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Randy

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 22, 2010
Messages
2,175
Location
San Diego, CA
Not those kind of pigtails.... :)

After getting Phil's mod for the Nissan EVSE, you're going to need some pigtails for the L6-20 connector.....Post some photos of what you've come up with...I was inspired after seeing Gary's collection at the Hometown Buffet.

Here's mine...I really love the Pass and Seymour plugs that are sold at Lowes. They're easy to work with and set up....I'm ready for a road trip... :)

adapters.jpg


I have adapters for the following receptacles (left to right in the photo):
120v
NEMA 6-50
NEMA 6-30
NEMA 14-50
NEMA 10-50
NEMA 10-30
and a special adapter that will take two 120v inputs and connect the hots and ground to the EVSE (inputs can't be GFCI)....

Randy
 
Randy said:
and a special adapter that will take two 120v inputs and connect the hots and ground to the EVSE (inputs can't be GFCI)....
Is that a homemade Quick220 or something else? I assume you have to connect the two 120 volt inputs to receptacles that meet the same requirements as the Quick220?
 
I took this shot of Garygid's collection yesterday at our breakfast meetup.

Gary might want to comment on them, I'm just the photographer. :lol:
img9307cf.jpg
 
I don't want to be an alarmist, but others have pointed out in other threads that 2x120v adapters like the ones pictured above are potentially very dangerous if used improperly. And they require two outlets that are on different legs of your breaker box to work properly. The Quick220 mentioned elsewhere has special circuitry in it to detect and prevent both of these things. I just wanted to mention this in case anyone is looking at those pictures without knowing what they're looking at and are tempted to make one...
 
I don't wan't to be an alarmist but I carry a pigtail with bare ends and jam it into any outlet that works. I have a UL symbol burned on my palm with a line through it as well.
 
GeekEV said:
I don't want to be an alarmist, but others have pointed out in other threads that 2x120v adapters like the ones pictured above are potentially very dangerous if used improperly. And they require two outlets that are on different legs of your breaker box to work properly. The Quick220 mentioned elsewhere has special circuitry in it to detect and prevent both of these things. I just wanted to mention this in case anyone is looking at those pictures without knowing what they're looking at and are tempted to make one...

From what I understand, plug into the same leg and all you're going to get is 120v. A miswired outlet on either side and you'll get 0v. Score outlets on different legs and you'll get the magical 240v. Of course, I would personally measure these out with a voltmeter first, to make sure of just what I had.

The bigger concern is the potential for a backfeed of voltage across either of the plugs, should one become unplugged. But this could probably be mitigated by careful monitoring of the charging process; a warning label on each plug; or a verbal warning to all in the household.
 
I understand and may well make one myself. Heck, I carry a "breaker adapter"! My comments were aimed more at those who don't understand any may not know what they're doing. :D
 
@ MWalsh,
I think what you meant to say is that if you connect both of the plugs from the "dual adapter" into the same leg (of normally wired receptacles), and you'll get 0 volts into the EVSE along with the ground wire.

That's because we're connecting to the hot (black) wire of each 120v plug and running those wires to the black and white wires on the twistlock pigtail, along with the green ground wire. If both black wires from the 5-15P's are at 120v on the same side of the bus, the difference between them will be 0 volts and that's what the EVSE would see. Of course, I'd probably use a voltmeter to test it out first...

That is really a "last ditch" adapter if everything else from our bag of tricks doesn't get us anywhere....If you're knowledgeable enough to make the adapters, using them safely is just part of that knowledge....
 
Randy said:
@ MWalsh,
I think what you meant to say is that if you connect both of the plugs from the "dual adapter" into the same leg (of normally wired receptacles), and you'll get 0 volts into the EVSE along with the ground wire.

LOL! I knew it was one or the other. But I did know you wouldn't get 240V.
 
Typically, you only get 120v when one of the two sockets is mis-wired.

However, ALL of these adapters should only be made/used by folks that understand the associated procedures, risks, and safety issues.

These adapters, all power and extension cords, and all EVSEs, are NOT toys.
 
I too would like to go on record and say that someone could be killed if they unplug one of those 120v ends on that homebrew "quick220" and touch it.

I'd appreciate it if someone published details on how to build a safer variant. All you'd need is couple of SPST 120v coil relays mounted in a small box. It could even be built into an outlet box if you chose compact relays. Add a 240v pilot light and you've got everything the Quick220 does.

-Phil
 
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