Huge disappointment today

[Larry Paul]

Yeah I was hoping to see a panel full of non tandem breakers. Unfortunately that doesn't seem to be the case.

Me too...it is a small load center (breaker box). I would think the unused 50A could be used for the car charger...so I am confused.

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[Maquis]

We live in a mobile home park and the power provided to the house is what they call a pedestal. The pedestal is only 100A so we wouldn't even be able to upgrade our panel to 200A. We don't have AC, and actually our stove and oven are gas. I looked at our panel at there is actually a breaker for an AC unit, so maybe there is hope.

A 100A service when you have no AC, gas heat and cooking, should have plenty of capacity for an EVSE.
I would consult a different electrician.

 

[ponEpwr]

Is it an option to just replace the panel with a new panel that has more breaker openings?

Still keeping it 100A, just more available breakers. Like this:

If not, removing the breaker for the AC that is not there may be an option??? (but I think a replacement panel may be required.

Yeah op needs to reconfigure 12 and 30. It's a bit foreign looking to me on why they weren't grouped but I'd pull 12 and 30 and replace with a 220v 30 breaker for the dryer. And a 220v 50amp for the charger.

This seems pretty simple but if your electrician is saying it can't be done maybe there is more than what we're seeing ...

 

[ponEpwr]

On second thought, assuming the AC was electrically fine when it was removed you don't even need to reconfigure. Just pull new wire into that 50amp breaker.

 

[2021-MMEx-RT1]

Even if the panel is full, if they are modern breakers, chances are some can be doubled up with a modern dual breaker or two. Something like 4 of these:

This will enable a 40A larger double breaker to fit.

That's what I did to my Studio when we added a Stove and needed room. (Ignore the labels, we've since 'fixed' them)

 

[NoMoShocks]

There are also less expensive options such as Split Volt youtube.com/watch?v=R1g1orRi5cU

 

[chrisGT]

I think your electrician is suggesting something like the Splitvolt. It is not a bad solution if that is all the capacity you have. It is better than charging at 120v.
Btw keep in mind that the charger that come with the car is 32A and you cannot use it with the dryer plug.
Also if your dryer plug is the old Nema 10-30 then it has no ground so you will not find any UL listed charger. You will need a NEMA 14-30 plug to have a ground.

https://www.splitvolt.com/splitter-...Ct9DL89Mfmp5DP68R4IUV-T3Caho-CbIaAm1pEALw_wcB

 

[BadgerGreg]

I was told today that the junction box coming to our house is only 100amps (not the breaker box on the house). I wanted to add a 40a so that I could charge my car coming later this summer, but the latest electrician said its not possible with what we currently have.

I recommend you have a second meter installed and have that wired to a dedicated panel to serve your EVSE. Getting another meter installed isn't a huge cost (at least it wasn't for me), and it's a good workaround when you have an older house (like mine) with a 100A main panel.

 

[pacman7474]

The electrician today didn't look too hard at the panel today, so he may have missed the fact that most of the larger appliances are gas (he never asked) and that there is the AC switch that is unused (the house was built without AC and we've never had it). Adding an additional meter unfortunately is not possible because this is a mobile home park. The splitvolt that several people have suggested sounds like a possibility. I guess the only issue we would have is running the charging cable to the device. We don't have a garage (essentially a covered driveway), and our laundry room is inside. Thank you everyone for all your suggestions. Now that I have more information I can reach out to other electricians to see what other options there are.

Thank you all. I love this community.

 

[ponEpwr]

Also, if you add a sub panel (and this goes for anyone adding a panel) put in a minimum 20 position panel. The cost of the larger panel is in the 10's of dollars more (they're under $100 total). Even if you only think you're going to use a couple of positions. Positions get filled up very quickly when you start throwing in 220v breakers. You'll save your self 1,000's down the road if you accidentally undersized a sub panel.

 

[bruceski88]

The electrician today didn't look too hard at the panel today, so he may have missed the fact that most of the larger appliances are gas (he never asked) and that there is the AC switch that is unused (the house was built without AC and we've never had it). Adding an additional meter unfortunately is not possible because this is a mobile home park. The splitvolt that several people have suggested sounds like a possibility. I guess the only issue we would have is running the charging cable to the device. We don't have a garage (essentially a covered driveway), and our laundry room is inside. Thank you everyone for all your suggestions. Now that I have more information I can reach out to other electricians to see what other options there are.

Thank you all. I love this community.

I installed my own EVSE with a permit and had to calculate house usesge to get the permit. 3000 sq ft house with no AC and gas appliances like yours came in at 85A with the EVSE. Note that this is 85A at 240 not 120v. I have a 200A panel but calculations showed there was room for a 50A EVSE in even 100A panel. You seem to have modern Siemens breakers like I do so I would just recommend putting in a new 50A tandem breaker, they are only $15

 

[rcechinel]

I was told today that the junction box coming to our house is only 100amps (not the breaker box on the house). I wanted to add a 40a so that I could charge my car coming later this summer, but the latest electrician said its not possible with what we currently have. I'm at a loss at what I can do and still be in code (regulations from the park). The guy today said he could install a separate box for the dryer outlet and the new outlet I want to add and just have a manual switch between the 2. This would mean everytime I want to charge my car or run the dryer I'd have to switch the box to which I want to use.

I'm hoping to find a solution before my car comes in July.

There is automated switcher that cost about $300. I will try to find it it.

 

[s7davis]

If you are certain that your 12 breaker is no used then flip it off and check all your stuff ensure its not getting power. As you mentioned it was for a non existent AC unit so all electrician will need to do is run wires from it to your charging box.

Edit: He has plenty of amperage to have a EVSE installed. He just didn't have enough slots available to put in a new breaker. So an electrician could use the 50amp not in use and close of those wires then run the cabling from that breaker to the EVSE and if not he will have to get a new breaker box for his home to allow for more breakers but then that does get more expensive as the electrician has to rewire the entire box.

 

[Jh6284]

I was told today that the junction box coming to our house is only 100amps (not the breaker box on the house). I wanted to add a 40a so that I could charge my car coming later this summer, but the latest electrician said its not possible with what we currently have. I'm at a loss at what I can do and still be in code (regulations from the park). The guy today said he could install a separate box for the dryer outlet and the new outlet I want to add and just have a manual switch between the 2. This would mean everytime I want to charge my car or run the dryer I'd have to switch the box to which I want to use.

I'm hoping to find a solution before my car comes in July.

I had the same issue - 100amp service to my house. The electrician recommended an energy management system. It automatically monitors total amount load and if it reaches 80% of your panel it turns off the car charger and continues to monitor. Once load demand reduced it starts your car charger. Works flawlessly and it meets the electrical load here in Canada. You can check it out here https://dccelectric.com/

 

[bgentilesco]

Dare I ask if 110 is even an option? I've had mine for almost a month on 110 and it works just fine for my driving needs. I've put about 800 miles on the car during that time.

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