Just got a level two charger but got a few question

I don't know the standard to which he/she is qualified, but it still doesn't meet the requirements of the electrical code. You won't be the last person to have similar results from a "qualified" electrician. The licensed electrical contractor hired to wire my daughter's new home basement and garage failed electrical inspection for three different non-compliances with the electrical code.

 

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I just sent him your post to the electrician and he apologized to me and rectify that. So you are absolutely right and thank you for bringing it to my attention. It's set up in the corner of my garage so basically nobody will actually run into a bump into it. So I'm okay until he rectifies that. Again thanks for bringing it out to my attention to everybody else on this site.

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I'd set up a receptacle so you can plug it in and remove it in case you need to disconnect it quickly for some reason. A plug is a lot faster than having to go turn off a circuit breaker then unfasten / fasten wires.

And there are a bunch of "standard" plugs for 240V, and adapters available to go between most of them.

 

Here's my setup, done 7 years ago with the 2012 "Toyota approved" Leviton L2 unit originally for our PIP and now Prime. It has never skipped a beat and works flawlessly. Rated Nema 3.

 

Basically just the packaging. The rest is pretty much the same. Remember, it's 7 years old, and I still like it. The cable is about twice the size of the L1 Brick. Plus it's easy to unplug in the lightning storms here.

 

I've thought a lot about surge protection. A whole house (or whole panel) surge protector is ideal for situations you mentioned. It will protect against moderate size surges if something knocks out power or maybe if lightning strikes down the street. But I don't think it will do much for a direct lightning strike very close to your house. A layered approach is best, so it is a good idea to use surge protectors near expensive electronics. I actually have one small 1-outlet surge protector on almost every 15 or 20A circuit in my house, to maximize how much surge energy can be shunted. They don't just protect devices downstream. Because they shunt excess voltage they also reduce the magnitude of a surge elsewhere on the same circuit.

A typical whole house surge protector is a type 2 SPD connected to a breaker in the main panel. Also adding a type 1 SPD might provide a bit more protection against lighting, but as far as I can tell they are usually installed at the meter and seem to be uncommon for residential use. Plug in surge protectors like you would use to protect a computer are type 3 SPDs. If anyone knows of a good 240V type 3 SPD, I would like to know! It would be handy to connect to an EVSE outlet, and I could use one on my induction stove.

The EVSE has a relay that disconnects power when the car isn't charging, so that will help isolate it from any surges. But I'm not sure if there are communication wires that are always connected. If there are it would be a good idea to add a disconnect or unplug it.

As far as surges on the ground wire, there's not much you can do besides making sure your house is properly grounded. But in case of a direct strike near your house the change in ground potential will probably cause all kinds of problems no matter how your electrical service is grounded. Completely disconnecting the car might be a good idea.

 

m8547 has analyzed the lightning situation pretty well. We too have several levels of protection, however, nothing will stop millions of volts, and many forget about the proper ground situation, thinking it's just a line power issue. Duke Power has a $6/mo program for a whole house surge protector, but its more for them replacing the affected electronics after the strike, if you can convince them it was lightning. We self insure up to the homeowner's policy deductible. There are several ways to deal with lightning and it's after effects, but we all make decisions best for us. A couple years ago a friend's Mercedes in his garage, and several well pumps didn't survive a strike and went up in smoke. A very stern warning about lightning and it's consequences.

 

Looks great. One suggestion is to enclose that romex feeding the outlet inside the wall, in conduit or wiremold to look more professional. Cosmetics aside, in the future when you sell the house, or have insurance issues, if it doesn't look like a pro installed it, there might be questions. We don't want that.

 

This is over kill, but would dress it up to look more professional.

www.amazon.com/Upgrade-Version-Cable-Management-Channel/dp/B07BLQPVFD

Whatever hardware store you have will have the parts you need.