Ready to go.... install my port for charging in garage

[Dark-Fx]

IIRC, it's against NEC to bond ground and neutral at any point outside of the main load center. Even sub-panels must keep their ground and neutral separate.

The reason for this is to avoid ground loops. If you provide an alternate path for ground to hit neutral, you're going to get energy flowing in weird directions, and stuff that has the circuit switched off might have energy potential.

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[lefkonj]

I have a quick question about this. The R1T will be our 1st EV. I have currently preordered the Rivian charger and was thinking I'd coordinate the install as part of the delivery process. Am I making a mistake? if yes - what would be a recommended path to take? thanks for your input.

Don't wait. The port is a standard connection for the Rivian charger, wall box, ElectrifyAmerica and the list goes on. If the electricians need weeks to get to your place you wouldn't want the vehicle and charger but have to wait for the port for another 2 months.

 

[ajdelange]

IIRC, it's against NEC to bond ground and neutral at any point outside of the main load center. Even sub-panels must keep their ground and neutral separate.

That is essentially correct with the correction being that the neutral and ground must be bonded at the service entrance and only at the service entrance. If the main load center is the service entrance, as it often is, that is the only place where the bond is allowed. The "bonding screw" must be removed in a sub panel.

 

[ajdelange]

The reason for this is to avoid ground loops. If you provide an alternate path for ground to hit neutral, you're going to get energy flowing in weird directions, and stuff that has the circuit switched off might have energy potential.

The reason is to prevent "objectionable current" from flowing in the earthing conductor. The neutral carries all the imbalance currrent and thus at distal points in the system is at higher potential than ground (from the current induced voltage drop). If it is bonded to the earthing conductor anywhere other than at the service entrance the grounding conductor will carry some of the imbalance current and also be at higher potential as will the metal parts of anything connected to that grounding conductor.

 

[sub]

I have a quick question about this. The R1T will be our 1st EV. I have currently preordered the Rivian charger and was thinking I'd coordinate the install as part of the delivery process. Am I making a mistake? if yes - what would be a recommended path to take? thanks for your input.

I would assume that Rivian is not going to give you an exact time/day with much advance notice. Unless the electrician is a good friend who can come over on a moment's notice, arranging to have an electrician show up immediately after the car arrives would be difficult.

I would go ahead and have an electrician install a 14-50 plug in your garage. That way you are all set to plug your car in the moment it arrives.

If you have the electrician use wire rated for 60A (1 size thicker than they would normally use for a 14-50 plug), once the wall charger arrives, installing it will be a 10 minute job. All they will have to do is replace the 50A breaker with a 60A breaker and then attach the wall charger where the 14-50 was. And you won't be in a rush because you can charge using the 14-50 until the electrician is able to come out and install the wall charger.

The wall charger can most likely be installed on 50A wire, but your max charging rate would be limited to 40A instead of the 48A you would get with a 60A circuit. Max charging rate will be 80% of circuit's nominal rating.

 

[Dark-Fx]

I have a quick question about this. The R1T will be our 1st EV. I have currently preordered the Rivian charger and was thinking I'd coordinate the install as part of the delivery process. Am I making a mistake? if yes - what would be a recommended path to take? thanks for your input.

Charging off of a 120V circuit should still get you ~1.5-2 miles of range an hour. If you're not going to drive your vehicle more than 20-25 miles a day you can probably survive off it for a while.

 

[ajdelange]

I have a quick question about this. The R1T will be our 1st EV. I have currently preordered the Rivian charger and was thinking I'd coordinate the install as part of the delivery process. Am I making a mistake? if yes - what would be a recommended path to take? thanks for your input.

You might want to get an electrician in now and tell him what you are planning to do so he can get you on his schedule ASAP. These trucks are supposedly really rolling out next month. Find an electrician that has done EVSE installs before. It would be nice if Rivian made the installation manual for the charger available now but installation of any of them is pretty straight forward.

