Want to absolutely confirm: I can charge off a dryer plug?

[davewill]

That's a reasonable question and the correct answer.... The electrician was indirectly asking "is this going to be running at full power for hours at a time"... There are lots of things one might plug in that aren't, and he could skip the 1.25 multiplier for 'continuous use' in that case(for the breaker and wire sizing).

Actually, the multiplier doesn't come into it. The wire and breaker are the same whether the 14-50 outlet is for an EV or not. The multiplier is why that 50a circuit is only good for 40a max charging.

 

[Sophias_dad]

I could easily be wrong, but is it not allowed(but unwise) to wire a 14-50 to a 40 amp breaker and 40 amp wiring if it is expected to be used for a 40 amp load? If OP had said 'its a 40 amp load' and it is allowed to wire a 14-50 with a 40 amp breaker/wiring, the electrician could have mistakenly wired it for the minimum.

I agree its stupid to not size the wiring/breaker for the full 50 amps.

 

[Austindude]

I could easily be wrong, but is it not allowed(but unwise) to wire a 14-50 to a 40 amp breaker and 40 amp wiring if it is expected to be used for a 40 amp load? If OP had said 'its a 40 amp load' and it is allowed to wire a 14-50 with a 40 amp breaker/wiring, the electrician could have mistakenly wired it for the minimum.

I agree its stupid to not size the wiring/breaker for the full 50 amps.

Well I don't know all the rules in your area but on a 60 amp circuit I think it would be wise to use 6 AWG wire, a 50 amp breaker, and with that pulling 40 amps should be fine.

 

[Sophias_dad]

Well I don't know all the rules in your area but on a 60 amp circuit I think it would be wise to use 6 AWG wire, a 50 amp breaker, and with that pulling 40 amps should be fine.

What? What is 60 amps about that circuit? 6AWG romex is only good for 55 amps, a 50 amp breaker is not a part of any 60 amp circuit, a 14-50 outlet is not allowed to be connected to a 60 amp breaker regardless of the wire size...

But yes, its fine to have 6 awg wire, a 50 amp breaker and a 40 amp continuous load.

 

[Austindude]

What? What is 60 amps about that circuit? 6AWG romex is only good for 55 amps, a 50 amp breaker is not a part of any 60 amp circuit, a 14-50 outlet is not allowed to be connected to a 60 amp breaker regardless of the wire size...

But yes, its fine to have 6 awg wire, a 50 amp breaker and a 40 amp continuous load.

To be clear, 60 amp breaker to sub panel, a 50 amp breaker in the subpanel, 6AWG wire run to the 14-50 outlet for 40 amp continuous load. This should be fine.

 

[davewill]

I could easily be wrong, but is it not allowed(but unwise) to wire a 14-50 to a 40 amp breaker and 40 amp wiring if it is expected to be used for a 40 amp load? If OP had said 'its a 40 amp load' and it is allowed to wire a 14-50 with a 40 amp breaker/wiring, the electrician could have mistakenly wired it for the minimum.

I agree its stupid to not size the wiring/breaker for the full 50 amps.

Actually a 40a circuit will work fine for the current mobile connector, which is limited to 32a charging anyway. There are a couple of legitimate reasons to do so including panel loading or the use of existing wiring. Of course, in most normal cases, you would want to do the 50a circuit.

 

[mikeshyu]

In short yes. I bought a 14-30 splitter and 14-30 to 14-50 adapter and hooked the dryer and tesla charger via splitter into the same socket. Works great and I never use them both at the same time anyway.

EDIT links if interested which:

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01DB44VPQ

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CVSJ6S9

Yikes, that's seems like it's an electrical accident waiting to happen.

The breaker on the 14-30 is rated for 30 amps and uses 10 AWG wire. The tesla when connected using a 14-30 adapter will draw 24 amps while charging.

A 14-50 should have a 50 amp breaker and 6 AWG wire. The tesla using the 14-50 connection will try to draw 32 amps.

