Just got a Kona EV, home charging question

  • Thread starter Thread starter sam9657
  • Start date Start date
  • Replies Replies 50
  • Views Views 22K
Can't tell from that picture. You've got two circuits there. A 30A circuit and a 40A circuit. You need to figure out which one feeds your dryer outlet. Text the outlet for voltage. Then turn off one set of switches at a time to see which circuit the dryer outlet is on. (220V circuit breakers have two poles. Your breakers have separate switches for each pole, and the two switches are interlocked, so that both 30s will operate together, and both 40s will operate together.)
 
We just went thru this on our purchase in December (Yea !! Love this car !!) ... We took the "SAFE" route -- Had an Electrician install a 14-50 240v Circuit in our Garage. It cost $500 to have it done but really worth it. Our Kona charges from 30% to 80% in about 4 hours. There are a variety of CHARGING STATIONS that you can purchase. (There's a link here somewhere.) Not wanting all the WiFi Remote features that can easily run into $600-700+, we settled on a $399 Charger (Amazon)... It is REALLY sweet. So we got a really fast charging station installed for < $1,000 .... It looks and works perfectly. Good luck. Enjoy !
 
Most EVSE can be "de-rated", meaning you can tell a 32A charger to only pull 24A, or 16A, so that it doesn't draw more current than your circuit can safely handle. So, you could buy a 32A EVSE, and run it at 24A. However, if you want to run it at 32A, you'll need to figure out if your outlet is on the 30 or 40 amp circuit shown in that sub-panel.
 
sam9657 said:
View attachment 7466

This is what my circuit breaker looks like, I am ok to buy the 32a charger?
Click to expand...



In the picture you have one 40 amp 240 volt circuit and two 30 amp 120 volt circuits. These are 1/2 size tandem circuit breakers. They meet code. Based on the picture the plug should be connected to the 40 amp circuit breaker. To test it turn off the breaker and check the outlet with a volt meter. If you are not comfortable doing that get an electrician to check it. Is this the garage panel or the whole house? If its the garage you're probably OK. If its the House it's a very small panel and you want to have an electrician verify that the house can handle the additional load from an EVSE charging at 32 amps for 6-8 hours. The outlet is a Nema 14-50 however since there are no 40 amp outlets and plugs the code allows you to use a 50 amp outlet on a 40 amp circuit. So from that stand point this circuit appears to meet code. Yes it would be good for a 32 amp EVSE if every thing above checks out.
 
Fastnf said:
In the picture you have one 40 amp 240 volt circuit and two 30 amp 120 volt circuits. These are 1/2 size tandem circuit breakers. They meet code. Based on the picture the plug should be connected to the 40 amp circuit breaker. To test it turn off the breaker and check the outlet with a volt meter. If you are not comfortable doing that get an electrician to check it. Is this the garage panel or the whole house? If its the garage you're probably OK. If its the House it's a very small panel and you want to have an electrician verify that the house can handle the additional load from an EVSE charging at 32 amps for 6-8 hours. The outlet is a Nema 14-50 however since there are no 40 amp outlets and plugs the code allows you to use a 50 amp outlet on a 40 amp circuit. So from that stand point this circuit appears to meet code. Yes it would be good for a 32 amp EVSE if every thing above checks out.
Click to expand...
That box actually shows two double pole (220V) circuits. There are four throws, but the 40s are interlocked to each other, and the 30s are interlocked to each other. These are both 220V circuits, so either one could be feeding that 14-50 outlet.
(That's definitely a sub-panel. If it were for the whole house, the house would have no receptacles or lighting circuits at all.)
 
NRH said:
That box actually shows two double pole (220V) circuits. There are four throws, but the 40s are interlocked to each other, and the 30s are interlocked to each other. These are both 220V circuits, so either one could be feeding that 14-50 outlet.
(That's definitely a sub-panel. If it were for the whole house, the house would have no receptacles or lighting circuits at all.)
Click to expand...


I stand corrected. I hadn't noticed the outer interlock on the 30 amp side.
 
NRH said:
That box actually shows two double pole (220V) circuits. There are four throws, but the 40s are interlocked to each other, and the 30s are interlocked to each other. These are both 220V circuits, so either one could be feeding that 14-50 outlet.
(That's definitely a sub-panel. If it were for the whole house, the house would have no receptacles or lighting circuits at all.)
Click to expand...

So I am good?


Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs
 
sam9657 said:
So I am good?
Click to expand...
No. This is not something you should ask people on the internet about. Call an electrician to come look at the wiring, the breaker, and the outlet. Ask them to test the outlet to make sure it works. Have them write down the specs of the breaker and wiring so you can make an informed decision on what EVSE to purchase.
 
