Had an electrician put proper electrical service in my garage today, so now I only have a ~3 foot distance to charge the Prime! For the past month, I have had to rig a 12 gauge extension cord up into my house from the garage since the GFSwhatever outlet in the garage kept popping. (I had it replaced as well, I was told those things are problematic (yes, I monkeyed with the 8 and 12 amp settings, made no difference). They brought in a new separate 20 amp circuits for the 120volt and the 240volt. I had a question for the electrician about the 240volt outlet, as to what it was. I was told it was a 4 wire 20 amp circuit and the electrician said this was the outlet they have put in for other electric cars. They did say they could change the outlet to whatever charger plug I ended up purchasing. Question: What 240volt, 20 amp Charging Cable should I consider buying for the Prime? Can I get a Charger which plugs into this type of outlet without having the outlet changed? My knowledge of lecktrickissie is minimal, but the electrician quote says this outlet may be a Nema 14-50 250V 4 wire receptacle. Now I just need to persuade my dogs to paint the drywall in my garage!
You want something that's rated at 80% of your 20amp circuit so that means a 16amp EVSE. Here's my recommendation: 16A Level 2 EVSE LCS-20P with NEMA 14-50 | ClipperCreek Made in the USA, 3 yr. warranty, and good customer relations.
I do like the 3 year warranty and good customer service thing, it is $395.... I found this cheaper one for $275, then again it might be worth it if the extra money protects against the car or garage catching on fire! DUOSIDA Level 2 charger, EVSE, L2, EV, 16 Amp 220 - 240 w/ 14-50 or 14-30 Plug | eBay
I'm a little surprised they only put in a 20A 240v circuit (it's fine for the Prime, but not very future proof) - I bet you could put a 50A breaker on it since it's 4-wire later on (by a licensed professional electrician!). If I were you, I would get a higher-rated charging station as a means of future-proofing the installation with the future expectation that you would get another (likely higher power-draw) electric car in the future. We had a circuit put on for our Tesla and it had to be a 50A circuit to run the 40A Leviton charger at full tilt. If I remember correctly, I had them use #2 THHN wiring for our charger circuit so it was 100A-ready if we decided to put a high-power charger in (instead of the J1772 one that currently serves us very well).
The breaker size is determined by the wire size. A 50 amp breaker would need at least a 6 gauge wire. It is unlikely that they pulled 6 gauge for a 20 amp outlet. Upsizing breakers is not to be done lightly.
Hence the "by an electrician" (who I assume will be licensed, bonded, and insured). I actually edited that to emphasize the licensed professional part.
The Chargepoint home charger wants a NEMA 6-50, which has only three conductors (hot-hot-ground). Don't know if our electrician pulled four wires and just ignored the neutral, but it is only about 4 feet from the breaker box to the outlet, so I am not too worried about it. Why do they want to throw in the neutral, anyway? It's not like they need the 120V from hot-neutral anywhere.
I always pull a neutral. You may want a 110v outlet next to the charger for a block heater. Not likely in Roseville, but climate change is coming. Also, pulling a spare hot wire can sometimes prove useful.
From my post in another question about home chargers: No matter which one you end up buying, I highly recommend the longest cord available, which seems for now is 25'. I just installed a plug in from ClipperCreek. LCS-20P, Plug-in 16 Amp Level 2 EVSE, 240V, NEMA 6-50 plug, with 25 ft cable $395. I was debating getting the more expensive models-"Future proofing". But decided to go cheaper.The Wi-Fi communicating ones are a nice feature, however using the Entune app that's already built in is cheaper and gives all the info you really need. So, in my opinion, that is a waste of money to buy the Wi-Fi models. It does not utilize any more than 3.3 kW. So anything more is just a waste. I plan on having the Prime for at least 5 years or longer. If your planning on changing EVs soon and will need more power, then it might pay to get the more expensive variety. I chose the plug in version because I also have a welder and plasma cutter that can use a 220v 40 amp line. I use the same plug for all. I ran the electric myself, so install was cheap as possible--Yes, I adhered to the local codes. Be sure and check the dimensions of the wall unit. Some of them stick out quite a ways and could be problematic for some installs. One last important note: Most of the units are tested, but make sure they have a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory, such as Intertek (ETL mark) or Underwriter’s Laboratory (UL mark) for safety. Sort of the GoodHouseKeeping Seal of approval. You don't want your house to burn down!
