Adapters for Ingineer's L1 to L2 EVSE - NO LONGER AVAILABLE

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GeekEV

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 18, 2011
Messages
1,825
Location
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UPDATE: DUE TO OTHER, LOWER COST OPTIONS AVAILABLE NOW, WE ARE NO LONGER OFFERING THESE HAND-MADE ADAPTERS. THANKS FOR YOUR PATRONAGE!

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For those of you who are familiar with Ingineer's Nissan L1 to L2 EVSE mod (discussed in this thread), you are no doubt interested adapters like those discussed in this thread. As I mentioned in that thread, my brother has picked up the gauntlet and is willing to make them for us. We're going to try and keep this simple so we're not making a full time business out of this. Please bear with us and be sure to read the threads listed above first so you know what you're asking for up front...

The following adapters are available for sale:

  • A5*: $50, fits NEMA 5-15 & 5-20 (120v - household)
  • A6**: $60, fits NEMA 6-30 & 6-50 (240v - industrial parks, welders, hotel A/C units, etc.)
  • A10: $60, fits NEMA 10-30 & 10-50 (240v - "old style" appliances)
  • A14: $60, fits NEMA 14-30, 14-50 & 14-60 (240v - "new style" appliances, campground, rv parks, etc.)
  • ACS: $90***, fits CS6365 (240v - public parks, stadiums, heavy duty portable generators, etc.)

* Yes, Ingineer's 120v adapter is less because he recycles the original 120v plug while doing your conversion. By all means buy his, but if you want another, or want different lengths, we offer it too.
** A screwdriver is required to open the plug and rotate two pins to work with NEMA 6-30.
*** Please allow extra time for this adapter as special parts are mail-ordered and will take time to arrive to us before we can start building. Additionally, if our supplier changes the price of this part, we may need to pass the additional cost on to you. The current price listed reflects our cost at the time someone last ordered one. If the price has changed, we will confirm with you first.

If you need a quick reference of what most of these plugs look like, see this post.

Each adapter is available in three lengths (all at the same price):

  • long: ~4' of wire
  • normal: ~1.5' of wire
  • stubby: ~3" of wire

I'm personally fond of the stubby variety as they take up less room in the trunk!

We offer a multi-adapter discount of 4% for each additional adapter beyond the first one:

  • 1 adapter = no discount
  • 2 adapters = 4% off entire order
  • 3 adapters = 8% off entire order
  • 4 adapters = 12% off entire order
  • 5 adapters = 16% off entire order (max. discount)

All shipping is USPS Priority Mail:
  • 1 adapter = $6 shipping
  • 2 - 5 adapters = $11 shipping
  • 6+ adapters = actual shipping costs

PLEASE NOTE: These adapters are made-to-order using parts purchased from local hardware stores and hand-made, so their appearance may vary. Please expect orders to take at least a week for them to arrive.

TO PLACE AN ORDER: Send an email to [email protected] and let us know which adapters you want (e.g. A10 stubby, A14 long). Within a day or two we will send you an email with specific payment instructions. Work will begin once payment is received (or, in the case of a check, once the check has cleared).

PAYMENT METHODS: We are offering these as a courtesy to the forums and have not started a full time business for it. Because of this, our preferred payment method is PayPal using the Send Money > Personal > Payment Owed option because it's quick and inexpensive. If your PayPal account is linked to a checking account there will be no fees for this transaction - however, if it is not, PayPal will impose a small fee (~3%) on top of the cost we quote you. If you do not have a PayPal account (or just prefer not to use them) you can pay by check, although you must wait for the check to clear before we process your order.

QUESTIONS & PROBLEMS: If you have any questions or experience any problems with the ordering process or your adapters, please send an email [email protected] or ask here in this forum thread. If all else fails, please send me a PM and I'll see to it personally.

LEGAL DISCLAIMER: These adapters are intended for use ONLY with Ingineer's EVSE mod discussed above. Because they are hand-made, they are not UL listed - but are made from UL listed parts. 240v electricity is serious business and extreme caution should be exercised while using these adapters. For safety's sake, do not use these adapters and the EVSE outdoors in inclement weather unless you know for sure you're on a GFCI protected circuit (the J plug side of the the EVSE is safe for outdoors in all weather). BY PLACING AN ORDER WITH US, YOU ASSUME ALL RISK ASSOCIATED WITH USING THESE ADAPTERS AND AGREE THAT WE ARE NOT LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGE THAT MAY RESULT FROM THEIR USE.
 
