Wall Outlet Issue

[shelnian]

Recommend, if you replace the outlet, you use a heavy duty hospital grade 20A GFCI outlet from Hubbell or Bryant.

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[DR.J56]

When I first plugged the EVSE in last week it initially tripped the breaker on the outlet itself. I unplugged the EVSE and reset that. It then worked without any further issue for about 100 hours.

Then the circuit breaker in the wall panel tripped. I unplugged the EVSE and was unable to reset the breaker in the outlet.

I tested the EVSE in another outlet for about 8 hours (non GFCI) and it worked.

I would bet it’s the GFI plug. They are easy to change out and don’t cost an arm and a leg if you do it yourself. Get a 20 amp, not a 15, that will help. Turn the breaker off and when you get the outlet out don’t mix the wires up. Theres a load side and a supply side. Make sure they go back to the same terminals. And again, if you are not comfortable, get an electrician to do it. But honestly, it’s pretty easy. I’m sure theres many YT vids on it also.

 

[Maquis]

I would bet it’s the GFI plug. They are easy to change out and don’t cost an arm and a leg if you do it yourself. Get a 20 amp, not a 15, that will help. Turn the breaker off and when you get the outlet out don’t mix the wires up. Theres a load side and a supply side. Make sure they go back to the same terminals. And again, if you are not comfortable, get an electrician to do it. But honestly, it’s pretty easy. I’m sure theres many YT vids on it also.

The only difference between a 15 and a 20 amp receptacle of the same grade and manufacturer is the T slot in the plastic. The guts are the same.

 

[HuntingPudel]

I used to charge from the 110 outlets in the parking garage at work. One by one they failed over time, and would not reset. Garage is about 20 years old. I had a wall outlet in my garage that began tripping when I used my treadmill. House is about 25 years old. My son told me the outlets will weaken over time so I finally replaced it. Worked fine ever since. I mentioned this to the boss at work, and the response was the outlets weren’t designed for evs. From my experience, I would say replace your wall outlet and go from there. Good luck..

Yup. The outlet under the sewing machine in my family room died after many years of being there. A replacement fixed that. ??

 

[HuntingPudel]

The only difference between a 15 and a 20 amp receptacle of the same grade and manufacturer is the T slot in the plastic. The guts are the same.

Which makes it bad to install on a 15A circuit since you can now plug a 5-20 plug into the socket and the circuit likely has 14 gauge wire in it. ??

I rewired a circuit in my garage with #12 THHN for my PL6100 since it has a 5-20 plug and changed the outlet to match. Not necessary since it won’t draw that much juice programming the MME but I did it to maintain appearance. ?‍?

 

[Maquis]

Which makes it bad to install on a 15A circuit since you can now plug a 5-20 plug into the socket and the circuit likely has 14 gauge wire in it. ??

I rewired a circuit in my garage with #12 THHN for my PL6100 since it has a 5-20 plug and changed the outlet to match. Not necessary since it won’t draw that much juice programming the MME but I did it to maintain appearance. ?‍?

I agree that installing a 20A receptacle on an 15A circuit isn’t a good practice, but it’s not a code violation.

 

[DR.J56]

Which makes it bad to install on a 15A circuit since you can now plug a 5-20 plug into the socket and the circuit likely has 14 gauge wire in it. ??

I rewired a circuit in my garage with #12 THHN for my PL6100 since it has a 5-20 plug and changed the outlet to match. Not necessary since it won’t draw that much juice programming the MME but I did it to maintain appearance. ?‍?

I agree that installing a 20A receptacle on an 15A circuit isn’t a good practice, but it’s not a code violation.

The EVSE doesn’t know it’s a 15 or 20 amp circuit. It would make no difference. It’s all in the breaker. We aren’t changing the breaker size.

 

[HuntingPudel]

The EVSE doesn’t know it’s a 15 or 20 amp circuit. It would make no difference. It’s all in the breaker. We aren’t changing the breaker size.

EVSE doesn’t and only pulls 12A, but a city inspector will. Why spend the extra few cents on an outlet that won’t make any difference other than a code violation? ?‍?

 

[Maquis]

The EVSE doesn’t know it’s a 15 or 20 amp circuit. It would make no difference. It’s all in the breaker. We aren’t changing the breaker size.

My comment was about general wiring practices, not EVSE-specific.

 

[Skip Towne]

If its a rental - talk to your landlord before doing any DIY electrical work. Even if you knew what you are doing. Many landlords will legitimately terminate your lease and evict you immediately if they find out after the fact that you did any electrical work.

The local/state electric codes may require only the owner or licensed electricians do work in commercial/rental property properties. Some insurance companies can have the same requirement. Any non-complying work can be required to be removed by a licensed electrician, inspected and be replaced by the licensed electrician. So a simple repair you did correctly can become expensive for the property owner.

How real is the risk here? Real - especially if you mess things up. Trust me, I own rental property ;-)

 

[lucky13]

If its a rental - talk to your landlord before doing any DIY electrical work. Even if you knew what you are doing. Many landlords will legitimately terminate your lease and evict you immediately if they find out after the fact that you did any electrical work.

The local/state electric codes may require only the owner or licensed electricians do work in commercial/rental property properties. Some insurance companies can have the same requirement. Any non-complying work can be required to be removed by a licensed electrician, inspected and be replaced by the licensed electrician. So a simple repair you did correctly can become expensive for the property owner.

How real is the risk here? Real - especially if you mess things up. Trust me, I own rental property ;-)

It is a rental. While in a incovenient location, the non-GFCI outlet is working.

I plan to sell the Mach E ina few months, so I’m going to leave the non-functional outlet alone.

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