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Can anyone tell me what the user interface is to adjust the current output on the Rev 3 upgraded Panasonic EVSE? I am thinking about sending mine in for an upgrade but just wondering how user would interface with the Rev 3 firmware to adjust output current if there are no dials to work with?
 
I don't imaging the procedure to change the current is any different from version 2:

With the unit unplugged, you have to short the two smallest connections on the J1772 plug and then plug in the unit. You then press the handle's release button the number of times equal to the amperage you wish to set and then remove the wire shorting the two connections.

http://evseupgrade.com/evse-programming-g2.pdf
 
Thanks muus for sharing the instructions. I would guess that the unit arrives preset for the maximum amperage and this procedure is only required if you want to charge slower.
 
I live in a condo. These are 1960's converted multi-unit apartments in a 2 floor structure, with outdoor
parking with assigned spaces. I have a second floor unit. There is no outside electrical outlet. The HOA has vetoed any plan to get wiring from my unit out to the car.

One idea I had was to use the circuit that goes from my unit to the A/C compressor which is outside behind the building. The compressor sits on a slab with a conduit that feeds the wires into it. All I really know is that the breaker box for all my circuits is in my kitchen and there are two 20 AMP breakers that feed the compressor. The label on the compressor says

COMPR MOT 6.8 RLA 200/230V 38.6 LRA
O.D. MOT 0.70 FLA

My thought was that I could have an exclusion switch and an outlet installed on the slab and connect the EVSE, with about 50 feet of temporary extension cord out to the closest point I could move my car to.

Would this work? Based just on email the electrical contractor thought that the wiring to the A/C would be missing a wire needed for an outlet, and would require some additional wiring from my unit to the slab. That would probably make this approach unfeasible.

Is the contractor right?
 
Not sure what wire he's talking about but a EVSE doesn't need a neutral, maybe he's thinking it does?
I guess what you proposing would work but personally I'd want to have a separate disconnect for both your AC unit and outlet for your EVSE or preferably a single one that would give power to either the outlet or your AC unit, not potentially both at the same time which would blow your breaker if running your AC and also charging.
Also not sure how kosher this setup would be with city inspectors or a licenced electrician but thats your call how you'd want to handle it. I don't think code even likes 240v extension cords and getting one 50' with the right ends is probably going to be extremely hard or expensive. I guess you could have one made out of 12 or better 10 gauge wire but it would have to be a custom job with the proper L6-30 ends that a EVSEupgrade unit uses. I've seen premade L14-30 extension cords for RVs but I had to make my L6-30 extension cord and even that is only 25 feet.
Note in this setup the maximum charge you could run your EVSE at would be 16a, if your Leaf goes more and your EVSE does also, you'd need to dial it down on the EVSE to more than 16a for that 20a breaker.
Lastly, 20a sounds like a rather small breaker for a AC unit but maybe it's a small AC unit? it sounds like it might draw only 8a running but not sure whats up with that 38.6 LRA, maybe it's potential starting current?......
 
jjeff said:
Not sure what wire he's talking about but a EVSE doesn't need a neutral, maybe he's thinking it does?
I guess what you proposing would work but personally I'd want to have a separate disconnect for both your AC unit and outlet for your EVSE or preferably a single one that would give power to either the outlet or your AC unit, not potentially both at the same time which would blow your breaker if running your AC and also charging.
Also not sure how kosher this setup would be with city inspectors or a licenced electrician but thats your call how you'd want to handle it. I don't think code even likes 240v extension cords and getting one 50' with the right ends is probably going to be extremely hard or expensive. I guess you could have one made out of 12 or better 10 gauge wire but it would have to be a custom job with the proper L6-30 ends that a EVSEupgrade unit uses. I've seen premade L14-30 extension cords for RVs but I had to make my L6-30 extension cord and even that is only 25 feet.
Note in this setup the maximum charge you could run your EVSE at would be 16a, if your Leaf goes more and your EVSE does also, you'd need to dial it down on the EVSE to more than 16a for that 20a breaker.
Lastly, 20a sounds like a rather small breaker for a AC unit but maybe it's a small AC unit? it sounds like it might draw only 8a running but not sure whats up with that 38.6 LRA, maybe it's potential starting current?......

