Positioning of NEMA 14-50 on wall

[IrwinJ]

Here’s a NEMA 14-50 diagram I found. Does it mean the outlet should be mounted with the hole for the ground prong on top??

my electrician is coming this morning so I hope someone can quickly advise, thanks!

Sponsored

 

[madeyong]

Here’s a NEMA 14-50 diagram I found. Does it mean the outlet should be mounted with the hole for the ground prong on top??

my electrician is coming this morning so I hope someone can quickly advise, thanks!

The quick answer is it depends on what you are using for your EVSE (what people refer to as the charger). The standard NEMA 14-50 outlet placement has the ground on the top. If you are using the PMCC like many of us do, you want to flip the outlet to have the ground on the bottom. That will give you the best placement for the PMCC, especially if you are using the Porsche charging dock. It’s not documented in the instructions but there are many posts on the forum about this.

 

[IrwinJ]

The quick answer is it depends on what you are using for your EVSE (what people refer to as the charger). The standard NEMA 14-50 outlet placement has the ground on the top. If you are using the PMCC like many of us do, you want to flip the outlet to have the ground on the bottom. That will give you the best placement for the PMCC, especially if you are using the Porsche charging dock. It’s not documented in the instructions but there are many posts on the forum about this.

I am using the optional Porsche Mobile Charger Connect with 25" cable. Somewhere I saw a video saying with that charger I should mount the outlet around eye level and the charger below it because the plug cable comes out of the top. So when the plug cable comes of the top and goes straight up, does that position the ground on top? I think so but need to see a picture of the plug cable to be sure.

 

[IrwinJ]

I think I have the answer: look at this video at this spot, he's holding the charge plug which shows that if you grab the cord with the plug toward the ceiling, the ground prong is on top of the plug. Since I'm going to mount the PMMC below the outlet because the charge plug comes out the top of it, then the outlet should be installed with the hole for the ground prong on top. Am I understanding this correctly?

 

[raharris]

If you are using the dock install as indicated; in the image you can see why. If you are not using dock, you could install outlet higher so that the display is at a level you can interact with.

 

[madeyong]

I am using the optional Porsche Mobile Charger Connect with 25" cable. Somewhere I saw a video saying with that charger I should mount the outlet around eye level and the charger below it because the plug cable comes out of the top. So when the plug cable comes of the top and goes straight up, does that position the ground on top? I think so but need to see a picture of the plug cable to be sure.

When the cable that has the plug comes straight out the top of the PMCC the ground of that plug is on the top. However, you would have to install the outlet well above eye level in order to be able to easily have the screen on the PMCC be eye level this way (so that the cable has a place to go). You can do it that way for sure. I think you’ll find a better/more aesthetically pleasing way is to mount the outlet upside down just below eye level and then mount the PMCC to the side of the outlet. The cable will come out the top and loop around to plug into the outlet right next to it. That’s when you need the ground on the bottom (since you’re flipping the plug’s direction when it loops over). If you want to mount the PMCC in the charging dock then you really have to do it this latter way. If not then you can do it both ways but I think it looks better with the outlet flipped. I’m assuming you don’t have the PMCC yet? If you do it’s super obvious to show your electrician what I’m talking about.

 

[madeyong]

I think I have the answer: look at this video at this spot, he's holding the charge plug which shows that if you grab the cord with the plug toward the ceiling, the ground prong is on top of the plug. Since I'm going to mount the PMMC below the outlet because the charge plug comes out the top of it, then the outlet should be installed with the hole for the ground prong on top. Am I understanding this correctly?

Look at the 30:20 mark of the video you cite. That should clear everything up for you.

 

[IrwinJ]

If you are using the dock install as indicated; in the image you can see why. If you are not using dock, you could install outlet higher so that the display is at a level you can interact with.

that picture is really helpful. So The top of the plug is the ground prong correct? I haven’t thought about reading the output on the charge unit.. Is that something I can do from My Porsche app? I ask because I don’t think I can mount the charge unit next to the outlet because both of them probably need to go on a wall joist, and I’m guessing the studs are about 18 inches apart. So if both the charge unit and the outlet need to be bolted to the same stud, I guess I need to put the outlet above my head so that the charging it is at eye level. Unless of course I don’t need to read the information on the charge unit since I will be accessing it via My Porsche app.

