Rivian Wall Charger--Anyone know who makes it??

[CommodoreAmiga]

Does anyone have any indication when the wall charger will be available for purchase on their website? I plan on doing some renos this summer and it would be nice if I could install it then.

I'd suggest doing the pre-wiring during your renovation, but don't buy the EVSE, yet. If you wait to buy it with your R1T/S then it gets covered under the longer vehicle warranty.

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[Lexcyn]

I'd suggest doing the pre-wiring during your renovation, but don't buy the EVSE, yet. If you wait to buy it with your R1T/S then it gets covered under the longer vehicle warranty.

Gotcha - I was just going to install a 14-50 outlet anyways so that's easy enough, but I was wanting to replace my existing EVSE with the Rivian model sooner than later (I currently have a Bolt EV with a generic EVSE and wanted the higher amperage - the one I'm using only allows 24A).

 

[CommodoreAmiga]

Gotcha - I was just going to install a 14-50 outlet anyways so that's easy enough, but I was wanting to replace my existing EVSE with the Rivian model sooner than later (I currently have a Bolt EV with a generic EVSE and wanted the higher amperage - the one I'm using only allows 24A).

Keep in mind that Rivian does not support/endorse their EVSE for use with a NEMA 14-50 pigtail. They advise hardwired installations, only.

 

[Lexcyn]

Keep in mind that Rivian does not support/endorse their EVSE for use with a NEMA 14-50 pigtail. They advise hardwired installations, only.

Oh, I know - a lot of EVSE manufacturers "only" allow hardwired. But there is almost no difference to connecting a 14-50 plug on the end (of course, if you want to use the higher amperage you would definitely want to hard wire it). I know the answer is more nuanced than this and maybe for less experienced users I would advise against this, but it is 100% possible.

 

[CommodoreAmiga]

Oh, I know - a lot of EVSE manufacturers "only" allow hardwired. But there is almost no difference to connecting a 14-50 plug on the end (of course, if you want to use the higher amperage you would definitely want to hard wire it). I know the answer is more nuanced than this and maybe for less experienced users I would advise against this, but it is 100% possible.

Electrically possible, yes. If you know what you're doing, then it's your house. My concern would be strain relief for the pigtail. If you can get a decent strain relief option rigged up, then go for it.

 

[Lexcyn]

Electrically possible, yes. If you know what you're doing, then it's your house. My concern would be strain relief for the pigtail. If you can get a decent strain relief option rigged up, then go for it.

According to the installation guide, there is a knock out on the bottom and you would need a strain relief connector even if hard wiring it that way so it's not much different. The only issue would be the added impedance from the physical plug, but again, as long as you are within spec (ie using 14-50 with a 50A breaker and setting the correct dipswitch) it should be fine. If you need the full 48A on a 60A breaker, then you would definitely need to hard wire.

I mean, I guess to make it even easier I could just run a little extra length and hard wire it when I get it...

 

[CommodoreAmiga]

According to the installation guide, there is a knock out on the bottom and you would need a strain relief connector even if hard wiring it that way so it's not much different. The only issue would be the added impedance from the physical plug, but again, as long as you are within spec (ie using 14-50 with a 50A breaker and setting the correct dipswitch) it should be fine. If you need the full 48A on a 60A breaker, then you would definitely need to hard wire.

I mean, I guess to make it even easier I could just run a little extra length and hard wire it when I get it...

The knockout on the bottom is for conduit. In an outdoor environment you'd need to use the bottom knockout, anyway. I don't think it was intended for strain relief -- and hard wired installations wouldn't include strain relief, anyway.

 

[Lexcyn]

The knockout on the bottom is for conduit. In an outdoor environment you'd need to use the bottom knockout, anyway. I don't think it was intended for strain relief -- and hard wired installations wouldn't include strain relief, anyway.

Oh right, yeah if you are hard wiring you are probably using conduit - I was just looking at the strain relief for the cable for the connector wire and the knock out seems to be the same size, so you could (in theory) use the same strain relief if you wanted to wire it that way. Where I am located (out in the bush) I don't have a garage so this will be outside 24/7, so it will be out the bottom no matter what, unless I find a way to run it directly into the side of my house.

 

[Deleted member 6231]

I checked the box to include that Rivian wall charger for $500, but I’m sure wrestling with just having a NEMA 14-50 outlet installed in my garage and using the portable charger that comes with the vehicle - that setup would be fine for my around-town daily needs. I could then go to a local fast charger the few times a year I might need to top up before a long out-of-town trip. Heck, I could probably get along fine just using a standard 120V outlet… ?

I’ve had a Tesla since 2013 and have always used the mobile charger. $500 for an extra few miles an hr..no thanks.

 

[danielvdm]

I use my Tesla mobile charger with the 14-50 plug, gives me about 8 kw which charges the car from 0% to 100% overnight easily, so getting the wall charger seemed pointless. The R1T has a substantially bigger battery though, so I'll probably get the wall charger which would give me the same time-to-charge on the R1T as my mobile charger at 32a did for my Model Y. I could likely still get by with the 32a charging, but it's also nice to just be able to leave the mobile charger in the truck and have it always accessible on the road.

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