Tesla Wall Charger as Box Cover

The attached pictures are from another forum and shows a Tesla Wall Charger being flush mounted using a double gang metallic electrical box. The mounting holes are the lower threaded #6 holes in a standard mud ring. These apparently match up with the lower 2 mounting locations on the Tesla Wall Charger. The Wall Charger completely covers the box opening. The upper mounting points are set using drywall anchors. A Tesla Wall Charger has a listed weight of 15 lbs.

My question is, does this install get covered under Electrical Code 406.5(c)?






Code in question snippet:

Securing and mounting equipment is not limited to being secured to a building or structure. If one item of electrical equipment is mounted to another, the item of electrical equipment being mounted shall also be firmly secured to the surface on which it is mounted. In accordance with 406.5(C), receptacles mounted to and supported by a cover shall be held rigidly against the cover by more than one screw or shall be a device assembly or box cover listed and identified for securing by a single screw. As stated in this section, unless the cover’s installation instructions allow the mounting of a receptacle to the cover by a single screw, two screws are required (see Figure 2).

 

406.5(C) applies to receptacles. The wall charger is not a receptacle, you are directly wiring the equipment. The only issues I see are:
1) The ground wire in the metal box needs to be bonded to the metal box.
2) You do not have a disconnect for the equipment. This would not apply if the panel where the circuit originates is within 50' and within sight of the equipment. If not you could just install a breaker lock for that circuit in the panel.
Edit:
3) See post #9 below. Hardwiring an EVSE that is 50 amps or less is not allowed.

 

So I'm looking at the wrong rule. Iirc direct wiring only requires the wires be enclosed.

My area requires EMT and metal boxes all the way back to the breaker box. No romex allowed. The install shown in the original post should pass in my area since the wires stays enclosed in the junction box until it enters the appliance.

The only thing I'm not sure about is the requirement for a disconnect. The circuit I'm planning will use 6awg thnn and a 50amp breaker. 60 foot run.

 

Yes.... using the 4" box with the two gang mud ring would be code compatible.
I'm guessing you're going to somehow mount that box in the wall.

You would still need a disconnect means at the charger or a breaker lock if the panel is not in direct sight of the charger.

 

I didn't think a disconnect, or especially a locking disconnect, was needed if the EV charger is 60 amps or less - unless the installation is in California.

 

The National Electric Code, USA, in Article 625 “Electric vehicle power transfer system” in Part III “Installation” at 625.43 requires a disconnect if the voltage is over 150 volts to ground or over 60 amperes.

625.44 (A) and (B) requires chargers “fixed in place” and “portable” be connected to the building/premises wiring system by cord and plug.

The required cord and plug connector performs as a disconnect for a 50 amp charger, so the code effectively requires a disconnect for a 50 amp electric vehicle charger.

The National Electric Code requires equipment to be installed and used according to the manufacturer’s installation instructions and according to the UL listing.

Credit to: Joe Ala

 

Or over 60 amps. Which is not the same as 60 amps and greater. There is variation in that language depending on the source which is making this frustrating. Plus apparently my municipality is still using the 2014 code...

Some quotes even mention a 50 foot distance. I re-measured the run. It is just shy of 50 foot.

 

It would be 120 volts to ground, which is less than 150 volts to ground, definitely not over 150 volts to ground.

If the OCPD is located in the same nearby area (e.g. garage, driveway apron) where the charger is installed I don't see the need for a disconnect or disconnect lock.

From what I'm finding, NEC 625.43 - circuits rated more than 60 amps must have a disconnecting means. So, by 2020 code, no disconnect is needed.

Am I missing or misunderstanding something?

 

625.44 also says that fastened-in-place equipment that is 50 amps or less is required to be connected by using a receptacle outlet. There is your disconnect.

Hardwiring a charger that is 50 amps or less is not allowed.

 

I think the Tesla Wall Connector Charger rated at 48 amps is made (and advertised) to be hardwired.