Are you going to be offering the Gary to L6-20 Adapter?

Here's the picture of the one we offer:
pic


:D

-Phil
 
EVDRIVER said:
Is that adapter UL listed? Are both ends molded or just one?

We investigated UL approval, but they require us to submit several adapters for testing to destruction, and we didn't feel it was worth the headache. ;)
 
garygid said:
Will you be using a molded-on connector on the L6-20R end?
Not initially as those aren't commonly available in local hardware stores. But if things get really busy, we may order some in bulk and start using them.
garygid said:
Can you post pictures of the 6 connectors that you plan to use?
Since these are made to order with local parts, their appearance will vary, but they will look something like this (I don't have a pic of the CS6365 yet):
5651984513_50bb297bcb_z.jpg

5652551926_402ae88597_z.jpg
 
Several people have recently asked me questions on extension cords. First off, for future questions, please ask them here in the forums instead of sending me email or a PM, that way everyone gets to benefit from the answers.

You can probably extend the EVSE's 24 foot range an additional 30 feet if you use a good quality L6-20 extension cord made with a minimum of 12AWG cable. One such source for these cords is here. That is a 15 foot extension, which will give you up to almost a 40 foot reach (with the EVSE's cord) or you can get 2 and that will give you almost 55 feet.

I don't recommend you exceed this distance without moving to a heavier gauge cordset, such as at least 10awg. Otherwise your charge time will increase, and you (or some poor soul) will be paying for electricity that never makes it to your car, and is instead heating up the cord. Also: if the voltage drop is too much, the Leaf will stop charging altogether!

-Phil
 
GeekEV said:
StayOnline.com also has some ready-made on this page in a variety of lengths. Just make sure to get the L6-20 plug on both sides! I got a 15' from them for myself...

Is this the right one? http://www.stayonline.com/detail.aspx?ID=7510
 
Yes, we will be using 12-3. Though, truth be told, the first batch was done with 12-4, but that's overkill since they only need three wires.
 
I got my adapters today. I got a complete set except for the NEMA 5-15 adapter which I already purchased from Ingineer with the upgrade. So far I have only been able to test the adapter that goes in my NEMA 14-30 outlet. That worked no problem. I also got a set of two L6-20 8/3 extension cords from StayOnline, a 20' and 40'. I tested them plugged together for at total of 60' with both 120v and 240v and it worked in both configurations. So far I have only used this set up indoors to test it but sooner or later I'll want to use it outdoors. Any suggestions on how to mitigate the risk when using this setup outdoors?
 
I know Ingineer has expressed concerns about runs that long causing too much resistance and creating a lot of loss, thus impacting your charge times and possibly heating the extension cord up too much. Perhaps it's better because you went with 8/3 instead of 12/3 wire - I'm not sure, any comments Ingineer?

As for the safety of using these outdoors, that's fine if the outlet you're using is a GFCI outlet. If it's not, the recommendation would be to keep everything between the EVSE box and the wall indoors. The J plug hose is always safe to run outdoors because the EVSE box has built-in GFCI protection. If you MUST use the entire rig outdoors without a GFCI outlet, you should only do it nice weather and only if the area around the plug and all extension cord junctions is completely dry... It's risky, because that's a LONG stretch of cord that is unprotected without GFCI, but it will work. All at your own risk, of course.
 
1. It is possible to buy/make a waterproof "plastic box" to cover the outdoor connections of extension cords/adapters, etc.

2. Home Depot has a portable 120v GFI outlet for about $10 or so. Plug it into a regular 3-prong (grounded) 120v socket, and then plug your extension cord into the 5-15 socket on this device.
 
GeekEV said:
I know Ingineer has expressed concerns about runs that long causing too much resistance and creating a lot of loss, thus impacting your charge times and possibly heating the extension cord up too much. Perhaps it's better because you went with 8/3 instead of 12/3 wire
Cord length will definitely increase voltage drop, which would mean slightly slower charging and slightly higher bills. Google "voltage drop calculator", and you can quantify this. Use a maximum 1% voltage drop to be really conservative, or use 2%. For example, according to http://www.southwire.com/ProductCatalog/voltdrop.jsp if you are using #8 Cu for a 12 amp load at 240V, the length needs to be 144 feet or less to limit the voltage drop to 1%. For #12 Cu, the maximum length for 1% voltage drop or less is 57 feet.

As for heating problems damaging the cord, the only way the cord length matters is if you coil up the excess cord. As long as the cord is laid out so it doesn't touch itself, you're fine.

Cheers, Wayne
 
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