Wall Connector vs 14-50R Outlet Plus Mobile Connector

[rjpjnk]

I'm giving some thought as to what to install for my future MY and am currently leaning towards the Wall connector. One of the reasons is I understand that an outlet install requires a GFCI breaker whereas the Wall connector does not.

I put together the following cost differential (Lowes prices). Seems like the Wall Connector would only be about 135.00 more expensive and offer a lot of flexibility and allow me to keep the supplied Tesla Mobile Connector in the trunk for charging elsewhere.

Am I missing something or is the WC really a no-brainer choice here?

Plan A:
500.00 Wall Connector
-150.00 Current 30% Fed credit
153.00 50ft 6/2 wire (Wall connector does not require neutral)
11.00 50a (or 60a) breaker
= 514.00

Plan B:
15.00 14-50R outlet and box
219.00 50ft 6/3 wire (14-50R requires neutral)
100.00 50a GFCI breaker
45.00 14-50 Tesla adapter cable
= 379.00

 

[Big Earl]

I would go with plan A. It is safer, more reliable, can charge the vehicle more quickly depending on the circuit it's connected to, and allows you to keep the mobile connector in your car for emergencies.

If you go with plan B, make sure to adjust your price on the NEMA 14-50R, as it appears that you've budgeted for a Leviton model, which are cheap and known to cause fires. Budget $80 for a Bryant or Hubbell brand receptacle, both of which have much better build quality and electrical connections. New plan B price: $450.

NEMA 14-50 Plug Meltdown / Near Fire

My main house breaker tripped tonight. Upon investigating, I saw black smoke curling up my garage wall and smelled burning plastic, from where my 14-50 plug is located. Turns out my electrician had installed the plug with a loose black conductor, causing the outlet and plug to meltdown. At...

teslamotorsclub.com

My NEMA 14-50 nearly caught on fire Friday night!

Saturday morning I got up to find that charging was interrupted overnight. I went to the garage and was hit with that burning electrical odor - very strongly. I unplugged the charger from the wall (it took a bit of doing), and saw that one of the side-by-side prongs had plastic from the...

teslamotorsclub.com

NEMA 14-50 Meltdown

A couple of nights ago I heard a loud pop inside our house complete with lights flickering. I went downstairs to the garage and found the garage with smoke and stinking of electrical smell. I noticed the Tesla was not longer charging and the breaker was tripped. Upon further inspection I...

teslamotorsclub.com

 

[dogmodes]

I haven't done it yet but I was pretty much convinced to go with the wall connector for the same reasons. Although I was planning on running 6/3 instead of 6/2 to make it easier to change later. I think the 6/2 could still be used for a 6-50 plug so you could probably adapter that to work with anything for an EV. But if you ever might change to a 14-50 run the extra wire. I agree with getting a better plug if you go with plan B.

 

[rjpjnk]

Thanks for the warning on the cheap 14-50R. Even without that additional cost to close the gap further, I really can't think of any reason not to go with the Wall Connector.

In fact, it seems such a no-brainer I am wondering if I missed something. Why are so many people going the Outlet route?

 

[MYMY21]

My decision to go with the outlet was more related to the resale value of the home. I may not be here in 10 years, and the NEMA 14-50 could be more valuable to the next owner to choose his/her own type of electric vehicle. I invested in the extra 500 for the separate corded mobile connector with the 14-50 plug so I could leave it permanently in the garage and travel with the one that comes with the car. (I take regular road trips.) The wall connector will charge faster, but the difference doesn't matter to me.

 

[jcanoe]

The requirement for a GFCI when a NEMA 14-50 receptacle is used for charging an EV (not just for outdoor installations) is part of the 2017 NEC. Not all localities have yet adopted this version of the NEC. (As no one makes a GFCI 14-50 receptacle the only way to satisfy this requirement is to install a GFCI circuit breaker.)

I would suggest you confirm that you can use 6/2 or 6/3 wire on a 60A circuit. Usually 4 gauge is required when wiring for 60A.

