DIY Charger installation

[AndrewB]

I am looking at getting an EV charger installed before the truck shows up. My house setup is odd so I need to run about 150' of cable and mount the charger to a pedestal installed at the corner of my front garden bed by the driveway. Has anyone looked at pedestals? Any recommendations? It seems I should be able to find one for under $200 but most of what I see is $700+

 

[ReddykwRun]

I am looking at getting an EV charger installed before the truck shows up. My house setup is odd so I need to run about 150' of cable and mount the charger to a pedestal installed at the corner of my front garden bed by the driveway. Has anyone looked at pedestals? Any recommendations? It seems I should be able to find one for under $200 but most of what I see is $700+

The charger is located onboard the vehicle but I think you are referring to the Wall Connector which would be needed to be installed on a wall or in your case a freestanding pedestal of some sort and they are available via the Tesla website. The Tesla brand Pedestal is $300 (hollow aluminum post) and the Wall Connector is $500 but really if you are not going for the esthetics a solid post (6"x6") would suffice.

150' that is a long ways, you have measured it with a tape, yes? How far away is your meter.

Don't want to throw a wrench in the gears but you may want to see what the requirements are going to be for charging the CyberTruck, they may introduce a "New Generation" Wall Connector for the CyberTruck to be used in the residential application. So far they have 3 Generations of Wall Connectors.

 

[ReddykwRun]

I am looking at getting an EV charger installed before the truck shows up. My house setup is odd so I need to run about 150' of cable and mount the charger to a pedestal installed at the corner of my front garden bed by the driveway. Has anyone looked at pedestals? Any recommendations? It seems I should be able to find one for under $200 but most of what I see is $700+

To help people understand how this all works it may be a good idea to remind them that these boxes are not chargers. They are EVSE - Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment whose function is to interface the vehicle to the building's electrical supply system. The actual charger is in the car. It's function is to convert the low voltage AC from the house to high voltage DC. With DC fast chargers the high voltage DC is present at the station. The charger in the car is thus not needed when DC fast charging is used.

EVSE has some safety devices but is essentially a relay (contactor) that connects the charger in the car to the mains. The boxes may contain other circuitry for functions such as current and voltage measurement, WiFi circuits for communication, timers, alarms, logging. etc. The Telsa EVSE for residential use are unique (AFAIK) in that they can manage sharing between multiple units at a location. I believe there are EVSE offered by other manufacturers that permit this plus manage billing, keep logs etc.. Telsa's Level II commercial solution has always been the HPWC. It is pretty clear from the Gen 3 manual that it is designed to be used in commercial as well as residential settings. Perhaps the WiFi connection to the internet will make logging, billing etc. available to the business user.

Thank you A.J.

 

[ajdelange]

Don't want to throw a wrench in the gears but you may want to see what the requirements are going to be for charging the CyberTruck, they may introduce a "New Generation" Wall Connector for the CyberTruck to be used in the residential application. So far they have 3 Generations of Wall Connectors.

Yes, I suppose that's possible but I doubt they will do that. Tesla has made HPWC that would supply up to 80A and built cars that would accept that but the trend seems to be to limit Level 2 to 48A (11.5 kW). This requires a 60 A breaker. If you install a system that takes more than 60 A you must install a lockable disconnect, in addition to the breaker, readily accessible to a user of the charger. This may or may not have anything to do with the trend towards the lower power level. The reduced rate may stem from the desire to charge more slowly thus extending battery longevity.

 

[Crissa]

Cheap level 1 EVSEs cost $200. Why do you think you ought to be able to find a weather-hardened stand-alone Level 2 for that?

-Crissa

 

[AndrewB]

Cheap level 1 EVSEs cost $200. Why do you think you ought to be able to find a weather-hardened stand-alone Level 2 for that?

-Crissa

I'm just talking about something to mount the wall connector to. It is only a square steel box or pole I can secure to the ground. I forgot about the Tesla pedestal. That may be my best option.
I would really like something I can mount two chargers on since I will eventually have the CT and a Model Y. Maybe I can pull extra wire and fabricate a mounting plate.

 

[AndrewB]

The charger is located onboard the vehicle but I think you are referring to the Wall Connector which would be needed to be installed on a wall or in your case a freestanding pedestal of some sort and they are available via the Tesla website. The Tesla brand Pedestal is $300 (hollow aluminum post) and the Wall Connector is $500 but really if you are not going for the esthetics a solid post (6"x6") would suffice.

150' that is a long ways, you have measured it with a tape, yes? How far away is your meter.

Don't want to throw a wrench in the gears but you may want to see what the requirements are going to be for charging the CyberTruck, they may introduce a "New Generation" Wall Connector for the CyberTruck to be used in the residential application. So far they have 3 Generations of Wall Connectors.

I did already understand that, but I still appreciate the distinction being pointed out. I likely won't do this for about 6 months to a year since I won't get my truck for 1.5-2 years so the wall connector generation should not be an issue.
My house was built in the 70s and sits kind of sideways on the lot. The meter is on the Northwest corner attached to a backyard garage. The driveway is on the Southeast corner. I won't be parking in the garage or the backyard, so I have to pull a little under 150' of cable to put a charger near the driveway.

 

[AndrewB]

I am going to Necro my own thread here since I will likely be getting a Model Y early next year. I found some pedestals that could work with slight modifications.

$215 https://www.zoro.com/pedestal-pro-dual-head-pedestal-42h-powder-coat-42-tt/i/G6334408/

$200 https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000439410102.html

$150 https://www.bulbs.com/product/JUICESTAND-RESIDENTIAL

 

[ldjessee]

The newer JuiceBox units look nice.