I was certainly expecting a switch that would only enable the A/C or the outlet and exclude the other.
You say 20a sounds small, but there are TWO 20 amp breakers, so the unit is getting 40 amps. I don't know how that gets combined but I guess it handles the 38.6 LRA.

This is a licensed electrical contractor I work with, and the next step would be a service charge for a visiit. I'm just not eager to pay for the next step if I know it will require more wiring from the unit.

Would the "no need for a neutral" be clear to the electrician if I told him what outlet the EVSE needed (L6-20)?
 
Some localities have laws that do not allow HOAs to deny installing circuits for charging cars. Check with your city and State. There are threads here that discuss problems like yours as well. Good luck.
 
91040 said:
Some localities have laws that do not allow HOAs to deny installing circuits for charging cars. Check with your city and State. There are threads here that discuss problems like yours as well. Good luck.

I envy the Californians, unfortunately I'm in Georiga and there are no favorable rules. In fact Georgia eliminated all state EV subsidy and tacked on a $200/year fee for EV's.
 
kmand said:
jjeff said:
Not sure what wire he's talking about but a EVSE doesn't need a neutral, maybe he's thinking it does?
I guess what you proposing would work but personally I'd want to have a separate disconnect for both your AC unit and outlet for your EVSE or preferably a single one that would give power to either the outlet or your AC unit, not potentially both at the same time which would blow your breaker if running your AC and also charging.
Also not sure how kosher this setup would be with city inspectors or a licenced electrician but thats your call how you'd want to handle it. I don't think code even likes 240v extension cords and getting one 50' with the right ends is probably going to be extremely hard or expensive. I guess you could have one made out of 12 or better 10 gauge wire but it would have to be a custom job with the proper L6-30 ends that a EVSEupgrade unit uses. I've seen premade L14-30 extension cords for RVs but I had to make my L6-30 extension cord and even that is only 25 feet.
Note in this setup the maximum charge you could run your EVSE at would be 16a, if your Leaf goes more and your EVSE does also, you'd need to dial it down on the EVSE to more than 16a for that 20a breaker.
Lastly, 20a sounds like a rather small breaker for a AC unit but maybe it's a small AC unit? it sounds like it might draw only 8a running but not sure whats up with that 38.6 LRA, maybe it's potential starting current?......

I was certainly expecting a switch that would only enable the A/C or the outlet and exclude the other.
You say 20a sounds small, but there are TWO 20 amp breakers, so the unit is getting 40 amps. I don't know how that gets combined but I guess it handles the 38.6 LRA.

This is a licensed electrical contractor I work with, and the next step would be a service charge for a visiit. I'm just not eager to pay for the next step if I know it will require more wiring from the unit.

Would the "no need for a neutral" be clear to the electrician if I told him what outlet the EVSE needed (L6-20)?
When you say "Two 20a breakers" do you mean 2 separate 120v breakers or a 240v breaker that looks like two 120v breakers but their handles are tied together with a pin or is it really two separate 240v breakers?
Note some 240v breakers like SquareD only have one handle but are twice as wide as a 120v breaker but some like GE have 2 handles(twice as wide) and again are attached by a pin so if one trips it turns off the other breaker. Using 2 seperate 120v breakers for 240v is NOT code and a safty issue as if one trips but not the other you have the potential for a series load and is a shock hazard.
Yes if you tell your electrician it's to feed a L6-20 outlet he should know as that outlet doesn't have a neutral, rather 2 hots and a ground and no neutral required. Note current EVSEupgrades come with a L6-30p (plug) although Phil may install a L6-20p for 16a upgrades, otherwise you could make yourself an adapter cable with a L6-30r(female plug) and L6-20p(plug) and a short piece of cable(it's also possible Phil or others may sell such an adapter cable off the shelf but don't expect to find one on Amazon or really any other place thats not custom made). Lastly it's possible your electrician might not want to install a L6-30r on a 20a circuit in which case you'll have to go the adapter cable route or have your EVSE come with a L6-20p.
 
kmand said:
You say 20a sounds small, but there are TWO 20 amp breakers, so the unit is getting 40 amps. I don't know how that gets combined but I guess it handles the 38.6 LRA.
That's not how the terminology/math works.

