Something I've learned from my electrician friends - when you do turn on that breaker (or disconnect switch) - stand to the side and look away. If things go sideways, arc flash burns on the back of your head are more fun than on your eyeballs :)
IF NOTHING ELSE YOU HAVE LEARNED FROM THIS VIDEO, GUYS . . . this tip is THE MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL . . . YES!! Please DO look away JUST in case something HAS not been connected in the proper way OR there is an equipment malfunction - it IS unlikely but what if there IS an arc? You'll be thanking this tip for saving your eyes from going blind!!!!
If your doing any of this without wearing eye protection you deserve whatever you get... In addition if your so scared of what might happen and you turn away looking scared out of your mind while turning the power back on I seriously doubt your anywhere you SHOULD be, i.e. employed as an electrician. Not to mention I seriously doubt if the customer is watching like they usually are you'll never get any repeat business 😂
@@jeremyvanbuskirk4148 Yes, pretty much goes without saying that you should be wearing the appropriate PPE per the Arc Flash hazard level for that equipment. My point was more that even if that is the case, putting your face not in the line of fire of an unlikely arc flash is a good idea.
If your installation is in the USA, there are 3 National Electrical Code violations. 1- The 2-gang box clamps are not rated for the use of #6 cable (110.3(B). 2- The conductors inside the 2-gang box are not long enough (300.14). 3- The #6 NM cable requires a supporting means and passing through a hole does not meet that requirement, It must be secured. (334.30). One other point. Make sure your service is rated to handle the additional load. Enjoyed the video.
THANK YOU! I was looking for this comment. I thought I was the only one who noticed! Will it work? yes...but, will it pass inspection? NO!!! Also, he had a chance to locate the outlet farther on the other stud. One has to check for the height requirements. And, torque drove me crazy, he used a power drill and is not allowed, he has to torque, wiggle, torque wiggle, and then tighten again because it will become loose when is stranded wire. VERY DANGEROUS having a loose connection with that juice. I believe is this is a NEMA 14-50 the torque is 75 and I am sure it is not there. More so, I like sturdy metal boxes even if need to pigtail and ground because they won't move like the plastic one will in less than a year. The outlet is tight and pulling it a few times will make those nails wiggle. Some other things are worth mentioning, like the brutal load in a 125AMP panel...he should upgrade to 200AMP soon....
More than 3 violations. A recep is not allowed for this installation. Because that's not a portable or readily-removable (no tool) charger, it must be hardwired. Other issues, violation of box-fill rules, recep box is too small. An EV charger is a continuous load, therefore it can't be on a 50A breaker. Largest breaker allowed in this installation is a 45A. Just because it works that doesn't mean it's done correctly.
Use a box that is listed to use #6 wire. Many contractors use them for installation of a flush range (stove) receptacle. Conductors must be long enough to extend out beyond the front of the box a minimum of 3 inches.
One correction is while the panel is not complicated, for people without an at least basic knowledge of electricity it can actually be dangerous. An additional tip would be to install the circuit breaker close to the top of electric panel to limit voltage drop across circuit breakers above it. Voltage drop can cause the breakers above a double breaker to drop below their rating, which lights or whatever is on that breaker circuit to dim or blink during initial power up.
As an electrician that specializes in EVSE installations, if your must do an outlet setup, make sure to use a commercial grade outlet. Not clear but it looks like the cheaper box store outlet. The commercial are more expensive and about 2.5 inches diameter compared to just 2 inches for the cheaper ones. They are fine for dryers and ranges but not designed for the continuous load of an EVSE and we are seeing a lot of over heating and melting. Also, in most areas, an outlet requires a more expensive gfci breaker. Best bet, cheaper, safer and higher output is always go for a hardwired unit.
God, thank you. So many times I've listened to someones voice for hours, painted pictures with their words or their music, and then when I see their real face I'm like "oh God, that's not right. That's not at all right" You, sir, have a face that fits your voice and your intellect
Informative video! The only thing I would add would be the need to calculate the existing electrical load on the panel. Probably not a huge deal as long as you're not running a lot of appliances all the time, but if the homeowner has a limited panel, electric heating in the winter, electric dryer and electric stove all running while charging his or her car... Might run into an overload.
I installed one of these myself last year, but ran the power outside from the house panel inside PVC conduit, and used a weatherproof box and cover mounted on the side of the house. There was no garage sub panel or space to charge the car in the garage, unfortunately. It is definitely doable, and this is a nice video. To anyone reading this, depending on where you live, you'll likely need permits.
Interesting how much regulations vary across the US. In my area of the country, permits and inspections are only required for "substantial work" which is defined as complete house re-wires, sub-panel installations, breaker panel replacements, or service upgrades. Additions to existing circuits, or new circuits can be done by a homeowner without permit or inspection. Though the local inspector did say they would still come out and inspect for safety on such installations if requested assuming they had time available to do so. The defined "substantial work" can actually still be performed by a homeowner, assuming it is done to the current NEC (National Electric Code).
