Will the 6/3 Romex be sufficient enough for the continuous draw of 48 amps for the home charger?

[LI Greek]

Hi Everyone
New to the forum. I have a question about the home charger. Right now I have 6 months free of SC. I am buying a home charger cause I hate waiting at the SC. When we redid our home, I was advised to run a 6/3 Romex to garage just in case I get an EV. Fast forward 2 years and now I am happy to be a new Tesla owner. Will the 6/3 Romex be sufficient enough for the continuous draw of 48 amps for the home charger.

Thanks

 

[Rocky_H]

No.
(This will save some typing and give way more information)

Anyone use this Romex 6/3 cable during install?

Not everyone charges at night. I charge mine mainly between 10am and 2pm and need a higher speed. How come? and (not to get too personal but) what do you do at night? 😋

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[posity]

Since that wire is not large enough for a 60A breaker, put a 50A breaker on your wall charger circuit which will give you 40A of continuous charge current. You'll get about 37 MPH of charge into a Y that way (assuming you have the typical 240V at your house instead of the less common 208V), which is a great charge rate.

I've run the mobile charger for 5 years (which maxes out at 32A continuous) and never come close to needing more.

 

[MacO512]

Technically many will post you shouldn't as it's not rated for quite enough amps, they aren't wrong.

However I'd feel totally safe running that in my own home, there's enough safety margins your never going to have an issue if all parts, connections, install, quality of work, etc are done well.

Some (most) electrical inspectors will pass this as code compliant, happens all the time here in Austin. Perhaps a few inspectors won't although I haven't heard of an example. Yes posters here are correct it technically can be interpreted as a few amps over the NEC limit.

If your inspector passes it Id say go for it. If not then use different wire or lower 50amp breaker; or just do that from the getgo to avoid the possible inspection issues.

 

[ATPMSD]

Don’t violate the electrical code! A lot of electricians and inspectors don’t fully appreciate the requirements of EV cars. Don’t use their ignorance as an excuse.

 

[LI Greek]

Since that wire is not large enough for a 60A breaker, put a 50A breaker on your wall charger circuit which will give you 40A of continuous charge current. You'll get about 37 MPH of charge into a Y that way (assuming you have the typical 240V at your house instead of the less common 208V), which is a great charge rate.

I've run the mobile charger for 5 years (which maxes out at 32A continuous) and never come close to needing more.

Thanks for the reply. In regards to the mobile charger you think 32 A continuous. Continuously

 

[howardnj]

Hi Everyone
New to the forum. I have a question about the home charger. Right now I have 6 months free of SC. I am buying a home charger cause I hate waiting at the SC. When we redid our home, I was advised to run a 6/3 Romex to garage just in case I get an EV. Fast forward 2 years and now I am happy to be a new Tesla owner. Will the 6/3 Romex be sufficient enough for the continuous draw of 48 amps for the home charger.

Thanks

Use a local licensed electrician that will use the proper materials, apply for a permit, arrange for inspection, and advise you of any utility rebates for the BTM installation charges.

 

[fiehlsport]

You don't need 6/3. 6/2 for EV chargers.

6/2 Romex should be set at 40A when hardwired to a wall connector.

*end thread*

 

[ATPMSD]

Use a local licensed electrician that will use the proper materials, apply for a permit, arrange for inspection, and advise you of any utility rebates for the BTM installation charges.

If only we could count of this. The forums are full of people who used "licensed electricians" who did not do a proper installation for an EV. Unfortunately, it is on us to ensure the electrician does it properly.

 

[posity]

Thanks for the reply. In regards to the mobile charger you think 32 A continuous. Continuously

Hmm, its not clear you understand the difference between the wall charger and the mobile charger? You used the term 'home charger' in your original post and it appears most of us assumed you meant wall charger, but maybe you actually meant mobile charger?

- The wall charger is permanently wired into your house and can handle up to a 60A breaker (48A continuous current): that is what all the discussions have been about here. With your 6/3 wire, your electrician would use a maximum 50A standard two-pole breaker to feed that circuit. With the wall charger, you can buy the less expensive standard (non-GFCI) breaker, but may need to add a disconnect switch, depending whether your electrical panel is visible from the receptacle and your locality's rules. That 50A breaker (40A continuous) would give you around 37 MPH charge rate on your Y on a 240V circuit.

