NEMA 6-50 or 14-50

[flai54]

Of course. Install a wall charger for home and keep a mobile charger in the car for trips. It's unlikely to be an either / or choice for anyone at this vehicle's price point.

The outlet is the sticking point for many ... to do it up to code and with a good level of reliability is nearly as costly as the wall connector itself, but without any of the wall connector's benefits.

You will be surprised that a lot of people who install a wall charger don't opt to buy a mobile charger as well for their car post April 2022. I think unless you opt to install a 60A breaker for your wall charger to get 48A charging, the difference between a 50A wall charger charging at 40A vs. mobile charger at 32A is not really significant and having a mobile charger gives you flexibility on the road. With the departure setting set and enabling off-peak charging it has more than enough time to charge overnight at off-peak hours at 32A no problem. If the Gen2 mobile charger had the same max charge rating as the gen1 mobile charger of up to 40A it makes it even more of a reason to get a mobile charger if you only planned to install a 50A breaker in your house.

I still think it matters when it comes to the current owner of the house on whether they are planning to stay in the short term or long term. Having flexibility with a NEMA-14-50 plug if you move out is much easier to unplug your mobile charger than to figure out what you will do with 3 open wires when you disconnect your wall charger when you move. If someone moves in and has their own EVSE, most likely it would not be wired and using a NEMA 14-50 plug.

 

[Watts_Up]

I’m looking down the road in case a tenant has a need to charge an EV.

When looking at non-Tesla vehicules, their mobile chargers are mostly 120 V
and to get 240 V charger, non-Tesla manufacturers recommend a special wall charger.
(But some of those wall chargers have a 240 NEMA cord)

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So having a NEMA 14-50 might not be usefull, as I assume that tenants
will not invest in a wall charger and only buy a 120 V portable charger.

Also installing a NEMA 14-50 receptacle for EV usage requires having
a GFCI circuit breaker. which cost about $100.


For all of those reasons, I would definitively install the new Tesla Universal Wall Connector
which is both NACS and CCS compatible. This new charger can be also found in many stores such as Best Buy.



So, what ever EV you might buy in the future, or your visitors might have, or tenants EV will own,
this universl charger would be compatible with any EV.

This would be also safer than having a plug been often unplugged,
or also would prevent overheating risk from the plug not fully inserted because
of the weight of the mobile charger dangling under the plug and not supported by a brace.

 

[flai54]

When looking at non-Tesla vehicules, the mobile chargers are only 120 V
and to get 240 V charger, non-Tesla manufacturers have a special wall charger.
(But some of those wall chargers have a 240 NEMA cord)

So having a NEMA 14-50 might not be usefull, as I assume that tenants
will not invest in a wall charger and only buy a 120 V portable charger.

Also installing a NEMA 14-50 receptacle for EV usage requires having
a GFCI circuit breaker. which cost about $100.


For all of those reasons, I would definitively install the new Tesla Universal Wall Connector
which is both NACS and CCS compatible. This new charger can be also found in many stores such as Best Buy.

Not all brands. Ford has a mobile charger than has 120V and 240V NEMA-14-50 plug options. Also anyone who has a pure EV is not going to settle for L1 charging at 3-5 miles/hour. To charge using the 120V plug that homeowner better be damn sure that it is only connecting that 1 circuit to a breaker. If that 120V outlet is tied to another circuit in the garage or one nearby the garage on a 15A or 20A breaker, that is not a viable option for charging.

There are plenty of 3rd party NEMA 14-50 EVSE chargers available to purchase and the NEMA 14-50 plug in the garage has been vetted to be on its own circuit to the panel to ensure safe charging.

 

[LostVector]

You will be surprised that a lot of people who install a wall charger don't opt to buy a mobile charger as well for their car post April 2022. I think unless you opt to install a 60A breaker for your wall charger to get 48A charging, the difference between a 50A wall charger charging at 40A vs. mobile charger at 32A is not really significant and having a mobile charger gives you flexibility on the road. With the departure setting set and enabling off-peak charging it has more than enough time to charge overnight at off-peak hours at 32A no problem. If the Gen2 mobile charger had the same max charge rating as the gen1 mobile charger of up to 40A it makes it even more of a reason to get a mobile charger if you only planned to install a 50A breaker in your house.