I don't even have an electric car I was just curious to see how one of these wall units works. I ended up learning about my electric box in the process lol
Nice instructional video. A couple of points I'm sure you're already aware of. 1) You need a permit at least in my area (Oregon) you do. Around here at least a homeowner is allowed to do any electrical work on their OWN house (with the afformentioned permit). You cannot do your neighbour a favour and do it for him/her, even if you happen to be a professional electrician! 2) In Europe/Australia/much of Asia the electrical system is slightly different in that they do not have two 120V phases 180 degrees out of phase.. i.e +120V and -120v about a neutral like we do. "Over there" they have a single phase wire which is +240V (in the UK, 220V mainland Europe) above the neutral. Thus 220 -240V is wired directly to each outlet in the house. You mentioned 208V, typically that is two legs from a 3 phase transformer which are 120 deg apart.. Not found in a homeowner situation as far I know.
I would add, that if your 125 amp panel is nearly maxed out you might have to recalculate your load to ensure you dont constantly trip your main breaker and also be in compliance with your authority having jurisdiction. Breakers that have tripped weaken with every trip and eventually fail to either reset or fail to trip. If it fails to trip you will very likely have a fire, and if found to be started by unpermitted work you could be held liable for the damages. A couple hundred dollars for a permit is way better than paying out of pocket to rebuild your house. To add, I see 208v in the apartment construction industry all the time. So I imagine it's possible in say larger condominium complexes, but I could be wrong.
Thanks to you, I have a functioning level 2 charger for my 2016 Leaf that I bought a few weeks ago. Thanks so much for making this relatively easy to do myself.
Bought a lightly used Chevy Bolt a few days ago, and have been thinking of installing a level 2 in my garage. I probably don't need it, considering how much I drive. But it will be a fun project. So thanks, great vid (and I love your shirt -- I usually put more miles on my bicycle per year than I do on my vehicles). This is my first EV car, and I'm loving it. I've been riding an electric motorcycle (Zero SR) for three years, which is awesome fun.
Do NOT consider doing this kind of work if you are not fully educated on basic household electricity. It is very easy to "overlook" something. Just a point to note, that is NOT how to install a box. No experienced electrician EVER feeds any wires through a box with the jacket still on. The jacket is removed first, with the correct amount removed ....THEN feeds the line through the boxes, outlet and mains, to the correct position. Trying to trim back the jacket with the wire inside the box is the most ridiculous, backwards way of doing this very simple task. .
Don’t own and probably never will own an electric car but watched anyway because I figured I’d learn something. Wasn’t disappointed esp the breaker box. Of course I’m just taking baby steps into home repair and home work. I’m proud I was able to take apart. Diagnose. And successfully repair a dryer (faulty contact in the main switch). Amateur stuff by MMM standards it’s going to take me awhile to get comfy with wiring houses or plumbing (beyond replacing toilet guts).
I did a very similar project to wire an inlet for a portable generator. It was quite a bit easier than I would have ever anticipated. Thanks for sharing with the world.
Great video to help home owners do some of these easy things without having to pay someone $500 to do it. I do have one comment though, That Leviton connector is only good for someone who is plugging in, say a dryer, and it will never get unplugged. That Leviton connector is cheap because like i mentioned, its designed to have something plugged into it maybe a handful of times in its life. If someone like myself who has an electric motorcycle was to use this setup and plug and unplug every few days, that would be an issue and could, over time, result in a fire. They make other similar connectors that are designed to handle repeated plugging and unplugging, but they are around $80 instead of $12. Could save you from disaster later on though.
Thinking about getting an ev. This video was very good and it helped me tremendously. If I do decide to go that route I'm confident that I could install a charger. Thank you
A few comments on some of the things said on basic electrical stuff. 1. 240V residential service comes from a split phase arrangement where the home side of the Transformer has full 240V between two phases. The center of the transformer winding is split to derive two 120V AC supplies with neutrals. It's not quite -120V and +120V in DC sense. 2. Cable is not DC. It's an AC cable typically rated for 600V 3. Watch out for bending radius. Sharp 90deg should be avoided. 4. Knockout bushing shouldn't be hammered like that. It defeats the purpose by potentially creating burrs and sharp edges. Should remove the extra ring in the knockout to have the full 3/4". 5. I'd check the panel label on the side where it shows the maximum "sum of the breaker amps" allowed for each leg to make sure that's not exceeded.
Thx for the lesson - our leaf barely gets over 80miles on full charge anymore - BUT.....we're looking towards the future when we'll need the L2 charger
Excellent and highly useful video. Thanks for taking all the mystery out of this job and educating us on how straight forward this project is! Thank you Pete.