- The mobile charger plugs in to a whole host of different receptacles via adapters you purchase from Tesla and will generate a maximum of 32A continuous. With your 6/3 wire, your electrician would install a 40A or 50A GFCI two-pole breaker to feed that circuit and also install a 14-50R or 6-50R receptacle. You would buy the 14-50P or 6-50P plug adapter (from Tesla) for your mobile charger, depending on which receptacle your electrician installed. Most electricians would use a 50A breaker in case that receptacle was used for a purpose other than your Tesla, together with a 14-50R receptacle in your case (6/3 wire vs. 6/2). An electrician with EV experience would most likely opt for a Hubbell, Cooper or Bryant brand 14-50R or 6-50R receptacle since they are 'industrial' rated to handle the high number of insertion/removal cycles possible with an EV charger (don't use Leviton: very poor quality, designed for ovens, not EV's). The mobile charger would give you a maximum 30 MPH charge rate on your Y.

 

[OrbiterTI4]

If only we could count of this. The forums are full of people who used "licensed electricians" who did not do a proper installation for and EV. Unfortunately, it is on us to ensure the electrician does it properly.

Seek out additional resources when needed. I had to get my utility involved when the licensed electrician I hired (referred to me by a neighbor and who had references both residential and commercial!) to install my garage subpanel and associated NEMA 14-50 receptacles tried to increase their bid by claiming the utility-laid line from the transformer to the meter was undersized.

 

[Rocky_H]

and a separate disconnect switch is required within visual distance of your wall charger if you can't see your electrical panel's breaker from your wall charger.

No, that's not required in the vast majority of locations. There is a requirement that says for circuits greater than 60A, they do require that, but now that Tesla's wall connectors can't do circuits greater than 60A, that's not an issue.

 

[VT_EE]

My electrician installed a sub-panel in my garage using 6/3 ROMEX and 60 amp breakers on each end of the feeder line. The two load-sharing wall connectors are run off of a 50amp breaker in this sub panel (again with 6/3 ROMEX). The wall connectors are set to a max draw of 40amps. The entire setup was inspected and approved by the county inspector. Works great.

 

[howardnj]

If only we could count of this. The forums are full of people who used "licensed electricians" who did not do a proper installation for an EV. Unfortunately, it is on us to ensure the electrician does it properly.

I used a local NJ licensed electrician that was on the Tesla recommended list. The first question that I asked was how many Tesla chargers they had installed and the reply was over 70% of their current business was installing Tesla chargers. They did an excellent job.

 

[ATPMSD]

Tesla recommended list.

This really does not guarantee anything as Tesla does not certify electricians. Many of the incorrect installations were performed by people on the Tesla list!

 

[ATPMSD]

My electrician installed a sub-panel in my garage using 6/3 ROMEX and 60 amp breakers on each end of the feeder line.

This seems to be allowed when used as a Feeder circuit, as you are doing. It would not be allowed if you ran a 60 amp circuit from a breaker box to the wall connector AND the wall connector was set to 60 amps, but that is not what you are doing.

For those who want to better understand the round-up rule, check-out this video:

If you do not want to watch the whole thing, jump to the 4:00 mark.

 

[LI Greek]

Hmm, its not clear you understand the difference between the wall charger and the mobile charger? You used the term 'home charger' in your original post and it appears most of us assumed you meant wall charger, but maybe you actually meant mobile charger?

- The wall charger is permanently wired into your house and can handle up to a 60A breaker (48A continuous current): that is what all the discussions have been about here. With your 6/3 wire, your electrician would use a maximum 50A standard two-pole breaker to feed that circuit. With the wall charger, you can buy the less expensive standard (non-GFCI) breaker, but may need to add a disconnect switch, depending whether your electrical panel is visible from the receptacle and your locality's rules. That 50A breaker (40A continuous) would give you around 37 MPH charge rate on your Y on a 240V circuit.

- The mobile charger plugs in to a whole host of different receptacles via adapters you purchase from Tesla and will generate a maximum of 32A continuous. With your 6/3 wire, your electrician would install a 40A or 50A GFCI two-pole breaker to feed that circuit and also install a 14-50R or 6-50R receptacle. You would buy the 14-50P or 6-50P plug adapter (from Tesla) for your mobile charger, depending on which receptacle your electrician installed. Most electricians would use a 50A breaker in case that receptacle was used for a purpose other than your Tesla, together with a 14-50R receptacle in your case (6/3 wire vs. 6/2). An electrician with EV experience would most likely opt for a Hubbell, Cooper or Bryant brand 14-50R or 6-50R receptacle since they are 'industrial' rated to handle the high number of insertion/removal cycles possible with an EV charger (don't use Leviton: very poor quality, designed for ovens, not EV's). The mobile charger would give you a maximum 30 MPH charge rate on your Y.

