# Wall Charger location suggestions for 3 car garage



## Gary S (10 mo ago)

I have a 3 car garage and I need some advice on where is the best location to install a Tesla wall charger in our garage. I have a wall charger being shipped from Tesla that comes with a 24' cable. The spacing between the garage doors is only 7 inches wide. The garage also has two support post between the vehicles around the front tires too. Our master plan is to get another electric vehicle one day so I am going to have a 14-50 connecter installed below the Tesla wall charger just in case it's not a Tesla. We are not very good backing up so I would prefer to drive the vehicles into the garage vs backing it in.

So where have most people installed their wall charger? Between the garage doors, Near the electrical panel or on post between the cars near the front tires?

Option A:
Adding it between the garage doors but its only 7 inches wide. Easier access but with the width of the wall connector, charger cord and charger handle is it too wide for this spot?

Option B:
If I add it to the garage door wall on the far left, Is 15 inches enough space for it to fit and easily pull out the charger handle from the wall charger? The garage door rail extends out about 4 inches. Pro: It puts it within 6 feet from the electrical panel.

Option C:
Adding it to the center post near the front tires but its only 7 inches wide too.




Thanks in advance!


----------



## Bigriver (Jan 26, 2018)

We have a 3 stall garage with a Tesla wall connector with 24 ft cable on the left wall near the garage door, when viewed from the outside. We drive nose-first into the garage. The model 3 gets that first spot, so the charging station is right at its charge port. The model X gets the middle spot and the charging cable easily reaches it. We have never needed to charge both cars at the same time, so it works fine to share the wall connector. However, I did set up a station for the mobile charger between the 2 cars (seen at left in picture), but have never used it more that a few times when we were gone on a longterm vacation and wanted to leave both cars plugged in.

Proximity to the electrical panel makes the installation easier. We were lucky that our location closest to the panel is also what easily works with the cars. At any other corner of the garage would not be as functional/flexible.


----------



## Luvtordrive (7 mo ago)

LOL, not sure if it helps, but I have a one car garage that I don’t park a car in. I installed my wall charger On the outside wall of my garage directly on the other side of the wall where the circuit breaker is. I can charge the car from either position of my 2 car driveway…forward or backward. Wasn’t a decision for me and this set up works great.


----------



## Ed Woodrick (May 26, 2018)

If you have a 3 car garage and are expecting to get another EV, then the best solution would be to have 2 or 3 wall connectors.
While having a long cord may seem nice, it just ends up being a pain having to pull from one location to another and then remember if you need to unplug one car and plug the other in.
I believe that the Tesla wall connectors can be configured to allow two 50A chargers to run at the same time, or in the case of a single 50A feed, they run one at a time, switching when completed.


----------



## mrau (Nov 22, 2018)

Gary S said:


> Option B:
> If I add it to the garage door wall on the far left, Is 15 inches enough space for it to fit


Of the three options. B is doable. 15" is enough space, 7" between the garage doors is not. You may have to drape the cord over the wall connector and not use the side holder. Added bonus for this location is that it can be out of the way when not in use and you can easily reach a car that may be parked in the driveway.

For reference here is photo of an install that has 19" between the door rails. The basket below is to store cord and keep it safe from garage door tracks.


----------



## Feathermerchant (Sep 17, 2018)

I don't think the electric code allows a plug on the same circuit as a wall connector. You could by accident overload the 50A circuit and start a fire.
Do you have an attic above your garage ceiling? I do and ran the wiring for two 50 A circuits thru it and put NEMA 6-50's where the circuits come thru the ceiling. 
One is on an outside wall so I installed the box for the plug on a piece of wood attached to the wall. The other is in the middle of the garage clear the door mechanism on a 2X6 that i attached to the joist above the ceiling. I bought two Gen1 UMC's used an leave them in the garage. Gen2's would be fine as we never need to charge at 40A anyway.


----------



## Gary S (10 mo ago)

mrau said:


> Of the three options. B is doable. 15" is enough space, 7" between the garage doors is not. You may have to drape the cord over the wall connector and not use the side holder. Added bonus for this location is that it can be out of the way when not in use and you can easily reach a car that may be parked in the driveway.
> 
> For reference here is photo of an install that has 19" between the door rails. The basket below is to store cord and keep it safe from garage door tracks.
> 
> ...


----------



## garsh (Apr 4, 2016)

Feathermerchant said:


> I don't think the electric code allows a plug on the same circuit as a wall connector. You could by accident overload the 50A circuit and start a fire.


I believe you're correct that electrical codes generally state that there should only be a single outlet/device for circuits above 20 amps.

However, the circuit breaker will trip on an overloaded circuit, preventing a fire.


----------



## JasonF (Oct 26, 2018)

Gary S said:


> Option B:
> If I add it to the garage door wall on the far left, Is 15 inches enough space for it to fit and easily pull out the charger handle from the wall charger? The garage door rail extends out about 4 inches. Pro: It puts it within 6 feet from the electrical panel.


I would suggest this one. Put one wall connector on each outside wall. Because Wall Connectors have power sharing, you can run both on a single 50-amp or 80-amp circuit.

I would NOT put a wall connector between or near garage doors, as the cable can get damaged by the doors - it's almost inevitable. And even if you're super careful, you expect the charging cables near the outside walls, but not in the center, so it's also less of a tripping hazard.


----------



## Ed Woodrick (May 26, 2018)

garsh said:


> However, the circuit breaker will trip on an overloaded circuit, preventing a fire.


You know better than to make statements like that. It should be:

"The circuit breaker MAY trip"


----------



## JasonF (Oct 26, 2018)

Ed Woodrick said:


> You know better than to make statements like that. It should be:
> 
> "The circuit breaker MAY trip"


I can increase the accuracy of this even further by pointing out that a circuit breaker is designed to be rated at or below the house wiring capacity to prevent fires. It’s not designed to regulate current, it just protects the house wiring.


----------



## Luvtordrive (7 mo ago)

When my ChargePoint EV charger was installed I got municipal permits and it had to be inspected by the town after installation.


----------



## Ace Ranch (8 mo ago)

JasonF said:


> I would suggest this one. Put one wall connector on each outside wall. Because Wall Connectors have power sharing, you can run both on a single 50-amp or 80-amp circuit.
> 
> I would NOT put a wall connector between or near garage doors, as the cable can get damaged by the doors - it's almost inevitable. And even if you're super careful, you expect the charging cables near the outside walls, but not in the center, so it's also less of a tripping hazard.


Thanks for calling it a Connector. That is what it is.


----------



## JasonF (Oct 26, 2018)

Ace Ranch said:


> Thanks for calling it a Connector. That is what it is.


That's what its name is!









Wall Connector


The Tesla Wall Connector is the most efficient way to charge a Tesla at home — just plug in your vehicle overnight and wake up to a charged vehicle.




www.tesla.com


----------



## sirwm (Jun 4, 2021)

from the photos in the original post, I would say that the Tesla charger ( assuming a level 2 charger that you
buy extra from Tesla ) would have to go on a side wall. Having the charger near the electrical panel is a non-factor in my thinking. Good thing they are giving you a 24 ft cord - I only got an 18 ft cord.


----------