I still think it matters when it comes to the current owner of the house on whether they are planning to stay in the short term or long term. Having flexibility with a NEMA-14-50 plug if you move out is much easier to unplug your mobile charger than to figure out what you will do with 3 open wires when you disconnect your wall charger when you move. If someone moves in and has their own EVSE, most likely it would not be wired and using a NEMA 14-50 plug.

Doesn't surprise me at all, actually. In my complex there are a great deal of EV's that don't have a charger in their parking spot. They're most likely getting charging at work or at superchargers. To me this is not at all appealing, but I'm fully aware a ton of people are doing it.

To anyone with some electrical experience, it is truly trivial to cap off some wires and put a plate over a gang box, but I understand some might find it daunting.

I do agree 48A vs 32A is not significant for most. In fact, I try to charge at the lowest speed that I find convenient, which I've determined to be somewhere around 24A.

Overall, however, I weigh reliability and safety heavily and just because mobile connectors are "running in spec" does not mean I want to use them if a better alternative is available. But this is all about priorities and tradeoffs ... as a personal example, I was extremely tempted to install a wall connector at our in-laws, but after some difficulty in iterating with electricians and other family members, opted for a plain old 14-50 outlet with a lockable in-use cover. We are only there about twice a year anyway and will simply bring our mobile charger and charge conservatively ... not worried about it in the least.

But make no mistake ... if it was my house and I was planning to be there for while, the wall connector would be going in. Less points and modes of failure is a fact.

 

[LostVector]

Mine is in my garage as the primary charging device.
If I go on a road trip, it comes with me, but otherwise stays in the garage.
Simple, flexible, functional, fully charges car overnite at home or wherever.

I understand you trust everything because it's spec'd a certain way, but I simply don't value that or have as much confidence in that as you do. There are plenty of examples of "in-spec" parts in the charging process that have failed due to one reason or another. The wall connector objectively has less points and modes of failure overall.

Yes, it costs more money to have a wall connector and mobile connector ... yes, I'm OK with that. YMMV.

 

[MacO512]

WC is as much fashion statement as anything else.
A MC works for both home and travel.

Could make that ridiculous claim about every car on the planet. Disagree, wall connector is safer, weather sealed, more reliable, less prone to have connection fail, longer cord, 50% higher power (48amp vs 32) easier to organize, and allows multi unit coordinating. Mine was $350 last Christmas new from Tesla, which is less than GFCI outlet install.

Yeah I think WC looks better as well, maybe you don't care what your home looks like but many do.

 

[MacO512]

I have been rolling around with a mobile connector in my trunk for just under 5 years, and have used it less than 10 times, and ALL of those times were by choice at someones house "because I could" not because there was any need to at all.

So, yeah I think a lot of people over estimate the need for a mobile connector, especially as installing the outlet for it is not much cheaper, if done properly, and starting from "I have nothing".

If one already has an outlet they want to use, like an existing 240V outlet, then sure. As a first choice? A lot of people overestimate the need for keeping something in the car at all times.

Yeah I have needed the MC MUCH less than I expected prior to owning an EV.

But still it's two different discussions, you either carry a MC in the car or don't. You also have the MC/WC/3rd party charger installed at your house.

Having a mobile connector installed that you unplug repeatedly from the wall is stupid, as those 14-50 plugs and receptacles are not designed for continuous plugging and unplugging. Also defeats the whole point in having MC in the vehicle as a backup, if you often don't have the MC in the vehicle.

Now if you already have a 240volt outlet using MC makes sense. But for people who don't know what they need and are asking for opinion if a new install using the MC or WC it's extremely unlikely to ever make more sense to suggest the MC.

 

[jcanoe]

I received the Mobile Connector (MC) with my 2020 LRMY. I purchased the MC 14-50 adapter in anticipation of using the MC to charge at home. The MC charging cord (18.5 foot length) is too short to reach the charge port unless I back my Model Y into my garage (not my preference.) I ended up purchasing a J1772 charging station with a 25 foot charging cord, 14-50 power plug that enables charging at 32 amps. The longer charging cord enables me to charge at home without backing my Model Y into my garage. I use the Tesla J1772 adapter with this home charging setup, which works well although I don't have the ability to open the charge port via the charging connector handle button as with the MC.

 

[MacO512]

In fact, I try to charge at the lowest speed that I find convenient, which I've determined to be somewhere around 24A.

