Electrician coming on monday to install 220v outlet.....your thoughts

[HughJazzol]

Good morning all
I've owned my MME 17 days, and the passenger door has a ding in it!!! I am pissed. It was inevitable, of course, but I haven't owned it a fortnite. I still have the dealer plate!!! Thanks for listening.

I work from home and drive very little, so so far, my 110v travel charger has been enough. However, I want to give myself the option of having 220v if needed.
He will install two 220v outlets from a 50amp breaker, one inside the garage and one outside. I have 2 neighbors that have used their travel chargers for a year as their daily method, and it's worked fine, so I will take that route for now.

However, I'm thinking of asking the electrician to put in a 60amp breaker so that I have room for future expansion to a dedicated charger. If I've read correctly, the MME has a maximum amperage draw of 48 amps from a charger, so limiting me to 50 amps today is a dumb step.

I'm not looking for ideas on a wall charger, since there are plenty of threads on that. I simply ask if my thinking of getting the 60 breaker makes sense. I imagine that it will be more expensive than the 50a since 60a will probably require thicker gauge cabling.

Thank you

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[AtomicInternet]

If you're getting by fine with a 120v (10 amp) charger now, you don't need more than 50a unless you foresee your situation changing soon. 50 amp is a pretty standard limit.

However, If the wiring and plug are both rated up to 60amp, you can also switch out the breaker in the future pretty easily if need be.

 

[Maui]

He will install two 220v outlets from a 50amp breaker, one inside the garage and one outside.

I would put them on 2 separate breakers. Otherwise, you need to ensure that only 1 is being used or that both together are not going to pull more than 40 amps.

BTW, conventional wisdom is not to exceed a breaker by more than 80% of its rating.

 

[4sallypat]

Good idea to have 60A wiring installed.

Remember, your plug is a 50A max outlet.

I have hardwired my 48A charger to dual 60A breakers and has been perfect.

My wife drives a PHEV and her car takes less than 2 hour to fully charge while mine takes over 6 hours.

 

[zvez]

will your breaker box be able to handle two 50 amp circuits?

 

[HughJazzol]

I would put them on 2 separate breakers. Otherwise, you need to ensure that only 1 is being used or that both together are not going to pull more than 40 amps.

BTW, conventional wisdom is not to exceed a breaker by more than 80% of its rating.

will your breaker box be able to handle two 50 amp circuits?

I have 300amp service so I'm fine there.
The plan is to install one 50a breaker and for the 2 outlets to "share" it. Yes, I am aware of what that implies, but for now my EV is the only one that I will either charge outside OR inside, not both obviously.

Remember, your plug is a 50A max outlet.

What did you mean by that? That the maximum output of the travel charger is 50 amps?

 

[AZBill]

You cannot have two plugs on a single 50A breaker, for an EVSE, there can only be a single plug, per code. Your electrician should inform you of this. Also be sure if using a plug, it is an industrial grade made for EVSE use.

 

[HughJazzol]

You cannot have two plugs on a single 50A breaker, for an EVSE, there can only be a single plug, per code. Your electrician should inform you of this. Also be sure if using a plug, it is an industrial grade made for EVSE use.

thank you Bill.
He is licensed and neighbors have used him. That doesn't say much, I know.
He did warn me about only being able to use one, and I'm fine with that, but should I ask if installing 2 outlets is up to code to see how he responds? Another electrician quoted me, and he also agreed to the 2 outlet/1 breaker idea, but with only 1 used at a time.

 

[TheVirtualTim]

Every wall-mounted EVSE I have seen is configurable … you can set the maximum amperage permitted. On a 50 amp breaker you can configure it to limit charging to 40 amps.

If you want 48 amp charging then you’ll need a 60 amp breaker and appropriate wire gauge. (The wire and breaker have to be rated for 125% of the load. Or the other way of saying it is the load can only be 80% of the rated capacity of the breaker and wiring.) 48 amp charging is hard-wire only (you can’t use a receptacle because it exceeds what a NEMA 14-50 outlet can handle for continuous loads.)

There are (or at least were) smart EVSE’s that can share a single circuit and allow for simultaneous charging. They pair and communicate with each other. If only one car is charging it gets the full capacity of the circuit. If a 2nd car plugs in, it slows the charge rate so that both cars share the capacity … until one car is finished and then ramps back up to full rate for the remaining car. EnelX (JuiceBox) was one of the companies … but they are defunct now. I think Clipper Creek also offered load-sharing.

 

[Maquis]

thank you Bill.
He is licensed and neighbors have used him. That doesn't say much, I know.
He did warn me about only being able to use one, and I'm fine with that, but should I ask if installing 2 outlets is up to code to see how he responds? Another electrician quoted me, and he also agreed to the 2 outlet/1 breaker idea, but with only 1 used at a time.

If you say those receptacles are for RV use, you can put as many on a circuit as you like. ?

You cannot run a 60A circuit to a 50A receptacle. You could size the wire for 60A and use a 50A breaker for now. If you ever decide to hard-wire a 48A EVSE, you can just change the breaker.

Be sure he installs a heavy duty receptacle such as a Hubbell/Bryant 4950, not a $10 Home Depot special.

 

[AKgrampy]

I would ask them specifically what codes states regarding two outlets for EV charging. It seems a bit suspect that they are making an installation with the caveat that only one outlet can be used at a time. If you can afford the 60 circuit I would go that way for future planning but I have had my Mach for almost 3 years and 32amps has been more than sufficient.

 

[HuntingPudel]

Every wall-mounted EVSE I have seen is configurable
<SNIP>

I guess mine is configurable. I can have it at 32A or I can have it at 0A. ??

 

[Maquis]

I would ask them specifically what codes states regarding two outlets for EV charging.

 

[MacheTX RT1]

If you say those receptacles are for RV use, you can put as many on a circuit as you like. ?

You cannot run a 60A circuit to a 50A receptacle. You could size the wire for 60A and use a 50A breaker for now. If you ever decide to hard-wire a 48A EVSE, you can just change the breaker.

Be sure he installs a heavy duty receptacle such as a Hubbell/Bryant 4950, not a $10 Home Depot special.

Agree get a high quality outlet like Hubbell

 

[MacherAWD]

Good morning all
I've owned my MME 17 days, and the passenger door has a ding in it!!! I am pissed. It was inevitable, of course, but I haven't owned it a fortnite. I still have the dealer plate!!! Thanks for listening.

I work from home and drive very little, so so far, my 110v travel charger has been enough. However, I want to give myself the option of having 220v if needed.
He will install two 220v outlets from a 50amp breaker, one inside the garage and one outside. I have 2 neighbors that have used their travel chargers for a year as their daily method, and it's worked fine, so I will take that route for now.

However, I'm thinking of asking the electrician to put in a 60amp breaker so that I have room for future expansion to a dedicated charger. If I've read correctly, the MME has a maximum amperage draw of 48 amps from a charger, so limiting me to 50 amps today is a dumb step.

I'm not looking for ideas on a wall charger, since there are plenty of threads on that. I simply ask if my thinking of getting the 60 breaker makes sense. I imagine that it will be more expensive than the 50a since 60a will probably require thicker gauge cabling.

Thank you

Myself, my sister's house, and my parents house all have 220 outlets that are mid way into the garage. In all 3 locations we can charge a car inside or outside with our cable. Could save you an outlet if if can be reached from either area. For my house I bought a dedicated EVSE with a 25 ft cable so I could charge in our out.

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