New outlet install, Tesla charger or NEMA 14-50 Plug?

[khorton]

I am confused about what comes with the car and what I need to buy.
Not too concerned with possible 2nd electric car at this point as it is years off, something to consider but not a major factor for me.

If I want to plug into existing garage outlet 110 ; that comes with the car, right? But will be very slow.

If I buy the Tesla Wall Charger I don’t need to buy any other cables/adapters I assume but need to buy that and have it installed. Best to run a 60 amp dedicated line but also ok with 50 amp, right? Get pricing for both 50 and 60. Adds $500 cost but will be the fastest charging and gives me future compatibility without need for additional electrical work.

If I opt for an electrician to install a 14-50 outlet than 50 amp line is max I need?
The car comes free with the gen 2 plug I need ?or do I need an adapter for the 14-50 outlet?
and I then have the option of faster charging than gen 2 if I find gen 1 on eBay?

The car comes with a Gen 2 Mobile Connector + the adapter to plug into a 15a 120V outlet, and nothing else. If you want to charge from a NEMA 14-50, you would need to purchase the adapter for the Gen 2 Mobile Connector. You might be able to buy one at the delivery center when you pick up your car. Or you can order direct from Tesla - they have free shipping.

 

[mreynolds767]

See red responses below

If I opt for an electrician to install a 14-50 outlet than 50 amp line is max I need? It would be a 50 amp circuit with max charging being 32 Amps, using the mobile charger that comes with the M3

The car comes free with the gen 2 plug I need ?or do I need an adapter for the 14-50 outlet? Yes, you need a 14-50 adaptor from Tesla; $35

and I then have the option of faster charging than gen 2 if I find gen 1 on eBay? No, 32 Amps max for the M3 using a mobile charger. HPWC on a 60 amp circuit will get you any charging you want, up to 48 amps max.

If I want to plug into existing garage outlet 110 ; that comes with the car, right? Very slow on a 120v, 15 amp circuit - 3-4 MPH range added

I don’t know but would guess my main breaker which is 200 amp service could have adding 60 amp more but not sure if anymore than that without increasing above 200 and really don’t want to do that. The sum of your breaker amperage can exceed 200 amp service breaker, it's about actual loads and balance across the poles. Consult an electrician for details.

My recommendation, based on you post above: Get the HPWC installed using 4 AWG wire and never look back. This will get you 48 amps charging on a 60 amp breaker. A 50 amp breaker will get you a max of 40 amps charging.

​

Thank you!
Will ask the electrician for exactly that and see if I can afford it

 

[Kevy Baby]

If I want to plug into existing garage outlet 110 ; that comes with the car, right? Very slow on a 120v, 15 amp circuit - 3-4 MPH range added

But as many have posted, people typically get 5-6 MPH and I frequently see 7 MPH on mine.

The car comes with a Gen 2 Mobile Connector + the adapter to plug into a 15a 120V outlet, and nothing else. If you want to charge from a NEMA 14-50, you would need to purchase the adapter for the Gen 2 Mobile Connector. You might be able to buy one at the delivery center when you pick up your car. Or you can order direct from Tesla - they have free shipping.

From what I've read here, I encourage purchase when you pick up your car: Tesla's delivery times can be looooong on store shipments. YMMV

 

[mreynolds767]

My local service center has no accessories for sale / in stock at all
They told me to order online when I asked about the wall connector, aero lug kit, etc...

 

[jebinc]

But as many have posted, people typically get 5-6 MPH and I frequently see 7 MPH on mine.

From what I've read here, I encourage purchase when you pick up your car: Tesla's delivery times can be looooong on store shipments. YMMV

You may be on a 120v 20 amp plug...

 

[Kevy Baby]

You may be on a 120v 20 amp plug...

Could be. I live in a condo and the separate garage is on a circuit that the association is responsible for (so until they catch on as to what I’m doing, I get free charging at home).

 

[Phlier]

Be sure to have them run the white neutral for future use, if needed. Just a suggestion.

I did this, and am really glad I did.

Now that I have a 240v 100 amp circuit of powah, I'm thinking about adding a mini-split heat pump to my garage. None of the 120v 20a service mini-splits had near enough capacity to cool off my garage here in the desert, but having my new circuit finally makes it possible to install a unit with enough capacity to do it. No more sweltering hot/freezing cold garage!

And man... I sure wish I hadn't found that old stick welder on Craig's List...

 

[jebinc]

I did this, and am really glad I did.

Now that I have a 240v 100 amp circuit of powah, I'm thinking about adding a mini-split heat pump to my garage. None of the 120v 20a service mini-splits had near enough capacity to cool off my garage here in the desert, but having my new circuit finally makes it possible to install a unit with enough capacity to do it. No more sweltering hot/freezing cold garage!

