Melted 240V outlet (Major Disaster Avoided) -- PSA: only highly rated charging equipment

[dtbaker61]

40A on a 50A circuit is perfectly fine. In fact, it conforms to the NEC, assuming the correct gauge wiring was ran, a heavy duty outlet was used, like the Hubbel or Bryant, and connections were properly torqued. Too much for a NEMA 14-50 would be 48A continuous use.

resi NEC for outlets doesn't really cover 6+ hrs continous current. it is a bad risk, and gets worse if ambient temps are high.

not smart to run at >32a unless you really have to.

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[shutterbug]

That said, I would always hardwire a charger for regular use in my own home.

Yes. This. Always.

 

[shutterbug]

of course there are advantages to (properly installed) plugin connections

And they are?

 

[devmach-e]

resi NEC for outlets doesn't really cover 6+ hrs continous current. it is a bad risk, and gets worse if ambient temps are high.

not smart to run at >32a unless you really have to.

The weak link here is the outlet. That's why you use a heavier duty outlet, like a Bryant or Hubbel. Proper 14-50 outlet and you are fine to run at 40A. Please point out the part in the NEC that says that 14-50 outlets can only do 32A continuous duty in a residential setting. I don't disagree that the Leviton residential outlets suck, but there's been plenty of people who have had fires using the Ford Mobile EVSE at 32A with a Leviton outlet, so clearly 32A is just as dangerous as 40A. It's the outlet...

 

[devmach-e]

And they are?

Portability. Ease of resetting the unit (unplug and plug back in). Ability to swap out one EVSE for another (if upgrading, or the original EVSE is defective, etc).

 

[shutterbug]

Portability. Ease of resetting the unit (unplug and plug back in). Ability to swap out one EVSE for another (if upgrading, or the original EVSE is defective, etc).

Resetting is just as easily accomplished by turning off and on of the breaker. As to swapping the units (for whatever reason) involves minimal cost to have an electrician do it, and it doesn't happen all that often (unless you have a plug-in unit, of course).

 

[fmtexmme]

Nor with industrial outlets utilized instead of the cheap commercial ones.

I can confirm. I had an electrician install my NEMA 14-40 outlet seven years ago. I have been using it with my Clipper Creek HCS-40P since then. I just looked at the outlet and it looks like it did brand new.

 

[RickMachE]

My app is still fully functioning and Enel X is looking for a provider to take the reigns.

They are not. They dumped it to a bankruptcy firm and an auction was held on October 29th, but no outcome has been announced.

Every JB charger should be set to max output for the connection, because if the servers go offline you won't be able to change it.

 

[67 Stang Convertible]

I believe someone asked if the Breaker tripped.....And, Yes it did it's job.

 

[67 Stang Convertible]

A few more pics. Doesn’t look like the charger plug is reusable **Can an electrician cut out the plug & hardwire this unit? Assuming the unit still works.

 

[ipca204]

Cheap Leviton NEMA 14-50 outlet strikes again...

Everybody should check that they don't have one of these junk Leviton outlets. They're notorious for this. They've very common, and hundreds have melted this way during EV charging.

After reading a lot of your posts, I feel you are pretty informed level headed. guy. That being said "hundreds have melted"......that's really a bit of a stretch.....

 

[dtbaker61]

The weak link here is the outlet. That's why you use a heavier duty outlet, like a Bryant or Hubbel. Proper 14-50 outlet and you are fine to run at 40A. Please point out the part in the NEC that says that 14-50 outlets can only do 32A continuous duty in a residential setting. I don't disagree that the Leviton residential outlets suck, but there's been plenty of people who have had fires using the Ford Mobile EVSE at 32A with a Leviton outlet, so clearly 32A is just as dangerous as 40A. It's the outlet...

Look up wire size ampacity rating tables and then read the fine print on hours of continuous use.

It is not in residential NEC because they never considered 5 or 10 hours of continuous use before EV came along.

Sure in a perfectly installed system you can probably run 40 amps for several hours without any problems, but I think it is irresponsible to suggest that there is not higher risk and it is advisable to stick to 32 amps or 36 at most for a reliable and safe installation

 

[HuntingPudel]

A few more pics. Doesn’t look like the charger plug is reusable **Can an electrician cut out the plug & hardwire this unit? Assuming the unit still works.

Since the pigtail’s connector is damaged, you probably are better off hard-wiring it unless you want to buy a new pigtail and have it installed. Any competent electrician can remove the pigtail and hard wire the unit. ??

 

[AZBill]

BINGO! that was the first thing I was thinking when he said " Never seen that unless it was unplugged. " I was reading up a ton on the outlets before having mine installed and the consensus SEEMS to be that the unplug it, plug it in will eventually wear on the contacts where arcing can (and did in this case) occur.



Same scenario. Did you use your level one charger ina preexisting outlet that was frequently used? Arcing can and will occur in older outlets as well..

Nothing to do with unplugging, I had an outlet do exactly this and had never unplugged it. Mine ended up being a loose connection on one of the hot wires, it had come loose over time. It was installed by a licensed electrician, but i ended up switching to hardwired to eliminate this extra failure point.

 

[Richard L.]

They are not. They dumped it to a bankruptcy firm and an auction was held on October 29th, but no outcome has been announced.

Every JB charger should be set to max output for the connection, because if the servers go offline you won't be able to change it.

An auction is not a bankruptcy proceeding. They are auctioning off their North American assets and customer base. I'll remain positive that a third party will step in.

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