Home Install - Level 2 Charger vs. 30 amp plug

Once you have the plug you need a level 2 charger anyways, you're not foregoing anything. The charger doesn't work without a plug.

I might misunderstand something here, though.

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I'm happy to announce that the six new L2 charging stations installed at my company are now up and running and my car is happily charging, alongside a Honda Clarity. Minor hiccup initially as one of the chargers is already not working (reporting as offline). Of course that's the one I initially tried to use. The stations are from a company called SemaConnect. Customer service was a bit clueless. They initially told me I had to enter my credit card information (and get billed $10) even though I explained to them this was a free (members only) station. Glad I didn't listen to them.

 

If I understand your question correctly your asking has anyone put in a 30 amp/115 volt (NEMA TT-30 RV trailer receptacle) which would be a level one charger instead of a 240 volt/30 amp level 2 charger receptacle such as a NEMA 6-30 receptacle. The answer to your question on functionality is that the 115 volt 30 amp plug would be less efficient and take twice as long to charge as the 240 volt but it would be much quicker than a standard 12 amp charger.

From an installation standpoint both the 115 v/ 30amp and the 240 v/ 30 amp receptacle would require a dedicated 40 amp circuit, the same number of wires and wire size, so there would be no cost advantage to the lower voltage receptacle. For the TT-30 rv receptacle it would require 3-8 gauge wires, a ground, a neutral, and a hot. For a 6-30 240 volt dryer receptacle it would also require 3-8 gauge wires, a neutral and 2 hots. Given that is the case I would recommend installing the higher voltage receptacle which allows the quickest charging. In addition I would recommend upping the wire size to 6 gauge wire and a 50 amp receptacle and circuit breaker which would allow for future higher charging rates and the most options should they be needed.

 

I bought a charger with a 40-foot chord that plugs into my dryer and reaches to my car for charging. Super easy, super cheap. Not the fastest charge in the world, but overnight it's perfect. Primecom Level-2 Electric Vehicle Charger 220 Volt. It's only 16 amps but it does the trick. $250 with free shipping.

 

If you replicate the dryer outlet it will give you around 5.75 kw of charging. It would charger your car from 0-100% in about 11 hours (overnight). But since most people don't completely discharge their battery it would charge from 20-100% in about 9 hours or 20-80% in 6.7 hours.

The easy way to do this would be do find the main electrical panel. If the panel is on the inside of the house go from there through the wall to the outside of the house and install the new outlet. If the panel is on the outside of the house you could install the outlet next to the panel. If the distance from the panel to the car is less that 50 feet you can run a long cord as previously mentioned. If it over 50 feet I would recommend running ridged conduit along the exterior of the house to near the location of the car.

Since it only till spring you could also just run a long (RV 14-50) extension cord to the dryer plug and use it if its convenient to plug into. And you can take the cord with you when you move. I recommend the 14-50 extension cord because it can easily handle the 30 amps of the dryer plug without over heating. you would need an adapter to go from 14-50 to a 6-30 plug but they are readaliy available or can be made fairly simply.

 

Sorry the level 1 will only give you 1.4 kw of charge. It will not draw more than 12 amps. It also can only use 120volts. If you want to charge faster you have to use a level 2 charger. All level 2 chargers are 240 volt. Though some of them can be de-rated downward to run 120 volt. The higher the amperage the faster they charge until you reach 32 amps which is the max that the Kona can accept form an AC charger. But also for higher amperage you need larger wires. So while you can de-rate to lower amperage and voltage with a level 2 you can not go the other direction with lower voltage and amperage level 1 as this will cause the unit and wires to overheat.

 

Note since I wrote the last post# 8 in October 2019 I have done testing and it has been confirmed by others as well that the level 1 EVSE that came with the Kona can charge at 240 volts giving 2.8 kws. It is sill limited to 12 amps but at 240 volts it will give a nice 20%- 80% charge over night. It appears that he same charge is used in Europe on 240 volt 50 hz though it is re labeled as a 240 volt charger. I have charge my car using the the EVSE that came with car and an adapter to 240 volt and it charged the car in 12 hrs. So it is possible. I can't speak to long term reliability at 240 volts because I only tested the one time as I also have a level 2 EVSE.

 

I had an electrician run conduit directly off the main panel, into a $100 GFI specific to handle 240 volts, then on around the front corner to a surface-mounted wall plug just at the far end of my front porch. Then I used my Mustart 240v 40a charger with 25 foot cord to plug in for charging. Pushing and pulling that giant plug got old after a year so I had the electrician run more conduit off the outlet box, up the front wall, across to the underside of the porch ceiling, across to the driveway and down the backside of the house support column which conceals the entire array from street view and shields it from the baking afternoon California sun. Now I just pull up, pop the hatch and plug in with the formerly "portable" charger always plugged in and anchored for security. The charger will deliver the full amperage the on-board charger can accept - 7.2 kWh, which equates to around 28 miles per hour of charge, which means charging from 30% to 90% in under 4 hours.
When I had to plug in the wall everyday I used to run the battery further down and charge up higher, but now I can just click on so conveniently, I'll usually recharge after each day's commute and keep the battery around 80%. Recently I did a full charge with the results shown below after 25K on the odometer.

 

I don’t have a dedicated 220V outlet in my garage. I was able to locate an unused 120V circuit nearby which I extended to the garage and now use exclusively for level 1 charging.

Cost me nearly nothing to install. It’s slow at 1.2 kW, which gives about 50 miles in a 12 hour overnight charge, but more than enough for my daily use. Long trips are infrequent and need planning ahead. I can always get a rapid charge for free if needed at a nearby auto dealership


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I did the same thing. Bought parts for about $10 and built a NEMA whatever adapter for the standard EVSE. If I need a faster charge I plug into our dryer outlet at 220V. But most of the time I just use the standard 110V since with the dryer outlet the cable needs to go under the door into the garage.

 

I'd never get away with that in my country!!!

But I have been considering the principle when deciding on whether to install a fixed EVSE in my garage, or use a portable, adjustable one plugged into a 32 amp power outlet.
I think it will be the latter. Due to the EV charging network in this country being pretty sparse, but quite a number of power outlets of various capacities being available to the public, I have an adjustable portable EVSE and some adapter pigtails to carry on my travels. At the moment the granny charger is suitable for our needs at home, but if we ever need more I will just get a 32amp outlet installed and plug the portable EVSE into that.

 

That's exactly what I've been doing.

 

Well, at home I have both a L2 EVSE (with installed 14-50R receptacle) and the 120V EVSE that came with the car. But have never used either (except a brief initial test). All my charging (yes, 100%) has been free on public chargers, incl on trips.

But after Apr 22, this regular free charging could come to an end here and I may have to start doing it at home (still cheaper than any public for pay charger). So will probably try them both. I'm sure for most days we can get by with the just the 120V EVSE. Will see.

 

I think it is Apr 22, maybe it is the 30th. The one close L2 where I used to walk to is also charging now. So yeah, there still are free ones, but not close to where I live, and convenient like the PC ones were. Unless they extend it, or someone else steps up...