For outdoor use the Tesla Gen3 Wall Connector is the better option (versus a receptacle and the Tesla Gen2 Mobile Connector or other EVSE fitted with a power plug) because it is fully sealed for use in all weather conditions. The Wall Connector is designed to be hard wired, there is no receptacle or power plug that can be a source of water intrusion.

 

[GtiMart]

@MYMY21, if you plan on selling the house soon, you can remove the wall charger when you sell and put a 14-50 plug instead. Just future-proof it by passing a 6/3 cable immediately, even though you don't use the additional wire now.

 

[MYMY21]

@MYMY21, if you plan on selling the house soon, you can remove the wall charger when you sell and put a 14-50 plug instead. Just future-proof it by passing a 6/3 cable immediately, even though you don't use the additional wire now.

That is a great approach, too. After consulting with the electrician, I went with the 14-50 plug now with the option of installing a Tesla wall connector later if I'm still here or that becomes a better solution.

 

[rjpjnk]

Personally I don’t consider effect on resale value to be significant. But that may be because I don’t plan to move anytime soon. Out of curiosity though, how much more might a house sell for if it has a 14-50 outlet rather than a 6-50? Is this really significant enough to wire with 6/3 vs 6/2? I think probably it is given the sample prices above. Certainly it’s the most future proof.

 

[Nerd_CRasch]

I'm giving some thought as to what to install for my future MY and am currently leaning towards the Wall connector. One of the reasons is I understand that an outlet install requires a GFCI breaker whereas the Wall connector does not.

I put together the following cost differential (Lowes prices). Seems like the Wall Connector would only be about 135.00 more expensive and offer a lot of flexibility and allow me to keep the supplied Tesla Mobile Connector in the trunk for charging elsewhere.

Am I missing something or is the WC really a no-brainer choice here?

Plan A:
500.00 Wall Connector
-150.00 Current 30% Fed credit
153.00 50ft 6/2 wire (Wall connector does not require neutral)
11.00 50a (or 60a) breaker
= 514.00

Plan B:
15.00 14-50R outlet and box
219.00 50ft 6/3 wire (14-50R requires neutral)
100.00 50a GFCI breaker
45.00 14-50 Tesla adapter cable
= 379.00

The tax credit includes the cost of installation. This include any other materials needed (and hired electrician) to install the L2 charger.

Here is the form: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8911.pdf

 

[MYMY21]

Personally I don’t consider effect on resale value to be significant. But that may be because I don’t plan to move anytime soon. Out of curiosity though, how much more might a house sell for if it has a 14-50 outlet rather than a 6-50? Is this really significant enough to wire with 6/3 vs 6/2? Maybe.

My understanding is that 6/3 is more future-proof. My electrician basically said that I can add this 14-50 connector now and if I decide later I want to change it out, then I can with the wiring already in place. The bulk of the cost was the wire itself and the labor to get it from the box in the basement to the garage.

 

[rjpjnk]

I’m warming to the idea of 6/3 now myself.

 

[rjpjnk]

The tax credit includes the cost of installation. This include any other materials needed (and hired electrician) to install the L2 charger.

Here is the form: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8911.pdf

This sounds important. I need to learn more. I was hoping to get the 30% credit for the part alone. I need to find the IRS definition of “qualified alternative fuel vehicle refueling property” here.

Thank you.

 

[rjpjnk]

So far I don’t see anything in the instructions for IRS form 8911 that indicate who can do the work or any documentation or receipt requirements.

Instructions for Form 8911 (01/2024) | Internal Revenue Service

www.irs.gov

 

[Rocky_H]

-150.00 Current 30% Fed credit

Yeah, you definitely did the tax credit part wrong in two different ways. First off, you included it only off of the price of the wall connector unit itself, rather than the whole installation, and you left it out completely for the case B scenario of installing an outlet, which ALSO qualifies, so the tax credit amounts will be a bit more similar instead of your applying it only on case A but not on case B.

Out of curiosity though, how much more might a house sell for if it has a 14-50 outlet rather than a 6-50? Is this really significant enough to wire with 6/3 vs 6/2?

