Juicebox install

[dlong1119]

Unless the Juicbox manual give a reason to do differently, just leave it at 40A, your vehicle will negotiate and only accept what it can.

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[johnparjr]

leave it the 40amp is enough

 

[JLRyder]

I believe that the JB will meter the power (confirm that). If you go 50a make sure that your delivery can handle that current for a sustained duration over the lifetime of the effort. I’m all for future proofing something, just make sure it’s up to code if you go the 50a route…hate to hear about a fire ?.

 

[JLeco2022]

as an electrician this thread makes me laugh so much, good luck with this

 

[dlong1119]

as an electrician this thread makes me laugh so much, good luck with this

Rather than be a dick, how about give some "professional" advice? You've helped no one with your comment.

 

[JLeco2022]

Rather than be a dick, how about give some "professional" advice? You've helped no one with your comment.

I gave my advice, but keep on with that name calling

 

[dlong1119]

I gave my advice, but keep on with that name calling

Sorry, I call it as I see it. Your comment was pointless, unhelpful, and not what this forum is all about. Seeing as that was your only post in this thread, I have to assume that was your "advice", which makes my point even stronger. Try helping out instead of sitting back and making snide comments, or kick rocks and join Reddit.

 

[ormandj]

The wiring installed is what matters. If the run length and gauge/material (copper vs aluminum) is undersized for the load, installing a higher amperage breaker is asking for a fire. You don’t just swap a breaker because you like the number. I suspect this is what the electrician was referring to. Put the 40A back in unless you know the installation is capable of the higher potential load.

 

[morph860]

The wiring installed is what matters. If the run length and gauge/material (copper vs aluminum) is undersized for the load, installing a higher amperage breaker is asking for a fire. You don’t just swap a breaker because you like the number. I suspect this is what the electrician was referring to. Put the 40A back in unless you know the installation is capable of the higher potential load.

It’s hardwired using the wiring harness that is part of the JuiceBox 40.

 

[dlong1119]

The wiring installed is what matters. If the run length and gauge/material (copper vs aluminum) is undersized for the load, installing a higher amperage breaker is asking for a fire. You don’t just swap a breaker because you like the number. I suspect this is what the electrician was referring to. Put the 40A back in unless you know the installation is capable of the higher potential load.

OP said the Juicebox was a hardwire version with its own whip, so assuming that was connected directly to the breaker as he indicated then he should be good.

 

[ormandj]

It’s hardwired using the wiring harness that is part of the JuiceBox 40.

I don’t have a Juicebox, are you saying the harness that comes with the juicebox runs directly into the electrical panel with the breaker and there is no additional wiring involved?

If so, then whatever that is rated for determines the breaker. Some electrician you paid installed an undersized breaker? That’s garbage, must be all he had in his truck.

 

[morph860]

Yes. There is no additional wiring involved. I asked 3 different electricians and got 3 different answers. I honestly should have just installed it myself. The main question I needed answered was whether or not my panel could handle another 40a or 50a breaker. My buddy who’s an electrical engineer confirmed I was good there. So I went with his opinion and swapped the breaker to the 50a that Enel X recommends for the JuiceBox 40.

 

[dlong1119]

I don’t have a Juicebox, are you saying the harness that comes with the juicebox runs directly into the electrical panel with the breaker and there is no additional wiring involved?

If so, then whatever that is rated for determines the breaker. Some electrician you paid installed an undersized breaker? That’s garbage, must be all he had in his truck.

Just looked up the specs and it comes with a 2.3' whip to be connected to a disconnect. If he was able to install that close to his panel then the breaker would be all that's needed. It does, however, still call for a 50A breaker and the electrician effed up on his part of the install, not to mention opened up serious liability if anything was to happen.

 

[redracer]

Like what @ormandj said, it all comes down to the wire that was installed from your breaker to your EVSE (Juice Box).

The common misconception is that a breaker is there to protect what's plugged in, IT'S NOT. The breakers are there to protect the wiring in the walls, to keep them from melting, shorting, igniting, and lighting your house on fire. If you upped your breaker size beond what your wire is sized for, this is exactly what can happen.

Also, don't go by standard wire sizing guides, as they are designed for intermittent loads. EV "chargers" or EVSE (Electric Vehicle Service Equipment) can provide their maximum current constantly, even for 24 hours straight if your ev has a big enough battery. This draws maximum rated current for extended periods which causes a lot of extra heating of the wire that no other loads in your house can produce. The best rule of thumb is to look up what the recommended breaker for your EVSE is, use that current to look up the minimum wire size by current standards, factoring in derating of the wire by how it's ran and the length of the run, then step up to the next wire size for safety.

Then you also should consider how much capacity that your current main panel (breaker box) has left for handling this extra load. A lot goes into this as well, based on the main breaker size, the number of loads, and the capacity of the buss bars. Also, if you have a solar install in your house, the rules change dramitically as now you can be overloading the raiting of the panels buss bars having multiple sources of power being fed in. (rules state that in the case of solar, the sum of all of your load breakers can not exceed the maximum raiting of the buss bars)

I'm saying all of this to both educate and to scare you a bit. If you are not up to figuring all of this out, dont go into your breaker box and start changing things. EV "chargers" can and have caused homes to burn down!

Now for simplicitys sake, if what you're hinting at is that your EVSE is hard wired directly to your breaker box with the cable that came with the unit, and it's documentation gives you a breaker size to use, and your panel can handle the extra load... then that shouldn't be a problem.

 

[EHB3]

Bought my '24 Rubi X PHEV on 11/18/23. Had our electrician put in a 50a circuit connected to a 240v outlet and purchased the 40a JuiceBox. Did not hard wire so I purchased a 25' 240v extension cord as I wanted the JuiceBox in a certain place and our panel and sub-panel is a short distance away. Set up is perfect and provides max. flexibility going forward.

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