Things to consider when DIY installing a wall charger / outlet

[Maquis]

Thanks for the help. Yes, I am hard-wiring the Chargepoint as the manual says that I should hardwire for 30 amps (24 usable).

In terms of the two hot, does it matter which terminal at the Chargepoint they connect to? I don't see them labeled, and I would assume not since they both carry the same load, but thought I'd ask.

Also, my garage wall is concrete up to about 6 feet and then drywall above that. I'm thinking that I can run the bare Romex until I get to the concrete and then need to switch to conduit along the concrete wall (2-3 feet). If I screwed a piece of plywood to the concrete and mounted the Chargepoint to that, could I avoid using conduit? If so, would that be preferable? I'm just trying to figure out what is cleaner/easier.

No -either hot to either terminal.

Code requires Romex to be protected from physical damage. It’s common to sleeve with some type of conduit in such cases. As long as not subject to physical damage, your plywood solution is fine.
But if you’re having it inspected, I’d check with the inspector first, because “subject to physical damage” is his/her call.

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[Cuddlecool]

Being a retired Electrican I have repaired many homeowner's work. It is not
difficult to install but it is dangerous. One yes one loose connection will cause
a fire. Do not treat this as simple because you watched a video. Good luck
to all of you and yes many of you will succeed.

Good advice. Good taste in license plates. ?

 

[JJCritch]

Ok, I'm going to pose this question and I'd love to get the input of those of you here. My MME GTPE ordered back in May is finally set to arrive in a couple weeks. And I'm getting ready to figure out my charging situation. I've been tossing around in my head the idea of doing this:

Just inside the garage, I have a laundry room with a 30amp dryer outlet. I have a gas dryer so the outlet is not being used. I also have a 50amp outlet behind my gas range in the kitchen. Not really being used. My breaker box is in the basement and it's about 50 feet from the garage. The dryer outlet run is 6:3 wire (as is the range run.)

My thought is to switch the two breakers so the 50amp is the one headed to the garage side of the house

then rerun the dryer wire up into the garage wall (yellow arrow is dryer run, red is under garage wall)

and install the NEMA 14-50 outlet there.

There is an old phone jack and wire I can use as a pull.

I am going to install a non-fusible 3-pole AC disconnect in the basement (the heated discussion in this thread on whether this is required by code or not has been interesting. I think it would be silly to install it in line of sight in the garage, as if the car ever did get a runaway battery fire I would assume the heat would be too much to get into the garage. however I would be able to run in the basement and pull the disconnect perhaps.)

Thoughts? Code considerations?

I'd get a permit and inspection for obvious reasons. My biggest question I guess is the breaker box change.

Ok, so after some research, I have discovered what the "Style U" means on the wire going to the dryer outlet I was going to reroute to the garage for the NEMA 14-50 outlet.

It means 3 conductors no ground wire. Therefore only three 6 guage wires in the cable. No bare ground wire in the jacket. Learned it Here.

But of course the NEMA 14-50 has three conductors and a ground. What does this mean for me? Do I have to run all new 6/3 Romex from my breaker box to the garage? No repurposing of the dryer run for me?

 

[Triggerhappy007]

Ok, so after some research, I have discovered what the "Style U" means on the wire going to the dryer outlet I was going to reroute to the garage for the NEMA 14-50 outlet.

It means 3 conductors no ground wire. Therefore only three 6 guage wires in the cable. No bare ground wire in the jacket. Learned it Here.

But of course the NEMA 14-50 has three conductors and a ground. What does this mean for me? Do I have to run all new 6/3 Romex from my breaker box to the garage? No repurposing of the dryer run for me?

Most EVSEs don't require a neutral. You could wire up the 2 hots and a ground to the 14-50 outlet, but that would be against code. If you want to reuse the wiring, buy a hardwired EVSE.

 

[Maquis]

Ok, so after some research, I have discovered what the "Style U" means on the wire going to the dryer outlet I was going to reroute to the garage for the NEMA 14-50 outlet.



It means 3 conductors no ground wire. Therefore only three 6 guage wires in the cable. No bare ground wire in the jacket. Learned it Here.

But of course the NEMA 14-50 has three conductors and a ground. What does this mean for me? Do I have to run all new 6/3 Romex from my breaker box to the garage? No repurposing of the dryer run for me?

From an electrician’s point of view, a properly wired 14-50 needs 4 wires.

From a DIY point of view, an EVSE does not use the neutral, so as long as the SEU originates in your main panel (not a sub-panel), you can use the outer braid as the ground and omit the neutral and it will work. There could be future problems if someone tried to use the receptacle for a load that requires a neutral (such as an RV).

I would either run this to a hard-wired EVSE or run new wire to a 14-50.

 

[CHeil402]

You could also just run a ground wire.

 

[JJCritch]

From an electrician’s point of view, a properly wired 14-50 needs 4 wires.

