Home charging opinion wanted

[Freshturk]

Looking for opinions.

Currently have a 14-30 outlet in my garage. Can buy a charger for about $200 and get about 6kwh which should be fine given that I’m unlikely to be needing big charges frequently. Alternatively I can spend about $800 to have a 14-50 installed in its place and then another $400 for a 40amp charger and get almost double the speed.

Seems like a rather large investment for not a significantly faster charging rate. I didn’t want tk wire the charger in as I thought it would be easier down the line to upgrade this way.

Thoughts?

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[godfodder0901]

Use an adapter and the supplied mobile charger...

 

[pc500]

This is not an irreversible decision so just try charging at 30 amps for a month and if you don't like it upgrade.

 

[Freshturk]

would I then just need to dial down the charging in the vehicle itself? My truck doesn’t arrive until tomorrow

 

[ajdelange]

You will never be sorry that you bought more charging capacity than you needed. The converse is not true. So my advice is to spend as much as you are comfortable spending and hardwire install a 48A charger (60A circuit).

This is from the perspective of a old guy who has done OK in life and who realizes there are no pockets in the shroud.

 

[Deleted member 6231]

Unless you are driving 150+ mi/day, I’d say go with pc500 advice and try 30amp for a month. I’ve had Tesla since 2013 and never need anything other than 30amp service. However, I don’t drive more than 30-40 mi/day.

 

[pc500]

You're not incurring any costs by prolonging the decision other than minimally if you decide to purchase a dedicated charger. If You have the rivian charger you can put a plug on it there are dip switches which can downrate the charging and you can always flip later to draw more power.

Otherwise I would recommend you purchase a dedicated charger off Amazon specific for your outlet size.

To get by for now you can simply lower the charge rate on the truck, in the interest of safety and saving accidents if it gets reset at some point I always prefer having the charger send a signal of the max rate it can deliver and not relying on the truck to limit consumption. This requires buying a separate charger which you probably want to leave in the garage anyways.

 

[nfrank]

If you go the route of having a 14-50 outlet installed, you should consider hardwiring with 6awg wire so you can get the full spec 48amp charging. If you're dead set on having a 14-50 outlet, still wire it with 6awg so that you can change your mind later. The Rivian batteries are big and I expect I'm going to want to max out the 48amp charging at home.

 

[godfodder0901]

Ultimately, there will be a delay in the installation of new EVSE anyway. You'll need to charge before that, and using the in place 30 amp with the included mobile charger (you'll need to buy/build an adapter as the Rivian does not come with one) for a time anyway.

 

[ajdelange]

The Rivian batteries are big and I expect I'm going to want to max out the 48amp charging at home.

This is a very good point. It's not so much that the battery is big as it is that the consumption is so high: around 500 Wh/mi (which is, of course, why the battery is so big). If you drive 100 mi per day you will need to replace 50 kWh per day,

 

[Freshturk]

I’m new to EVs so excuse my ignorance.

would I need anything more than this + rivian charger and then dial down the amperage in the vehicle?

CircleCord NEMA 14-30P to 14-50R EV Charger Adapter Cord Compatible with EV, 30 Amp Dryer to 50 Amp EV for Level 2 Charging https://a.co/cHE8K5o

 

[ajdelange]

I’ve had Tesla since 2013 and never need anything other than 30amp service.

I've never really needed more than 30 A either but have used up to 72 (L2) to advantage many times.

 

[time]

More than you need is better. The charger is more of a long term investment than the truck. Had mine $600 charge point since 2015. Going strong. Plus a lot of utilities offer rebates on them.

 

[godfodder0901]

I’m new to EVs so excuse my ignorance.

would I need anything more than this + rivian charger and then dial down the amperage in the vehicle?

CircleCord NEMA 14-30P to 14-50R EV Charger Adapter Cord Compatible with EV, 30 Amp Dryer to 50 Amp EV for Level 2 Charging https://a.co/cHE8K5o

That's the exact adapter I have in the truck right now. That plus dial down the amperage (24 amp for 30 amp circuit) and you'll be golden.

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