NEMA 6-50 install - I did it today - it can be almost trivial…it took me 2 hours!

[daveo4EV]

today was an example of a Trivial 50 amp install - my son graduated College and is starting his new job Aug 22 - he got an apartment in the city near work - and his land lord approved me adding a 50 amp circuit NEMA 6-50 plug to his apartment

it took two hours of labor (could've done it in an hour but I was training my son to do the work)

the parts I needed were:

• $8.88 - https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00C3YCS...roduct_details - electrical wire clamps
• $49.99 - high quality NEMA 6-50 outlet - https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00E2XPB...roduct_details
• $13.50 - 4" x 4" x 2 1/8" electrical box - https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B08TRC7D...roduct_details
• $40.25 - 50 amp breaker - https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0052ME6...roduct_details
• $3.91 - face plate for the NEMA 6-50 plug - https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B000FP8I...roduct_details
• $99 - 25 ft of 6/2 Cooper wire - https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07R73DH...roduct_details

total parts cost = $215.53 - more than 50% of cost is 3 items - high-quality outlet, breaker, wire ($189.24 87%)

the install was Trivial because the main 200 amp panel was on the opposite side of the wall from from the Garage - here are the pics…new parts are circled in RED

if you have room in your main panel for a new breaker - and the main panel is located close to your garage - this does not have to be a big deal - however it can be way way way more expensive IF your panel is full and not well located vs. your garage.

so $250 in parts and two hours of labor (could've been an hour) - and boom we have a 50 amp EV charging circuit - I had 15 ft of left over wire which I'm going to make into an NEMA 6-50 extension cord.

 

[daveo4EV]

I have also ordered one of these - so effectively this is a NEMA 6-50 _OR_ 14-50 install…

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07LGLJ26N/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[WaltB]

Just out of curiosity, since you were already there, why not install the NEMA 14-50 instead? Having a neutral wire offers more flexibility with other applications and costs just a little more on the parts costs.
Nice looking install otherwise.

 

[daveo4EV]

Just out of curiosity, since you were already there, why not install the NEMA 14-50 instead? Having a neutral wire offers more flexibility with other applications and costs just a little more on the parts costs.

actually wire was hard to come by - finding reasonable sources of 6 gauge wire for less than 100 ft that didn't cost way way too much money was harder than I thought it should be

but I prefer the 6-50 because it's going to be for EV only - not my house - and I don't want the plug to be applicable to a wider range of applications - it's such a short run that if the owner ever wanted to "upgrade" to a NEMA 14-50 it could be easily handled

mostly I was focused on minimally viable EV charging circuit - and 6-50 is all you really need - and it's one less thick-gauge wire to wrangle in the 4x4 box…and the neutral is "unused/dormant/idle" for most of it's life if all you ever do is EV charging - and the extra copper 6-gauge wire (6/3 instead of 6/2 @ 25ft was when I checked $175'ish vs. the $99 I paid for the 6/2)

 

[WaltB]

Sounds good. I went ahead and installed 2, NEMA 14-50s, since I was there. One on either side of the circuit breaker panel. I did discover I can not charge the Taycan in this spot because the hot battery air was blowing on the charger and it was shutting down and giving me an overheat message. No problem charging in the middle garage spot though.

 

[snstevens]

Sounds good. I went ahead and installed 2, NEMA 14-50s, since I was there. One on either side of the circuit breaker panel. I did discover I can not charge the Taycan in this spot because the hot battery air was blowing on the charger and it was shutting down and giving me an overheat message. No problem charging in the middle garage spot though.

I had a similar “overheat” problem recently since it summer weather here in Seattle.

I found if I lowered the charging current to 38 Amp from 40 Amp, the problem why away, and the overall time to charge to 85% is hardly affected.

 

[Tooney]

mostly I was focused on minimally viable EV charging circuit - and 6-50 is all you really need - and it's one less thick-gauge wire to wrangle in the 4x4 box…and the neutral is "unused/dormant/idle" for most of it's life if all you ever do is EV charging - and the extra copper 6-gauge wire (6/3 instead of 6/2 @ 25ft was when I checked $175'ish vs. the $99 I paid for the 6/2)

And your Hubbell 6-50 receptacle cost almost 50% less than the Hubbell 14-50 which is $96. When I read you had purchased a $49 receptacle, I thought, oh noes, don't tell me @daveo4EV used an inferior receptacle.... My faith is restored.

