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Why Do Electricians Charge So Much To Install EV Outlets?
- Thread starter Qbenjamin
- Start date
Rownolds
High Mileage Member
I'm glad you did the work yourself, I do all my own wiring too.
I'm a retired veterinarian. I used to charge $400 per hour for surgery.
For me, it wasn't that I charged based on what my costs were, I charged based on what the service was worth.
I'm a retired veterinarian. I used to charge $400 per hour for surgery.
For me, it wasn't that I charged based on what my costs were, I charged based on what the service was worth.
Hello, To all Electricians n most states, need to go to school, work s an apprentice work for 5 years, take test ,pass , you pay for your license, this is what I did when I lived in Conn. some charge a lot some are reasonable, like any trade
This is a reminder to anyone looking to save some money and DIY that electricity can kill.
The right combinations of voltage and amperage will kill you if it goes across your heart. Stun guns use thousands of volts at low amperage and the circuit is usually not completed across your heart. 100-200 milliamps (0.1A-0.2A) seems to be the sweet spot to die (from as little as a few tens of volts) to cause ventricular fibrillation. Higher current causes clamping which flat out stops the heart which is more survivable if someone watching you trying to save some money knows CPR. So, keep that in mind when working on a circuit that is hundreds of volts and thousands of milliamps.
CyberGus
Not Just a Member
Yeah, you're already paying the "Alaska Tax" on everything, the "Tesla Tax" should be a rounding error for you.
I would like to run a dedicated 5-20 line to my garage since I can’t do 240, but likewise, spending $300 so I don’t get myself electrocuted is worth it to me. It’s not like we are talking about a single outlet here. We are talking about taking apart the panel and breakers.
$1700 to run 60A capable buried conduit and wiring from home to unattached garage. Included permits, new breaker panel and cutoff. I only have 100A service now and run the garage at 30A as there was a concern that running all appliances and charging at 30A with AC running would pop the main breaker in the house. It hasn’t happened yet but I would still like to upgrade to 200A service so I can run garage at 60A and charge at full 48A.
I highly suggest getting a Rainforest EMU-2 or the like if you have a smartmeter. I have a much better idea of how much I’m actually pulling from the 100A service and what my peaks are in near real-time (there’s about a 30 second delay). This can give you a much better idea of how much you’re actually using on a minute by minute basis and what room you have within that 80% capacity of your service rating And whether or not you have the capacity for a 40 amp or 60 amp service for your car
SageBrush
REJECT Fascism
I have always been a big fan of
- shutting down the panel at the main breaker
- Diligently double and triple checking anywhere I might touch with a voltage tester
- Wearing non-conductive shoes
- Wearing non-conductive gloves and using tools with rubber handles
- Keeping a fire extinguisher handy
Filed under, ‘when I do something right, I never hear anything and when I do something wrong, I never hear the end of it’: I take 3 times as long to fix/fabricate something as a pro would and my wife never forgets. However, I get glowing reviews from her about the quality of the results. Somehow, she doesn’t see the connection between the two.
In the Venn diagram of quality, speed and cost, my work always sits high on quality, medium on cost and waaayyyy low on speed: I like to do the highest quality at a reasonable cost but it takes a lot of time to get there (either doing it myself or sourcing suppliers.)
happy wife... happy life... is really a threat
Interesting. I’m an American who lives in China. Bought a Model 3 a year ago and here when you purchase any model Tesla comes to your house and installs the Charger free of charge
In fact, touching 240v is no different than touching 120v when the main breaker is OFF, which is how anyone should be doing this job.
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True, plus ... it really doesn't take much to stop the heart:
source:
Electrical Safety: The Fatal Current.
And last I have checked your 110w outlets are sitting on 15 or 20 Amp ... not 0.2, thus there isn't any difference between getting killed by 110 or 220....
CyberGus
Not Just a Member
ME: "Is the breaker off?"
DUDE: "Yep!"
ME "You sure? This is high-voltage."
DUDE: "Yep!"
ME: sizzle sizzle pop "Dude wtf??"
DUDE: "Sorry!"
The real hazard determinant is the effective resistance through your body from hot to ground. Dry fingers, insulated shoes, etc. greatly increases the resistance and lowers the current. The body also has capacitance which also allows you to get a tingle even if there is no path to ground.
sleepydoc
Well-Known Member
I got a Model Y a month ago. Requested 2 quotes from Tesla recommended electricians. One never got back to me. The second just replied last night:
Upgrade 100A sub panel to 125A: $1,850 (The appropriate conduit is already there; all this involves is pulling 2 hot wires, a neutral and a ground through about 50 feet of existing conduit and swapping out the breakers. To be fair, the wire is expensive and the materials alone would be $4-500, but still, that’s less than an hour’s worth of work.)
Run conduit and install a 50A circuit and charger - $980 plus the cost of the charger. I just picked up the materials myself - less than $200 for the wire, schedule 80 conduit, boxes and a 50A breaker. The time would probably be 2 hours.
I’d love to get off with $300! I decided to just pull a permit and do the work myself.
Upgrade 100A sub panel to 125A: $1,850 (The appropriate conduit is already there; all this involves is pulling 2 hot wires, a neutral and a ground through about 50 feet of existing conduit and swapping out the breakers. To be fair, the wire is expensive and the materials alone would be $4-500, but still, that’s less than an hour’s worth of work.)
Run conduit and install a 50A circuit and charger - $980 plus the cost of the charger. I just picked up the materials myself - less than $200 for the wire, schedule 80 conduit, boxes and a 50A breaker. The time would probably be 2 hours.
I’d love to get off with $300! I decided to just pull a permit and do the work myself.
I’ve touched 480V twice. Seem to recall it feeling like getting hit with a truck. Quite lucky in both instances that I wasn’t grabbing onto anything that would have kept me connected to the circuit.I touched a live 240v connection before. While on an aluminum ladder. On a wet floor.
Needless to say, the ladder and I suddenly parted ways. Fortunately I was young enough back then to just walk it off
120V on the other hand wasn’t so bad.
nwdiver
Well-Known Member
CyberGus
Not Just a Member
Let's face it, we all touched 120V before we were 4 years old lol
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