[greatbreweh]

I hope its ok posting this link I watch these guys who I think really do their homework and they had a very disturbing episode on the dangers of charging at home thought maybe a good idea to share here due to our big batteries and long period charging. Real eye opener about duty cycle of some of these products not rated for EV's

Will be looking much closer at my setup.

 

[Leaf-clarity]

I would have to disagree with parts of it, even though it’s a great PSA. You cant just treat those 240v outlets like any other in the house. If you get a trusted electrician that does their work right then that should not happen . Wires not bolted correctly or coming loose over time would be the main cause of those malfunctions or failures, bad connections would result in higher resistance then energy lost through heat (thus melting of the plastic housing). Aluminum wire not connected correctly and with other metals would cause thermal expansion which would loosen the connection.
I can see those failures happening if one plugged and unplugged their charger nightly. Even more if the weight of the charger was supported by the outlet. If this is the case then you need to get someone to tighten the connection periodically.
I have my level 2 charger attached to the wall so the weight of the charger is not on the receptacle and it’s always plugged in.
That said, seeing that breaker fail is quite scary. That is just bad luck or bad quality control on the manufacturer.

 

[ChasingCoral]

The most important part of this is the NEMA 14-50 outlets. Most of these are designed for low duty cycle and infrequent plug-in / unplug. These cheaper units are definitely not designed to have chargers plugged in and unplugged daily. It is important to buy top quality NEMA 14-50 outlets. Even better is to have an EV-trained electrician install a hard-wired charger.

 

[jimfigler]

I've seen these videos and of course you are going to see the failures but what about overwhelming majority that have had zero problems. Those don't make entertaining, and YouTube click worth watching. I've had my Home Depot bought outlet installed since July 2021. My charger is wall mounted and plugged in constantly. I've had it plugged and unplugged 6 to 10 times. I removed the cover plate last month and inspected the outlet and wiring, like the same as day one.

 

[Leaf to Lightning : )]

I'm not sure why any outlet would be 'plugged in and out daily' as most homeowners are simply leaving their J1772 Mobile Charger or similar charger plugged in all the time. The main concern is the TIGHTNESS of all connections. There is no way to 'know' if you have a 'better' NEMA 14-50 outlet, it's just what you or your electrician can buy from the hardware store, and it's perfectly fit for what it's designed for: 50amps. We are only using 30.

 

[greatbreweh]

I wonder if people are plugging in other chargers pulling more amps but still breakers should trip before melt I would expect. Well I made my own big mistake, new home had ev plug by code already and was 30 amps, i thunked the ford 30 amp charger was pulling the downrated standard 24 amps (needing 30 amp circuit) but recently after this article looking at my own setup I started to realize the ford charger (portable) needs a 40 amp rated feed not 30 so I see how it happens, haven't charged in 2 days now until rewired power is completed. Plus ordered a new chargepoint home flex charger while at it as I also was reading the ford portable is not designed for daily use, Whaaaat!

 

[greatbreweh]

got my new 40 amp wiring and breaker in today and new chargepoint charger installed which I am loving that charger.