Are you interested in building your own charging cable?

Likely it's 2 hots, neutral and a ground... Neutral is required for some appliances that run on 240V, like ovens, but also use 120V for control... Technically they can't return current through the ground (although it used to be done all the time in the old days). For the EVSEs of today, only the 2 hots and ground is required, neutral is not used. RV parks typically have the 14-50R which is a 240V 50A outlet, with a ground and neutral... 4 wire.

 

got it, thanks mitch. so, do i need a gfci outlet?

 

No, GFCI is built into the Toyota EVSE as well as the OpenEVSE, so no GFCI breaker needed (they don't even make 240V GFCI outlets, at least I've never seen one, breakers yes, for pool pumps or spas)

 

thank you!

 

i'm all thumbs with a soldering iron, now copper pipe, that's another story.

 

but the thing is - the PiP can in no way use the full capacity that the mod'ed panasonic EVSE can deliver ... now what the home brew can deliver ... so it's like buying a 50 cal machine gun when all you need is a cap gun.


.

 

Doesn't matter. A 2nd L1 EVSE will cost you MORE than either upgrading your Toyota supplied EVSE, or building your own OpenEVSE.

There are several L1 EVSEs on the Home Depot and Lowes websites in the $800-900 range.
You are better off just going with a L2 EVSE for that kind of money, that's the point.
Plus you have future proofed your garage for you next EV or PHV. The PiP uses 2KW, the modified Panasonic is only 3.3KW capable (12A), the Nissan supplied version is only rated at 3.8KW (16A), thats hardly overkill.

 

Thanks for posting the newbie instructions. I was able to match the schematic to the components and wires and feel comfortable that I can handle it. Now I just need to get everything and put it all together. I'm going to skip the Adafruit LED and keep it simple.

 

okay, it's starting to sound more interesting!

 

Could I cut the 30A AC Plug L6-30 http://www.stayonline.com/detail.aspx?ID=15695 using the male portion for the EVSE and then make an adapter out of the female end using this NEMA 5-15P

HUBBELL HBL5266C AC Plug NEMA 5-15 Male - Our Item #: 6257, Category: NEMA Straight Blade 2-Pole 3-Wire 125V : StayOnline

?

 

what does the addafruit tell/show you and how much is it? i kinda like the idea of charging info and lites.

 

LurkAzusa: yes, you can do that... I also bought a bunch of L6-30 male and female ends to make adapters up as well, I have several L6-20 and L6-30 male and female cable ends left, let me know what you need.

bisco: the AdaFruit RGB LCD display shows you the state of the EVSE, and also has several buttons on it, some of which will be used for things such as setting the maximum circuit current, for example.. If you build the OpenEVSE as 30A capable, but are using it on a 20A circuit, you want to be able to dial down the maximum current advertised by the pilot signal to the vehicle to 16A (%80 of circuit ampacity). Also, if you are using it on say a 120V outlet, the default is 12Amps, if the breaker trips, you could dial down the current to 6A or 8A, which is better than not charging at all. Look at the pictures of the display on my pictures page:

OpenEVSE pictures by mitch672 - Photobucket

 

Well, it looks like I better look at the AdaFruit again, then.
Mitch, I'll message you for more info about the adapters. Thanks!
I was just shopping Radio Shack, Lowes and Home Depot and found everything except the 30A Relay and current transformer. Of course not the Open EVSE, Advanced Power Supply, AdaFruit or J-1772.

 

thanks mitch, nice pics. does the addafruit tell you how much time left to complete charge?

 

No, there is no way for an EVSE to know how long the pack would take to charge, it can only display the amount of time the car has been charging.

 

Thank you very much for this post and your detailed experience! I hope I can find some time to attempt this project.