC with a 14-50 receptacle.

 

[ucmndd]

Run is 60 feet.

You'll see about 1% voltage drop on 6awg wire at 48 amps over 60 feet. Reasonable.

However, my approach would be to use individual 6awg conductors in conduit vs. romex.

 

[adrianp89]

I went with 4 guage wire. I had a longer run so 6 guage is not recommended. How long is your run?

They don't make those bundled wires in 4awg that I could find. They stop at 6awg so that cable is easy to run. I had to run my wires individually.

I ended up with 3awg in a bundle.

 

[LennyGee]

Thanks everyone for your help..

 

[Rocky_H]

A couple of things, and they are basically what @ucmndd mentioned.

That electrician is using weird terminology for that kind of cable. I found out how these are actually named. With that name like "6-4", the first number is the wire gauge, and then the second number is how many thick conductor wires are in it, not counting the extra ground wire. So 6-3 Romex cable has the red and black for the two hot wires, the white for the neutral, and then the green ground wire. That is what you could use for something like a 14-50 outlet. 6-4 cable might exist, but that would be three for hot conductors plus a neutral plus a ground. I guess that would be used for wiring three phase electrical things, which you won't have in a residential house in the USA.

Second point, generally speaking by code 6 awg bundled romex is not sufficient for a 60 amp circuit as it is rated to carry a max of 55 amps at 60 degrees celsius. If you instead ran individual 6awg conductors inside a conduit, 6 awg would be appropriate.

Yes--that's my second point too. Take a look at this ampacity chart:
Ampacity Charts - Cerrowire

Bundled cable commonly called "Romex" is also known as "NM-B". That is what's used for the regular wiring inside all of your walls. You see the NM-B in that first column under the 60 degrees C temperature rating, and for 6 gauge that can only go up to 55A rated circuits. So if you're using 6-3 Romex, it can't be a 60A circuit. Individual wires run in conduit would generally be the type under the 75 degree C column, where the rating allows up to 65A for 6 gauge.