 

[raharris]

Normally, top pin is ground I believe; for the install like in the picture, the outlet is considered “upside-down”. As for mounting, when using the dock, it’s primary fixings are in the centre. So for me, the outlet was attached on the right-hand side to the stud and then the dock affixed to the same stud (with coach bolts); i actually also used a couple of dry wall fixings for the other two fixing points to remove any movement (but not really load bearing). Without the dock, you will not be able to use the same stud - maybe consider mounting a board between the two studs so you can position the charger more freely? Or place the outlet higher than normal and have the plug tail come straight down Into the unit.

 

[madeyong]

I’m not an electrician and don’t know if the NEMA outlet has to go into a stud (for me I had plenty of options for mounting because I used the dock vs just the PMCC itself). You can also probably use drywall anchors for the PMCC mounting.

But if you want to install the PMCC and the outlet vertically aligned then I would mount the PMCC eye level and the outlet (normal way ground up) about 15-17” above eye level. Then you have them on the same stud.

 

[raharris]

that picture is really helpful. So The top of the plug is the ground prong correct? I haven’t thought about reading the output on the charge unit.. Is that something I can do from My Porsche app? I ask because I don’t think I can mount the charge unit next to the outlet because both of them probably need to go on a wall joist, and I’m guessing the studs are about 18 inches apart. So if both the charge unit and the outlet need to be bolted to the same stud, I guess I need to put the outlet above my head so that the charging it is at eye level. Unless of course I don’t need to read the information on the charge unit since I will be accessing it via My Porsche app.

You can see the car’s perspective of the charging; charging rate, time to charge etc in the app and will get a notification on charging complete. I very rarely interact with/view the screen (I just made an update to reduce the power from 40A to 30A; the unit was getting slightly warm and as I don’t have a charging time crunch i knocked the rate down - still plenty enough time for an overnight charge. It was no uncomfortable to touch or anything concerning enough to think it might overheat/catch-fire - but I wanted to err on the side of caution).

 

[IrwinJ]

Normally, top pin is ground I believe; for the install like in the picture, the outlet is considered “upside-down”. As for mounting, when using the dock, it’s primary fixings are in the centre. So for me, the outlet was attached on the right-hand side to the stud and then the dock affixed to the same stud (with coach bolts); i actually also used a couple of dry wall fixings for the other two fixing points to remove any movement (but not really load bearing). Without the dock, you will not be able to use the same stud - maybe consider mounting a board between the two studs so you can position the charger more freely? Or place the outlet higher than normal and have the plug tail come straight down Into the unit.

Yes you’re right a board across the studs would allow me to mount both the charge unit and the outlet side-by-side. But the electrician is on his way and I don’t feel like messing around with drywall and boards, so I think I’ll just have them put the outlet about 15 inches above the charge unit, and I’ll have the charging it about the level of my nose. Thanks everyone for your help, I needed it!

 

[tomdfw1]

Here’s a NEMA 14-50 diagram I found. Does it mean the outlet should be mounted with the hole for the ground prong on top??

my electrician is coming this morning so I hope someone can quickly advise, thanks!

Put the rounded part of the plug on the bottom!!!!
I also did not have to attach to stud. I have the full unit (with the door that opens) and the base plate attached firmly to drywall and then the outer housing connected to it. I have no problems nor concerns it was not anchored properly or is not firmly attached to wall.

 

[Pandsw]

Typically ground goes up on most NEMA receptacles unless they are installed in a special location such as near the floor where the cord would have to go up from the outlet instead of down. If you look at most non-EVSE cords, the wire goes away from the ground pin. In RV parks all the 14-50 outlets will have ground up because that's how the cords are designed.

EVSE's are sort of special because they are typically designed to be mounted above the receptacle, so the cord will go up instead of down like most equipment. This is why most good designs such as the ChargePoint have a reversed plug where the cord goes the same direction as the ground prong.

Others such as Grizzl-E use a normal-spec cord so this happens:

The receptacle is the same orientation in both cases. I don't care for the resulting sharp bend (cords have minimum bending radius specifications) and torque on the receptacle. In this specific case the receptacle should have been rotated ground down so the cord could go straight up to the EVSE.

So the receptacle orientation depends on the specific EVSE cord and mounting location you're going to use. Ground up is more common and is the correct way for the ChargePoint, the Porsche Charger, and most other appliance/RV cords. Ground down may be required if mounting the EVSE above the receptacle if it does not have a reversed cord such as the Grizzl-E.

A smart electrician will ask to see the cord before installing the outlet so the orientation will be correct. If you watch Tom Moloughney's State of Charge, you'll notice he has outlets in both orientations on his charger wall to work with different chargers.