I just finished my journey of installing my first EV Charger and thought I'd share my experience, notes, and recommendations in hopes it will make this process easier for someone else.
CHARGERS:
I decided on the Apex Mach2 EV Charger. Key features that sold me were the 30ft charging cord and the ability to set the amount of Amps I want to charge with, along with setting a charging schedule. My strategy will be to charge at 20A 95% of the time and then temporarily increase it to 48A when needed. My theory is that this will prolong the battery life by reducing heat, but I'm curious about your comments on this, as the truck will cool the battery when it's hot anyway.
Note: There is some debate that the 30ft cord has some risk involved (might violate safety standards). So, do your own research there. In my case, it will allow me to charge the truck whether it's in or outside my garage.
The 2nd charging contender was the Emporia Load Balancing charger. I actually already had the Emporia Vue installed in my electrical panel, but still opted NOT to get that charger because I didn't need the balancing feature. But this will be a great option for many of you.
Customer service for BOTH the Apex and Emporia brand chargers was excellent. I asked a few questions on nights and weekends via email and got intelligent responses in less than 60 minutes.
INSTALLATION:
Background: I AM NOT AN ELECTRICIAN! I have done various electrical projects in my home, the biggest of which was installing 12.7kW of solar panels on my roof. So, I'm familiar and comfortable being inside my electrical panel. If you're not, hire a professional! If you are, in my opinion, this is a manageable DIY job.
I literally designed the whole project using ChatGPT, and then double-checked everything on Google. I initially assumed the sub-panel already located in my garage would be sufficient. I mentioned this to ChatGPT, and it started asking me the right questions that helped me quickly realize it was NOT sufficient. That panel was fed with a 60-amp breaker, and I'm already running a mini-split, electric dryer, and general lighting off of it. It was working for my welder, but I'm guessing I never had the dryer running at the same time I was welding. So, I decided to pull power directly from my 200A main electrical panel in my basement. This required moving a couple of loads to "tandem" breakers to make room for the 60 Amp breaker. Note: for 48Amps, you'll need a 60 Amp breaker (must be 125% above the current). They also make tandem double-pole breakers that may be a better option for many of you. Note: The Amazon listing said NOT to use a GFCI breaker, but the paper instructions said to use one. Customer support confirmed the GFCI breaker was NOT necessary when hardwiring.
From the main service panel, I pulled red and black 4AWG copper THHN and one 10AWG copper THHN through 1-1/4" liquid-tight flexible conduit with matching fittings. Pro-Tip: Pull the wires through the conduit in a straight run in your yard/driveway before installing the conduit and having to navigate bends. Best to let the flexible conduit relax in the sun for an hour first. Even when doing it this way, I could only push the fishtape 50-60'. My theory... I went with a larger conduit than necessary, expecting it to make my pull easier, but I now suspect the larger diameter allowed the fishtape to buckle/fold after 50' of resistance. So, if I did this again, I'd try 1" conduit, maybe even 3/4". So, I ended up putting an LB junction box in the middle of my 80' run. From my basement, I ran conduit to the outside of my home and then back inside the garage. LB junction boxes at every entry/exit point are the ideal way to do this, as they break up a longer run and allow you to pull the wire in shorter runs, and they give a cleaner installation look. Note: I'm NOT saying cut the wire here at this junction box. I'm saying cut the conduit here. I still had a full continuous 80' run of wire. The junction box is just a convenient "pull-point" because it's MUCH easier to pull 4AWG wire 40' than 80'! I could have gotten away with 6AWG copper wire, but I opted for 4AWG to reduce electrical losses (heat) due to voltage drop from my long-distance run. The ground wire only needs 10AWG because it's more of a signal wire to detect faults than designed to carry current. Note: The charger's ground wire looked to be 6AWG, but it was unnecessarily oversized according to my research. Neutral wire is not needed. It will be in the NEMA plug outlet on your wall if you're plugging the charger into an outlet, but the Mach 2 charger doesn't even have a neutral wire. At the end of my run (next to the charger), I cut the plug end off the charger and ran it into a junction box, where it connects to my 80' conduit run. I wanted to run directly into the charger itself, but the instructions said not to. Black connected to black. Green connected to green. Charger's white wire connected to my red wire.
