EVSE Adapter

[Darren]

Does anyone know what type of plug this is? I need to round up an adapter to plug into this.

 

[EVDRIVER]

Looks like a California Connector, not a standard NEMA. What are you connecting to this?

 

[Darren]

I want to plug the Engineer's EVSE Upgrade into this outlet.

 

[EVDRIVER]

You can make your own adapter or buy one but the CA connector is a very expensive plug! This may be what you need.

http://www.ebay.com/bhp/california-plug" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[mwalsh]

That's not a cheap plug, and you'd no doubt have to mail-order it. I think I would make sure the socket was both in service and available to me before I went ahead on that one.

 

[Darren]

I bought extra pig tails with the EVSE upgrade. I only need the California Connector end to connect to it.

You bring up a good point about testing if it works first. Suggestions as it is in a parking garage at my office and nobody knows anything about it? The 120v directly below it works fine but I would love to charge faster.

Do you think a local company like Home Depot would stock it?

 

[EVDRIVER]

I bought extra pig tails with the EVSE upgrade. I only need the California Connector end to connect to it.

You bring up a good point about testing if it works first. Suggestions as it is in a parking garage at my office and nobody knows anything about it? The 120v directly below it works fine but I would love to charge faster.

Do you think a local company like Home Depot would stock it?

Not likely but you can try, I posted an ebay link. You could try an electrical supply place but my guess is it will be upwards of $100 there.

 

[mwalsh]

Do you think a local company like Home Depot would stock it?

Not a chance.

If you have a voltmeter, you could check it out that way. You'd need to do that anyway, to make sure it's not pushing 480V (which would be BAD!)

I'm going back and forth on that connector a bit. I'm going to need to double check it before I settle on it being a CS8164.

Edit: Yeah, I'm pretty certain of it being a CS8164 now. So the CS8165 is what you need to mate to it.

 

[Darren]

I'm thinking this place might have it. http://www.walterswholesale.com. Whether they only sell wholesale might be another story.

Do I have to have a special volt meter for that much voltage?

Any idea why this would be in a parking garage? Could be be a left over plug from the old legacy systems? Can you think of anything in a parking garage that would require 480v?

It is right by the entrance. The 120v charges a golf cart for the property but the California Connector is never used.

 

[mwalsh]

Going back and forth on the connector again. Understand that this is one that is foreign/rare to most of us. Give me a few to look some more stuff up.

 

[Darren]

Going back and forth on the connector again. Understand that this is one that is foreign/rare to most of us. Give me a few to look some more stuff up.

Not a problem at all. Take whatever time you need. I was completely clueless when I saw it. Thanks.

 

[EVDRIVER]

Going back and forth on the connector again. Understand that this is one that is foreign/rare to most of us. Give me a few to look some more stuff up.

They are out there. Did you try searching for "Cali Connector"? :lol: :lol: :roll:

 

[mwalsh]

OK, I'm back. It's either a CS8364 or a CS8164. I don't see any obvious physical differences between these, except that one is rated at 240V and the other is rated at 480V. If only your socket still had the rating printed on it where we could read it.

CS8364 - 240V

CS8164 - 480V

So I think checking the voltage would be something you'd definitely want to do, being as the rating isn't obvious (assuming they are both the same, that is). And I maybe think finding someone very knowledgeable to check it out for you would be a good way to go, rather than trying to go it alone. Have you tried talking to the plant/facilities manager at the location?

Can you help more, EVDriver, instead of being snarky?

 

[Darren]

So I think checking the voltage would be something you'd definitely want to do, being as the rating isn't obvious (assuming they are both the same, that is). And I maybe think finding someone very knowledgeable to check it out for you would be a good way to go, rather than trying to go it alone. Have you tried talking to the plant/facilities manager at the location?

I've tried asking and they don't know anything about it. Not sure I want to hire an electrician to come out to my office in Irvine, CA just to quickly check if I will fry my LEAF. I wonder if there is anyone knowledgable on this forum that lives/works in the area?

 

[mwalsh]

I've tried asking and they don't know anything about it. Not sure I want to hire an electrician to come out to my office in Irvine, CA just to quickly check if I will fry my LEAF. I wonder if there is anyone knowledgable on this forum that lives/works in the area?

Wow, you commute from SD to Irvine? No wonder you're keen to have 240V charging on-site!

 

[davewill]

... Do I have to have a special volt meter for that much voltage? ...

Not usually. The voltage limits for your meter should be listed on the face like on this one:

In this case, it lists 1000VDC and 700VAC (and indicates which inputs should be used for voltage measurements). Also, some meters auto range and some, like this one, need to have the correct range manually selected.

 

[UkrainianKozak]

Most multimeters measure up to 600-1000V, so this one for example is under $10 and I find this is actually useful in household from time to time, so it'll be cheaper than buying wrong connector or frying a leaf

http://www.amazon.com/Digital-VOLT-Meter-Voltmeter-Multimeter/dp/B005EK3NRS

So I think checking the voltage would be something you'd definitely want to do, being as the rating isn't obvious (assuming they are both the same, that is). And I maybe think finding someone very knowledgeable to check it out for you would be a good way to go, rather than trying to go it alone. Have you tried talking to the plant/facilities manager at the location?

I've tried asking and they don't know anything about it. Not sure I want to hire an electrician to come out to my office in Irvine, CA just to quickly check if I will fry my LEAF. I wonder if there is anyone knowledgable on this forum that lives/works in the area?

 

[GlennD]

The cheap 5 dollar harbor freight centech meter has a 750VAC range on it. It would certainly be accurate enough to check out the socket.

 

[Volt3939]

The cheap 5 dollar harbor freight centech meter has a 750VAC range on it. It would certainly be accurate enough to check out the socket.

And you won't have so much out of pocket if something goes wrong.

I once lost a $20 radio shack meter to a 3-phase 440 outlet similar to that just by poking the probes into it. Seems that moving the contacts caused it to short and trip a 100A breaker. My little meter went sailing across the shop floor trailing smoke. (Must have been the startling noise that caused me to fling it away!) Seems that one outlet had the grounded shell tied to one of the hot pins internally, and when it was first turned on that jumper vaporized. Moving it made the circuit again. A case of mistaken identity (on the part of the original electrician who installed all the outlets).

Just be careful, only use one hand to hold the probes, and maybe set the meter down on something that won't burn...

 

[Darren]

I've tried asking and they don't know anything about it. Not sure I want to hire an electrician to come out to my office in Irvine, CA just to quickly check if I will fry my LEAF. I wonder if there is anyone knowledgable on this forum that lives/works in the area?

Wow, you commute from SD to Irvine? No wonder you're keen to have 240V charging on-site!

You have no idea how badly I need this and trust me I tried everything I can think of to make that commute work. Most of the time my LEAF is just a paperweight on my driveway.