NEMA 6-50 Installation Cost (Full Breakdown)
Last updated on April 18th, 2023 at 11:18 pm
It is important to know the cost of installing an outlet and the installation process involved. This way, nobody can cheat you, allowing you to estimate the cost and prepare a budget.
Below you’ll learn about the installation process of the NEMA 6-50 and how much it costs.
Installing NEMA 6-50 outlets can cost any amount between $500 and $2,500. Electricians decide the cost after completing a site evaluation of where you want it installed. The electrician also considers the time it’ll take for installation before charging a fee.
How Much Does It Cost To Install A 6-50 NEMA?
An electrician will charge you around $500 and $2,500 to install a NEMA 6-50 outlet—the distance between your panel and where you want the plug installed impacts the cost.
The farther the distance, the higher the installation cost. The electrician then calculates the load to ascertain if your panel can withstand the extra load.
If the panel isn’t up to the task, the electrician will enhance the subpanel, which will incur further costs. Another item to consider is the breaker box.
The electrician decides the breaker box needed to install the plug. Breaker boxes have unique amperage grades and therefore have their respective prices.
The cost will significantly reduce if you want to install the outlet yourself. What you’ll need is to buy items to complete the installation.
The expertise of the electrician is what raises the cost. However, if you’re confident in your abilities, you can try it as long as you apply safety precautions.
Wiring Process of A NEMA 6-50 Outlet
There are dual hot prongs on a NEMA 6-50 outlet parallel to one another. The third prong, which is shaped like a horseshoe, is the ground prong.
Each of the two hot prongs has distinct widths, and the ground prong is larger than both. A 250-volt 50 Amps electrical breaker circuit connects to the NEMA 6-50.
This plug uses wires of size 8-gauge above. The following process explains how to wire the NEMA 6-50 outlet.
For this task, you’ll need an electrical toolbox.
- Peel off 3/8 inches from the wire’s insulation using a wire stripper or knife. This particular wire goes into the NEMA 6-50 plug.
- Slacken the terminal screws of the plug’s wire using a screwdriver. Leave the screws in place, and do not remove them.
- Fix the ground cable to the ground terminal. The screw of the outlet’s terminal is green.
If the cables come in white, black, and red colors, pick the white cable as the ground.
- Fix the black cable’s exposed part into the outlet’s left-area cable terminal. This terminal would be the one joined to the smallest prong. Fasten the screw of the terminal using a screwdriver.
- Attach the last wire’s end into the outlet’s remaining terminal. This terminal links to the bigger prong. Finish by fastening the terminal’s bolt.
How Long Does It Take To Install A 6-50 NEMA?
Installing a NEMA 6-50 plug can take less than an hour or two for a professional electrician. You and the electrician will discuss the best area to install the outlet.
The electrician considers the distance between your proposed area and the panel. This distance will define the amount of time to complete installation.
The next action is to ascertain the circuitry plan so that the conduit will have a good path.
This task requires a professional since the conduit’s position needs to be safe; if not, electrical accidents can occur.
After determining a safe path, the conduit needs a connection to the distribution board. The next step is wiring the distribution board for the new amp breaker.
The last step is to finish the cabling in the circuit breaker. All these factors contribute to the time used for installation.
Therefore the time taken for installation depends on how competent and fast the electrician is.
How Many Amps Breakers Does A Tesla Charger Need?
The amps breaker amount required by Tesla chargers hinges on the outlet’s amperage and voltage.
Amp breaker size rests on the number of amps used and the electric current pulled out. If you’re using an outlet with 240 volts, a 50-Amp or 60-Amp circuit breaker will be good.
However, your preferred recharge rate can influence this decision. It is advisable to remain above the 50-Amp circuit breaker.
1. Amount of Amps a Tesla Charger Pulls
Tesla chargers feature an AC outlet connecting to the wall outlet. These chargers are of various sizes based on if they’re for commercial purposes or home usage.
There’s an integrated circuit breaker in the charger to avert electrical accidents when there’s a malfunction or power outage.
The design of these chargers doesn’t allow them to pull a large number of amps. The highest continuous current of these chargers is 48 Amps. This attribute varies according to the amp breaker size.
Below is a list of amp circuit breaker sizes and how much current they pull.
| Amp Circuit Breaker | Output and Power |
|---|---|
| 60 Amps | 48 Amps & 11.5 kW |
| 50 Amps | 40 Amps & 9.6 kW |
| 40 Amps | 32 Amps & 7.7 kW |
| 30 Amps | 24 Amps & 5.7 kW |
2. Features to Consider Before Getting Tesla Charger
Before purchasing a charger, it is important to consider the following factors.
1. Electrical Load Capacity
The size of the electrical load is very important since it determines the amount of current flowing into the car. Electrical load covers amps, volts, and watts of the charger.
All these variables matter once you plug in the charger to an outlet. For instance, a 240-volt charger having a circuit breaker of 50 Amps produces 12,000 watts.
You must confirm these calculations to ensure the charger can properly charge your car.
2. Preferred Recharge Rate
Chargers have various charging speeds. Before getting a charger, you need to consider how fast a particular charger will charge the car.
A quicker charger has a larger breaker adapter for the outlet. For instance, a 120-volt adapter charges a car at 3 miles every hour.
On the other hand, a 240-volt adapter charges the vehicle at the rate of 30 miles every hour. With these various rates, you’ll have to find the charger that best matches your preferred rate.
3. Size of Electric Service
The size of the electric size determines how efficiently the electricity circulates. It influences charging, which varies depending on the size of the breaker.
Your current service might be enough to withstand the load. A car, however, doesn’t require much service to power itself. It also isn’t advisable to mount an upgraded service.
But you can never tell if the extra load might upset the electrical service.
Where Can I Install A NEMA 6-50?
You can install NEMA 6-50 in your home’s garage or the kitchen. The NEMA 6-50 outlet is good for plugging electric vehicle chargers.
You can plug electric ovens and kitchens into the NEMA 6-50 outlet. In addition, you can also install the NEMA 6-50 in workshops.
This outlet is applied in welding and plasma cutting. The NEMA 6-50 is cheaper than its counterparts because it doesn’t require a neutral wire.
The plug is also easier to install since its cross-section is smaller than its counterparts. The smaller size of the wire gives it more flexibility.
There are also lesser wires in the plugs setup, which lessens the installation time.
Conclusion
It costs about $500 to $2500 to install a NEMA 6-50. A professional electrician can install this outlet in under an hour or two.
You can install the NEMA 6-50 in the kitchen, garage, and workshops. The recommended amp breaker size for a Tesla charger is 50 Amps.
Hey, I’m Michael Davis, a 35-year-old with a degree and a love for cars and tech. Since I was a kid, cars have been my thing—so much that I even thought they ran on magic beans! Fast forward, and I’ve built Vehicle Army, your one-stop-shop for easy-to-understand car facts.
