DIY "Dog-bone" adapters

The discussion of making Do-It-Yourself (DIY) adapters for the "Upgraded" Nissan/Panasonic L1 EVSE should be moved/continue here.

The other "adapter" thread should be for discussion of the adapters that are being built FOR you, and sold TO you. These guys are doing a great service and we are cluttering their topic with how to NOT use them.

Many, even most, do not have the time, desire, experience, or skills to locate sources, evaluate products, purchase pieces, and then MAKE their own "adapters" from wire, plugs, and sockets.

But, for those who want to risk poking, slicing, & stabbing their fingers and other body parts, we can provide some help here.

Terminology:
"P" = Plug, a connector with metal contacts (pins) sticking out, the "male" connector.

"R" = Receptacle, the mate to the Plug, with holes matching the plug's pins, the "female" connector. When mounted on a wall/surface, often called a "socket", incorrectly called a "plug".

"C" = connector, sometimes used to refer to an "R" device, when on the end of a cord.

Wire: Metal, solid or stranded, usually copper (avoid aluminum/aluminium), might be shielded or bare.

Cable (sometimes Cord): A group of shielded wires enclosed by an external "tube" of insulation.

"L" = Locking, usually a twist-to-lock together type plug and socket.

OK, that gets us started.


Sources, local hardware, electrical supply, on-line:

1. Home Depot, Lowes, etc.

Poor, Good, Better, Best products, usually with prices to match, but anything can be offered for sale at a higher price.

Assembly Techniques:
Stripping the Cable
Stripping the wires
Connecting wires to pins
Routing wires inside Plugs, etc.
Strain Relief, or "clamping" the cable
Increasing Weather-Resistance
Physical and Electrical Safety issues
First aid Techniques

Cheers, Gary

I assume you are talking about both of these threads:
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=3981
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=3085

Does one of the moderators want to move those posts out of there and over to here?


Are we talking about only home made, or should we also include mention of pre-made devices offered for sale?

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Note, there are also a couple of other threads about DIY "cheater adapters" (to join two 120V to get one 240V):
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=4330
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=4341

EVnut's adapter page:
http://www.evnut.com/charger_adapters.htm

GeekEV's adapters:
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=3085&start=60



Tesla adapters (for reference):
http://shop.teslamotors.com/collections/charging/products/universal-mobile-connector-adapters

Lets talk about wire gauge... The adapters that people may build will be used to feed the Nissan included mobile EVSE with Phil/Ingineer's mod to let it pull up to 16A of 240V, right? And I think I recall it was suggest that #12 wire was OK for shorter lengths. Perhaps #10 is needed for longer distances.

Phil replaces the EVSE input cable with one that has an L6-20 twist locking plug.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NEMA_connector#NEMA_L6

NEMA L6
NEMA L6 connectors are used with circuits with a maximum specified voltage of 250 V. Supply connections are intended to be two-pole, three wire hot-hot-ground circuit with nominal supply voltage of 240 V or 208 V depending on phase configuration. The L6 connector does not provide a neutral line.

L6-20 and L6-30 connectors are commonly found on in-rack power distribution units in countries where the mains supply voltage is greater than 120 V. They are also found in the US for heavy-duty 240V equipment such as welders, where the higher supply voltage allows a lower current draw. These connectors are thus found where industrial equipment or large power tools are commonplace.

Click to expand...

So the cables we care about will all end with an L6-20 socket on one side.
For an "amateur" shopping at a place like Home Depot or Lowes for parts be careful not to mix it up with an L5-20 which looks similar but is for 120V, not 240V.
(The pins are slightly different sizes making it so they aren't designed to be interchangeable.)