Installed NEMA 14-50 in garage

[kevincwelch]

Likely will be there for 10 years.....

But......

Attachment 10000

Ugly.

The picture shows why code requires that the EMT is wrapped whenever it goes below ground. (At least that is what I was told by Home Depot when I ran electrical to the backyard)

There was a green wrap around the bend that I saw before the earth was back filled. Perhaps it was the wrap you speak of...

[FlasherZ]

Congratulations on attachment #10,000.

[mknox]

I shared this in another thread, but this is what I'll be mounting inside of my garage. My house is brick veneer over concrete block, so the interior of my garage is just concrete block. I mounted a loadbreak switch and surface-mount NEMA 14-50 on to a 3/4" plywood backboard. I'll mount this to the wall and run 3#6 wire to the panel in my basement.

The reason for the switch is because my garage floor in winter is usually quite wet from the snow and salt run-off from my cars. I don't like the idea of handling a 240 volt plug while standing in salt water.

[slindell]

Unfortunately my 45+ year old house needs to have its power panel replaced to support a NEMA 14-50. Solar City quoted ~$3000. Yikes.

[mknox]

Unfortunately my 45+ year old house needs to have its power panel replaced to support a NEMA 14-50. Solar City quoted ~$3000. Yikes.

I am in a similar situation (limited capacity on my main service), but am in the process of replacing an electric range and electric dryer with gas counterparts to free up the capacity and breaker positions in the panel. I had been planning on the new gas appliances anyway (much cheaper to operate than electric and prefer gas cooking).

[J in MN]

I don't like the idea of handling a 240 volt plug while standing in salt water.

It is still only 120V to ground, so no more dangerous than a regular 15A 120V plug.

[mknox]

It is still only 120V to ground, so no more dangerous than a regular 15A 120V plug.

Okay... so I don't like handling a 120 volt plug while standing in salt water

I also like the idea that I can padlock the switch off if I ever take the cable with me. My kids leave the door open sometimes (by accident) and I wouldn't want the neighborhood kids playing around with this "unusual" looking plug. It's going to be mounted near the garage door end (because of where the Model S charge port is) and so would be plainly visible when the door is up.

[hans]

I moved from Toronto to California so I could safely unplug and then drive to the salt water

Here is my NEMA 14-50 setup on the side of the front porch (my garage has never seen a car). I was happy with the Solar City install. At first they quoted me the higher price assuming a panel upgrade but when they discovered it wasn't needed the price dropped by 75%. I have the same concern about the kids playing with the socket so I will lock it. I assume that if I leave the mobile charger plugged into the NEMA 14-50 that I don't need to worry about them playing with the other loose end of that cable. By that I mean the end that would otherwise be plugged into the car if I weren't off enjoying it so much. Of course with this setup I will have to buy a second mobile charger for the car.

[Francis Lau]

I just got a quote for installing a NEMA 14-50 in my garage. My garage is not insulated so there is no fishing of wire needed. The outlet location is on the wall opposite from the panel; about 20 feet across. This includes installing a new breaker in my panel for this outlet.

Materials: $236.30
2 hours labor: $136 < this is discounted labor using an Angie's List coupon
Sales Tax: $22.45 (9.5%)

Total: $394.75

I am in the Seattle area.

An important note: I have a 200 amp panel and I was worried that I needed to upgrade my panel, but I did not need to. I was lucky because both my clothes dryer and stove are gas powered. If I had needed to upgrade my panel, it will require me to upgrade my service with my power company and they said I had to cover the costs of the upgrade including external supply panel and transformer. Fortunately, I did not need to find out how much that would cost. I found this out after I called my power company and they sent someone out to confirm what they can support. This part was free. I am guessing that the panel upgrade would be thousands of dollars. That would be painful.

[Zextraterrestrial]

I guess I am lucky. My house came with a 14-50 box just like the one in hans' picture. It is in the front corner of my house under the breaker panel and where the garage is. It would have been really easy to install myself and I might end up moving to the other side of the wall so it is in the garage/add another plug on the other side for future cars/friends