EVSE Plug Adaptors, Cords and Modifications Info

[smkettner]

['ve used both Double-D (I think, is got a yellow D in a yellow square, is that the same thing)

You are probably talking about "Square D", which is owned by Schneider these days.

Classic Freudian slip :lol:

 

[GeekEV]

['ve used both Double-D (I think, is got a yellow D in a yellow square, is that the same thing)

You are probably talking about "Square D", which is owned by Schneider these days.

Classic Freudian slip :lol:

Someone else referred to Double-D, so I was just wondering if that was it. No freudianism involved - at least not on my part. :lol:

 

[TEG]

Does the red X on the W for NEMA 10-30 and 10-50 means no connection (Neutral left "floating?")

 

[mitch672]

Am I correct in assuming that the red X on the W for NEMA 10-30 and 10-50 means no connection (Neutral left "floating?")

Over here: http://evnut.com/charger_adapters.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Evnut wrote: "Since the L6-30 and the power cord are both three-conductor, and the charger is 4-conductor, the ground and neutral pins (normally corresponding to the green and white from the charger respectively) are jumpered together inside the 14-50 receptacle of my Charger Adapter. From there on down the line, I have only three wires, since ground and neutral are now one."

Would it make sense to wire the Neutral (W) from the 10-30 and/or 10-50 to the G (Ground) on the L6-20 ?

No! He means you use a dremel to remove the portion with the 'X' so the adapter works in either outlet (NEMA 10-30 and 10-50 only). You MUST have a ground for the EVSE to work. on the 14-XX plugs, you remove the neutral entirely, it has a separate ground pin. Once the neutral is gone, the same plug fits all 3 outlets.

 

[TEG]

Thanks. And neutral is used for ground on the 10-30 & 10-50...?

 

[mitch672]

Thanks. And neutral is used for ground on the 10-30 & 10-50...?

correct

 

[TEG]

By the way, bit of trivia:
appliance info

...In the past the body of some ovens, stoves and clothes dryers were grounded through their neutral wires, as a measure to conserve copper during the Second World War. This is no longer permitted on NEW installation's the NEC code was changed in 1996...

 

[DaveEV]

When building a L6-20R 5-15P adapter for the EVSE upgrade, does it matter which hot pin on the L6-20R gets the hot and neutral from the 5-15P?

For example, should the narrow or wide L6-20R hot pin get the hot (narrow pin) from the 5-15P? I'm guessing it doesn't matter but I assume at least there's a "best practice" here. At least if you use the diagram GeekEV posted that suggests that the wide hot L6-20R pin is hot and the narrow hot L6-20R pin get neutral.

 

[garygid]

Do you mean the L6-20R?

 

[Ingineer]

When building a L6-20R 5-15P adapter for the EVSE upgrade, does it matter which hot pin on the L6-20R gets the hot and neutral from the 5-15P?

For example, should the narrow or wide L6-20R hot pin get the hot (narrow pin) from the 5-15P? I'm guessing it doesn't matter but I assume at least there's a "best practice" here. At least if you use the diagram GeekEV posted that suggests that the wide hot L6-20R pin is hot and the narrow hot L6-20R pin get neutral.

No, we configure them in reverse of that, the narrow prong is hot (black) and the wide one is neutral (white), in keeping with standard outlet conventions.

-Phil

 

[overbergerc]

Howdy,
What's the box in your kit with 2 120v inputs and an l6-20R in the center of the jbox cover panel?

Thanks !!

CO

 

[QueenBee]

What's the box in your kit with 2 120v inputs and an l6-20R in the center of the jbox cover panel?

With such a long thread it's hard to tell what you were responding to but I would bet you are referring to a Quick 220

 

[planet4ever]

What's the box in your kit with 2 120v inputs and an l6-20R in the center of the jbox cover panel?

Yes, as QueenBee said, you must be looking at some variant of that company's product. By finding two 120v outlets which are out of phase, the voltage difference between the hot wires of the two will be 240v.

Here is one thread where this has been discussed: Quick220 - Any Way to Tell Which Sockets are Independent?

