Tesla charging station

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sunbear said:
Here's a picture of my garage with the likely path (in red) that conduit would take in order to be hidden after sheet rocking.
The charger would be mounted in the corner next to the garage door
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EMT in what you've shown wouldn't be a problem so if that's what you want insist that they use it. If the contractor still says that it's a problem you probably need a more experienced contractor.
 
infinity said:
EMT in what you've shown wouldn't be a problem so if that's what you want insist that they use it.
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Stupid question: how do you run it through all the joists? If you drill holes 2" up from the bottom of the joist, is a stick of the requisite diameter sufficiently flexible you can get it to slide in from below? Or do you just have to use a bunch of 30" pieces?

Cheers, Wayne
 
wwhitney said:
Stupid question: how do you run it through all the joists? If you drill holes 2" up from the bottom of the joist, is a stick of the requisite diameter sufficiently flexible you can get it to slide in from below? Or do you just have to use a bunch of 30" pieces?

Cheers, Wayne
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Typically you would use short pieces as you've suggested and several couplings.
 
sunbear said:
Here's a picture of my garage with the likely path (in red) that conduit would take in order to be hidden after sheet rocking.
The charger would be mounted in the corner next to the garage door
View attachment 2558191
Click to expand...
Two questions:

1. Do you intend to sheetrock the ceiling? If not, this would be a piece of cake: the conduit can be surface mounted to the bottom of the joists.

2. If you do intend to sheetrock the ceiling, I see no reason to go above the top plate; just stay in the wall and go up high enough to clear the side door. And why not make things easier by coming down the same wall as the panel (next to the door, where the shovel handle is resting)?
 
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1. Not initially, but I want to reserve the option to do so easily. Therefore I would prefer that the conduit run either through or above the ceiling joists

2. The handle on the tesla charger is on the right. So it will be easier to de-holster it if the charger is located at the area shown in my picture above. I guess I will need to ask the electrician what the cost difference would be to have the ideal location

infinity said:
EMT in what you've shown wouldn't be a problem so if that's what you want insist that they use it. If the contractor still says that it's a problem you probably need a more experienced contractor.
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Does anyone have any suggestions for a more experienced electrical contractor serving Essex County, NJ who is also fair in terms of pricing?
 
sunbear said:
2. The handle on the tesla charger is on the right. So it will be easier to de-holster it if the charger is located at the area shown in my picture above. I guess I will need to ask the electrician what the cost difference would be to have the ideal location
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Perhaps it's an optical illusion, but from your photo, there appears to be at least as much space between the side door and the corner as there is between the corner and the garage door track.

Personally, I don't like installing anything in the small space next to the garage door track. And ergonomically, it will be more awkward to unholster/reholster the charger handle if you install it as planned.
 
Would it be worth considering mounting it right next to the panel instead of by the roll up door? Don't they have a fairly long cord. Do you intend to have the car inside the garage while charging?
 
Barbqranch said:
Would it be worth considering mounting it right next to the panel instead of by the roll up door? Don't they have a fairly long cord. Do you intend to have the car inside the garage while charging?
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The Tesla charging port is located at the left-rear corner of the vehicle. I'm sure that's the motivation for the OP's placement of the charger.
 
LarryFine said:
I would use 4-4-4-x aluminum SER.
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Pretty sure the product specifies copper only for the internal connections. So you could do that with a NEMA 14-60 Al/Cu receptacle and a NEMA 14-60p cord with copper conductors, assuming the internal lugs are rated for the stranding of the cord conductors, and the cord is at most 12" long. And depending on what version of the NEC applies and which TIAs if any have been adopted, you provide GFCI protection for the receptacle.

Or you could hardwire with a junction box to copper conductors for the EVSE, but you'd only need 4-4-x Al SEU coming in.

Or you could just hardwire with 4/2 NM or 6-6-6 copper SEU. Or any other 60A copper wiring method.

Cheers, Wayne
 
sunbear said:
Here's a picture of my garage with the likely path (in red) that conduit would take in order to be hidden after sheet rocking.
The charger would be mounted in the corner next to the garage door
View attachment 2558191
Click to expand...
You need a different electrician. He's being lazy IMO. I've run EMT through studs and rafters plenty of times before. Yes, you use short pieces and lots of couplings. And yes, you have to make sure the holes are drilled straight(ish) and that they're all in a straight line. It's not rocket science. I'd oversize the conduit to ensure any future upgrades are easy / possible.

That said, MC cable is a good option if you have no plans to ever upgrade to a higher capacity charger.


SceneryDriver
 
SceneryDriver said:
You need a different electrician. He's being lazy IMO. I've run EMT through studs and rafters plenty of times before. Yes, you use short pieces and lots of couplings. And yes, you have to make sure the holes are drilled straight(ish) and that they're all in a straight line. It's not rocket science. I'd oversize the conduit to ensure any future upgrades are easy / possible.

That said, MC cable is a good option if you have no plans to ever upgrade to a higher capacity charger.


SceneryDriver
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Or use Flex. But if you drill it right maybe a little oversized, I have been able to get thru 3 or 4 joist or stud sections before a splice point. Biggest point of interference will be the wall/ceiling transition.
 
SceneryDriver said:
You need a different electrician. He's being lazy IMO. I've run EMT through studs and rafters plenty of times before. Yes, you use short pieces and lots of couplings. And yes, you have to make sure the holes are drilled straight(ish) and that they're all in a straight line. It's not rocket science. I'd oversize the conduit to ensure any future upgrades are easy / possible.
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Thanks for everyone's helpful advice so far.

Does anyone know any electricians in the Essex County, New Jersey area who would be willing and capable of running conduit through studs? If so, please can you send a direct message to me with the contact details?

The electricians I've spoken to so far don't seem willing and confident about being able to do this. One electrician told me that if he were to use 90 degree conduit couplings (to make the turns required to follow the path from the electrical panel around the top of the side door and then down) then every 90 degree coupling would need to remain accessible through the sheetrock. He say that code requires this. Is this correct?

He said that the code requirement for accessibility doesn't apply if the pipe is bent using a pipe bending tool, but he doesn't think that there is enough space to be able to make the bends and avoid 90 degree elbow couplings (the studs are spaced 16" on center).

If couplings are necessary and need to remain accessible, how is this requirement typically achieved? Is an electrical box installed at each 90 degree turn and is a hole left in the sheet rock for each box?
 
sunbear said:
Thanks for everyone's helpful advice so far.

Does anyone know any electricians in the Essex County, New Jersey area who would be willing and capable of running conduit through studs? If so, please can you send a direct message to me with the contact details?

The electricians I've spoken to so far don't seem willing and confident about being able to do this. One electrician told me that if he were to use 90 degree conduit couplings (to make the turns required to follow the path from the electrical panel around the top of the side door and then down) then every 90 degree coupling would need to remain accessible through the sheetrock. He say that code requires this. Is this correct?

He said that the code requirement for accessibility doesn't apply if the pipe is bent using a pipe bending tool, but he doesn't think that there is enough space to be able to make the bends and avoid 90 degree elbow couplings (the studs are spaced 16" on center).

If couplings are necessary and need to remain accessible, how is this requirement typically achieved? Is an electrical box installed at each 90 degree turn and is a hole left in the sheet rock for each box?
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An LB (conduit body) does need to remain accessible. Conduit couplings do not need to remain accessible. Your photo does seem to show some tight bends that could be difficult to bend and install in EMT. I'd use MC cable with copper conductors.


SceneryDriver
 
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