We have been using a NEMA10-50 outlet indoors in our garage with good success
for the last 25 years. We have 4 welders as well as the EVSE and backup
generator that share the single outlet. The heavy prongs have never gotten hot
and the cost is low. None of our 240V loads need a neutral connection, so
there is no problem using the middle prong as earth. This outlet used to be
the standard for all 240V applications, but UL or NEC decided that the small
neutral current of a stove or dryer needed its own pin. Yes, our stove and
dryer have 4 pin outlets to current standards. Only one of our 3 EVs can use
an EVSE, if we get another one, some re-wireing will be required. The original
4 pin plug on our Siemens EVSE did melt, but the wires in its cord were too
small and the outlet was old.
Phil
On Tuesday, February 10, 2026 at 12:51:45 PM EST, (-Phil-) via EV
<[email protected]> wrote:
Personally I always advise people get a permanently installed EVSE now.
This is something they will use every day. Many new EV owners are always
tempted to try to "cheap out" and use a portable EVSE for daily use. I've
seen that the UMC portable EVSE that Tesla supplies is not nearly robust
enough. Best to keep that for emergencies and get one installed. A new
EV is a significant investment, so spending a couple thousand more for home
refueling is justified.
I do not like recommending a 14-50 (or other outlet) connected unit, there
have been too many melted outlets and fires, yes it CAN work, but it also
adds another point of failure. In the rare event of an EVSE failure the
extra burden of having to get a new one installed is not that bad, this is
when you can either break out your "emergency" EVSE or just use DCFC for a
few days. It's really rare.
On Tue, Feb 10, 2026 at 8:58 AM Lee Hart via EV <[email protected]> wrote:
> Jay Summet wrote
> > Assuming you don't plug/unplug the plug frequently, the connection on a
> NEMA 14-50 should be just as good
> > as hard wired (but if you exercise it frequently, it may eventually get
> lose, leading to resistance and heat).
>
> I agree. I've used 14-50s for decades for my EV chargers (and welder and
> heater). The chargers stayed plugged in 90% of the time. I only unplugged
> it when I needed to use the welder or heater. In 40+ years I never had to
> replace one because it wore out.
>
> Note: You can get receptacles that mount in a recess, so you can't get
> your fingers on the pins when partially engaged.
> --
> Excellence does not require perfection. -- Henry James
> But it *does* require attention to detail! -- Lee Hart
> --
> Lee A. Hart https://www.sunrise-ev.com
>
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