Adjustable EVSE with a 10-50R plug?

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dex8425

Member
Joined
Jan 28, 2016
Messages
21
Location
Minneapolis, MN
We've had a 2012 leaf for three years and previously charged with a 20 amp 120v dedicated circuit and the supplied evse, which was good enough most of the time but I would've preferred faster charging on weekends and occasionally during the winter.

We just moved into a new house and there's a 50 amp breaker with 6 gauge copper wire and a 10-50 receptacle in the garage. We definitely will not need to charge at 32A often but it would be nice to have that option since the existing wiring is there. Ground and neutral are connected at our main panel.

Question: Is there an adjustable evse out there that works with a 10-50 receptacle? I know I could switch the plug to 10-30 and the breaker to 30 amps and have a host of options, but then only charge up to 16 amps.

Thanks
 
The J1772 specification says that the EVSE broadcasts the available current and the car takes what it needs. The original cars and a non-upgraded S take 16A from that 32A and they ignore the rest. An upgraded Leaf will take 27.5A of the 32A.

There are EVSE's that can be set. The DIY OpenEVSE and the GE Durastation come to mind. The OpenEVSE sets the current in 2A steps. The GE can be set to 24A or 16A from the default of 30A.

No non-Tesla based cars will charge at more than 30A. My B had a Tesla drive train and it charged at 40A. It was the exception. My current IoniQ charges at 28,5A from the same EVSE that charged my B at 40A. It just ignores the excess current.
 
Are you sure you have a 10-50? It does not have a ground, only two hots and a neutral. If there is both a ground and a neutral wire available in the box, I would change it out for a 14-50. It's a much more common plug on EVSEs.
 
dex8425 said:
We've had a 2012 leaf for three years and previously charged with a 20 amp 120v dedicated circuit and the supplied evse, which was good enough most of the time but I would've preferred faster charging on weekends and occasionally during the winter.

We just moved into a new house and there's a 50 amp breaker with 6 gauge copper wire and a 10-50 receptacle in the garage. We definitely will not need to charge at 32A often but it would be nice to have that option since the existing wiring is there. Ground and neutral are connected at our main panel.

Question: Is there an adjustable evse out there that works with a 10-50 receptacle? I know I could switch the plug to 10-30 and the breaker to 30 amps and have a host of options, but then only charge up to 16 amps.

Thanks
With a 50' cord :shock:
https://www.amazon.com/PRIMECOM-Portable-Electric-Charging-Compatible/dp/B07NCTNCKT/ref=sr_1_42_sspa?keywords=level+2+ev+charger&qid=1554765483&s=automotive&sprefix=level+%2Cautomotive%2C288&sr=1-42-spons&psc=1
With a generous 30' cord and $100 cheaper
https://www.amazon.com/PRIMECOM-Portable-Electric-Charging-Compatible/dp/B07NCTD55J/ref=sr_1_42_sspa?keywords=level%2B2%2Bev%2Bcharger&qid=1554765483&s=automotive&sprefix=level%2B%2Cautomotive%2C288&sr=1-42-spons&th=1
Note a '12 Leaf maxes out at 16a @ 240v and 12a @ 120v. No matter if your EVSE outputs higher the cars internal charger limits the charging to those numbers :)
The exception would be if you had an aftermarket Bursa?? device that could almost double those speeds but they were never that common and I doubt you could purchase them new anymore.
 
davewill said:
Are you sure you have a 10-50? It does not have a ground, only two hots and a neutral. If there is both a ground and a neutral wire available in the box, I would change it out for a 14-50. It's a much more common plug on EVSEs.


I am sure it's a 10-50. Just two hots and a neutral. My guess is it's for an old (pre 1990) welder or something.

I could change out the plug if the car ignores the ground; would use the neutral as ground. Definitely would prefer not to run new wires or a dedicated ground.
 
dex8425 said:
davewill said:
Are you sure you have a 10-50? It does not have a ground, only two hots and a neutral. If there is both a ground and a neutral wire available in the box, I would change it out for a 14-50. It's a much more common plug on EVSEs.
I am sure it's a 10-50. Just two hots and a neutral. My guess is it's for an old (pre 1990) welder or something.

I could change out the plug if the car ignores the ground; would use the neutral as ground. Definitely would prefer not to run new wires or a dedicated ground.
I only asked because you mentioned a ground wire, so I thought there might be a separate ground available. Since it's only a 3-wire circuit, you could change it out for a 6-50, repurposing the neutral as a ground (be sure to wrap both ends of the white wire with green tape to show you've done this), but you can also just leave it like it is and just put a 10-50 plug on whatever EVSE you decide on. In the same theme, you could also get any EVSE and either PUT a 10-50 plug on it, or use the existing circuit to hard wire it in. If you're handy, you might want to get an OpenEVSE.

https://www.openevse.com/
 
Just get any adjustable evse and put a 10-50 modular plug on the end of it.

I charge my 2011 leaf at an average rate of about 7.2kw with my setec chademo.
It peaks at 8kw but then tapers once it nears 90% soc.
Most of the time I use my original Panasonic made brick modded to run 240v power. It charges at about 2.9kw.
 
Thanks for the responses! I was unaware that my Leaf will only take up to 16 amps. Probably not worth getting an adjustable evse then. I'll probably just buy a duosida for the cost savings.
 
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