I just had Nema 14-50 outlet installed by an Electrician. When I swapped out the cover plate, I noticed the Green wire was abit strange, not sure why it was not run all the way to the outlet in one piece. I am no electrical expert and would appreciate your input. If it was not installed and wired correctly, please let me know what should be done and I will ask the electrician to remedy. Thank you
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Does this Nema 14-50 outlet install look right?
- Thread starter thetuk
- Start date
not the cleanest way but its kind of right they grounded the outlet and the box to the run to the panel i would of put a ring connector to the box and wire nutted all the ground wires together.
thefisch
Member
I agree - they should not be using the ground screw as a terminal for two wires. They should have a pigtail just for the ground screw and joined the ground wires with a wire nut.
Also, the neutral should not be the same color wire as the hot wires - they should have used white wire, not tape. Taping or painting grounded wires (grounds and neutrals) should only be for 4awg and larger size wires. Taping hots of any size for phase identification is fine, but they didn't phase tape the two hot wires in the panel either which would help tell them apart. At the outlet they didn't identify the different wires at all.
OP, does this have to be inspected for a permit?
Thank you for the input. Im most concerned if the current install will cause electrical and fire hazards?
Also I do not think inspection/permit is required for this install. PS I did not upgrade the panel.
Oh good catch. on the Neutral wire (not being white) i do a lot of three Phase and i dont know i spaced out.. i would of ran a black and red for power and then a white for the Neutral and a green for ground.
thefisch
Member
If it were me, I would redo the ground connection properly to ensure there is good contact. However, I expect you'd find many outlets done in a similar fashion.
The color of the wiring is obviously not a fire hazard and won't impact the use of the outlet. The lack of white for neutral and not differentiating the two phases is an inspection issue and a risk for anyone dealing with that wiring in the future. But if no inspection, then it is up to you if you want to address with the electrician. Not sure how long the wire run is from the photos shared.
The conduit connected to the outlet box appears metallic and not cleanly cut leaving a potentially sharp edge. Can't see the whole install to comment on anything else.
From what I have read on here, the quality of the outlet is important. Not sure if you got a 'commercial grade' outlet or not, but some of the cheaper ones are prone to fail at higher amperage or with continued plugging in and out.
Would you mind enlightening me how to redo the ground connection properly?
Yes, I use Bryant Nema outlet.
It should have GFCI breaker. Make sure it’s one noted to not trip on charging EV’s. Some do.
The BX shield is not on the correct type connector.
Overall a pretty piss poor install.
It won’t catch fire but pretty amateur workmanship.
The BX shield is not on the correct type connector.
Overall a pretty piss poor install.
It won’t catch fire but pretty amateur workmanship.
thefisch
Member
Check out this video where this guy corrects how his installer did the ground. Different issue than yours but same fix.
Seems safe to me granted the neutral would be better white or at least stripped with tape. As for ground that is correct as this is not BX or conduit so the box needs to be grounded also in case the outlet touched the box. If they used wire nuts the box would not be grounded as this Romax install. The BX is just a cut shield nothing more. They do have a proper flute fitting against cuts.
I can't tell if that is two wires or a mid-wire strip, which is perfectly fine.
At first I thought that ground was done by removing the insulation, opening the twist and attaching it to the grounding lug. I can't really tell though, but if so I think that is okay. The lack of red/black color conductors doesn't effect the safety of the install. I think there is a little white tape on the neutral. Probably should have been marked better. The one thing that could be a hazard is if the lugs are not torqued enough. Hard to tell by looking at it. Sometimes the copper will settle a little after the first tightening. If you have the right tools, and of course remove the power, you could see if they are torqued properly. Also, the first time you run current through this, you can hit them with an IR thermometer and see if they are getting unusually hot. You can touch them with your hands if you stay clear of the conductors. They will be warm, should not be hot.
If I am correct, the ground wire won't be carrying any high current ever. So, from the physics perspective, you should be safe. And if everything works, the car charges, nothing heats up abnormally ... I would not touch it.
Sometimes electricians can't get the THHN colors needed. When I did my TWC a while back I couldn't get black so I used two reds which is totally fine. I did a hard wired install of a TWC so no neutral or GFCI breaker.
The neutral should be white.
If all your doing is EV charging I would consider elimination of the outlet and hard wire a TWC in there.
Industrial outlets, GFCI breakers, etc make the install of the 14-50 more expensive and potentially problematic.
If your electrician used #6 THHN 90C you could install and wall connector and swap in a 60 amp breaker (provided your service can support). You will be able to charge at the full 48 amps.
14-50 outlets add a failure point and additional complexity (GFCI breaker) to the system. It's a little more expensive and charges slower too. I always recommend hard wired.
The neutral should be white.
If all your doing is EV charging I would consider elimination of the outlet and hard wire a TWC in there.
Industrial outlets, GFCI breakers, etc make the install of the 14-50 more expensive and potentially problematic.
If your electrician used #6 THHN 90C you could install and wall connector and swap in a 60 amp breaker (provided your service can support). You will be able to charge at the full 48 amps.
14-50 outlets add a failure point and additional complexity (GFCI breaker) to the system. It's a little more expensive and charges slower too. I always recommend hard wired.
SageBrush
REJECT Fascism
The errors have been pointed out, but so far as immediate safety and fire risk goes, the wrong fitting of the AC cable to the box bothers me the most. The cut end of AC cable is *sharp*, and it would not take much to cut into the conductors.
I find it very hard to believe that a licensed electrician did this work
I find it very hard to believe that a licensed electrician did this work
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As far as I know (not an electrician!), as long as the neutral is properly marked at both ends it's fine. No need for the whole wire to be a different color. At some point as you go up in size all wire is black so there's no choice.
WRT metal boxes, if there's something loose in there I want it to blow the breaker, not light me up when I open the box, which it will if it touches the grounded metal box. Metal boxes hold screws a lot better as well. I hate replacing plastic boxes with stripped out screw holes. Then there's the fact that plastic boxes can easily develop stress cracks and can melt and burn in an overheating situation. I'd rather keep the fire inside the box, thanks. I use metal outlet covers as well for high amperage boxes.
WRT metal boxes, if there's something loose in there I want it to blow the breaker, not light me up when I open the box, which it will if it touches the grounded metal box. Metal boxes hold screws a lot better as well. I hate replacing plastic boxes with stripped out screw holes. Then there's the fact that plastic boxes can easily develop stress cracks and can melt and burn in an overheating situation. I'd rather keep the fire inside the box, thanks. I use metal outlet covers as well for high amperage boxes.
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SageBrush
REJECT Fascism
4 AWG or larger wire can be re-ID'd to use as an ungrounded conductor
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