► https://www.bestbuy.com/site/tesla-w...E&gclsrc=aw.ds

Here is supposedly a 60 amp Tesla Wall Connector Charger that is hardwired with no disconnect.

 

Wall Connector incorporates automatic load management, which allows the max output to be customized to an existing power supply. If the electrical supply is unable to support the 60 amp configuration, select a lower amperage configuration.
NOTE: External disconnect switches are neither required nor recommended.

See Page 6 of manual (page 8 of pdf) - Reference: Tesla Wall Connector Installation Manual

► https://www.tesla.com/sites/default/...ion_Manual.pdf

 

I am just following you guys trying to learn something. Something was bothering me about the manufacturers statement “neither required…”. Then it hit me. How can the manufacturer tell you what’s required? I think that could only mean is some sense –“necessary for proper operation”.

Don’t they usually just tell you to follow all local regulations? Seems like that is really all they can safely say. I wonder if “required” was a poor choice of words on their part. It seems like they can’t mean regulations. What would those regulations be? So, what do they mean?

But maybe that’s done all the time and I just never noticed. (the big 80 is on the horizon, forgetting a lot these days)

 

zoesdad - I understand what you're saying.

The point of the matter is, with Tesla being right or being wrong, there are a whole lot of sellers (Amazon, Best Buy, Tesla, etc., etc.) advertising that the Tesla branded 'Wall Connector' charger can be hardwired and an external disconnect is not required, nor is it recommended.

That said, if say in the state of California or somewhere in say Canada requires such a charger to have an external disconnect - then there is a big (excuse the pun) disconnect between the manufacturer and whatever national or local code requirements there may be. How do you square that circle?

Is a house inspector expected to turn down a Tesla charger that has been hardwired and been in operation for years and installed exactly as the manufacturer states it should be installed by a licensed electrician? Is an electrician that is hired to reroute the conduit that feeds the charger suppose to do anything about it because now it doesn't have a disconnect?

 

The disconnect could be a breaker lock installed where the branch circuit originates.

Manufacturers make a lot of things. That doesn't make them code compliant even if they are listed by a recognized testing lab.

 

I've been researching this and the charger mounts on to a quick connect mounting plate.
That means to work on the charger it must be removed and it will be dead.
That's the reason that an additional disconnect is not recommended.

 

Tesla should make this information more widespread and apparent so people hiring an electrician to install the charger are not paying to have an unnecessary disconnect installed because the electrician thinks the charger installation is not code compliant without an added disconnect.

 

I want to thank everyone for the wonderful discussion in this thread.

I completed the conduit run and wire pull and installed the device. Only regret is that I should have shimmed the electrical box slightly against the stud as something wasn't true level. Hindsight is 20 20, I guess I could have adjusted the mud ring.

The Tesla Charger comes with 2 lag bolts with a waterproof washer. These are suppose to go into the stud and help waterproof the unit. Instead I was able to slip a 1x4 board through the hole in the drywall for the electrical box and fasten it to the stud. Bottom two screwed to the mud ring and top two bolts into a backer board.

Also measured the diameter of the lock ring to find the center of the hole to drill for the wires. Lock ring just clears the plastic ledge. 50 in lbs was the max setting for my torque screwdriver. Worked my way up in tension to get to that final torque setting. Breaker is torqued to 45 in lbs.

Measured 122 volts per leg to ground. 244 volts between the legs. Confirmed continuity between the ground wire and the conduit.

 

Main body of the charger mounts on top of the black plate. There are 3 raised blocky area that transfer power to the main body. Main body is held by 4 screws. I guess you guys are right. The entire device is meant to be its own disconnect.

The photo was taken slightly crooked and exasperates the tilt on the unit.

Panel wiring is also below.

 

The 2023 NEC tries to clarify this with new definitions. They don't seem to mean what I used to think they meant.Since the Tesla EVSE requires a tool to remove then it would fall under fixed in place. With that it would be required to be permanently wired but no special disconnect requirements.