Wall Charger Install Questions

[ajdelange]

Your confusion is understandable. You might want to get an electrician recommended by Tesla who has installed dozens of these and solicit his advice.

Given that you are getting a car built in March it will have a 48A charger in it. This can be fed at full capacity by an HPWC wired to a 60 A breaker (and you don't need a disconnect). Tell the electrician to install that. Tell him to be sure to torque the lugs where the wires land to the specified value in the manual (and give him the manual). That should set you up.

Some people like to install a separate 14-50R connector somewhere in the garage which can be used as a backup should the HPWC go on the fritz. You might want to consider that as it is also handy if you want to use an air compressor, welder or some other piece of equipment. As that's an electric range outlet they sell adapters which derive a 120V outlet from it and thus, at least, you have an extra 120 outlet in your garage.

 

[KJD]

I fee so confused still. So many opinions. Overall this will be my only Tesla. It’s the brand new model x and I will take delivery in March. It sounded like things may have changed w/ the newest models. I ordered the black wall connector/charger from Tesla ($500). Overall based on the above facts what do I tell the technician to install at?

You made a good decision buying the wall connector. It is a great product at a reasonable price.

Tell the electrician to install the wall connector with a 60 amp breaker per local code. Make sure he sets the rotary switch per the instructions in the book in section "Set the operating Current". It really is very straightforward. The online PDF is located here.

https://www.tesla.com/sites/default/files/downloads/wall_connector_installation_manual_80A_en_US.pdf

 

[animorph]

I currently have a Nema 14-50 plug wired in my garage. I have recently added a second Tesla to my collection. Additionally I have received 2 Tesla Wall connectors from the referral program. I would like to have both Wall connectors share a circuit using the "share" feature. Can this be done using the single 60 amp circuit? Don't need the full strength charging for both cars at the same time. Would prefer to keep the wiring needs to a minimum.

Yes you can share pretty much any circuit. The "main" HPWC is set for the breaker size as normal. The "secondary" HPWC is just set to follow the first. So anything one can do, two can do. When you have two cars connected (even with one not charging) the HPWC's will split the available amps in two. A 60A circuit can supply 48A one car. If only one car is hooked up to one of two shared HPWC's it can get 48A. But if two cars are hooked up each gets 24A. So if my X is connected but waiting for a scheduled charge (not currently charging), my 3 still only gets 40A (half of the 80A available on my 100A circuit). I have to disconnect from the HPWC in order to get a full-rate charge on the remaining car. Not ideal for overnight charging if you need a full charge rate for one car, but better than sharing a single charger.

So if 24A works for you, you are good to go. Just remember to unplug one car if you need a quicker charge.

 

[ccathcart609]

Truly appreciate everyone’s help. This forum is awesome and helps alleviate a lot of mistakes and headaches. Thank you all again.

 

[ajdelange]

Yes you can share pretty much any circuit.

Be a bit careful here. Up to 4 HPWC's can share a circuit, but it must be a dedicated circuit, provided one is set as master and the others are configured as slaves. But two HPWC's each configured as a master cannot share a circuit. If each is to operate independently of the other then separate circuits are required. This would be the case even if each were configured for 40A on a 100 amp circuit. Have the electrician read the manual and the appropriate section of the NEC.

 

[Batt Car]

So many uninformed opinions here. Simply wire for the maximum. If you use less fine. To have to rewire later is a huge waste. You can bet future charging options will demand higher currents so think before you go cheap. Its not like you are poor.

 

[xyeahtony]

Don't install 90A. thats terrible advice, especially since your car will max out at 48A.

Install a 60A breaker. anything more will require a manual disconnect installed to be compliant with code. a 60A breaker will get you the full 48A charging.

 

[Walmart50]

Sweet Lord... I came here looking for answers and all i got were more questions! lol. I swear i have read 25 different answers to what breaker to have the electrician install.

 

[ajdelange]

There is no single simple answer. Your vehicle had the charging capacity it has, your service is what it is, your panels are populated as they are, your local code may impose additional restrictions on what you can do beyond what the NEC requires - or not, your utility may offer reduced rates for charging at certain times but require separate metering, you may have more than one car to charge etc. That's why I have reverted to suggesting that people get a good electrician who has installed several of these things in your jurisdiction. You must tell him what your requirements/desirements are and he will convolve those with what the codes and/or utility require and what your service looks like and come up with a recommendation.