Thanks for the reply. My question is if I have a mobile connector plugged into a regular 110 receptacle how many amps do they pull for example my garage has 3 branch receptacles wired to the panel on a 20 amp breaker. Can I just plug in the mobile charger ? Also if I set the wall level 2 charger to 40 amps will the mobile connector and wall direct wired connector supply the sam miles per hour.

 

[fholbert]

Thanks for the reply. My question is if I have a mobile connector plugged into a regular 110 receptacle how many amps do they pull for example my garage has 3 branch receptacles wired to the panel on a 20 amp breaker. Can I just plug in the mobile charger ? Also if I set the wall level 2 charger to 40 amps will the mobile connector and wall direct wired connector supply the sam miles per hour.

A 120v 20a circuit is going to take a very long time to charge, maybe 5 miles an hour. If you drive much it’s not going to do the job. You may have to charge during peak rates because off peak won’t get you charged.

 

[posity]

Thanks for the reply. My question is if I have a mobile connector plugged into a regular 110 receptacle how many amps do they pull for example my garage has 3 branch receptacles wired to the panel on a 20 amp breaker. Can I just plug in the mobile charger ? Also if I set the wall level 2 charger to 40 amps will the mobile connector and wall direct wired connector supply the sam miles per hour.

With the Tesla 120V/15A adapter (a standard 5-15P plug) on your mobile charger, the mobile charger will draw a maximum of 12A (80% of 15A) which yields about 5 MPH charging rate for a Y. So yes, you can just plug in the mobile charger to any handy 120V outlet, but keep in mind if you have something else running off that same circuit (a refrigerator or freezer, for example), that may trip your breaker on that circuit (your breaker on a home 120V outlet will either be 15A or 20A, depending whether that circuit was originally wired with 14 AWG or 12 AWG wire). When using the mobile charger on a standard 5-15 outlet, you frequently need to make sure nothing else is plugged in to that circuit since the Tesla will essentially draw most or all of the available current on that circuit. In your case, since you know the 5-15R receptacles of that circuit are on a 20A breaker, you essentially have about 8A extra headroom when charging using the 5-15 mobile charger adapter, so you may be able to get away with running some other devices on that same circuit (but not a refrigerator, freezer, electric drill, heater, hair dryer or any high current devices). Note to purists: yeah there is really only 5 extra amps of headroom since the Tesla is a continuous load so you should consider 15A to be used by the Tesla 12 A continuous draw, but I'm trying to KISS).

I ran off a 5-15 outlet for about a year while renting a home: that 5 MPH charge rate worked fine for our 50 mile commute (25 miles each way) each day since we could easily add 50 miles in a 10 hour overnight charge time. And since I was only going into work 3 days a week at the time, I left it plugged in almost full time the rest of the week, so it turned out the 5-15 outlet was more than sufficient for all our driving. Not what I originally expected when faced with renting the house with only a standard outlet to charge from, but after a couple weeks, all range anxiety melted away.

And yes, a wall charger set to its 40 amp breaker setting will max out at 32A continuous, which is the exact 32A continuous value of a mobile charger with the Tesla 6-50 or 14-50 adapter. Both these scenarios will give you 30 MPH on a Y assuming your house is 240V, rather than the somewhat unusual 208V.

 

[tga]

Also if I set the wall level 2 charger to 40 amps will the mobile connector and wall direct wired connector supply the sam miles per hour.

Charging speed is based on the level of power delivered to the car, not the type of charging station used. Power is measured in Watts, which is Amps * Volts. You can read A and V right from the screen when charging.

32A @ 240V = 7680W, whether through a mobile connector, wall connector, or a generic L2 J1772 station. All three will charge at the exact same speed. It doesn't matter what cord is used to connect the car to AC power. 7680W is 7680W is 7680W.

12A @ 120V is 1440W (12A*120V = 1440W = 1.44kW). 6A @ 240V is also 1440W. Both will charge at the exact same speed in MPH.