And man... I sure wish I hadn't found that old stick welder on Craig's List...

Yep, always run the white neutral wire, even though it’s not needed for the HPWC. Ya never know when you want to expand...

 

[darth_vad3r]

See red responses below
[...]

and I then have the option of faster charging than gen 2 if I find gen 1 on eBay? No, 32 Amps max for the M3 using a mobile charger. HPWC on a 60 amp circuit will get you any charging you want, up to 48 amps max.
​

​

He said AWD, which supports 48A, and the Gen 1 MC supports 40A, so ... if he finds a gen 1 on eBay (and buys it) he has the option of faster charging than gen 2 (32A).

 

[LochTes]

Hoping to revive this thread as I know am in a more immediate need and had some more questions as this becomes a reality.
Thank you for all of the valuable replies thus far.

I think my car is a week away at this point from delivery and I have not done anything yet as I had other things keeping my preoccupied.

Car is the AWD version so it does sound like that could factor into the decision, new 2019 car.

Don’t plan on moving so don’t really care if a plug or build into wall charger

In the garage I have a few outlets (3) and the service is 15 amps. I believe the breaker for the garage is for more than just the garage though so not sure if using it for 80% of that would be too much or not. Would be charging overnight when the house is sleeping.

My dryer has a 30 amp dedicated breaker ; thinking about it though really does not make sense to pay $200 or really anything over $100 on a temp solution so the extension cord idea I don’t think I will pursue.


I don’t know but would guess my main breaker which is 200 amp service could have adding 60 amp more but not sure if anymore than that without increasing above 200 and really don’t want to do that.

Due to the location of my breaker my job is only for a professional, not even entertaining trying to figure a way around that.

I am confused about what comes with the car and what I need to buy.
Not too concerned with possible 2nd electric car at this point as it is years off, something to consider but not a major factor for me.

If I want to plug into existing garage outlet 110 ; that comes with the car, right? But will be very slow.

If I buy the Tesla Wall Charger I don’t need to buy any other cables/adapters I assume but need to buy that and have it installed. Best to run a 60 amp dedicated line but also ok with 50 amp, right? Get pricing for both 50 and 60. Adds $500 cost but will be the fastest charging and gives me future compatibility without need for additional electrical work.

If I opt for an electrician to install a 14-50 outlet than 50 amp line is max I need?
The car comes free with the gen 2 plug I need ?or do I need an adapter for the 14-50 outlet?
and I then have the option of faster charging than gen 2 if I find gen 1 on eBay?

Driving: a lot; 30k miles a year so will be charging often.

As a temp solution for a week or two I could probably use a combo of the 110v, 15 amp outlet in my garage and superchargers as I do have them not far away; not ideal so don’t want that for more than a couple of weeks but better than paying $200 for an extension cord I may never use again

I think that is everything

I had an electrician install a 14-50 outlet in garage on a new 50 amp circuit. I bought an older charging kit on eBay for the Model S that charges faster than the newer ones. The performance isn’t far off the dedicated home charger and it is significantly less expensive to install the outlet and buy the big hard wired charger. Works great.

 

[jebinc]

@mreynolds767 - Any updates? What did your electrician say?

 

[mreynolds767]

Fingers crossed I found the right man for the job. He came to the house and said what I wanted can be done without much trouble.
Hoping to get a quote from him tonight and he will get it done within a week.
Long wire run so nervously awaiting the pricing.

He told me he would not charge any more for installing the Wall Connector vs. installing a NEMA 14-50 outlet if they were both to be in the same location my only cost difference would be the difference in materials for the type of wiring needed.

I did speak to the Telsa install team but they were at least a month out from actual install dates for my area and would take them a week just to get a firm quote ; so going to pass on them.
I bought a Telsa Wall Connector which will deliver to me in a couple of days so pretty much committed at this point to a new 60 AMP circuit to power it.

Will report back when I have more news.

 

[jebinc]

Fingers crossed I found the right man for the job. He came to the house and said what I wanted can be done without much trouble.
Hoping to get a quote from him tonight and he will get it done within a week.
Long wire run so nervously awaiting the pricing.

He told me he would not charge any more for installing the Wall Connector vs. installing a NEMA 14-50 outlet if they were both to be in the same location my only cost difference would be the difference in materials for the type of wiring needed.

I did speak to the Telsa install team but they were at least a month out from actual install dates for my area and would take them a week just to get a firm quote ; so going to pass on them.
I bought a Telsa Wall Connector which will deliver to me in a couple of days so pretty much committed at this point to a new 60 AMP circuit to power it.

Will report back when I have more news.