If every one of us in this thread pitches in a penny, that would cover it.

In fact, it seems such a no-brainer I am wondering if I missed something. Why are so many people going the Outlet route?

I think possibly the main two reasons are that a lot of people have not caught up to the new introduction of the requirement for a GFCI breaker in the 2017 NEC. That is very new and adds about$80-$90 to the outlet case, which people weren't aware of yet. I did mine in 2014, so that requirement wasn't there yet. And they don't know to not use the crappy $10 Leviton outlet. (guilty)

 

[Rocky_H]

So far I don’t see anything in the instructions for IRS form 8911 that indicate who can do the work or any documentation or receipt requirements.

Yeah, I think it's just self-reporting.

 

[rjpjnk]

Yeah, you definitely did the tax credit part wrong in two different ways. First off, you included it only off of the price of the wall connector unit itself, rather than the whole installation, and you left it out completely for the case B scenario of installing an outlet, which ALSO qualifies, so the tax credit

Thank you. This is exactly why I started this thread, to see if I had my facts right.

I did not realize that all of the parts are subject to the tax credit. I also was not sure if installation of an outlet alone qualified as “alternative fuel vehicle refueling property “. Are you sure it does? In any event, I will redo the chart below assuming it does and correct this. I will also upgrade to the higher quality receptacle as suggested.

The intent of the chart is only to capture differences in total cost. My guess is the labor would be roughly equal in each case so it would cancel out and is therefor not include. Do you agree the labor costs would be relatively equal?

Plan A:
500.00 Wall Connector
153.00 50ft 6/2 wire (Wall connector does not require neutral)
11.00 50a (or 60a) breaker
= 664.00 -30% = 464.80

Plan B:
86.00 14-50R Hubble quality outlet and box
219.00 50ft 6/3 wire (14-50R requires neutral)
100.00 50a GFCI breaker
45.00 14-50 Tesla adapter cable
= 450.00 -30% = 315.00


So in the revised comparison the Wall Connector (with or without installation) costs 149.80 more.

Note: I included the 45.00 Tesla adapter as also eligible for the 30 % credit but I am not sure if it qualifies or not.

 

[Big Earl]

Personally I don’t consider effect on resale value to be significant. But that may be because I don’t plan to move anytime soon. Out of curiosity though, how much more might a house sell for if it has a 14-50 outlet rather than a 6-50? Is this really significant enough to wire with 6/3 vs 6/2? I think probably it is given the sample prices above. Certainly it’s the most future proof.

14-50R has a neutral and supports 120 volt loads like RVs, trailers and boats, whereas a 6-50R does not. If you’re in an area where a future owner may have one of these, the 14-50R would provide some additional value, especially if the installation is complex.

 

[Johnny Vector]

By the way, thanks to everyone who mentioned not using the Leviton receptacle. I just two weeks ago replaced my Leviton with a Bryant. Which I got from Grainger for 55 bucks, including shipping and tax. Probably should have just drove the 6 miles to the local Grainger and picked it up there, but oh well.

I notice on the box right under where it says Bryant it says "Hubbell-Bryant Inc" along with the hubbell dot com URL, so apparently they're the same company now.

And yeah, it's much sturdier than the Leviton. With hex screws to clamp the wire, so it's possible to torque them appropriately without having the tool just cam out of the screw like with the Leviton. I feel much better.

HOWEVER: Note that the Hubbell/Bryant receptacle has a larger diameter plastic face (a bit under 2.5" diameter if I recall correctly.) The wall plates you can get at your favorite box store will not fit. So if you're changing the outlet yourself, get an appropriate wall plate when you buy the outlet! Better to just spec a Hubbell/Bryant receptacle when you contract with your electrician to install it in the first place.

 

[Rocky_H]

So in the revised comparison the Wall Connector (with or without installation) costs 149.80 more.

Note: I included the 45.00 Tesla adapter as also eligible for the 30 % credit but I am not sure if it qualifies or not.

That looks mostly right then, except the $45 Tesla plug adapter for your cable wouldn't be part of the tax credit. That's only for what you install in your house.