IMPORTANT:
-Connections NEED TO BE TORQUED to spec!!! This is a critical safety step that many DIYers skip. The in-lb torque wrench is cheap. Buy it and USE IT!
-I read on many EV Charging forums that the Polaris style 14AWG to 4AWG connectors will melt because they are not rated for CONTINUOUS amperage. I opted for a "14 AWG to 2/0 AWG Dual-Rated 2-Port 1-Sided Entry Insulated Multiple Tap Connector, Black" from Home Depot (Model # G60005A Store SKU # 409255). These required 100in-lbs of torque, which is a fair bit of strength. I'm a big guy and barely got this done myself. It may be best to hold the connector with a large pair of pliers (protecting the connector with a shop rag) while someone else twists the torque wrench.
-I opted to use a large blue wire nut rated for 16AWG to 6AWG for the ground connection since the other connectors were $29 each.
-60 Amp breaker was ordered from Home Depot.
-Wire: Ordered custom lengths at affordable prices from "Wire & Cable Your Way" (online vendor). The company shipped right away. I highly recommend them!
LESSONS LEARNED:
-Square D electrical panels have two styles of breakers, QO and Homeline. Get the right breaker for your panel.
-I didn't know what 2/0AWG was. It's pronounced "ought" (or "aught"), which I have heard of many times. Just never understood it. They use the "/0" for wires sizes larger than 2AWG. So, the 2/0 AWG rated connector I used is larger (beefier) and can handle more current (more heat).
-Use a deep 4"x4" junction box when joining the wires in order to not violate "stuffing" requirements. The 1-1/4" LB junction box I used was adequately sized. When in doubt, ChatGPT can quickly run these "stuffing" calculations for you.
Disclaimers:
-I have no affiliations with any of these companies
-I do not take any sort of responsibility for any mistakes in this post. Use at your own risk and verify everything I'm saying with your own research.
-I've had this up and running for a total of 14 hours now. Probably should have waited weeks before posting, but was excited to share before I forget details...
I hope this helps. If I've made mistakes, PLEASE correct me. I'm always interested in learning more. But, please use tact (Internet Trolls not welcome here).
CHARGERS:
I decided on the Apex Mach2 EV Charger. Key features that sold me were the 30ft charging cord and the ability to set the amount of Amps I want to charge with, along with setting a charging schedule. My strategy will be to charge at 20A 95% of the time and then temporarily increase it to 48A when needed. My theory is that this will prolong the battery life by reducing heat, but I'm curious about your comments on this, as the truck will cool the battery when it's hot anyway.
Note: There is some debate that the 30ft cord has some risk involved (might violate safety standards). So, do your own research there. In my case, it will allow me to charge the truck whether it's in or outside my garage.
The 2nd charging contender was the Emporia Load Balancing charger. I actually already had the Emporia Vue installed in my electrical panel, but still opted NOT to get that charger because I didn't need the balancing feature. But this will be a great option for many of you.
Customer service for BOTH the Apex and Emporia brand chargers was excellent. I asked a few questions on nights and weekends via email and got intelligent responses in less than 60 minutes.
INSTALLATION:
Background: I AM NOT AN ELECTRICIAN! I have done various electrical projects in my home, the biggest of which was installing 12.7kW of solar panels on my roof. So, I'm familiar and comfortable being inside my electrical panel. If you're not, hire a professional! If you are, in my opinion, this is a manageable DIY job.
I literally designed the whole project using ChatGPT, and then double-checked everything on Google. I initially assumed the sub-panel already located in my garage would be sufficient. I mentioned this to ChatGPT, and it started asking me the right questions that helped me quickly realize it was NOT sufficient. That panel was fed with a 60-amp breaker, and I'm already running a mini-split, electric dryer, and general lighting off of it. It was working for my welder, but I'm guessing I never had the dryer running at the same time I was welding. So, I decided to pull power directly from my 200A main electrical panel in my basement. This required moving a couple of loads to "tandem" breakers to make room for the 60 Amp breaker. Note: for 48Amps, you'll need a 60 Amp breaker (must be 125% above the current). They also make tandem double-pole breakers that may be a better option for many of you. Note: The Amazon listing said NOT to use a GFCI breaker, but the paper instructions said to use one. Customer support confirmed the GFCI breaker was NOT necessary when hardwiring.
