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Outdoor Driveway Charging Outlet/EVSE?

Pdzl

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I have a preorder down for the suv. I’m already getting some electrical work done next to the driveway involving unistrut and a 15amp 120v outlet and was thinking about what would be needed for say 50 amp charging. Is it as simple as getting an RV outdoor plug or would I need an EVSE. And would I need one that’s officially supported by Rivian?

Sorry if this is an obvious question as I’m new to the EV world.
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Tyker

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While I do not have a lot of knowledge in this subject, any charge point that has a ccs interface will charge a Rivian. There is certainly speculation they will sell their own chargers too
 

DucRider

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Yes, you will need an EVSE.
48A charging would require a 60A circuit and a hardwired EVSE.
Charging is considered continuous duty and you are therefore limited to no more than 80% of the circuit rating.
 

skyote

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Yes, you can use a NEMA 50A outlet to charge. You could use the "charging cable" that will come with the Rivian or install a fixed EVSE "charger".

If you're concerned with weather or would use it on a regular basis, a certified outdoor EVSE might be your best option to connect to your 50A circuit.
 
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Pdzl

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Yes, you can use a NEMA 50A outlet to charge. You could use the "charging cable" that will come with the Rivian or install a fixed EVSE "charger".

If you're concerned with weather or would use it on a regular basis, a certified outdoor EVSE might be your best option to connect to your 50A circuit.

Thanks. The more I read the more I’m leaning towards running a 60amp circuit wiring and hardwiring the charger in later when I get the vehicle. The last minute changes in 2017 NEC code would require a 50 amp outlet to be gfci which could cause a lot of nuisance tripping when paired with a car charger with its own gfci.
 

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ajdelange

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Running wire for 60 A now if you want to do it now is probably a good idea as that is the largest ampacity that the Rivian will handle with its 11.5 kW onboard charger. If this is to be outside I might consider using a portable charger. Something permanently installed is definitely the most convenient but if you are in a very public place my limited faith in my fellow man would cause me to worry that my reasonably expensive permanent charger would get vandalized. Protable chargers are available that will charge at a 40 A rate from a 50 A circuit whereas with permanent chargers you can do up to 48 from a 60 A circuit. In the former case you would indeed require GFCI and as I have never seen that in a receptacle of 50 A capacity I guess it means a GFCI breaker (expensive). With 60A hardwired you don't need GFCI so an ordinary breaker will do. IOW I'm suggesting holding off on installing the breaker until the picture becomes clearer. Will Rivian offer a wall charger? They have hinted they will.
 
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Pdzl

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Running wire for 60 A now if you want to do it now is probably a good idea as that is the largest ampacity that the Rivian will handle with its 11.5 kW onboard charger. If this is to be outside I might consider using a portable charger. Something permanently installed is definitely the most convenient but if you are in a very public place my limited faith in my fellow man would cause me to worry that my reasonably expensive permanent charger would get vandalized. Protable chargers are available that will charge at a 40 A rate from a 50 A circuit whereas with permanent chargers you can do up to 48 from a 60 A circuit. In the former case you would indeed require GFCI and as I have never seen that in a receptacle of 50 A capacity I guess it means a GFCI breaker (expensive). With 60A hardwired you don't need GFCI so an ordinary breaker will do. IOW I'm suggesting holding off on installing the breaker until the picture becomes clearer. Will Rivian offer a wall charger? They have hinted they will.

Thanks, it’s in a private driveway so no worries for me using a permanent charger. I’m running a 60amp non-gfci wiring for now and will install charger later. If I had to install today I’d probably get chargepoint which is $700 on amazon and good reviews followed by the clippercreek 60amp rugged which is $1000. Anyone have feedback on those? I think only the chargepoint has WiFi.

Hopefully in a year the prices will come down and the tech get better when it comes time. Or perhaps Rivian will offer a compelling outdoor charger of their own.

(Edit) - I could probably add the juicebox pro 75 to the list as it can supposedly be down rated though it looks like it might be a bit older and is only custom made to order.

My install will be within sight of our pool so I may actually give the edge to the clippercreek hcs-60r with it being Nema 4 rated vs Nema 3R on the chargepoint.
 
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azbill

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I bought the Charge Point unit on Amazon and use it for my Bolt. It is on a 50A circuit that already existed in my garage, so I set the current limit to 40 amp, rather than 48. The Bolt draws a maximum of 32 amps. I still have an old Blink charger in my RV garage that works, it is older technology and only rated at 24 amps, but I will have it as a spare and will end up with 2 EVs once I get my Rivian, so I can charge both at the same time if necessary.
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