 

[Tooney]

I have also ordered one of these - so effectively this is a NEMA 6-50 _OR_ 14-50 install…

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07LGLJ26N/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

1. Is this kind of adapter (aka extension cord) suitable for use with a PMC+ on a road trip to expand the possible receptacles for charging the car if unable to find standard public charger?

2. I thought there was some issue/code matter which recommends not extending the length of the cable supplying power from the wall receptacle to a plug-in/portable EVSE.

Trying to understand my options for using my PMC+ as a backup on road trips.

 

[daveo4EV]

1. Is this kind of adapter (aka extension cord) suitable for use with a PMC+ on a road trip to expand the possible receptacles for charging the car if unable to find standard public charger?

2. I thought there was some issue/code matter which recommends not extending the length of the cable supplying power from the wall receptacle to a plug-in/portable EVSE.

Trying to understand my options for using my PMC+ as a backup on road trips.

this is a great option for an EV road warrior kit - and one I recommend - I have a very very hard time believing 14" additional inches of wire/cable is honestly any risk what so ever

there is NO risk (or minimal risk) to using adapters like this as long as you're bridging the same "amps"

in this case we're simply converting one type of 240V/50 amp plug to another 240V/50 amp plug so we're good

a full kit would be
NEMA 14-50 supply cable
NEMA 6-50 adapter
NEMA 10-50 adapter (although I've never seen/encountered a 10-50 plug - I hear they exist)

since the PMC+/PMCC only use 3 wires - two hots + ground - there is no issue with any of these adapters…

it's bad juju to use like a NEMA 6-30 male plug to a NEMA 14-50 female and then plug in your PMCC/PMC+ - the NEMA 6-30 plug is a 30 amp circuit, and your PMCC/PMC+ would still "think" it's a 50 amp supply cable and promptly attempt to pull 40 amps across a 30 amp circuit - because it doesn't "know" you're using an adapter

same amp to amp adapters are minimal risk - changing amps via an adapter should be avoided because you're likely to confuse the EVSE and it won't know you're using an adapter…

when using a pig-tail like this I would make sure all the connections are well seated, not stressed, have no gaps, and certainly wouldn't use them in wet conditions - the risk is a short/spark due to an air-gap and exposed plug-metal at the point of interface of the male/female plugs/recepticals.

 

[daveo4EV]

1. Is this kind of adapter (aka extension cord) suitable for use with a PMC+ on a road trip to expand the possible receptacles for charging the car if unable to find standard public charger?

2. I thought there was some issue/code matter which recommends not extending the length of the cable supplying power from the wall receptacle to a plug-in/portable EVSE.

Trying to understand my options for using my PMC+ as a backup on road trips.

https://www.taycanforum.com/forum/t...and-useful-road-warrior-ev-charging-kit.6812/

adapters are a great way to "expand" your repertoire of NEMA plugs without purchasing very expensive specific supply cables…

50 amp plugs
NEMA 14-50 "native" supply cable

NEMA 6-50 to 14-50R adapter​

NEMA NEMA SS2-50P (marine shore power) to 14-50 adapter​

NEMA 10-50 to 14-50R adatper​

30 amp plugs
NEMA 14-30 "native" supply cable

NEMA 6-30 to 14-30R adapter​

NEMA 10-30 to 14-30R adapter​

NEMA TT-30 to 14-30R adapter - RV Park 120V 30 amp power supply (2.88 kW) - click link - this works I've tested on my 2020 Taycan - charges fine​

NEMA 14-30L to 14-30R - have to probably build this one - but allows you to use a 30 amp generator​

* - turns out the supply cables only "indicate/configue" amps - the voltage really doesn't matter and the EVSE and the vehicle just kinda "takes" what ever is being delivered in terms of voltage - so it really doesn't matter what the voltage is (as long as it's a valid electrical circuit) once you have the AMP settings sorted via the correct supply cable…

so if you managed to bridge a NEMA TT-30 outlet (120V @ 30 amps - 24 amp charge rate) to your NEMA 14-30 supply cable on your PMC+/PMCC - the PMC+/PMCC will just happily tootle along at 2.88 kw (120V * 24 amps) - because as long as the 3 wires are "powered" (in this case hot+neutral+ground) it will just pull 24 amps and in terms of watts it gets what ever it can get…

RV Parks have NEMA 14-50 _OR_ TT-30 outlets - 2.88 kW off of a TT-30 is better than nothing if you're stuck with few options and way better than a normal household outlet at 1.44 kW…twice as good in fact.

