Plug and 100Amp line sticker shock

[Iz]

Electrical Permit: $250
Wiring (70') + conduit + breaker: $300
Outdoor rated box + NEMA 14/50 outlet: $ 100

I used a Hubbel HBL9450A receptacle which is very heavy duty and manufactured in USA.

Planning to use a similar configuration using a Hubbel HBL9450A receptacle along with a 50 Amp Double-Pole Circuit Breaker and 6-3 wire. I do not have a garage and my driveway is ~ 60 feet from the panel. The wire travels outside and I have to run it through a conduit. I am not comfortable with my current panel box so will get an electrician to install a new one.

[smorgasbord]

I like the idea of a single 100 amp line and twin 14-50s--that makes a lot of sense...the only potential drawback I can think of is if I add the HPC later then I won't have that backup 14-50 to use for a second EV (assuming it's not a Tesla).

The sum of the breakers in a panel is typically more than the main breaker for that panel. Check with an electrician, but you should be able to have, say, a 70 amp HPC and a 50 amp 14-50 inside a 100 amp panel. Obviously, if you run them both at full bore at the same time you'll pop the breaker, but you could run them both at 50 amps (actually drawing 40 each) without a problem.

I don't understand the appeal of the HPC except to have a nice looking station. In that case, you can run it on a 50 amp breaker (or 70 amp like I suggested above) and be fine.

Maybe we should do a poll about Model S owners putting in HPCs. I would have thought the percentages for that to be really low, like under 5%. Your post, however, makes it seem that every middle American Tesla is sold with an HPC. Why do you think that?

[efusco]

Maybe we should do a poll about Model S owners putting in HPCs. I would have thought the percentages for that to be really low, like under 5%. Your post, however, makes it seem that every middle American Tesla is sold with an HPC. Why do you think that?

Again, a fair question. I suppose I assumed most people chose to have the HPC installed as their permanant charger and kept the regular cable for travel/portable use.

I suppose the alternative would be to buy and extra cable, one to keep in the garage and one to keep in the trunk.

I think I'll just feel out the other estimates I've asked for and see how I'm feeling after that. What you guys are saying makes a lot of sense.

[dsm363]

I just detach the UMC when I travel. When I'm in town (especially since you'll have the 85 kWh pack), you'd never need the UMC so it's safe to leave that at home. The HPC does look better though. Good luck.

[jerry33]

I'd think the main reason for getting the HPC is so that you could charge other Teslas.

[strider]

I think I'll just feel out the other estimates I've asked for and see how I'm feeling after that. What you guys are saying makes a lot of sense.

In my experience there's a bit of "EV inflation" from electricians (similar to wedding inflation) where once they hear that the work is for an EV the price goes up as they assume EV owners are "rich" and unknowledgeable. For 14-50 estimates I've told people to tell the electrician to not mention EV and instead say it's for when your brother parks his RV in your driveway during Christmas.

[smorgasbord]

I suppose the alternative would be to buy and extra cable, one to keep in the garage and one to keep in the trunk.

As a rule, I only carry the J1772 adapter with me on a regular basis. Here in CA there are more J1772s than RV parks - at least where I seem to travel. For the kind of money these HPCs and UMCs cost, it's worth it to make do with only one. At $1000 for the second UMC I didn't get, I figure for the next 5 years I'm earning about $10,000 per hour (after taxes!) during the few seconds needed to unplug the UMC and put it in the trunk. That goes down per year, but you get the point.

BTW, +1 on Stider's Tell them it's for RV's, not EV's suggestion. Just say you want a 100 amp subpanel with a single NEMA 14-50 for RVs for now. The subpanel is always a good idea for expansion (Air conditioning, power tools, etc.).

[drbradfo]

I just had a 50 Amp breaker and a 14-50 receptacle installed this morning. Lucky for me, the breaker box is on the driver side of the garage, so I had the 14-50 installed about 6 inches below the box. Still will cost me $300 bucks (service, equipment, & permit).

[markwj]

why install 100A service? I had an HPC wired at 70A and took it off the wall because it was never used... 32A/40A is more then enough for most drivers.

+1

I've got a 70AMP HPC on my wall (primary reason being that I like the look of the HPC, rather than an ugly box hanging off a plug on the wall), but run it at 48Amp.

Last night, I came back after a busy day with @60% SOC. Plugged in, and a little over two hours later charging was done at 96% SOC. The car (and charger) that sat idle for the rest of the night (about 10 hours before I needed it again).

If I could get a 40Amp HPC, I would. (yes, I know you can in USA, but at the time here in HK they were only selling the 70Amp versions, and they can't be dialed down by that little rotary dial - which doesn't exist on the HPCs here).

[ckessel]

Curious what mine will cost, it should be dirt cheap. I've got a dryer breaker I'm not using (switched to a gas dryer) and my breaker panel is about 3 feet from where I'd want the plug, so it should be inexpensive.