My electrical teacher showed us this video to point out the safety issues and I watched in total despair. I do not like being the negative comment guy, but here goes... Hey folks, ALWAYS wear safety goggles or glasses, ALWAYS wear non-conductive gloves. ALWAYS ALWAYS look away when flipping a breaker. ARC FLASHES are no joke and can burn your face or even kill you. NEVER use a circular cutting device to cut through cable or wire. You can seriously injure yourself or cut through live wire and still injure yourself. If you don't have cutters, the store you purchase the cable from will have no issues cutting it to the proper length for you, simply take the time to measure. AGAIN, use gloves. Using a utility knife is perfectly fine, but not without gloves. There is still a chance you can cut yourself, but it will be less serious with GLOVES ON. Make sure to take precaution to not cut through any of the wires within, as well. That can cause an ARC FLASH once powered on. Be sure you do some research on how much power you can draw from that panel because you can ultimately overload and a fire hazard is a possibility. I am not concerned with Mr. Money Mustache being offended by this... I'm more concerned about the safety of human lives watching this video.
@@brianredmond4919 Haha, Im actually in bed while reading this comment. Are you watching me? If you think that what this guy is doing in this video is great, then by all means, go for it. Too bad if I offended you with my long winded “Mr. Safety” comment.
Super awesome! Just purchased a used Leaf. Battery probably only has 16kwh capacity left and so Level 1 charging has been more than sufficient for me; however, this video is still super useful! I've done some light electrical work and am always terrified when installing a new breaker. Thanks for helping me learn a bit more!
Lmao exactly. I'm a mechanical engineer and often work in live-ish power situations. It isn't hard to follow. Red/black is a wire. Metal is conductive lol
Far out man...I like 3 phase better than single phase...I’ve worked with electricity for over 35 years and I’m not an electrician...I learned from the best of the best at Yale University. Local 35 union...love frequency drives too...who needs a license🇺🇸⚓️
2 suggestions -1 don’t use a cordless screwdriver for tightening electrical terminals. 2 test circuit before making live. (Both best practices) Don’t forget to wear your PPE. And remember ‘isolating before opening’.
As a lifetime Electrician, I highly recommend that you turn the power off when you are pulling wires in and connecting in the panel (or load center). You don't want to mess up your panel or get hurt by shorting-out anything on the "hot" panel. There's no need to work it "hot". We all know how, but whenever possible, just turn the power off; especially if you are not a skilled electrician.
why do you need the juice box? my EV adapts directly to a 240 plug, cant i just plug it directly into the outlet without doing the additional step of installing that juice box?
Plenty of dodgy methods demonstrated here. 1. Never tighten terminals using a power drill, it weakens the brass threads. 2. Don't cut electrical cable with a grinder (especially without a disc guard on) use shears. The heat causes resistance in the strands.
If you have a good kwhr rate like I used to have 6.5 cents/ kwhr. And an EV, you can charge a Tesla or Bolt for like $10. For 40kwhr. A 240 Volt doesn’t take all day. A 240 volt only takes a few hours. Have several people that have it.
You talk like I do when I'm high on cocaine. The way you explain everything in a perfect thought train. This is a breaker box. This is what a breaker box is for. This how how a breaker box gets its power. This is what power is. This is how you know how much power. This is a breaker. This is how a breaker works. This is how you remove a breaker. I love it. So many people just tell you what to do from direction to direction. But you, my friend, you give a direction, then go off on a tangent, then give another direction, then another tangent about how direction 1 and 2 are connected and how we got there. Fucking brilliant
- you could buy a cheap used one. (8k perhaps) Once you subtract the new EV incentives and ad a couple of years they get cheap like any fossil car. When you add in the super low maintenance and fuel costs they seem even cheaper.
If you have ever been NFPA certified you have seen breaker manufacturer videos of workers getting their hands and face flashed - fried . Some of these people will never work again. Some died. Yes he makes sense sometimes, but be very careful! Electricity is invisible. Fact : number one cause of electrical deaths in America is residential . Paying for some help is way cheaper than a serious injury or death. Take care people and be wise.
I've been driving an electric car for the last year and a half or so, and haven't installed a 220 outlet or charger yet because I charge at work all day on a 110 v 20 amp outlet, which charges a bit faster than a 15 amp outlet (the charger draws 12 amps on a 15 amp outlet and 16 amps on a 20 amp outlet) and translates to 6 mph (20a) vs 4 mph (15a). I get a bit over 50 miles of range per day. Occasionally I'll charge on a 110 at home for a night or two, as you said, because I only drive 25 miles a day or so.
My wife (who is partially disabled) just found a 2016 Leaf on Enterprise Car Sales with 36k miles for $16500. It only sports an 80-mile range, but we'd just be driving it around town and sometimes to the town north of us for Dr. appointments. We've been wanting an electric car for a while. Our only vehicle that she can ride in is a '19 Ford F150 Super Crew and it's very hard for her to get in and out and she can't drive it at all. For longer drives by myself, I can ride my V-Star, and then we can always take the truck if we're both going for a longer trip. I figured that it would be this easy to install a charger. I'm not an electrician, by any stretch of the imagination, but I have done my fair share of DIY electrical work on the houses I've rehabbed, so this should be a piece of cake. Thanks for the info!!!
Funny your store has the breakers that are easily accessible. In Montreal, all the hardware stores have them safed behind locked windowed panels. Apparently, they're a high-risk theft item.
