Rivian Charger wiring fail

[Boges]

I just built a house and had it hardwired with 240 into the garage specifically for a Level 2 charger. After several unsuccessful attempts to connect my Rivian charger, I discovered my house aluminum wiring, and the Rivian, and apparently most chargers, require copper wiring.

Anyone know of any work arounds, or did I get screwed by the builder...

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[Dark-Fx]

You can run copper wire instead. I'm not aware of anything that only supports aluminum. (You shouldn't use aluminum for EV charging because the coefficient of expansion is super high compared to copper)

 

[aw113sgte]

You can run copper wire instead. I'm not aware of anything that only supports aluminum. (You shouldn't use aluminum for EV charging because the coefficient of expansion is super high compared to copper)

As long as the wiring gauge is appropriate, there is no reason aluminum wouldn't work. Yes it has higher resistance but a larger gauge wire compensates for that. That said I don't know about code issues.

 

[Dark-Fx]

As long as the wiring gauge is appropriate, there is no reason aluminum wouldn't work. Yes it has higher resistance but a larger gauge wire compensates for that. That said I don't know about code issues.

Aluminum wire expands and contracts more than copper. It can cause terminals designed for copper wire to loosen over time since the wiring can actually get flattened out from the expansion.

 

[aw113sgte]

Aluminum wire expands and contracts more than copper. It can cause terminals designed for copper wire to loosen over time since the wiring can actually get flattened out from the expansion.

Interesting. Never heard of it being much of a real world concern when using screw terminals.

 

[Dark-Fx]

Interesting. Never heard of it being much of a real world concern when using screw terminals.

Generally it isn't, but EV wiring is susceptible to this because it ends up being thermal cycled a lot.

 

[MoreTrout]

So here is what I had my electrician install last August. We discussed future proofing it, so he ran wire capable of supporting up to an 80A load for when we eventually become a 2 EV household and could buy an EVSE capable of running 2 40A loads. He ran aluminum from the subpanel to that grey box about a foot above the outlet, then transitioned to copper wire to the outlet for what I need now.

So for the OP, this would look to me like it would be possible to have a short transition from aluminum to copper done over a short distance without having to pay the much more expensive option of replacing the wire all the way to the panel. Based on the input above, it is the expansion at the terminal that is the problem. Does that sound right to those with much more expertise than me?

(And yes, I forked out the $8 or $9 for the cheapest cable hook and plug holder on Amazon since this picture was taken so nothing is lying on the ground or perched on the rain barrel, lol.)

 

[VSG]

You can't connect the Rivian charger directly to aluminum. That's true of lots of things. The way to do it is exactly what the electrician did in the above post by @MoreTrout. In this case, the "expansion at the terminal" takes place inside the junction box, and I'm sure the electrician used a code-compliant method to transition between aluminum and copper.

 

[lakeeriemonster]

I have a similar install except the splice between 4 gauge aluminum and 6 gauge copper is happening inside the box. Now having charging issues with the unit and am being told by Rivian that wire needs to be swapped to copper before they'll entertain idea of unit failure. FYI in case you have issues.

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