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Using the Primes 120v Charger at 240 Volts, Cost $20 !!!

Discussion in 'Prime Plug-in Charging' started by Rob43, Mar 16, 2019.

  1. mveras1972

    mveras1972 Member

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    I am taking that a step further: using UF wire and inside conduit. I am not comfortable with direct bury.
     
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  2. Rob43

    Rob43 Senior Member

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    Curiously, what's your approximate cable run length ? (not including pig & evse)


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  3. mveras1972

    mveras1972 Member

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    About 100 feet from basement to where I park.


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  4. Rob43

    Rob43 Senior Member

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    OK,

    100 ft Loss:
    10 AWG = 1%, -2.40v
    12 AWG = 1.59%, -3.81v


    Rob43
     
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  5. Rob43

    Rob43 Senior Member

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    Any progress to report, are you up and running at 240 volts ?


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  6. mveras1972

    mveras1972 Member

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    I would imagine a wire like 12AWG would undergo less stress at 240V than at 120V. Am I correct on that? The reasoning is that at 120V the hot wire pumps 12A by itself whereas at 240V the 12A would be shared among the two hots. So at 240V each of the hot wires is pumping 6A. That’s half the current per hot wire.


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  7. onlythbest

    onlythbest Junior Member

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    If I am having a 220 V outlet installed in my garage (an electrician is coming for other work so I have asked him to install a 220 V outlet), do I need to get any special plug/receptacle to plug in my Prius Prime standard charger for it work or just the standard 20 AMP outlet will be sufficient?

    Thanks
     
  8. mveras1972

    mveras1972 Member

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    I would like to correct my statement there. So I was totally wrong on the “less stress” at 240V. Basically, after asking an electrician, I learned that you can’t add/subtract Amps like that. On 120V, the 12A goes through the hot wire while on 240V we’re still delivering 12A but it’s going through each of two hot wires. That doesn’t add up to 24A if you think about aggregating them, and that doesn’t mean each of the hots share the load as I thought maybe each hot would carry 6A. It’s still 12A just at a higher voltage. It’s the same stress as in 120V, but at 240V you have 2 wires instead of one wire going through that same stress.


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  9. Rob43

    Rob43 Senior Member

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    Welcome to PriusChat !

    Have him install a NEMA 14-50R where it would be best located for your charging needs, a 14-50R is probably the most common and future proof receptacle that you could get. Tell him it's for a second Clothes Dryer in your garage, you'll probably get a cheaper price this way.

    Once your 14-50R is installed, all you'll need is a short Pigtail for your OE EVSE to work at 240 volts for fast 2 1/2 hour charging. If you need a one, just let me know.


    Rob43
     
  10. onlythbest

    onlythbest Junior Member

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    Thanks Rob. I will let the electrician know about the receptacle. Once the outlet is installed I will connect with you for the pigtail option.
     
  11. mveras1972

    mveras1972 Member

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    Rob, is your pigtail cable outdoor rated (waterproof)?


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  12. Rob43

    Rob43 Senior Member

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    It's no more, or no less than any high quality outdoor rated extension cord.

    Plus the 240 volt end almost 99% of the time would be plugged into an indoor receptacle, which means the 1 to 3 foot end with the 5-20R would still be inside.


    Rob43
     
  13. onlythbest

    onlythbest Junior Member

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    Rob
    One question - Is there any reason you recommend installing the 14-50R receptacle instead of 5-20R receptacle? This way there will be no need to use the pigtail.

    Thanks
     
  14. Rob43

    Rob43 Senior Member

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    I don't believe any licensed electrician would ever wire a 5-20R (which is a 120v receptacle) up as a 240 volt receptacle, to many dangers...

    Get it done correctly the first time, you of course can choose many different 240v receptacles like: 6-20R, 14-30R, & 14-50R.

    I still recommend the 14-50R as your first choice, it's extremely common & will allow up to 40 amps for any big battery BEV that you might buy in the future.


    Rob43
     
  15. mveras1972

    mveras1972 Member

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    If the plan is to plug in something more powerful in the future, I should add that if you install a 50A receptacle, you should use a thick enough cable for the amperage the outlet supports. You don’t want to exceed the amperage the wire supports and cause a fire.


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  16. Rob43

    Rob43 Senior Member

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    I'm not sure if I'm understanding you correctly...

    Are you saying that a licensed electrician would install a small gauge wire on a 50 amp service ?

    Any licensed electrician would use a 6 AWG copper wire for a 50 amp service.


    Rob43
     
    #116 Rob43, Aug 6, 2019
    Last edited: Aug 6, 2019
  17. rhfritz

    rhfritz Junior Member

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    Prius Pigtail.jpg I had an electrician install a pair of 240 outlets in the garage. I bought a JuiceBox Pro for my 2018 Prime. And I bought one of Rob43's pigtails for my wife's 2012 PIP. Obviously you don't get a lot of benefit from a PIP, but it works with the original EVSE just fine.
     
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  18. avongil

    avongil Member

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    if you take apart the handle of the charger you can See that L1 and L2 are connected and go to the charger. If it was a 120v charger it would only have L1.

    https://i.imgur.com/eKqv6gc.png

    https://i.imgur.com/rUHfXJV.png


    [​IMG]
     
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  19. Rob43

    Rob43 Senior Member

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  20. mveras1972

    mveras1972 Member

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    Avatar1566355448.048545.jpg
    I found out that 10-foot long pipes fit just fine in the Prius Prime. I used these to bury my new 240V outdoor wire. Installation is going well. Not finished yet. I buried 12/3 UF wire. Planning to install a Leviton 5842 receptacle outside and a BR220 GFCI breaker in the basement panel. The 5842 has two outlets, one 5-20 (for 120V) and a 6-20 (for 240V). The 120V outlet uses the neutral and one hot line for multiple purposes, Christmas lights, snow blower, or any other devices I may want to use outside. The 240V outlet uses the two hots and GND to charge the Prius.

    Those are my plans. Can anyone spot any potential issues with this plan?


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