What you should have is a "double wide" (double pole) 20 amp breaker that provides 240V at 20 amps. A single wide 20 amp breaker provides 120V at 20 amps. So hopefully what you mean by TWO 20 amp breakers is one double pole 20 amp breaker.

As for LRA, that means "locked rotor amps", the current the motor draws if the rotor gets stuck. You probably want the breaker to trip in that case, so it is fine for LRA to be above the breaker rating.

kmand said:
Would the "no need for a neutral" be clear to the electrician if I told him what outlet the EVSE needed (L6-20)?
Yes, absolutely, and to be doubly sure you can say "two hots and a ground". Since that is surely what supplies your outdoor A/C unit, you should be good to go.

BTW, your transfer switch could be as simple as a Leviton 1286, which is a center off, maintained contact double pole double throw snap switch rated for 2HP at 240V. So as long as your A/C compressor motor is under 2HP, it would work. An automated switch that disconnects the A/C whenever the car is charging would be way more convenient. Or even a timer-based solution.

Cheers, Wayne
 
jjeff said:
some like GE have 2 handles(twice as wide) and again are attached by a pin so if one trips it turns off the other breaker.
Just an fyi, the common trip mechanism in a double pole breaker is internal to the breakers, it does not depend on a pin in the handles. You can get handle ties to join two single pole breakers together, but that does not make them common trip, it just makes it very hard to turn one off manually without turning off the other. That is why, as you say:
jjeff said:
Using 2 seperate 120v breakers for 240v is NOT code and a safety issue
Cheers, Wayne

P.S. This latest subthread should really be in its own thread.
 
wwhitney said:
jjeff said:
some like GE have 2 handles(twice as wide) and again are attached by a pin so if one trips it turns off the other breaker.
Just an fyi, the common trip mechanism in a double pole breaker is internal to the breakers, it does not depend on a pin in the handles. You can get handle ties to join two single pole breakers together, but that does not make them common trip, it just makes it very hard to turn one off manually without turning off the other. That is why, as you say:
jjeff said:
Using 2 seperate 120v breakers for 240v is NOT code and a safety issue
Cheers, Wayne

P.S. This latest subthread should really be in its own thread.
Agree, I wasn't trying to say one could make a 2 pole breaker out of a single pole breaker but rather I was trying to point out to kmand that often times a 2 pole breaker will look like 2 single pole breakers(2 separate but joined handles). Now SquareD 2 pole breakers actually look like a single pole breaker(only one handle) although twice as wide as a standard breaker. I'm a fan of the GE style as sometimes it's hard to tell from the outside if a SquareD breaker is 2 pole or 1 or even 3 in the case of 3 phase power. Of course with the cover off the panel it's easy to tell.
Agree on your last point also :)
 
I should have looked earlier, the TWO 20 amp breakers are indeed connected together.

As far as the compressor, the only reference to HP is a line on the label that says

O.D. MOT 0.70 FLA 200/230V 1/8 HP.

It's a 2 ton unit.
 
I (and 400K others) are on the Tesla 3 waiting list. I'm wondering if a modified Nissan EVSE would work on the Tesla?
 
kmand said:
I (and 400K others) are on the Tesla 3 waiting list. I'm wondering if a modified Nissan EVSE would work on the Tesla?

Tesla should work with J1772 (either 120-volt L1 or 208/240-volt L2) so a modified Nissan EVSE would be fine (but rather slow for a large battery). For you application near the A/C unit either a NEMA 6-20 or L6-20 receptacle would be the correct choice with a suitable transfer switch.
 
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