100 amp service not enough for 48 amp charging

[Gamma rays]

No, not at all. Just buy the 14-50 pigtail, land its wires appropriately, set the dip switches for a 50A circuit and there it is. People who have asked Rivian if this is OK in the past have been told that it is but that they discourage it.

That's interesting. I wonder if a licensed electrician would be willing to convert it as part of the installation for a NEMA plug. I have been debating between plug in vs. hardwire ever since I ordered a R1S and pretty much decided to go with plug in recently. If the conversion is "legally possible" (ie: no issue with home insurance, Rivian warranty, etc.), I would consider getting the Rivian EVSE because of its price (pre-March).

GR

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[bsaik]

I had a similar problem - I used to have an outlet for my 240V air compressor and we have a 240V line for our AirConditioner. I dedicated the outlet to our EV charger and needed a way to still plug in the AirCompressor. Since the compressor and conditioner are only used very sporadically, I decided to add an outlet to the 240 V circuit feeding the compressor. The problem is that it's a 50Amp circuit and if both AC's are running at the same time they would draw more than 50 amps.

I ended up using one of these -
https://www.leviton.com/en/products/1288
to switch between the compressor and outlet in the garage for the compressor so they cannot run at the same time. (I switched the 2 120V opposite phase hot wires, it would actually be better / more elegant to switch the neutral at the same time as well)

Not sure if it's code, but it works well and is safe. You could consider switching off the dryer line. The downside is that you have to go physically throw the switch to use one or the other appliance.

200Amp service with dedicated circuits would of course be better.

 

[R1Sky Business]

Did you have them quote an upgrade? When I had solar installed last year I had the service upgraded from 100 amp to 200 amp. It was 2500 for the new box, all new breakers, and all permits.

I thought the cost was reasonable.

Wow, what area in CA?

 

[SANZC02]

Orange County, electrician was hired by the solar company, they were out of Riverside County.

 

[godfodder0901]

That's interesting. I wonder if a licensed electrician would be willing to convert it as part of the installation for a NEMA plug. I have been debating between plug in vs. hardwire ever since I ordered a R1S and pretty much decided to go with plug in recently. If the conversion is "legally possible" (ie: no issue with home insurance, Rivian warranty, etc.), I would consider getting the Rivian EVSE because of its price (pre-March).

GR

The biggest problem is that with a plug, many local codes require a gfci breaker. Since there is a gfci built in to the EVSE, there can be issues. That's why it's discouraged, and this is Mentone in the Rivian Wall Charger installation guide.

 

[ajdelange]

it would actually be better / more elegant to switch the neutral at the same time as well)

Neutral isn't used by the compressor or EVSE.

 

[sub]

No, not at all. Just buy the 14-50 pigtail, land its wires appropriately, set the dip switches for a 50A circuit and there it is. People who have asked Rivian if this is OK in the past have been told that it is but that they discourage it.

That's interesting. I wonder if a licensed electrician would be willing to convert it as part of the installation for a NEMA plug. I have been debating between plug in vs. hardwire ever since I ordered a R1S and pretty much decided to go with plug in recently. If the conversion is "legally possible" (ie: no issue with home insurance, Rivian warranty, etc.), I would consider getting the Rivian EVSE because of its price (pre-March).

GR

I'm not an electrician, but I believe that the electric code says that the manufacturer's instructions must be followed - exactly. So, if the instructions say that it must be hardwired, then the only way to install it and be code compliant is to hardwire it. A licensed electrician must follow electric code, so they are unlikely to help you modify the charger unless they are just helping out as a friend rather than doing it on-the-job.

I agree that installing a plug should be fine and personally I would not hesitate to install it that way if I wanted to be able to move the charger periodically. But I do not think it would be code compliant (assuming that it is true that Rivian says don't do it that way).


Edit - I can think of one other reason why Rivian might be weary of advising people to set the charger for a 50 amp breaker and then installing a 14-50 cable. 14-50 outlets are permitted to be installed on 40 amp circuit breakers. Even if you know to only use your modified charger on circuits with 50 amp breakers, someone down the road could end up with your modified charger and not know that it was unsafe to plug it in to their 40-amp 14-50 outlet.

 

[bsaik]

Neutral isn't used by the compressor or EVSE.

You’re right. Forgot about that!

 

[Eeyore]

This is the secret reason I put in a new 200 AMP service on my son's house. He thinks it was to allow him to install a heat pump.

I am a licensed electrician in Oregon. His house is in Shoreline. I was there when the inspector came to look at the work, wearing my company sweatshirt. The only correction was to bond the hot and cold together at the water heater. I've never had to do that before.

I had to re-feed the old panel because the range wire wasn't long enough to reach the new panel.

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