From the main service panel, I pulled red and black 4AWG copper THHN and one 10AWG copper THHN through 1-1/4" liquid-tight flexible conduit with matching fittings. Pro-Tip: Pull the wires through the conduit in a straight run in your yard/driveway before installing the conduit and having to navigate bends. Best to let the flexible conduit relax in the sun for an hour first. Even when doing it this way, I could only push the fishtape 50-60'. My theory... I went with a larger conduit than necessary, expecting it to make my pull easier, but I now suspect the larger diameter allowed the fishtape to buckle/fold after 50' of resistance. So, if I did this again, I'd try 1" conduit, maybe even 3/4". So, I ended up putting an LB junction box in the middle of my 80' run. From my basement, I ran conduit to the outside of my home and then back inside the garage. LB junction boxes at every entry/exit point are the ideal way to do this, as they break up a longer run and allow you to pull the wire in shorter runs, and they give a cleaner installation look. Note: I'm NOT saying cut the wire here at this junction box. I'm saying cut the conduit here. I still had a full continuous 80' run of wire. The junction box is just a convenient "pull-point" because it's MUCH easier to pull 4AWG wire 40' than 80'! I could have gotten away with 6AWG copper wire, but I opted for 4AWG to reduce electrical losses (heat) due to voltage drop from my long-distance run. The ground wire only needs 10AWG because it's more of a signal wire to detect faults than designed to carry current. Note: The charger's ground wire looked to be 6AWG, but it was unnecessarily oversized according to my research. Neutral wire is not needed. It will be in the NEMA plug outlet on your wall if you're plugging the charger into an outlet, but the Mach 2 charger doesn't even have a neutral wire. At the end of my run (next to the charger), I cut the plug end off the charger and ran it into a junction box, where it connects to my 80' conduit run. I wanted to run directly into the charger itself, but the instructions said not to. Black connected to black. Green connected to green. Charger's white wire connected to my red wire.
IMPORTANT:
-Connections NEED TO BE TORQUED to spec!!! This is a critical safety step that many DIYers skip. The in-lb torque wrench is cheap. Buy it and USE IT!
-I read on many EV Charging forums that the Polaris style 14AWG to 4AWG connectors will melt because they are not rated for CONTINUOUS amperage. I opted for a "14 AWG to 2/0 AWG Dual-Rated 2-Port 1-Sided Entry Insulated Multiple Tap Connector, Black" from Home Depot (Model # G60005A Store SKU # 409255). These required 100in-lbs of torque, which is a fair bit of strength. I'm a big guy and barely got this done myself. It may be best to hold the connector with a large pair of pliers (protecting the connector with a shop rag) while someone else twists the torque wrench.
-I opted to use a large blue wire nut rated for 16AWG to 6AWG for the ground connection since the other connectors were $29 each.
-60 Amp breaker was ordered from Home Depot.
-Wire: Ordered custom lengths at affordable prices from "Wire & Cable Your Way" (online vendor). The company shipped right away. I highly recommend them!
LESSONS LEARNED:
-Square D electrical panels have two styles of breakers, QO and Homeline. Get the right breaker for your panel.
-I didn't know what 2/0AWG was. It's pronounced "ought" (or "aught"), which I have heard of many times. Just never understood it. They use the "/0" for wires sizes larger than 2AWG. So, the 2/0 AWG rated connector I used is larger (beefier) and can handle more current (more heat).
-Use a deep 4"x4" junction box when joining the wires in order to not violate "stuffing" requirements. The 1-1/4" LB junction box I used was adequately sized. When in doubt, ChatGPT can quickly run these "stuffing" calculations for you.
Disclaimers:
-I have no affiliations with any of these companies
-I do not take any sort of responsibility for any mistakes in this post. Use at your own risk and verify everything I'm saying with your own research.
-I've had this up and running for a total of 14 hours now. Probably should have waited weeks before posting, but was excited to share before I forget details...
I hope this helps. If I've made mistakes, PLEASE correct me. I'm always interested in learning more. But, please use tact (Internet Trolls not welcome here).