One thing I would do is tell the man you want him to pull 6/3 even though the neutral will not be used. This is because you do not know that at some future date you might not want to replace that EVSE with something else that requires the neutral such as a 14-50R receptacle. Copper, of course, isn't cheap but even so the marginal cost of that 4th conductor should be small.

 

[Jamuso]

@ajdelange @Dark-Fx @sub

Thank you for your responses. Much appreciated and helpful.

 

[Gearhead500]

Might I suggest some nice cut to length 6/3 SOOW from a solid company. We, I mean, “they” have millions of feet nationwide in 24 distribution centers and Canada.

Now if you want a metal clad jacket or some tray cable that is rated for direct burial…”They” also have some direct burial that has a gopher resistance jacket.

???
Their marketing guy seems awesome.

https://www.omnicable.com/products/...and-portable-cord-flexible-and-portable-cord/

 

[DucRider]

For those looking to pre-wire, no need to install an outlet/port at all. Just getting the 6/2 or 6/3 wires pulled

Might I suggest some nice cut to length 6/3 SOOW from a solid company. We, I mean, “they” have millions of feet nationwide in 24 distribution centers and Canada.

Now if you want a metal clad jacket or some tray cable that is rated for direct burial…”They” also have some direct burial that has a gopher resistance jacket.

???
Their marketing guy seems awesome.

https://www.omnicable.com/products/...and-portable-cord-flexible-and-portable-cord/

What jurisdiction allows SOOW for running circuits in a home?

 

[MIG]

We've been househunting and one of the homes we walked through had a newly-updated garage with great lighting, a freshly-epoxied floor and dual level 2 chargers. I loved it but apparently my wife wasn't happy with the other rooms.

 

[Gearhead500]

For those looking to pre-wire, no need to install an outlet/port at all. Just getting the 6/2 or 6/3 wires pulled

What jurisdiction allows SOOW for running circuits in a home?

To a mobile home?
I was being sarcastic. Sorry.
SOOW isnt rated for indoors. You should use NM, THHN, or Armored cable if your local ordnance is reeeeeeeally strict. It def depends on if needs to be rated for wet locations or if your install calls for direct burial which NM aka Romex (most of Lowe’s/Home Depot) is not rated for either. A good tray cable is overkill but the most flexible as it is rated for direct burial, sunlight resistant, hanging, exposed runs…. I’ll stop nerding out on cable, types of jackets, and applications.

 

[nfrank]

To a mobile home?
I was being sarcastic. Sorry.
SOOW isnt rated for indoors. You should use NM, THHN, or Armored cable if your local ordnance is reeeeeeeally strict. It def depends on if needs to be rated for wet locations or if your install calls for direct burial which NM aka Romex (most of Lowe’s/Home Depot) is not rated for either. A good tray cable is overkill but the most flexible as it is rated for direct burial, sunlight resistant, hanging, exposed runs…. I’ll stop nerding out on cable, types of jackets, and applications.

Ok, cable nerd, what are your thoughts on building your own ev charger? I'd really like a cable that's over 25ft long. Something like 45ft long. I have never seen an ev charger over 25ft so I'm assuming there's some sort of regulation.

 

[Gearhead500]

Ok, cable nerd, what are your thoughts on building your own ev charger? I'd really like a cable that's over 25ft long. Something like 45ft long. I have never seen an ev charger over 25ft so I'm assuming there's some sort of regulation.

I plan Tray cable because I have access to it, but like I said it is 100% about your local ordinance and how it is run. THHN in a conduit is what most electrician would do IMO
EDIT I didn’t realize Romex has a THHN jacket. Sorry we don’t stock that. So Romex in a conduit and 45’ shouldn’t be an issue

 

[DucRider]

Ok, cable nerd, what are your thoughts on building your own ev charger? I'd really like a cable that's over 25ft long. Something like 45ft long. I have never seen an ev charger over 25ft so I'm assuming there's some sort of regulation.

NEC 625.17

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