EVSE Home Assessment Reports

LEAFer said:

It's an "inductor" issue. You're creating an inductance and heat associated therewith. When tightly coiled and improperly stored while carrying a large current a heat build up could cause a fire.

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Sorry, not correct. If anything it would be a resistive heating issue, but very unlikely.

LEAFer said:

It's an "inductor" issue. You're creating an inductance and heat associated therewith. When tightly coiled and improperly stored while carrying a large current a heat build up could cause a fire.

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Hmmm ... no. Only noticeable heating that happens here would be because of resistance. Eddy currents, if any, would be too small.

mitch672 said:

LEAFer said:

mwalsh said:

TOU-D-TEV is whole house tiered, but with EV charging on a specific super off-peak schedule and rate.

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On that rate, without the benefit of a second meter (like TOU-EV-1) how do they know what usage to assign to the car, as opposed to something else (hot tub, laundry, my new jiga-watt time-machine, ...) ?

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probably by looking at the same load nearly every night, during off peak hours, then assuming that would be the EV charging.. of course the usage will be different based on the miles driven each day, but most likely it will fall into some type of repeatable pattern (or nearly so)

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I don't think that is how they will no. As of now my power company has smart meters and communicate daily on how much I use. Maybe the car will communicate with the power company as it communicate with the
ev project.

evnow said:

LEAFer said:

It's an "inductor" issue. You're creating an inductance and heat associated therewith. When tightly coiled and improperly stored while carrying a large current a heat build up could cause a fire.

Click to expand...

Hmmm ... no. Only noticeable heating that happens here would be because of resistance. Eddy currents, if any, would be too small.

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Well, inductance is a type of resistance (magnetic field). You are concentrating the fields in a tight coil and creating self-inductance with losses (creating heat) proportional to the number of loops and inversely proportional to the diameter of the coil. I don't have a PhD in this, and so my explanation may be slightly off. But the bottom line is ... a fire can result. See HERE for just one example (googling will find many more).

The inductor is a coil of wire that carries "net" current flowing in the coil. Here, the Out and In power currents in the cord essentially cancel each other out, so there is no "net" current flowing. So no magnetic field, and no inductance. Same thing for a coiled 100' extension cord. No inductance problem.

But, all the cord might be "required" to be off the hook when charging, for their "strain-relief" to work.

If this is true, how can they recommend "using" the cord "overhead" to keep it off the floor (to avoid tripping over it)?

Coiling during non-use really SHOULD not be a problem. If they say it is, ask for a written description of their unit's "limitation".

On the no-cost e-fuel cord length option, please ask if the cord "disconnects" relatively easily at the EVSE end, so one could use the shorter 15' length for most in-garage charging, but occasionally use the 25' cord to charge in the driveway.

If the cord is (or can be) user-swapped, then please ask for the price of a replacement (or extra) 15' cord (and for a 25' cord).

Thanks.

Good idea Gary!

Has anybody been told that they need a (possibly fused) disconnect within "line of sight" of the EVSE?

Is the "fused" part necessary, if it comes from a breaker?

If fused, what type and rating of fuse to go with a 40-amp breaker?
Perhaps 40 Amps?

Thanks

Normally, wiring from a 40-amp breaker would be #8, or possibly high-temperature (90ºC insulation) #10 wire, right?

What are you being told for in-conduit wires (of what length)?

LEAFer said:

evnow said:

LEAFer said:

It's an "inductor" issue. You're creating an inductance and heat associated therewith. When tightly coiled and improperly stored while carrying a large current a heat build up could cause a fire.

Click to expand...

Hmmm ... no. Only noticeable heating that happens here would be because of resistance. Eddy currents, if any, would be too small.

Click to expand...

Well, inductance is a type of resistance (magnetic field). You are concentrating the fields in a tight coil and creating self-inductance with losses (creating heat) proportional to the number of loops and inversely proportional to the diameter of the coil. I don't have a PhD in this, and so my explanation may be slightly off. But the bottom line is ... a fire can result. See HERE for just one example (googling will find many more).