 

[doghousePVD]

Don't install 90A. thats terrible advice, especially since your car will max out at 48A.

Install a 60A breaker. anything more will require a manual disconnect installed to be compliant with code. a 60A breaker will get you the full 48A charging.

Most jurisdictions require a manual disconnect, regardless of 60A or 90A.

Regardless if the wiring is for 90A or 60A, a 50A breaker can later be installed (DIY) if you want to downgrade the service to a 14-50 or similar. A 50 A breaker is about $10.

For a short run, the difference in wire cost is minimal compared to the labor cost.

 

[ajdelange]

Withdrawn - no point in muddying the waters further.

 

[Rocky_H]

Sweet Lord... I came here looking for answers and all i got were more questions! lol. I swear i have read 25 different answers to what breaker to have the electrician install.

There is no single simple answer.

It's like asking "What shoes should I buy?" It's so vague that there isn't necessarily any one particular answer. It depends on what kind of shoes you like, what you plan to use them for, how much you want to spend, etc. etc. etc.
For basics about what size breaker to use, that depends on things like how far you drive daily, or what size electrical system your house has, etc.

 

[animorph]

The Internet is good for generating ideas you may not have thought of. It's up to you to pick one that makes sense for you.

 

[jboy210]

Sweet Lord... I came here looking for answers and all i got were more questions! lol. I swear i have read 25 different answers to what breaker to have the electrician install.

My advice is get an electrician in that has installed these HPWCs before. They will be able to evaluate your home and give you your options, prices, permitting requirements, timeframes, etc. for your particular situation. The rest of us can make suggestions all day, but until someone is in your home looking at your situation it is all just guess and suggestions.

 

[Bill25cycle]

I fee so confused still. So many opinions. Overall this will be my only Tesla. It’s the brand new model x and I will take delivery in March. It sounded like things may have changed w/ the newest models. I ordered the black wall connector/charger from Tesla ($500). Overall based on the above facts what do I tell the technician to install at?

Hi Congrats on your new Tesla. If you own a 3MR, it will only charge at 32 amperes maximum - needing a 40 or 50 ampere circuit.
If you own anything else that is new, the most any NEW tesla will draw is 48 amperes.

I'm unsure if you said you wanted the capability to convert this to a Nema 14-50 (Range/RV outlet) later - in that case suffer along with a 50 ampere circuit at a 40 ampere charging rate, or have him put in a 60 ampere hard-wired circuit to give you 48 amperes charging. Since charging takes longer than 3 hours this is considered a 'continuous load' and must only be loaded up to 80% of ckt capacity.

Hope this helps.

Bill.

P.S. This is making the assumption your home's electrics can handle these size circuits, which I'm sure 99% of the tesla owners CAN handle anything. As an example, my home only has a puny 100 ampere electric service, yet with all kinds of electric appliances and 2 EVs, I never have the slightest problem since I don't run absolutely everything at the same time.

 

[Bill25cycle]

I currently have a Nema 14-50 plug wired in my garage. I have recently added a second Tesla to my collection. Additionally I have received 2 Tesla Wall connectors from the referral program. I would like to have both Wall connectors share a circuit using the "share" feature. Can this be done using the single 60 amp circuit? Don't need the full strength charging for both cars at the same time. Would prefer to keep the wiring needs to a minimum.

You didn't say whether you wanted to put in a new circuit or not. If your NEMA 14-50 outlet is properly wired, it will be either a 40 or a 50 ampere circuit. You can run up to 4 wall boxes on a circuit of ANY ckt capacity up to 100 amperes (80 continuous). But lets say that your 14-50 outlet is a 50 ampere circuit and you want to reuse this for 2 wallboxes. Simply set the 'master' wallbox (tesla instructions show you how to wire the 2 wall boxes) for 40 amperes continuous maximum. Then 2 tesla's charging at once will never use more than a combined 40 amperes. If you want to put in a NEW circuit, then obviously you can do whatever you want.

Hope this helps...

Bill

 

[Ronjw]

Just had a nema 14-50 50amp installed in my garage. I see tesla is selling a wall charger with a nema plug cable I like that. My son just gave me a new Tesla wall charger that needs to be hard wired. Can I buy a dryer nema plug cable from home depot and install it to my Tesla Wall Charger.

 

[DCGOO]

You will need to use a range pigtail (40 amps) not a dryer pigtail. But otherwise yes. Just be sure to set for 40amps maximum. You will not need to connect the neutral.