I really like everything with this post except this one sentence. Why would you choose lower amps? It uses more electricity (vehicle sleeps less), would leave the pack at higher SOC longer with scheduled charging (higher degradation), and even at full 48amp is very low charge rate relative to max charging speed (11kw vs 250kw)?

Only reason I would do that is concerns about the amp limit of the house.

 

[CCopperpot]

We got a 6-50 installed in our garage for the mobile charger. Our electrician suggested it since we had a long run so it saved us a decent chunk of cash on the wiring... and got the exact same charging speeds as a 14-50 would provide. If I had to do it over again, I might have opted for the wall connector for aesthetics, but I have absolutely zero complaints about the 6-50.

 

[MacO512]

We got a 6-50 installed in our garage for the mobile charger. Our electrician suggested it since we had a long run so it saved us a decent chunk of cash on the wiring... and got the exact same charging speeds as a 14-50 would provide. If I had to do it over again, I might have opted for the wall connector for aesthetics, but I have absolutely zero complaints about the 6-50.

Good news is you have the wiring to switch and put the WC in place of your 6-50 receptacle if you ever so desire. Very easy to now do that modification. If you prefer the WC in a different location can use that 6-50 as a junction box with a blank plate and move the WC wherever you like.

If the electrician used 60amp wiring you could bump up from 32 to 48 amps. If its 50 amp wiring you'd increase from 32 to 40 amps.

 

[tangible1]

Could make that ridiculous claim about every car on the planet. Disagree, wall connector is safer, weather sealed, more reliable, less prone to have connection fail, longer cord, 50% higher power (48amp vs 32) easier to organize, and allows multi unit coordinating. Mine was $350 last Christmas new from Tesla, which is less than GFCI outlet install.

Yeah I think WC looks better as well, maybe you don't care what your home looks like but many do.

why would you put an expensive charging device outdoors in the sun, heat, cold, and rain.
it's an invitation for ...., and a fashion statement.

total cost of installation for my MC was under $300
yes, the MC came with the car at the time, but that install was a Hubbell outlet. wire, breaker upgrade, and professional electrician.

 

[tangible1]

I understand you trust everything because it's spec'd a certain way, but I simply don't value that or have as much confidence in that as you do. There are plenty of examples of "in-spec" parts in the charging process that have failed due to one reason or another. The wall connector objectively has less points and modes of failure overall.

Yes, it costs more money to have a wall connector and mobile connector ... yes, I'm OK with that. YMMV.

it's never unplugged unless I'm taking it with me on a road trip.
points of failure? proper connector installation is the only variable.
we just rationalize the differences to justify preferences.

 

[davewill]

...
I still think it matters when it comes to the current owner of the house on whether they are planning to stay in the short term or long term. Having flexibility with a NEMA-14-50 plug if you move out is much easier to unplug your mobile charger than to figure out what you will do with 3 open wires when you disconnect your wall charger when you move. If someone moves in and has their own EVSE, most likely it would not be wired and using a NEMA 14-50 plug.

I think the difficulty of dismounting a wall connector when you move is way overblown. Dismounting a wall connector, capping off the wires and putting an electrial box around them is just not that difficult. It really shouldn't keep someone from opting for a wall connector. Unless the new owner/tenant is also using a portable EVSE, they can likely hardwire it.

 

[MacO512]

why would you put an expensive charging device outdoors in the sun, heat, cold, and rain.
it's an invitation for ...., and a fashion statement.

total cost of installation for my MC was under $300
yes, the MC came with the car at the time, but that install was a Hubbell outlet. wire, breaker upgrade, and professional electrician.

We have a different opinion of what constitutes an "expensive charging device outdoors" - I'd call a $350 wall connector very inexpensive. If the vehicle is often stored outdoors why would I have a charger indoors, needing a cord to run through a door or window?

$300 is very inexpensive for an installation, normally the GFCI breaker is over $100 alone not to mention the other materials needed. Perhaps your install was much cheaper than the average install is. The MC is worth a couple hundred dollars regardless if you got it free or pay for it. A WC is very similarly priced or $100 more. There is most likely a slightly higher cost to most buyers installing an 14-50 outlet with a MC than a WC, and resulting in an inferior product. Perhaps your case it is cheaper or you are using an old electrical code that doesn't have GFCI protection, in which case your install is also less safe. Of course you and any homeowner is fine to use whatever option you want, but I can think of extremely few cases it makes sense to recommend someone install a MC over a WC.

