Tesla wall charger installation question

[Lou1965]

Well (fingers crossed) I should be taking delivery of my 2018 MX next Saturday. I purchased gen2 wall changer and plan on installing it this week. It will be outside going through a cinder block wall and the breaker box will be about 10 feet away. Should I use 6/3 or 4/3 cable? I would like to set the charging at 48 amps. Also, would it be okay to run the cable through the wall without any conduit? Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[paulk]

4 gauge would be a better choice if you want some future proofing, but 6 gauge THHN in conduit is okay. Use individual wires, not Romex, and use conduit everywhere, even through the cinder block. non-metal conduit is fine, and easier to bend (with a foot +/- hair dryer), compared to metal conduit. Romex type wire has to be larger gauge for heat dissipation, and its more delicate if it gets hit by a shovel or something. 60 amp breaker.

 

[Lou1965]

4 gauge would be a better choice if you want some future proofing, but 6 gauge THHN in conduit is okay. Use individual wires, not Romex, and use conduit everywhere, even through the cinder block. non-metal conduit is fine, and easier to bend (with a foot +/- hair dryer), compared to metal conduit. Romex type wire has to be larger gauge for heat dissipation, and its more delicate if it gets hit by a shovel or something. 60 amp breaker.

Thanks for the quick response! I think 6 gauge with conduit is what I'll be doing.

 

[Lou1965]

Thanks for the quick response! I think 6 gauge with conduit is what I'll be doing.

4 gauge would be a better choice if you want some future proofing, but 6 gauge THHN in conduit is okay. Use individual wires, not Romex, and use conduit everywhere, even through the cinder block. non-metal conduit is fine, and easier to bend (with a foot +/- hair dryer), compared to metal conduit. Romex type wire has to be larger gauge for heat dissipation, and its more delicate if it gets hit by a shovel or something. 60 amp breaker.

Would 1/2 inch conduit be okay?

 

[paulk]

Half inch conduit is too small. You're not allowed to use less than 3/4", and frankly it would be really hard to pull the wires through it. use 3/4" (or 1" if you plan on putting bigger wires in later). use a wire snake to pull the wires through, and if its difficult you can put some liquid soap on the wire first as a lubricant. Youll need three wires: two conductors and one ground. the ground wire can be 6 or 8 gauge, the conductors should be 6 gauge and any color aside from green or white.

 

[Lou1965]

Half inch conduit is too small. You're not allowed to use less than 3/4", and frankly it would be really hard to pull the wires through it. use 3/4" (or 1" if you plan on putting bigger wires in later). use a wire snake to pull the wires through, and if its difficult you can put some liquid soap on the wire first as a lubricant. Youll need three wires: two conductors and one ground. the ground wire can be 6 or 8 gauge, the conductors should be 6 gauge and any color aside from green or white.

Thanks

 

[DCGOO]

Further, you do not need 6/3 or 4/3. The WC Does not use the neutral at all. 6/2 (plus ground) is fine

 

[Lou1965]

Further, you do not need 6/3 or 4/3. The WC Does not use the neutral at all. 6/2 (plus ground) is fine

Everyone has been very helpful! I bought 30 ft lengths each of black, red and green 6 AWG THHN. I'm going to install the charger outside and run the conduit and wire to the outside of the main panel then have a licensed electrical finish from there and inspect the work I already completed.

 

[tga]

FWIW, you don't need a 6ga ground, 10ga is to code for 30-60A circuits (NEC 250.122)