Did you ask him for an estimate to run heavier gauge (e.g., 3 AWG) wire and also add the white neutral in case you want to expand that area of the house/garage down the road (e.g., add more outlets, power a fridge, etc.), or an another charger, if a second EV is in your future? Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[Skotty]

Just to add a plug comment -- I just had to replace my EVSE (I had a GE Wattstation that died). I already have a NEMA 6-50 plug/wiring in my garage. I was surprised to discover that there are still several plug in options for EVSE's that can be purchased with the 6-50 plug (including Siemens, Clipper Creek, and a few others). But I'm guessing 14-50 is the better way to go if installing an outlet.

I considered the Tesla wall charger -- if dedicated to Tesla, I think it's the way to go. But I wanted to be able to charge other EVs as well (e.g. my Mom lives not too far from me and has a Nissan Leaf she might want to charge while at my house). So I went with J1772 (got a Clipper Creek HCS-50P).

My wiring is 6 gauge and it just barely fits into the plug receptical and breaker. Anyone have any comment on trouble or special requirements if going with a guage thicker than 6? Just curious.

 

[jebinc]

Just to add a plug comment -- I just had to replace my EVSE (I had a GE Wattstation that died). I already have a NEMA 6-50 plug/wiring in my garage. I was surprised to discover that there are still several plug in options for EVSE's that can be purchased with the 6-50 plug (including Siemens, Clipper Creek, and a few others). But I'm guessing 14-50 is the better way to go if installing an outlet.

I considered the Tesla wall charger -- if dedicated to Tesla, I think it's the way to go. But I wanted to be able to charge other EVs as well (e.g. my Mom lives not too far from me and has a Nissan Leaf she might want to charge while at my house). So I went with J1772 (got a Clipper Creek HCS-50P).

My wiring is 6 gauge and it just barely fits into the plug receptical and breaker. Anyone have any comment on trouble or special requirements if going with a guage thicker than 6? Just curious.

I used 4 AWG. If using the correctly sized boxes and conduit, no problem at all.

 

[Rocky_H]

My wiring is 6 gauge and it just barely fits into the plug receptical and breaker. Anyone have any comment on trouble or special requirements if going with a guage thicker than 6? Just curious.

Breakers or EVSEs or pretty much anything electrical device has an actual rating in its specifications of the largest wire size it is allowed to take. They do that because that's how big they made the openings, and people would have to do bad things to the wire to make it fit if it is too big and wouldn't function the way it is supposed to. So we anonymous people on the internet shouldn't be giving opinions on that. Just consult the manuals for what it says is the largest wire size allowed.

So for outlets like a 6-50 or 14-50, most of them are spec'ed for no larger than 6 gauge wire in their terminals.

 

[mreynolds767]

Did you ask him for an estimate to run heavier gauge (e.g., 3 AWG) wire and also add the white neutral in case you want to expand that area of the house/garage down the road (e.g., add more outlets, power a fridge, etc.), or an another charger, if a second EV is in your future? Good luck and keep us posted!

Didn't mention the wire gauge. I imagine his quote will mention that detail.
He is a neighbor and friend (not close but known each other for many years). I know he is on top of the electrician trends and very experienced. Owned his own company for years before more recently joining a larger company.

He seemed experienced with the Telsa wall connector, had done a few of them and some with as high as 100 AMP breakers. I mentioned I wanted the future ability to have them talk to each other if we ever got another Wall Charger. I felt 60 AMP was plenty though.
Given location and size of the garage (not much room to fit more than the 2 cars we keep inside) and I do have multiple 120 V outlets in it for typical needs I really feel my only possible future needs will be a 2nd EV. I hope that would be a Telsa as well and would buy a 2nd wall connector if at some point we got another Telsa (likely years away) but protecting that with wiring that could be used universally would make sense. I imagine rewiring from a hard wired unit to make an outlet or to a different EV unit could not be too difficult if I move on from Tesla.

Will ask him about the White Neutral wire as I did not.

I did for better or worse get the short cord for my Telsa option. Much easier daily use and neater as I want the unit right next to the left end of my car. I thought about how this could be a long term mistake but any other location with a 24 foot cord just seemed to be a messy situation.

 

[davewill]

... My wiring is 6 gauge and it just barely fits into the plug receptical and breaker. Anyone have any comment on trouble or special requirements if going with a guage thicker than 6? Just curious.

Check the specs of the breaker and outlet you're connecting to. If they won't take the size wire you want to run, one option is to install a small load center or subpanel near the EVSE that can take the larger wire size. Use a larger breaker in the main panel and a 50a breaker in the load center, then use a smaller wire from there to the outlet or EVSE. When you upgrade your EVSE to a 60a (or larger) circuit later, you replace the short wire and the breaker in the load center with the appropriate size. People also do this if they decide to run aluminum wire to save money on a long run.

It's also useful if you decide to do a two Wall Connector setup as you just run the second Wall Connector from the same load center using a second breaker.