Wall charger installation at home - suggestions and recommendations? ⚡️⚡️

[Tommy]

Very interesting thread.

For those of you who have installed the Rivian Wall Charger, has anyone hardwired their internet connection through the 10/100 ethernet port located inside the wall charger cover?

The installation guide mentions connecting via 2.4 GHz WiFi network, but it also states on the specifications page that an ethernet port exists. See photo.

I ask because I can find no reference in the Rivian installation or connection guides, nor can I find anything on line. Plus my WiFi signal in the garage is not the best.

It should be fairly simple to pull a CAT 5E cable along with the THHN (unless that's a code violation).

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[TheIglu]

I'm interested in this as well. I saw in the manual that it has an ethernet port, but there is no mention of it beyond in the specifications.

 

[timesinks]

It should be fairly simple to pull a CAT 5E cable along with the THHN (unless that's a code violation).

I'd avoid putting it in the same conduit. It could possibly be allowed if the ethernet cable jacket were listed for the 240V of the main circuit (harder to find than you might think!), but you'd likely trigger a bunch of other arcane requirements that your inspector may or may not care about. That said, an ethernet cable run in a separate system or even just bare alongside the conduit shouldn't raise any concern and should be quite easy.

No idea if the device itself supports it though.

 

[CommodoreAmiga]

I like the idea of wired for reliability.... But for safety I think I'll keep it wireless.

 

[Tommy]

I'd avoid putting it in the same conduit. It could possibly be allowed if the ethernet cable jacket were listed for the 240V of the main circuit (harder to find than you might think!), but you'd likely trigger a bunch of other arcane requirements that your inspector may or may not care about. That said, an ethernet cable run in a separate system or even just bare alongside the conduit shouldn't raise any concern and should be quite easy.

No idea if the device itself supports it though.

Good point.

I'm also curious if anyone has connected via the ethernet port and if there have been any issues or problems getting it to connect. I'd hate to run 100' of cable and the find out it doesn't work.

 

[TheIglu]

PSA: If you accidentally have your Rivian charger sent to work, and your truck is being delivered to your home in a few days, the wall charger WILL fit into a standard motorcycle top case to get it home. Barely....

 

[NY_Rob]

For reference...

 

[Gator42]

Here are pics of the install, and a pic of the inside of the unit....the install ain't pretty, but it works like a champ at 48 AMP!

I’d say that looks pretty tidy. Well done…

 

[Gator42]

The installation guide mentions connecting via 2.4 GHz WiFi network, but it also states on the specifications page that an ethernet port exists. See photo.

Does it help get the electrons in there sooner?

 

[NY_Rob]

I see a lot of posts mentioning installing a 60amp breaker for No. 6 THHN wire which is derated to 48amps under continuous load.

The No. 6 THHN is derated to keep heat down under the full 48amp EVSE load, but using a 60amp breaker will allow that circuit to run up to 60amps if things go sideways and could heat up to an unacceptable level.

Wouldn't a 50amp breaker be better protection for wire that's max rated (again at continuous load) at 48amps? The whole idea is you want to protect the wire from carrying a continuous load of over 48 amps for safety reasons.

 

[CommodoreAmiga]

I see a lot of posts mentioning installing a 60amp breaker for No. 6 THHN wire which is derated to 48amps under continuous load.

The No. 6 THHN is derated to keep heat down under the full 48amp EVSE load, but using a 60amp breaker will allow that circuit to run up to 60amps if things go sideways and could heat up to an unacceptable level.

Wouldn't a 50amp breaker be better protection for wire that's max rated (again at continuous load) at 48amps? The whole idea is you want to protect the wire from carrying a continuous load of over 48 amps for safety reasons.

THHN 6AWG is rated for 75A at 90 degrees C. Using a 60A breaker is fine.

 

[NY_Rob]

^ thanks @CommodoreAmiga ... I was looking at the wrong column on my own chart!

I see No. 6 THHN is rated for 75amps regular duty and 60amps for continuous duty.. so the 60amp breaker could be used for the Rivian EVSE setup.

 

[chrismc]

THHN 6AWG is rated for 95A at 90 degrees C. Using a 60A breaker is fine.

Please cite your source for this, I’ve never seen THHN listed for over 75A at any temp rating.

@Everyone, please don’t get your electrical wiring advice from an internet message board.

 

[Dirty_B]

It is compliant in the sense that you cannot dial in more than 40A which is fine for a 14-50R on a 50A circuit but isn't for a 14-50R on a 40A circuit. The NEC requirement is that the user not be able to adjust the maximum the device can allow.

Ahhh, the ol' owner can't screw it up by going to 48, but under that OK. Thanks for all your time on this thread: informative, useful, and could be bank and life saving all in one.

 

[timesinks]

I see a lot of posts mentioning installing a 60amp breaker for No. 6 THHN wire which is derated to 48amps under continuous load.

The No. 6 THHN is derated to keep heat down under the full 48amp EVSE load, but using a 60amp breaker will allow that circuit to run up to 60amps if things go sideways and could heat up to an unacceptable level.

Wouldn't a 50amp breaker be better protection for wire that's max rated (again at continuous load) at 48amps? The whole idea is you want to protect the wire from carrying a continuous load of over 48 amps for safety reasons.

Breakers are not as precise as most people think. They will trip for going overcurrent, but this can take much longer than you'd expect. For example, at double the rated current (100A on a 50A breaker), 10 seconds would be a reasonable expectation. What's more, a very-long-running 48A load on a 50A breaker could actually cause nuisance tripping from the heat since that breaker would only be rated to service a 40A continuous load.

THHN has 90C insulation, and you can use the 90C column as the starting point to derate for ambient temperature or multiple circuits in the same conduit. But breaker terminals are generally only 75C. If you are not running multiple circuits in your conduit (and if you don't have to de-rate for ambient temperatures), you should just go straight to the 75C column when sizing your wire (unless you're working with Romex or UF, both of which require use of the 60C column).

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