HOME CHARGER OPTIONS

[Ohm Boy]

Hi!! Question and comment, and please forgive me if I missed someone else asking the same thing.

By “high speed” do you mean Level 2, as opposed to a regular 110 v? I assume so because I would imagine DC would both be REALLY expensive and might burn the neighborhood down. I clearly am NOT an electrician!!

Comment - “electrician” does not automatically equal “he”. And if any forum admin calls that a “political statement”, I’m going to go throw up in my R1T’s gear tunnel!!

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[tjrivian]

I’m contemplating installing a high-speed charger in my garage, although the roughly $3k cost to have an electricIan run a 50amp line to the garage has me thinking about not doing so. I only have a 6-mile commute to work, and get 1.7 kW (~3.5 miles/hour) out of an existing 20 amp line set to 16amp draw in the Rivian, so I’ll get 45 miles overnight. But when I occasionally drive long enough to require a 25% to 80% capacity recharge, it takes a marathon 2-day charging session. Anyway, here is my question: one electrician (I got 3 quotes) would install a 50amp 240v outlet and suggests just plugging the base Rivian home charger I have into that, and says I’ll get high speed charging. I mistakenly plugged my current charger into the 20 amp plug without lowering the Rivian amps and it pulled 34 amps before tripping the breaker, so with a 50 amp plug, I know I’d pull at least that. so Why pay extra for a Rivian or Chargepoint high speed charger?

Is the exsiting 20amp 120V line a dedicated circuit? If so, you might be able to just change the breaker from a 1-pole to a 2-pole and change the outlet from 5-20 to 6-20. That would get you a 240V 20amp circuit instead. It would charge at ~7miles/hour. The cost would be negligible. Perhaps that is good enough?

 

[CrazyOne]

EV charging from outlets has caused a few fires. I don't know how common the problem is though. $3k is a bit expensive! Cost me $1k.flr hardwired charger install.

At minimum, replace the outlet with the best one you can find and perhaps use a metal junction box for the outlet vs a plastic one. Disclaimer: I am not an electrician.

If you do run a new line, go for the highest size that will fit the charger you have. Also, individual conductors(called THHN?) provide more headroom than Romex. I asked my electrician to use the best one possible for all of 5 ft of wire I needed. He suggested above and I went with the recommendation. Also, install the EV breaker away from other breakers, if you have the space. The breaker get warm from EV charging and giving it room helps the breaker and others in the panel.

 

[RivianRiverRat]

Just had mine re-installed at new residence
$2700 for the following:
90amp breaker in main panel
50' of #2 AL in 1.5" contex
3 pull boxes
sub panel in workshop/carport w/60 amp and 20 amp breakers
light-switch-2 outlets on 12awg
Rivian wall charger on 6 awg
40' trench 18" deep
labor for 4

 

[DarthBrader]

You can reach out to a different electrician and ask what it would cost to get a NEMA 14-50 outlet installed for a welder in your garage. My guess is they are charging so much because you are asking for an EV wiring job.

It would also help to quote the job in northeast Philly instead of the Main Line. I got similarly high quotes for a simple 15-foot run from the panel, which I highly suspect was mainly because it’s an EV charger in a high rent district. There’s also Johnny Doc.

Also, 100% agree with advice to get 6 gauge THHN run in conduit. I suspect you’ll thank yourself later.

 

[cohall]

If the slow charging you are currently doing works for you most of the time, I personally wouldn’t go through the hassle and cost of the install. I’d save the money and simply spend 10-20 minutes at one of the nearby EA chargers before any of your expected longer trips. You could take your vehicle from 20-80% very quickly, and then just top off at home the night before your trip for any additional mileage you might need.

 

[beatle]

For OP, it sounds like slow charging is working for them, but many people (myself included) would recommend a wall mounted EVSE and at least one extra estimate on the cost since $3k is exorbitant. 6/2 Romex (no need for neutral on a hardwired install) isn't that expensive, and an unfinished basement will make for less finish work. I'd also recommend a Tesla UWC as the EVSE to get as Tesla EVSEs are very reliable and the UWC includes a built in NACS>>J1772 adapter.

 

[jraymonds]

I love my https://shop.tesla.com/product/universal-wall-connector. $550 and you can provision it yourself - though the Tesla software isn't the greatest experience on this front. You do need a professional to get it wired in, but I wouldn't go any other way. You get NACS and J1772 at the same time. If you want two in the same garage, you can use the same circuit and they will intelligently share the amps they are provisioned at.