Electra said:
No. This is not something you should ask people on the internet about. Call an electrician to come look at the wiring, the breaker, and the outlet. Ask them to test the outlet to make sure it works. Have them write down the specs of the breaker and wiring so you can make an informed decision on what EVSE to purchase.
Click to expand...
This not that difficult of a problem to figure out and avoid a $100+ call out by an electrician to tell if the receptacle works and which breaker its attached to, i.e. plug in your dryer or other 240v appliance, verify it has power and the turn off each dual pole breaker to determine if its the 40 or 30 amp breakers that are powering the recepticle. Its likely the 40 amp breaker, if yes go buy a 32 amp EVSE and enjoy. If it is the 30 amp breaker might be worth trying to figure out the wiring size and if you can safely upgrade the breaker to 40 amps or just be happy with a 24 amp EVSE. If any of these steps make you uncomfortable by all means call an electrician.
 
sam9657 said:
So I am good?
Click to expand...
A few people have kindly given you advice on how to check which circuit your outlet is on. You can either use that advice to test the circuit, or you can call an electrician. But repeating the question without doing one of those first isn't going to get you any closer to an answer.
 
  • Like
Reactions: apu
XtsKonaTrooper said:
Take a pic of your house panel, that shows lights, outlets, etc.
Click to expand...
Include the main breaker, BTW that tie handle on the external DNPL 2-30A are no longer code in Canada as they must be internally connected as well. Too many have tripped only 1/2 the breaker leaving 120 V still on the circuit.
(even though new replacements still have the little holes in them, enabling one to re-use the metal tie).
 
BlueKonaEV said:
Why not get

Why not get an EVSE for your 14-30 outlet? They are under $350 and they charge at about 6.0 kwh speed.
https://www.amazon.com/MUSTART-Portable-Charger-Electric-Charging/dp/B07TGBB1ML/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?keywords=mustart+level+2+26+amp&qid=1581998451&sr=8-4&th=1&psc=1

With the adapter you double your charging speed.. with a 26 amp EVSE, you charge 5 times faster..
Click to expand...

Is there a mfg that sells an exterior wall-mountable fixture that would house a 30A 14-30 outlet as well as a GFCI for running standard yard tools, etc? I realize the voltages are different so not sure it would be feasible. Thx!


Sent from my iPad using Inside EVs
 
Few people are aware than when setting up a breaker panel, a single 240v breaker occupies what would be two slots for 120v breakers. Most interior outlets in the U.S. are "110" which is really between 110 and 120 volts with a 15 amp breaker. Outside outlets usually handle 20 amps and will be connected through a GFIC (ground fault interrupt circuit) that provides an extra measure of safety.
Since a standard household outlet has TWO, 110/120v plugs, each plug is basically carrying one-half of a 240v circuit and this is why you need to "extra wire" for ground in a 110 that you don't need in a 240v! Each breaker way back on the panel is rated for either 15 or 20 amps, so an 240v adapter works by pulling 120v off each outlet PLUS the maximum rated amperage per circuit which means you max out at 15 or 20 amps.
So basically you're able to utilize both breakers and double your current to a maximum of 3.6 kWh assuming the full 120v is delivered and factoring in a 75% reduction in rated amps from 20 to 15. Assuming you need to charge from 20% up to 80% that's 10.67 hours which ain't to bad if you don't have a better solution. With a standard 240v40a you would charge the same amount in half the time or 5.3 hours - give or take depending on other variables.
It's kind of scary to most people because if you try to draw too much current through an under-rated wire a fire can result, but remember the adapter doesn't let 30 or 40 amps pass, just 15-30 minus about 75%.
 
Let me put in a possibly-unpopular plug for saving some money and charging with that plain old wall socket and the charger that comes with the car. If I plug in overnight for 12 hours, my car gains about 52 miles of range. If you do that every night it works out to 1560 miles in a month -- considerably more than most people drive. Of course, if you frequently drive long distances, it won't work for you, but after living with my Kona and nothing but my cheapo wall socket plug for nearly 5 months I am convinced that lots of people waste money on charging goodies they don't really need
 
Bruce M. said:
Let me put in a possibly-unpopular plug for saving some money and charging with that plain old wall socket and the charger that comes with the car. If I plug in overnight for 12 hours, my car gains about 52 miles of range. If you do that every night it works out to 1560 miles in a month -- considerably more than most people drive. Of course, if you frequently drive long distances, it won't work for you, but after living with my Kona and nothing but my cheapo wall socket plug for nearly 5 months I am convinced that lots of people waste money on charging goodies they don't really need
Click to expand...
You would be right for a lot of people, I would not be one of these people, I drive that easily in a day.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top