The only way this would be safe would be if you manually set your car to charge at 24 amps in the charging menu. Also hope that you don't have guests over that accidentally turn on your dryer at the same time your car is charging.

Seems like too many unsafe variables.

If you're planning on sharing the dryer socket, definitely consider the Dryer Buddy, the guy above linked, which will safely disable the other outlet when charging.

 

[manto]

Yikes, that's seems like it's an electrical accident waiting to happen.

The breaker on the 14-30 is rated for 30 amps and uses 10 AWG wire. The tesla when connected using a 14-30 adapter will draw 24 amps while charging.

A 14-50 should have a 50 amp breaker and 6 AWG wire. The tesla using the 14-50 connection will try to draw 32 amps.

The only way this would be safe would be if you manually set your car to charge at 24 amps in the charging menu. Also hope that you don't have guests over that accidentally turn on your dryer at the same time your car is charging.

Seems like too many unsafe variables.

If you're planning on sharing the dryer socket, definitely consider the Dryer Buddy, the guy above linked, which will safely disable the other outlet when charging.

Thanks for the tips! Will limit to 24 amps in car. I only charge during the night (schedule midnight start) so accidents should not happen.

 

[hezza8]

BTW, for anyone who doesn't want to stomach the shocking price of a panel upgrade, and want a safe alternative. Check out www.ev-powershare.com

With built in over-current protection at 25 amps, and auto switching, it is very fool prof.

Once you set your car to 24 amps, you can forget about it. All those obscure scenarios where friends comes over to charge their EV, or EVSE settings reset will all be taken care of by the built in breaker.

 

[davewill]

BTW, for anyone who doesn't want to stomach the shocking price of a panel upgrade, and want a safe alternative. Check out www.ev-powershare.com

With built in over-current protection at 25 amps, and auto switching, it is very fool prof.

Once you set your car to 24 amps, you can forget about it. All those obscure scenarios where friends comes over to charge their EV, or EVSE settings reset will all be taken care of by the built in breaker.

Stupid design decision. They go to all that work, but put the wrong plug on the EV side. They're charging $340, but are trying to save the user from buying a $35 adapter? Dumb.

 

[hezza8]

Stupid design decision. They go to all that work, but put the wrong plug on the EV side. They're charging $340, but are trying to save the user from buying a $35 adapter? Dumb.

Not sure why you are so triggered over the decision to make the EV socket NEMA 14-50. It absolutely saves the owner from having to buy another... adapter. It's cleaner too for someone who's not using a tesla EVSE, why on earth would someone wants to daisy chain adapters, when they can just simply limit the current on the EVSE?
Any mis-configuration that leads to over-current are taken care of by the breaker. How is that dumb?

 

[johnr]

You could take a 14-30 adapter and cut off the neutral prong so it'll fit a 14-50 outlet but limit the current to 24A. Software-limited NEMA 14-50 adapters for Tesla are also an option. It's possible to get these adapters programmed for lesser currents, for example a NEMA 14-50 adapter that tells the car to charge at max 24 amps, and I know at least two shops that are selling these now.

 

[davewill]

Not sure why you are so triggered over the decision to make the EV socket NEMA 14-50. It absolutely saves the owner from having to buy another... adapter. It's cleaner too for someone who's not using a tesla EVSE, why on earth would someone wants to daisy chain adapters, when they can just simply limit the current on the EVSE?
Any mis-configuration that leads to over-current are taken care of by the breaker. How is that dumb?

Not triggered, just expressing my opinion, like everyone else here. In my opinion, purposely putting a 50a outlet on a 30a circuit is bad judgement. Make all of excuses you want, but it amounts to being penny wise and pound foolish in my book.

 

[hezza8]

Not triggered, just expressing my opinion, like everyone else here. In my opinion, purposely putting a 50a outlet on a 30a circuit is bad judgement. Make all of excuses you want, but it amounts to being penny wise and pound foolish in my book.

