Combining 2 TT-30 outlets to a 14-50R?

[VinceGlorioso]

Hello, everyone,

I made the trip to the place where they have camping spots. This is not a campground, but another recreational area where they just happen
to entertain guests that are staying overnight in campers. They were very nice and offered me free EV charging at a camping spot.

Yes! I can confirm that there is an electrocution hazard when plugging in the Y adapter. I got a little buzz of 120V when I had the other connector in my hand.
I let the charge run for about an hour and I went back and checked on the progress, and it was just a few %.
The car was charging at the 120V, 12A rate. I turned on the car and it showed on LEAFScan that I was getting 1219 Watts to the system and charging the battery (with the car on) at 355.3V x 2.87A, 1.0kW
So, I forgot to bring my voltmeter with me to check to see if there was 208/240 between hots, but I guess the results speak for themselves.
I put in 9% charge in the three hours or so that I was there, which actually did help.
So, I found nearby the circuit breaker panel for the area (with 3 single-pole and 1 double-pole 40A circuit breaker) and wired to the panel was a 6-50 receptacle. In the hopes I can use that next time, I've ordered a 6-50P to 14-50R dogbone from EVSEAdapters. I can test this at home, as this type of receptacle is what my GE WattStation is plugged into, and maybe it will be tested so I can take it up there next weekend.

 

[wwhitney]

Yes! I can confirm that there is an electrocution hazard when plugging in the Y adapter. I got a little buzz of 120V when I had the other connector in my hand.

Please destroy the Y adapter now, since as your experience shows, even foreknowledge of the hazard is not sufficient to avoid it.

The car was charging at the 120V

Something weird is going on then, how could the EVSE get just 120V? It should be 0V if the two two TT-30s were on the same phase, or 208V/240V if they weren't. If one of the TT-30 was miswired with hot and neutral swapped, and the Y adapter didn't have the neutrals tied together, that would explain it. But you said the Y adapter had the neutral tied together.

Cheers, Wayne

 

[Oilpan4]

I have done some sketchy stuff and I wouldn't do this.

Get a 16 amp 120v charger.

 

[VinceGlorioso]

Dear WWhitney and Oilpan4,

I was within the return period for Amazon and so I've sent the Y adapter back for credit.
How did the car charge on the adapter? I don't know, like I said, I did forget my VOM and I was standing in wet grass in 90+ degree heat and I didn't really think of investigating how everything was wired.
I do remember that the other single-pole circuit breakers in the area were only rated for 20A, though the receptacles were 30A ... and the 50A 6-50R has a 40A breaker.
I understand that there are 120V, 16A EVSE's ... but will the car actually accept the 16A at only 120V?
We'll see how the newest adapter works, thanks for confirming the Nissan "convenience charger" will charge at 27.5 - 30 amperes at 240V.

 

[alozzy]

To confirm, I have charged my 2013 SV, on a TT30 circuit, with my Zencar EVSE set to 120V@24A - it worked fine (2.88 kW charging rate).

 

[jjeff]

Dear WWhitney and Oilpan4,

I was within the return period for Amazon and so I've sent the Y adapter back for credit.
How did the car charge on the adapter? I don't know, like I said, I did forget my VOM and I was standing in wet grass in 90+ degree heat and I didn't really think of investigating how everything was wired.
I do remember that the other single-pole circuit breakers in the area were only rated for 20A, though the receptacles were 30A ... and the 50A 6-50R has a 40A breaker.
I understand that there are 120V, 16A EVSE's ... but will the car actually accept the 16A at only 120V?
We'll see how the newest adapter works, thanks for confirming the Nissan "convenience charger" will charge at 27.5 - 30 amperes at 240V.

I can confirm my '13S with the charger package will charge the same max current on 120v as 240v, 27.5a. Note as 27.5a is too much for a TT-30 continuous I used one leg of a 14-50 outlet, just for testing purposes. Also note pre-'13 Leafs maxed out at 12a @ 120v and 16a @ 240v. Not sure if the new Leafs still allow more than 12 or 16a @ 120v but it wouldn't surprise me if they put such a cap on them.......

 

[VinceGlorioso]

Dear fellow LEAFer's,

This past weekend I was all excited to charge at my discovered 6-50 receptacle at the distant recreation area in the country. I brought along the Amazon and EVSE Adapter-branded 6-50P to 14-50R dogbone adapters, my Volt-Ohm-Meter and hopes and dreams of getting a 25 mile-per-hour charging rate for 4 hours, so that I could return straight home and make it back in time for dinner.
After arriving and unpacking, I drove the 300 feet or so and set up my stock L1/L2 EVSE and adapter, turned the breaker on, got power and the car beeped. Since I had set a timer, it would be some time before I got back to check on things.
After 9:00 a.m. I had some time to walk back and check on the charging, and I plugged in the Bluetooth adapter and fired up LeafSpy, and, again, I was just charging at 1.2kW. I returned later and checked the outlet and there's 125V on only one hot connector.
Whomever installed the 6-50 (250V) receptacle should have put in the 5-50 (125V) receptacle.
Here's my speculation:
1. There's only one phase power run to (all) the camping outlets.
2. Since the next level "up" in common RV use from a TT-30 receptacle is a 250V/50A 6-50 receptacle, that's what they installed.
Or, that's what they had on the truck, since the 5-50 is not commonly used in the camping world, or they didn't want to drive 2 hours round trip to an electrical supply house to get the right thing. I would guess they weren't going to run an additional outside wire on the poles just to bring the "other" phase to the area just so they could have more power.

So, my plan is to keep the one 6-50P to 14-50R dogbone from EVSE Adapters and buy the Zencar level 1/2 EVSE for $300 and charge the LEAF there at 120V / 32A or 27.5A and that will get me 3.8kW / 3.3kW and that will get me 82 or so miles in 5-6 hours and that will be enough to get me home ... without having to detour to a in-city L2 charger, which adds about 4 hours to my day out.

 

[VinceGlorioso]

Thanks to everyone who has responded / warned about my postings !

The ZENCar adjustable current, 120-240VAC EVSE arrived today, and in my limited testing, it indeed does allow the 2018 LEAF (with charging package) to charge at an EVSE-selectable 10A, 16A, 20A, 24A or 32A, either 120V or 240V

I'll let everyone know when I am successfully charging at the distant recreational area later this month.

 

[webeleafowners]

Thanks to everyone who has responded / warned about my postings !

The ZENCar adjustable current, 120-240VAC EVSE arrived today, and in my limited testing, it indeed does allow the 2018 LEAF (with charging package) to charge at an EVSE-selectable 10A, 16A, 20A, 24A or 32A, either 120V or 240V

I'll let everyone know when I am successfully charging at the distant recreational area later this month.

Nice. I’ve been following. Glad it worked out.

 

[alozzy]

Thanks to everyone who has responded / warned about my postings !

The ZENCar adjustable current, 120-240VAC EVSE arrived today, and in my limited testing, it indeed does allow the 2018 LEAF (with charging package) to charge at an EVSE-selectable 10A, 16A, 20A, 24A or 32A, either 120V or 240V

I'll let everyone know when I am successfully charging at the distant recreational area later this month.

FWIW, I've been using my Zencar portable EVSE for over 3 years now without a single issue - it's been absolutely bomb proof and very versatile in terms of handling both 120v and 240v charging at various amperage draws.