I can go on and on and on - but you get the idea

one you get one "XX" amp supply cable for an EVSE any EVSE - you can adapt to all the other plug types with shorter/pigtail adapters since you're not "converting" amps just physical shape of the plug

 

[daveo4EV]

for those willing to play along at home - you should never ever do what I'm suggesting below in the spoiler section…

a cheap & dangerous never to be done unless you do not value your life way to get a 240V outlet is to do the following

• Get a heavy duty NEMA 5-15 outlet
• purchase a 240V 15 amp breaker (not a 120V breaker)
• from the breaker wire the two hots from different phases from the breaker to the "hot" and "neutral" of the outlet - NOTE: we're using the neutral side of the outlet as a "hot" now…
• wire up the outlet's ground as normal
• use 12 or 10 gauge wire
• NEVER PLUG IN A NORMAL HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCE INTO THIS OUTLET - BECAUSE IT'S NOW A 240V OUTLET
• plug your PMC+/PMCC into this "special" outlet - note that it still pulls only 12 amps but now since the outlet is delivering 240V not 120V - so your Taycan/EV will charge twice as fast from the 240V power delivery
• the correct plug for this is a NEMA 6-15 - and you could find/purchase a NEMA 6-15 to 5-15 adapter and your PMCC will happily charge at 240V because the amps (15) is unchanged…

let me emphasize NEVER EVER DO THIS UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES AND I REFUSE ANY LIABLITY IF YOU DO DO THIS AND SOMETHING GOES WRONG - but it's a mental exercise to illuminate how all this stuff works.

voltage doesn't matter - AMP's matter - once you get the AMP's "sorted" via the correct supply cable to your EVSE (so that it advertised the correct number of AMP's for a given circuit to your EV) - converting one plug shape to another plug shape for the same AMP circuits really is not and should not be an issue.

 

[Jhenson29]

voltage doesn't matter - AMP's matter

Electrical devices have voltage ratings also though. 5-15 is not rated for 240V.

 

[daveo4EV]

Electrical devices have voltage ratings also though. 5-15 is not rated for 240V.

I agree and understand your point - but the 16/14/12 gauge wire used for all NEMA 5-15 plugs are all rated for 15/12 amps (both the hot and neutral in this case are normally identical an only differ in color of insulation) - and 600V volts - but each wire only will carry 120 v - so they are not technically rated for 240V - but there is no actual physical difference in the metals, connectors or actual wire used for the 3 wires for a NEMA 5-15/5-20 vs. a NEMA 6-15/6-20 plug - I know I've taken them apart - and the building codes for the wire gauge/rating for a NEMA 5-15/5-20 and 6-15/6-20 are identical…

but this is why you should never ever do this - it's not technically "supported" or allowed…

the PMC+/PMCC plug handles 2.88 kW just as well as it handles 1.44 kW…

but yeah - technically it's only rated for 120V - if you're not comfortable playing with this - don't do it!! ignore the post.

 

[JimBob]

One additional point for a high quality installation. You need to ensure that the connectors are properly seated at both the receptacle and the panel to prevent arcing. Better quality receptacles and breakers will indicate how the screws should be torqued. You can find low cost torque screw drivers on Amazon. Arcing from loose connectors is a major cause of electrical fires and whenever you see a plug with scorch marks on it, arcing is the likely cause.

 

[Tooney]

RV Parks have NEMA 14-50 _OR_ TT-30 outlets - 2.88 kW off of a TT-30 is better than nothing if you're stuck with few options and way better than a normal household outlet at 1.44 kW…twice as good in fact.

I can go on and on and on - but you get the idea

one you get one "XX" amp supply cable for an EVSE any EVSE - you can adapt to all the other plug types with shorter/pigtail adapters since you're not "converting" amps just physical shape of the plug

Thank you for the information.
I want to ensure I understand.

If I have a PMC+ with two supply cables: a NEMA 14-50 and a 125v 15 amp cable (assume it's NEMA 6-15 plug), and I want to charge my Taycan at an RV park in US, at more than 15 amps:
--I need to find a park that provides 50-amp hookups (which use NEMA 14-50 receptacle).
and
--I should not try to connect adapters to either of those two supply cables to try to get a 30-amp park hookup to power the PMC+.
Is that correct?

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