In a few days I’ll install wall connector outside on the side of our home. I’m also planning to have some driveway work done (paving and removal of a planter/flower box along the side of the house) in a few weeks. I was a little worried that the charger might interfere with the work, but all the landscapers said it was no problem. The cable will hang down and probably touch the flower box after it’s installed, but I think I can wrap the charging cable up when the work will start? Is it actually easy to remove the cable or is it permanently connected to the charger to prevent theft?
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Wall connector install
- Thread starter steph746
- Start date
The Wall Connector is designed so that you can loosely wrap the charging cable around the housing of the unit, there is also a socket to secure the Tesla connector. The Tesla Wall Connector cover is secured using Torx screws. This would not stop a copper thief from cutting off the charging cord.
You could tape a heavy duty plastic bag over the whole affair until after the landscaping work was completed.
There is also an option for the wiring to enter from the rear of the wall mount. For outdoor installation having the wiring enter from the rear or the bottom would help ensure that water does not get in.
Um. It's not that wildly critical. The manual has a number, but the basic idea is that one should be able to wrap the cable around the thing and it shouldn't be so high that wrapping the cable over the top would be hard for a short person, and not so low that when the wrapped cable (a la garden hose) doesn't hit the ground too badly. The one in my garage (admittedly, not outside) has the top at about shoulder height.
You should check the Maryland code; for a garage switches and receptacles must be installed at least 48 inches above the floor of the garage. For outdoor installations it may be different, i.e. above the height of a car/truck bumper. An inspector might not pass it if the Wall Connector was mounted on a post too close to the ground.
(The garage 48 inch height requirement has been in the code, likely forever, to prevent a spark from igniting gasoline fumes.)
The Installation Manual specifies 24 inch minimum height for outdoor installation; 18 inch minimum indoor height (Note: 18 inches height in a garage is not up to code in Maryland; for a garage it must be installed at a minimum height of 48 inches.)
Tesla Gen3 Wall Connector Manual, Pages 18 - 19:
https://www.tesla.com/sites/default...ng/Gen3_WallConnector_Installation_Manual.pdf
Tesla Gen3 Wall Connector Manual, Pages 18 - 19:
https://www.tesla.com/sites/default...ng/Gen3_WallConnector_Installation_Manual.pdf
What do you guys see as installation cost for wall chargers? Tesla estimates $750 but I just got an estimate for about $2000 from a local electrician. It’ll be on the side of the house and I want a direct line to the panel in the basement. Assuming 40-50 feet to get to the panel, doesn’t the cable itself cost $400-500 without any of the work and additional materials that are needed? The estimate I got struck me as high but given the cost of materials the 750 mentioned on the Tesla site seems low.
An EV charging circuit must be a dedicated circuit, directly wired into the service panel or into a sub panel. Depending on the home's construction the installation may require either PVC or metal conduit for the wiring. Drilling brick and block will add time, increase cost. Most, more than half of the cost will be for the electrician's time in surveying the site, pulling the permit needed for the work, obtaining the supplies and installing the circuit and the electrical vehicle supply equipment (i.e. Tesla Wall Connector.) $2k may not be out of line with current pricing for a licensed electrician to perform the work.
This dates back to 2018. At the time, I went out and paid $533 for a Gen 2 WC from the local Service Center, with taxes.
The 200A breaker box is in the two-car garage; the garage has a roof with an attic under it. I paid a Tesla-approved electrical contractor firm to run a bit of conduit up, over, and down between the doors on the garage, wire it up for a 60A circuit, and to mount the WC. They charged $650, which I thought was a bit high, but it worked right the first time and continues to do so.
The cost included the permitting, which was inspected a week or so later. (That's OK by local code.)
The 200A breaker box is in the two-car garage; the garage has a roof with an attic under it. I paid a Tesla-approved electrical contractor firm to run a bit of conduit up, over, and down between the doors on the garage, wire it up for a 60A circuit, and to mount the WC. They charged $650, which I thought was a bit high, but it worked right the first time and continues to do so.
The cost included the permitting, which was inspected a week or so later. (That's OK by local code.)
davewill
Active Member
Price varies a lot depending on the difficulty of the work and your location. It also varies greatly from electrician to electrician, what they are actually proposing to do, and whether they are properly pulling a permit, or cutting corners. There's no shortcut for getting multiple quotes and understanding exactly what each quote includes. Find out what kind of wire they are using, what kind of breaker, permitted or not, etc...
I'm not sure why it would make a difference if the power is off at the breaker as the Wall Connector only draws a couple of Watts when not plugged into a Tesla vehicle and charging. A black plastic bag in direct sunlight could cause the Wall Connector to heat up.
ATPMSD
Active Member
Anything that consumes power generates heat, and it would be a waste of power anyway. I think your black bag in sunlight point is a good one.
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