Here is another one on building your own: Do It Yourself: 240v from two 120v sources

Ray

 

[overbergerc]

Yup,
That was it. I Should have been more concise. Thank you very much !! I searched the forum for that schematic but couldn't find it. I know I could buy this from Qiuck 220 but I enjoy building this type of gear...and I've got more money into this than I believed possible. 100.00 here and 95.00 there. My insurance doubled from my 2010 Prius (800.00/yr for the Prius, 1500.00/yr for the Leaf. Liberty Mutual says "we have no repair history for this new Leaf "Hybrid" so we are going to charge you the most we can legally until we have ISO data to look at. I explained to the "nice lady" that the Leaf was NOT a Hybrid to no avail. I will be changing insurance companies soon.

I Used to be a set electrician and am a long time (11 years) Toyota hybrid driver. Finally shifted the 2001 Prius over to the Leaf. I've given EVSE Upgrade my business so far and now I'm fighting the nightmare of getting ripped off be the companies trying to "give" me a "free" charging station. A 4500.00 quote (SPX) to run a 100' air drop to my garage (40A) which I had quoted for 1000.00 by 2 local electricians. The charging station is a DOE grant (Coloumb) but the SPX approved contractor "must" hang it.

AeroEnvironment will sell me one for 900.00 and I can have anyone wire it. Our utility company will reimburse me 2500.00 for this project and I'll be damned if I'll pay more than that for a simple garage mast and wire drop down the side of my house to an existing 240V 40A breaker (same in the garage) 100' of 8-3 and a galvanized mast, roof flashing and 2 strain relief hangers. I'm waiting for the SPX folks to quote the charger "hang" and to connect the wire, which will be waiting at the install point. My guess is they will try to get 2500.00 for that 10 minute job. The rest of the wiring will be permitted and inspected for less than 1000.00.

Love the car though. Plan to take it to the UP of michigan where there are no chargers anywhere..hence the need for the EVSE Upgrade and the 2x120v=240v box. Wish me luck. It's a 1200 mile round trip..800 of it with no official PEV charging stations. Should be fun.

Chuck O

 

[Ingineer]

Hi Chuck,

HERE is the thread with my schematic.

HERE is another one with the audible indicator feature.

-Phil

 

[leonardvoet]

I'm in bit of a bind and need some help. I purchased the upgraded EVSE with just a pigtail and need to connect the L6-30 to my pigtail.
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=3085" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The bind is, I need to go to work tomorrow and wont have enough juice in the AM if all I have to rely on is the trickle charger, so I kinda need to get this going NOW.

Thanks in advance!!!

Here's the write-up I promised of the "experimental" adapters Phil made for me to use with his L1-to-L2 EVSE mod. His mod replaces the stock connector with a 240v 20a rated NEMA L6-20 connector. He also offers a NEMA L6-20 to NEMA 5-15 (120v) adapter option which I strongly recommend. You'll severely compromise your ability to "emergency charge" without it.

Please reference this chart (below) as it will help explain my comments.

Here's what I've learned about these adapters and wiring in general. Sorry if my comments are a little disjointed, hopefully they make sense. If not, ask...

