What?! $1,331.47 for 15' NEMA 14-50R Install (Georgia)

[Trnsl8r]

I paid about the same, but my breaker box is directly kitty corner from the garage (i.e., as far away as possible) and the guys had to pull the line through the crawl space under the house. The quote was actually a couple hundred higher, but the whole thing went faster than they expected and they're honest people so they pushed the savings to me.

These aren't the cheapest electricians I know, but everything they did at my house has been rock solid, so when it came to pulling a 50A line under the house that me and my family are sleeping in, I wanted someone I could trust. Don't overpay, but be mindful that you often get what you pay for.

 

[schneiderjohn]

Let me correct this - in most jurisdictions where a permit is required, it's required for anyone who does the work, including the homeowner. Homeowners generally don't get a free pass to bypass inspections; in fact, they're the ones where inspectors place focus. In many jurisdictions, it is illegal for someone who is not the homeowner of the home to do the work unless he is licensed as an electrician, and if it's anything more than a single-family home it's generally required to be done by a commercial, licensed contractor.

Makes sense to me. Now if I could only find out whether or not they needed in my county. My Google-fu appears to be lacking, as I can't seem to find anything that shows they're required. Of course, the lack of info doesn't mean the requirement doesn't exist! I shall keep searching. (This is Gwinnett County, Georgia.)

 

[breser]

Makes sense to me. Now if I could only find out whether or not they needed in my county. My Google-fu appears to be lacking, as I can't seem to find anything that shows they're required. Of course, the lack of info doesn't mean the requirement doesn't exist! I shall keep searching. (This is Gwinnett County, Georgia.)

Call the number on this site and ask:
Planning DevelopmentBuilding Inspections Section

 

[CHG-ON]

Wow! I live in Santa Cruz, CA, in the SF Bay Area. One of the, if the not the, most expensive areas to live in the US and it only cost me $375 (no lie!) to have a NEMA 14-50 installed next to my 50AMP panel in my garage. AND I had a timer put in to turn off my hot tub during charging (it is CA, after all). The only thing the panel services is the car, tub, a washer and a few lights, easily managed when charging only late at night. I think you should shop around. I have been using this guy for years.

I think it's best not to tell them that you are buying a 130K car. Admittedly, I had the NEMA placed only 6" from the panel, but come on!

 

[Chris TX]

Holy crap! I did it myself for ~$100 in parts! (6/3 wire, breaker, outlet, junction box) and mine is farther away from the breaker box than your proposed location! I did it up and over through the attic, too! I don't see why you need conduit. Romex should be fine unless you've got some crazy electrical codes where you are.

How about you contact another electrician and ask how much it would be to run a 50A outlet (same location, same 14-50) but say it's for a yet-to-be-purchased ceramics kiln, and hide your Tesla when they come out to visit.
Watch that number go wayyyy down.
Thank me later

 

[Zroiron]

Curious, but why conduit along the baseboard? Can you run the wire up into an attic area and then down behind the wall?

If you do it yourself, for that short a run 6 gauge wire is plenty.

Tesla maybe should know their preferred installer is gouging. Those are NYC prices...

I had the same Tesla referred problem. The electrician wanted $2800.00 to install a HPWC and 100 ft of conduit through our attic and down a wall in the garage. Our solar installer did the job and I saved over 2 grand!!

 

[schneiderjohn]

So... interesting development. I received a call and e-mail from the electrician today stating that he had been contacted by Tesla regarding this quote and that there had been a major error in their Excel spreadsheet calculations. (I cannot verify the veracity of this statement, so take it as you will. I will, however, say that I am regularly perceived as "under 21", despite being far from it.)

They've issued a quote more inline with expectations (~$800 for 6AWG 50A service / ~$1000 for 3AWG 50A service), albeit that's still higher than I would expect.

I should mention that I have NOT contacted Tesla - although Tesla has contacted the electrician. Both Tesla and the electrician have both been very professional.

 

[bollar]

So... interesting development. I received a call and e-mail from the electrician today stating that he had been contacted by Tesla regarding this quote and that there had been a major error in their Excel spreadsheet calculations. (I cannot verify the veracity of this statement, so take it as you will. I will, however, say that I am regularly perceived as "under 21", despite being far from it.)

They've issued a quote more inline with expectations (~$800 for 6AWG 50A service / ~$1000 for 3AWG 50A service), albeit that's still higher than I would expect.

I should mention that I have NOT contacted Tesla - although Tesla has contacted the electrician. Both Tesla and the electrician have both been very professional.

Better. I would still get other quotes.

Tesla has been known to address owner concerns make in this forum proactively. I assume they wouldn't have problems figuring out who are are based on your user name here.

 

[Barry]

Related story - Prior to the birth of our first child, my wife called around for the services of a mohel (look it up, if you don't know), in the event the baby was a boy (we didn't know). When she asked one what he charged, his answer was, "what does your husband do for a living?" Smartly, she said, "never mind," and moved on.

Adding a line, especially when it doesn't involve going through walls is the second easiest job an electrician can do (#1 being changing a light bulb. :smile: ) I wouldn't think of asking Tesla for a recommendation for something like this. Mention Tesla, or what you do for a living, and the dollar signs light up in the contractors' eyes. As already suggested, if they ask what it's for, say something mundane, like an RV or a hot tub.