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Sure, over load an improper sized cord and it will get very hot, coil the very hot cord and it creates more heat. The idea of the EVSE cord doing this is silly as it will be rated properly and highly insulated.

garygid said:

Has anybody been told that they need a (possibly fused) disconnect within "line of sight" of the EVSE?

Is the "fused" part necessary, if it comes from a breaker?

If fused, what type and rating of fuse to go with a 40-amp breaker?
Perhaps 40 Amps?

Thanks

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My electrician did mention that my city MIGHT require a disconnect at the EVSE location because my panel is not in line of sight of the EVSE. No mention of fusing.

Is there any problem with running the charging cord from the charger up the wall, along the ceiling and drop down over the front of the Leaf? Maybe hang the cord from hooks(like bicycle hangers)? I would also use a spring loaded recoil to keep the plug out of the way when not in use. See any issues there?

jgrode1 said:

Is there any problem with running the charging cord from the charger up the wall, along the ceiling and drop down over the front of the Leaf? Maybe hang the cord from hooks(like bicycle hangers)? I would also use a spring loaded recoil to keep the plug out of the way when not in use. See any issues there?

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nope, as long as 25' will cover that, go nuts. Another way would be to attach a "rope" to a pulley on your ceiling, attached to the J-1772 connector, then run the rope over to the side and mount a "clevis" to attach the rope to..., when you disconnect the connector, you can "pull" up on the rope and tie it off, then only 1/2 the cable from the ceiling to the charger will be "hanging" down. I don't like spring loaded things, they tend to hit you in the face when you least expect it.

There sould be some sort of automatic shutoff by the EVSE if it "experiences" too much "pull" on the e-hose cord.

If the cord is run around corners (through hanger hooks, etc.) the cord might remain live and pull out of the J1772 plug instead, causing a "hazard".

So, if the cord is supported (overhead or otherwise) it might need to be "held" in some sort of "tear-away" manner (like velcro, a weak rubber band that can break, or some other "pull-out" method).

Boomer23 said:

5. I expect an email in the next 48 to 72 hours with a pricing estimate, which I'll post here. Not sure if the weekend will extend that timing.

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Did you get the quote ?

Nope, not yet, but I'm watching my email.

There have been two business days since the electrician was here, but five days total, due to the holiday.

In the meantime, I've discovered that the apparently unused 20 amp circuit on my panel is for the kitchen cooktop. It took us about 4 days to figure that out. My wife and I have been laughing about what that says about how often we cook. So if that circuit can't be combined with the one for the oven or something else, it may be more important than ever for me to explore the double-meter solution with a TOU meter for the Leaf.

Boomer23 said:

In the meantime, I've discovered that the apparently unused 20 amp circuit on my panel is for the kitchen cooktop. It took us about 4 days to figure that out. My wife and I have been laughing about what that says about how often we cook.

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So, you guys removed the 20 amp breaker and discovered 4 days later that the cooktop doesn't work ?! Even we cook more often than that ... :lol:

So if that circuit can't be combined with the one for the oven or something else, it may be more important than ever for me to explore the double-meter solution with a TOU meter for the Leaf.

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You would get a separate breaker for this new meter - and power comes to this meter directly from mains ?

With all the talk about break away charging cords and safety etc. I thought that one coulod not start the car with it being plugged in?

jgrode1 said:

With all the talk about break away charging cords and safety etc. I thought that one coulod not start the car with it being plugged in?

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Thats true. But that is a feature of the car not of the EVSE ...

So, you guys removed the 20 amp breaker and discovered 4 days later that the cooktop doesn't work ?! Even we cook more often than that ... :lol:

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Pretty much. We just flipped the breaker off Thursday with the idea that we'd soon notice if something didn't operate. It just took us that long to find it.

You would get a separate breaker for this new meter - and power comes to this meter directly from mains ?

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That's my understanding from soareyes's posts. I've also read that the wiring to my panel from the grid might need to be upgraded, but that remains to be seen, I guess.