Fair, you are entitled to your opinion. Though all these companies that are selling NEMA 10-30 to NEMA 14-50 adapters would say different.
Amazon.com: nema 10-30 to 14-50 adapter
They likely even have UL certification.

Knowledgeable consumers are the ones to benefit from these type of adapters.

 

[Goodyear]

I live in a rental house. The owner would not allow me to install a Tesla home charger, but no worries. I charge Tessie using the 240-volt dryer plug; laundry room is next to the garage. I had to order an adapter from Tesla and an extension cable from Amazon but it works perfectly. Charging at 24 amps, it will add 14-15 miles in an hour.

I tried that and it just blows the 30 amp breaker in the fuse box what am I doing wrong are you can you set the amperage inside the car on the computer screen?

 

[Sophias_dad]

I tried that and it just blows the 30 amp breaker in the fuse box what am I doing wrong are you can you set the amperage inside the car on the computer screen?

First off, if you don't use the right adapter for the UMC, it won't know to turn down the power on its own. I assume you have a 14-30 to 14-50 adapter(or extension cord) that you then plug a 14-50 pigtail into from the UMC.

Yes, turn the amperage down to 24 on the screen in the car. You should probably hit the 'stop charging' button immediately after plugging in, set the right current, then start charging again. Even without the stop/start you should be able to adjust the current down before the breaker cuts it off. The car should remember the desired charge rate the next time you plug in.

 

[MichaelP90DL]

I tried that and it just blows the 30 amp breaker in the fuse box what am I doing wrong are you can you set the amperage inside the car on the computer screen?

It's on the charging menu. Set the car to charge at 24 amps.

 

[Frank99]

Fair, you are entitled to your opinion. Though all these companies that are selling NEMA 10-30 to NEMA 14-50 adapters would say different.
Amazon.com: nema 10-30 to 14-50 adapter
They likely even have UL certification.

Uh, if any of those have legitimate UL certification, my opinion of Underwriter's Laboratories just fell through the floor. I find it highly unlikely that they do.

Yes, a "knowledgeable consumer" could find them useful. As a degreed Engineer who's been building electrical stuff for far too many years, I consider myself "knowledgeable", and after a few minutes of reflection could determine when and how to use one of these safely. I'm not part of a large enough demographic for there to be 1000 search results on Amazon, however.

 

[Atari2600]

I purchased a wall connector and planned on having some basic electric work done to have it wired up. After a $12,000+ and $14,000+ quote I pretty much gave up for now and hooked a dryer power cable up to my wall connector through the wall from my utility room and I swap the plug when necessary. My dryer is on the other side of the wall in my garage. I've been doing this for over a year.
If you are going to do a lot of plugging and unplugging it's probably a good idea to replace it yearly. I replaced mine a couple months ago.

My final fix for my electrical is to buy another house - which I've been working towards.

I implemented my fix. I moved into a house that has 200 amp service to the house and 120 amp to the attached garage. Installed a wall connector on a 60 amp breaker and a NEMA 14-50 on a 50 amp breaker for people that visit who do not have a Tesla yet need a charge.

I had a contractor doing other work including electrical. They ran the wire, conduit etc and hooked up the wall connector for $600. A parting comment for the dryer folks, do replace the connector every year and buy a heavier duty one as there is a big difference in durability between them. A warm plug is not your friend.

 

[Kamban]

I know it is an old thread but just wanted to clarify one thing.

I take the supplied mobile charger with me and have the 5-15 and 14-50 adapters. I visit my relative whose laundry room is adjacent to the garage. I got the 14-30 dryer adapter from Tesla. If I unplug their dryer and plug in my Tesla Y using that adapter, do I need to reduce the charging amperage to 24 amp in the car or let it be set at max 48 amp and the Connector would automatically reduce charging amp rate to 24 amps.

I don't want to cause a fire in anyone's house.