 

[MainLineRiv]

Is the exsiting 20amp 120V line a dedicated circuit? If so, you might be able to just change the breaker from a 1-pole to a 2-pole and change the outlet from 5-20 to 6-20. That would get you a 240V 20amp circuit instead. It would charge at ~7miles/hour. The cost would be negligible. Perhaps that is good enough?

Thanks for the idea, yes, it is a dedicated circuit. The house has a “whole house” vacuum cleaner system we’ve never used, and the unit is in the garage next to it’s 20A 120V outlet. 7 miles /hour would be perfect, I’m half that now and it’s adequate. I’ll run your idea by our regular electrician and see what he says.

 

[SwampNut]

Why pay extra for a Rivian or Chargepoint high speed charger?

Most people shouldn't. I ran our Tesla on the free included charger for many years, and same with the Rivian when we got it. But the EVSE itself is dirt cheap; you can get them on Amazon for $250. They are all pretty much the same and expensive ones aren't better. The real cost is the wiring to get 50-60a to your location.

 

[MainLineRiv]

It would also help to quote the job in northeast Philly instead of the Main Line. I got similarly high quotes for a simple 15-foot run from the panel, which I highly suspect was mainly because it’s an EV charger in a high rent district. There’s also Johnny Doc.

Also, 100% agree with advice to get 6 gauge THHN run in conduit. I suspect you’ll thank yourself later.

Good idea, I’ve been suspecting that I’m getting the Main Line/EV markup. It’s why i had my new roof put on by an Amish contractor from Lancaster area last summer. Pretty sure Amish don’t work as electricians though. Only oddity to that is the Chargepoint online quote was also $3k, and they didn’t visit. Garage is on a slab, but unfinished basement runs to the head wall of the garage, where the existing outlet comes from (opposite side is closet in mud room with sheetrock). Not trying to make excuses for $3k quotes, but maybe that adds some level of complexity. If you have any recommendations on electricians, please DM me

 

[SwampNut]

Pretty sure Amish don’t work as electricians though.

Amish philosophy is greatly misunderstood, and yes, there are Amish electricians. What you think you know about them and electricity is just not accurate.

 

[moosetags]

When we began this EV journey, we were complete neophytes. SuEllyn placed her Rivian deposit on November 28, 2018. When we finally got our Opal (our R1T), we had been on this Forum for a couple of years. We had learned quite a bit, but still had no real life EV experience.

We had purchased the Rivian Wall Charger with the truck, and got it for $500. The installation and wiring of the wall charger ended up costing us a little over $3,000. Our installation required a new circuit breaker box on our thirty year old house. From this new box, we ran two separate circuits, a 50 amp and a 60 amp. This wiring had to be run in metal conduit for about a 30' distance from the outside box into our garage. The Rivian Wall Charge was installed on the 60 amp breaker. We added an additional 14-50 outlet on the 50 amp breaker on the wall near the Rivian charger. We decided to do this as a backup in case of a malfunction of the wall charger.

We have been very satisfied with this installation. We get a charge rate of 26 mph on the wall charger and 17 mph using the Rivian portable charger cord plugged into the 14-50 wall outlet.

Brian

 

[tjrivian]

Others asked, but you haven't responded - what exactly are you using now that gets you 3.5 miles/hour? We have to assume it's the Rivian mobile charger with the 14-50 on it and an adapter that converts the 14-50 into a 5-15 or 5-20 that you plug into your 120V 20amp outlet, and that you manually set the charge limit to 16A in the Rivian. But can you confirm that?

If that's what you're doing, and the 120V 20Amp circuit is a dedicated circuit like you mentioned in the other post, then literally all you need to do(assuming you have 1 spare slot in your panel) is change the breaker from 1-pole to 2-pole and you'll immediately double your charging rate. This will cost you ~$20, and take no more than 15 minutes of your time.

 

[MainLineRiv]

Others asked, but you haven't responded - what exactly are you using now that gets you 3.5 miles/hour? We have to assume it's the Rivian mobile charger with the 14-50 on it and an adapter that converts the 14-50 into a 5-15 or 5-20 that you plug into your 120V 20amp outlet, and that you manually set the charge limit to 16A in the Rivian. But can you confirm that?

If that's what you're doing, and the 120V 20Amp circuit is a dedicated circuit like you mentioned in the other post, then literally all you need to do(assuming you have 1 spare slot in your panel) is change the breaker from 1-pole to 2-pole and you'll immediately double your charging rate. This will cost you ~$20, and take no more than 15 minutes of your time.

I did answer yesterday see thread #8: “Thanks for the input and yes, you are correct, I’ve ‘fooled’ the OEM Rivian portable charger with an aftermarket connector to the 120v 20A outlet in my garage. I just have to remember to set the Rivian to draw 16A.”

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