 

[MacO512]

it's never unplugged unless I'm taking it with me on a road trip.
points of failure? proper connector installation is the only variable.
we just rationalize the differences to justify preferences.

So then the MC is almost never in the vehicle, seems to eliminate the entire point of having one as a backup or emergency charger.

A MC with additional connections at the receptacle and plug will always have more possible points of failure. Perhaps its an insignificant difference to you.

The plug is also a point that kids could think is fun to unplug or play with, etc - So I'd consider it to have safety risk. A half inserted plug could have potential to kill someone especially without GFCI, but even with GFCI across two hot legs.

 

[AtomMoose]

total cost of installation for my MC was under $300
yes, the MC came with the car at the time, but that install was a Hubbell outlet. wire, breaker upgrade, and professional electrician.

I DIY’d my wall connector install. I had intended to install a mobile connector at first until I priced it out. Upgrading to a GFCI breaker and adding a quality receptacle made a mobile connector install pricier than a wall connector.

I’m not sure how you had a pro do an install for under $300. Materials alone for a quality, to-code install should be in that range. Either they worked for free or cut corners (regular vs. GFCI breaker).

 

[MacO512]

I DIY’d my wall connector install. I had intended to install a mobile connector at first until I priced it out. Upgrading to a GFCI breaker and adding a quality receptacle made a mobile connector install pricier than a wall connector.

I’m not sure how you had a pro do an install for under $300. Materials alone for a quality, to-code install should be in that range. Either they worked for free or cut corners (regular vs. GFCI breaker).

I guess poster never said it was a professional electrician doing that $300 install, could be self install or illegal unlicensed work. Yes, I can't imagine a licensed electrician doing an install for that price.

 

[3sr+buyer]

Yeah I have needed the MC MUCH less than I expected prior to owning an EV.

But still it's two different discussions, you either carry a MC in the car or don't. You also have the MC/WC/3rd party charger installed at your house.

Having a mobile connector installed that you unplug repeatedly from the wall is stupid, as those 14-50 plugs and receptacles are not designed for continuous plugging and unplugging. Also defeats the whole point in having MC in the vehicle as a backup, if you often don't have the MC in the vehicle.

Now if you already have a 240volt outlet using MC makes sense. But for people who don't know what they need and are asking for opinion if a new install using the MC or WC it's extremely unlikely to ever make more sense to suggest the MC.

I had a 240V outlet already that had an EVSE used for a previous EV plugged into it. That other EVSE seemed to play poorly with the Model 3, so I used the then-included Mobile Connector plugged into the 240V outlet. Worked fine until one summer it started giving overheating warnings and reducing charge amperage as a result. Replaced the Leviton outlet that had half size steel contacts with one that has full size brass contacts to fix that problem (but needed an outlet extension box for that).

I only unplug it rarely for rare road trips, so the frequent unplugging and plugging issue is not an issue for my use. I only used the Mobile Connector once on a road trip (and that was only opportunistic, not required).

Of course, the economics of choosing which EVSE may be different in different situations. If you do not already have a suitable 240V outlet and your new Tesla does not include an EVSE, the cost comparison may differ. Also, Supercharger and other EV charging coverage has increased since some years ago, so needing to charge at places other than EV charging stations is less common now, so keeping the Mobile Connector in the car is less needed now.

 

[LostVector]

I really like everything with this post except this one sentence. Why would you choose lower amps? It uses more electricity (vehicle sleeps less), would leave the pack at higher SOC longer with scheduled charging (higher degradation), and even at full 48amp is very low charge rate relative to max charging speed (11kw vs 250kw)?

Only reason I would do that is concerns about the amp limit of the house.

In my case I have a specialized 3rd party charger at my primary residence that is designed for load sharing, not Tesla's wall connector. The max on that charger is 30A and I'm just derating my maximum slightly for additional margin of safety.

It's actually even more complicated than that because the load sharing can vary the available current to the car, so I have to fudge my departure time and charging rate down a bit to ensure that scheduled departure finishes reliably.

At the other residence, we're using the mobile connector on a plug and we are there infrequently, so my goal is really just to minimize stress on the cheap plug, etc. It's not my house.

You do make a good point about charging overhead tho. In my case we mostly only drive on the weekends, so the impact on calendar aging of charging slowly would only be for one or two days a week and not every day. But that does give me something to think about more.