Difference between Gen 3 wall connector and Tesla charger that came with Cybertruck

[CyberNickOH]

I originally had a 50amp breaker for my 14-50 Mobile outlet. Switched out to the wall connector and tried the 48amp setting in the truck and charged fine. I set it back to 32amps and changed it out to a 60amp breaker a few days later. A 48amp pull on a 50amp breaker won't trip it. The 80% is for safety, but not in the breaker itself. Seems like a racket to buy a larger breaker.

My wire is NEMA 6g.

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[T35L4]

It's a code thing. Both of the current wall connectors can pull 48A, but they should have a 60A breaker since continuous loads (3h or more is considered continuous) is only rated for 80% of the circuit. If your electrician only installed a 50A breaker then they likely also used wire rated for that breaker. It'll almost definitely work without tripping the breaker, until it suddenly doesn't. That could be as harmless as the breaker failing or it could be more destructive.

You can also just configure the wall connector for a 50A circuit, it'll set the max load to 40A so you don't need to manually change it in the vehicle.

Good info. How do you configure the wall connector for a 50A circuit?

 

[eswimm]

I originally had a 50amp breaker for my 14-50 Mobile outlet. Switched out to the wall connector and tried the 48amp setting in the truck and charged fine. I set it back to 32amps and changed it out to a 60amp breaker a few days later. A 48amp pull on a 50amp breaker won't trip it. The 80% is for safety, but not in the breaker itself. Seems like a racket to buy a larger breaker.

My wire is NEMA 6g.

It all depends on how much you care about code. 6 AWG NM is not rated for a 60A breaker, if you're using THHN or THWN in conduit then 6 is fine. The whole deal with continuous loads is the heat, the longer the charge, the hotter things are going to get. You aren't likely to have a problem, but I would not want to be responsible for burning my house down to save a few bucks, especially if the insurance company wants an explanation of why the wiring was not to code. I do a lot of my own electrical work, but always to the code requirements.

 

[eswimm]

Good info. How do you configure the wall connector for a 50A circuit?

I haven't had my new one installed yet, but I believe you configure the circuit settings through the app. The 2 I have installed at the moment are Gen 2 and those are configured with dip switches.

 

[T35L4]

I haven't had my new one installed yet, but I believe you configure the circuit settings through the app. The 2 I have installed at the moment are Gen 2 and those are configured with dip switches.

Perhaps you have to do it through the Tesla one app. The regular app doesn't seem to have that setting.

 

[mongo]

The 80% is for safety, but not in the breaker itself. Seems like a racket to buy a larger breaker.

Typical residential breakers aren't rated for continuous use at their rated load in a self heated panel. Siemens breakers are rated at 40C/104F.
Running them at 100% can lead to nuisance tripping.

Also 50Amp 2 pole non-GFCI breakers cost the same as 60Amp, around $18, so upsizing that isn't an issue. Copper wire on the other hand...

 

[Woodrick]

It's a code thing. Both of the current wall connectors can pull 48A, but they should have a 60A breaker since continuous loads (3h or more is considered continuous) is only rated for 80% of the circuit. If your electrician only installed a 50A breaker then they likely also used wire rated for that breaker. It'll almost definitely work without tripping the breaker, until it suddenly doesn't. That could be as harmless as the breaker failing or it could be more destructive.

You can also just configure the wall connector for a 50A circuit, it'll set the max load to 40A so you don't need to manually change it in the vehicle.

It's a "code thing" because it is a "safety thing"

If the wiring is not heavy enough, the wire will heat up. Wires that heat up have all sorts of consequences.

And most every one ends in high possibility of fire!

 

[CyberGus]

It’s true, electrical safety codes are a global conspiracy to help insurance companies avoid paying out for fire damage

 

[eswimm]

It's a "code thing" because it is a "safety thing"

If the wiring is not heavy enough, the wire will heat up. Wires that heat up have all sorts of consequences.

And most every one ends in high possibility of fire!

You're preaching to the choir.

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