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For installation of a Tesla Gen 3 EVSE the manual requires the terminal screws be tightened to 50 lbf.in torque and recommends wire from #12-#4 gauge with #6 gauge wire used for a maximum possible charge.

Since wire with a smaller diameter than #6 gauge wire can be used, especially for the grounding conductor, can someone speak to a recommended adjusted torque value as to not damage/crush the smaller gauge wire that might occur when 50 lbf.in torque is applied. For example, the circuit breaker torque recommendations vary based on wire size and #8 gauge wire and smaller require lower torque settings than #4 and #6 gauge wire.

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    Note that this is inch pounds, not foot pounds. You can do 50 inch pounds with a simple torque screwdriver. It takes the lever arm of a torque wrench to get to 50 foot pounds. It's a lot less pressure than you'd think, though 40 In/lb will deform #12 wire a bit. However, the device is designed for that.
    – FreeMan
    Nov 14 at 23:50

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It's a UL listed device. When installing a UL listed device, the instructions in the manual are the ones you follow. The instructions say torque to 5.6Nm, so you torque to 5.6Nm. Don't second-guess the engineers who designed the unit or the ones who certified the EVSE. Torque the connections to 5.6Nm.

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  • I tried to up vote this again, but it took it away, so I had to up vote it a 3rd time!
    – FreeMan
    Nov 15 at 0:35

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