From a DIY point of view, an EVSE does not use the neutral, so as long as the SEU originates in your main panel (not a sub-panel), you can use the outer braid as the ground and omit the neutral and it will work. There could be future problems if someone tried to use the receptacle for a load that requires a neutral (such as an RV).

I would either run this to a hard-wired EVSE or run new wire to a 14-50.

Thanks for all the input. Great suggestions. I figure I have three options, do the EVSE, run new romex and put in a sub-panel, or run a ground. Haven't made up my mind on which one.

If I run the ground, what wire would I use and how should I run it to keep it up to code?

 

[dtbaker61]

Thanks for all the input. Great suggestions. I figure I have three options, do the EVSE, run new romex and put in a sub-panel, or run a ground. Haven't made up my mind on which one.

If I run the ground, what wire would I use and how should I run it to keep it up to code?

Ground is typically be 1 size smaller than L1, L2, N

for NEMA 14-50 outlet, using a 50-amp breaker, depending on length of run from breaker to outlet, L1,L2,N *could* be awg8 for a short run, but you are better off to use awg6 for conductors (L1,L2,N), and awg8 for the ground.

 

[ZuleMME]

Most EVSEs don't require a neutral. You could wire up the 2 hots and a ground to the 14-50 outlet, but that would be against code. If you want to reuse the wiring, buy a hardwired EVSE.

why not just a 6-50 outlet? To code. And get a EVSE with that plug. Done.

 

[Triggerhappy007]

why not just a 6-50 outlet? To code. And get a EVSE with that plug. Done.

That's an option too. I think OP needed a 14-50 outlet to use with the included Ford EVSE.

 

[Maquis]

If I run the ground, what wire would I use and how should I run it to keep it up to code?

Unfortunately, there is no code-compliant way to run an additional wire (ground or otherwise) that functions as part of a circuit where the other wires are in a cable.

 

[JJCritch]

Unfortunately, there is no code-compliant way to run an additional wire (ground or otherwise) that functions as part of a circuit where the other wires are in a cable.

Ah, ok. I thought so. I think I'm just going to run new Romex and put in a sub-panel. That way if a future owner wants to go back to an electric dryer, they can.

 

[JJCritch]

Ok, I'm going to pose this question and I'd love to get the input of those of you here. My MME GTPE ordered back in May is finally set to arrive in a couple weeks. And I'm getting ready to figure out my charging situation. I've been tossing around in my head the idea of doing this:

Just inside the garage, I have a laundry room with a 30amp dryer outlet. I have a gas dryer so the outlet is not being used. I also have a 50amp outlet behind my gas range in the kitchen. Not really being used. My breaker box is in the basement and it's about 50 feet from the garage. The dryer outlet run is 6:3 wire (as is the range run.)

My thought is to switch the two breakers so the 50amp is the one headed to the garage side of the house

then rerun the dryer wire up into the garage wall (yellow arrow is dryer run, red is under garage wall)

and install the NEMA 14-50 outlet there.

There is an old phone jack and wire I can use as a pull.

I am going to install a non-fusible 3-pole AC disconnect in the basement (the heated discussion in this thread on whether this is required by code or not has been interesting. I think it would be silly to install it in line of sight in the garage, as if the car ever did get a runaway battery fire I would assume the heat would be too much to get into the garage. however I would be able to run in the basement and pull the disconnect perhaps.)

Thoughts? Code considerations?

I'd get a permit and inspection for obvious reasons. My biggest question I guess is the breaker box change.

Okay, so I ended up just running 6/3 Romex across the basement and replacing the electric dryer 30 amp breaker with a 50. Pulled the dryer wire out of the breaker box and shoved it up into the ceiling for now. Garage outlet went in well. Got the car, working great.

However, I didn't seem to receive the charging handle / cord hanger. Was this thing supposed to come with the car charger in the trunk?

 

[phidauex]

Okay, so I ended up just running 6/3 Romex across the basement and replacing the electric dryer 30 amp breaker with a 50. Pulled the dryer wire out of the breaker box and shoved it up into the ceiling for now. Garage outlet went in well. Got the car, working great.

However, I didn't seem to receive the charging handle / cord hanger. Was this thing supposed to come with the car charger in the trunk?

Looks good, glad you just did it right and ran the new cable. A few minutes more effort now but a better long term solution.

As for the hangar thing, my car didn't come with one either, just the plastic bracket for hanging the "body" of the charger. Might just be a clever illustration...

This option from GrizzlE should work with any J1772 plug, is cheap, and works well. I like it: https://grizzl-e.com/product/usa/accessories-usa/additional-easyevplug-j1772-2/

 

[dtbaker61]

As for the hangar thing, my car didn't come with one either, just the plastic bracket for hanging the "body" of the charger. Might just be a clever illustration...

you probably should mount the charger body bracket an inch or so 'up' and 'over' so there is some strain relief rather than hanging from the outlet. You do NOT want that pigtail to pull out when you are in the middle of a charge under heavy load... or strain the outlet.

any old hose hanger bracket will work to coil when not in use. No 'holster' was included as far as I know.

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