• The Nissan L1 EVSE (modified or not) will not function without a ground and will show a trouble light. Thus, you can be comfortable in knowing that it is grounded if it's working at all.
• 120v circuits use 3 wires (hot, neutral and ground).
• 240v circuits use 3 wires (hot, hot and ground).
• Some circuits use 4 wires (hot, hot, neutral and ground) to offer both 120v and 240v in one plug. When using the modified EVSE with this kind of an outlet, the adapter will simply not connect the neutral line to the L6-20 plug side.
• The modified EVSE uses a standard 240v L6-20 plug as it's "native plug".
• Because electricity flows between hot and neutral on 120v and between hot and hot on 240v, Phil's optional 120v adapter works by connecting one of the L6-20 hots to the 120v neutral. Because the modified EVSE now has an auto-sensing transformer, this arrangement works just fine. Since 120v and 240v aren't normally compatible, you are unlikely to find this adapter anywhere else, so please do purchase it from Phil as part of your upgrade. :!: Also, do NOT try to use it with anything BUT this upgrade or you're asking for trouble.
• The red X's in the diagram indicate where similar plugs differ from each other.
• NEMA 5-15 is the common 120v 15a household plug.
• NEMA 5-15 and 5-20 are very similar. An unmodified 5-15 plug will also fit a 5-20 outlet.
• NEMA 6-50 is a common RV plug and is also used for industrial welders and similar equipment.
• It is common to find 6-50 plugs that allow you to unscrew them and rotate the pin orientation. With this kind of a plug (such as this leviton one), and a screwdriver, you can make an adapter that will fit both 6-30 and 6-50 outlets.
• If you buy a NEMA 6-30 or 6-50 adapter pre-made, it may not use an adjustable plug type - so double check that or make this one yourself with parts from your local hardware store. Just be sure to use a properly rated wire.
• NEMA 10-30 and 10-50 are the older style appliance plugs commonly used by older dryers and ranges. Most appliances use both 120v and 240v internally, but this plug does not have separate neutral and ground pins - so the appliances would use the ground as a neutral (which is why the diagrams above label that pin as W). This practice is no longer considered "safe" and modern appliances now use the NEMA 14-30/14-50 outlets instead.
• However, since the wall outlet side of a 10-30 or 10-50 is typically connected to ground, it is perfectly safe to use the modified EVSE with this outlet since it doesn't need neutral in 240v mode anyway. In the event that you do actually find an outlet that is wired to neutral, the EVSE will not function and will show an error light, so you're safe either way.
• NEMA 10-30 and 10-50 plugs differ only in the shape of the "neutral/ground" pin. With careful modification using a dremel (or similar tool), one adapter can be made to fit either outlet. Simply remove the X'd out portion.
• Because 10-30 and 10-50 plugs often use the ground as a neutral (as per above), you are unlikely to find pre-made adapters as most places aren't willing to connect the W pin on it with the G pin on the L6-20. You'll likely have to special order this, or make it yourself. :!: Like the 120v adapter, for safety's sake do NOT use this adapter with anything other than the modified EVSE.
• NEMA 14-30 and 14-50 are the modern appliance plugs designed to replace the old 10-30 and 10-50 plugs with a safer design that has separate neutral and ground lines. These are also commonly used at campgrounds and some industrial settings.
• NEMA 14-30, 14-50 and 14-60 plugs differ only in the shape of the neutral pin. Since the modified EVSE doesn't use neutral at all in 240v mode, carefully remove the (X'd out) neutral pin with a dremel (or similar tool) and one adapter will fit all three plug types. To avoid accidental contact between the removed pin and the outlet, cover it with electrical tape.
• Most residential and industrial 240v outlets are NOT GFCI plugs. If you use an extension cord with this kind of non-GFCI plug, for safety's sake keep the extension cord and the EVSE "brick" indoors. The J plug can safely be used outdoors because the EVSE itself has GFCI protection built in - but that only protects between it and the J plug, not between it and the wall!

Stay Online is a handy place where you get some adapters made for you, as well as a handy L6-20 extension cord. I'm sure you can also find them elsewhere if you look. Feel free to post additional sources to this thread.

• http://www.stayonline.com/custom_power_cords.aspx
• http://www.stayonline.com/nema-20-amp-locking-plug-208v.aspx

There you have it. Between the native plug and 4 carefully made (or modified) adapters, your modified EVSE can fit 10 different plug types. My brother and I have also teamed up to offer these adapters for sale should you not want to make your own. See this thread for details: viewtopic.php?f=26&t=3085&start=0



EDIT: Fixed a typo and added emphasis as per LEAFer's suggestions. Also revised the wording about "properly grounded" as per Wayne.
EDIT 2: Added link to thread where you can buy the adapters.

 

[TimeHorse]

I'm in bit of a bind and need some help. I purchased the upgraded EVSE with just a pigtail and need to connect the L6-30 to my pigtail.
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=3085" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The bind is, I need to go to work tomorrow and wont have enough juice in the AM if all I have to rely on is the trickle charger, so I kinda need to get this going NOW.

Thanks in advance!!!

Would that you were only in Washington, D.C. I could part with my NEMA6-30 plug for the day. They're not hard to make though and I think even Home Depot or Lowe's can sell you the receptacles and plugs.

 

[Ingineer]

For connecting the L6-30 plug to one of our pigtails: Pigtail Green to ground on the L6-30 (green screw), Pigtail White to "X" terminal on L6-30, and Pigtail Black to "Y" terminal on L6-30.

Make sure the screws are tight, and the strain relief is well clamped.

-Phil