 

[tomas]

Tesla approved installers are supposed to use a common formula, including feet run, new or old panel, wall penetrations, etc. Objective I'm sure is to standardize price and avoid gouging. My installer walked me thru the calc, would advise any owners who use tesla referred electrician to do same. Some clearly gouge. Tesla needs to fire 'em.

 

[CmdrThor]

Makes sense to me. Now if I could only find out whether or not they needed in my county. My Google-fu appears to be lacking, as I can't seem to find anything that shows they're required. Of course, the lack of info doesn't mean the requirement doesn't exist! I shall keep searching. (This is Gwinnett County, Georgia.)

In the state of Georgia you can do the work yourself as long as it is your own home and you aren't renting it out. You absolutely must get a permit and inspection. In Cobb County the permit cost me $75 for a similar job, I would assume Gwinnett would be similar.

 

[tga]

In the state of Georgia you can do the work yourself as long as it is your own home and you aren't renting it out. You absolutely must get a permit and inspection. In Cobb County the permit cost me $75 for a similar job, I would assume Gwinnett would be similar.

This assumes they will grant you a permit to begin with. The rules are similar in MA, but many town inspectors effectively prevent homeowners from (legally) doing their own work by flat refusing to issue permits to homeowners (they have no legal obligation to issue a permit).

This is perceived as somehow "protecting the brotherhood" and keeping electricians working. All it really does is result in a bunch of un-inspected homeowner electrical work. Which, IMHO, is the stuff that really needs to be inspected.

 

[NSX1992]

My Tesla S85 is not due until December but I could not resist getting my garage wired for it. At first I thought about using the 240 30 amp circuit for the electric dryer (we have gas dryer) but reading the threads here I decided against it plus I would need to make a 5' adaptor cable. I went to city hall inquiring about electrical requirements and was given a worksheet to determine the loads. In theory I cannot use my 100 amp panel to add an 14-50 outlet but I decided to do it anyways because the calculations were close but the biggest factor was that charging would only be between midnight and 6am.

At first I thought I could not add a circuit to my panel as all the openings were being used but I found a 50 amp breaker at Home Depot that was only 1" wide and I removed the unused 30 amp breaker for the dryer. I had to cut 2 holes in the drywall to see the wiring for the panel as it is outside built into the wall. I had a 3/4" metal flex conduit. into the box with only one cable inside it so I removed it and relocated it to another opening that also had only one cable. The 3/4" flex conduit had enough space for my 2 #6s and 1 #8 for a total length of 21'. The total cost for the materials was $125 plus many hours working in the hot garage. Now for the long wait till delivery.

 

[FlasherZ]

At first I thought I could not add a circuit to my panel as all the openings were being used but I found a 50 amp breaker at Home Depot that was only 1" wide and I removed the unused 30 amp breaker for the dryer. I had to cut 2 holes in the drywall to see the wiring for the panel as it is outside built into the wall. I had a 3/4" metal flex conduit. into the box with only one cable inside it so I removed it and relocated it to another opening that also had only one cable. The 3/4" flex conduit had enough space for my 2 #6s and 1 #8 for a total length of 21'. The total cost for the materials was $125 plus many hours working in the hot garage. Now for the long wait till delivery.

Was that 50A breaker a double-pole? or only a single-pole? In most panels, 1" breakers are going to be 120V (single-pole) only. Care to share a picture?

 

[Chris TX]

Was that 50A breaker a double-pole? or only a single-pole? In most panels, 1" breakers are going to be 120V (single-pole) only. Care to share a picture?

Yeah, if that's a 50A breaker at 1" wide, it's either a single pole or a duplex. In either case, it's only pulling from one leg and couldn't produce 240VAC. I don't know of any breaker boxes that have both legs that close together.

 

[bollar]

Yeah, if that's a 50A breaker at 1" wide, it's either a single pole or a duplex. In either case, it's only pulling from one leg and couldn't produce 240VAC. I don't know of any breaker boxes that have both legs that close together.

GE offers half-width, dual pole breakers up to 50 amps. I think it's the THQP series.

 

[FlasherZ]

Yeah, if that's a 50A breaker at 1" wide, it's either a single pole or a duplex. In either case, it's only pulling from one leg and couldn't produce 240VAC. I don't know of any breaker boxes that have both legs that close together.

GE panels do, when you use THQP breakers. I just wanted to ensure the poster had a 50-amp 2-pole instead of a 50-amp single pole.

 

[NSX1992]

Yes I do have a GE panel and GE 1" wide double pole 50 amp breaker and have 240 volts at the outlet.

 

[mitch672]

Related story - Prior to the birth of our first child, my wife called around for the services of a mohel (look it up, if you don't know), in the event the baby was a boy (we didn't know). When she asked one what he charged, his answer was, "what does your husband do for a living?" Smartly, she said, "never mind," and moved on.

Totally of topic: I'm in the same tribe, yes asking about what you do for a living is totally tacky, if she was on her game she could have come back with "oh, he's one of those TV lawyers, he sues ganef's for a living"
Note: Yiddish Dictionary Online ייִדיש װערטערבוך ×ַפֿן װעב for our non tribe members

 

[huzz1970]

Hi
Lots of replies already. I had 53 feet from box to garage, 4 wire run, trenching, conduit, through the stucco wall, etc. We get 242V at 40A at the plug when the Tesla is charging.
I did get quotes that ranged from about $600 to $1650. The Solar City guys were the highest. Another one was at roughly your quote, then one at $950, $650 and about $600.
Same work, but it depends on the amount of advertising they have to pay for...