1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Is this a 6-20R socket?

Discussion in 'Prime Plug-in Charging' started by Darien Day, Jan 27, 2022.

  1. Darien Day

    Darien Day Member

    Joined:
    Dec 10, 2021
    123
    35
    0
    Location:
    SW USA
    Vehicle:
    2022 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Limited
    I thought it was a 6-20P. The L2 charger I was looking at has what the description says is a 6-20P plug, but the horizontal and vertical blades are opposite of my outlet's.

    I had an electrician come by to give me a quote for a 240V, 16A outlet. He said the pictured outlet is already a 6-20P and all he would have to do is replace the wires from the outlet to the breaker with heavier gauge wiring and add a 16A breaker just for that outlet.

    His price seems high ($900).
     

    Attached Files:

  2. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2008
    23,280
    15,079
    0
    Location:
    Indiana, USA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    A 6-20P (Plug) is a thing that fits into a 6-20R (Receptacle). Which end are you looking for?
     
    jerrymildred likes this.
  3. Darien Day

    Darien Day Member

    Joined:
    Dec 10, 2021
    123
    35
    0
    Location:
    SW USA
    Vehicle:
    2022 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Limited
    The charger I'm looking at is this:
    www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08PQ42SJ4/

    It looks like the vertical and horizontal blades on its plug are opposite of what they need to be to plug into my wall outlet.

    [​IMG]
     
  4. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2008
    23,280
    15,079
    0
    Location:
    Indiana, USA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    To be honest, the photo in post #1 looks to me more like a run-of-the-mill 5-20 (as typically used at 120 volts).
     
  5. Darien Day

    Darien Day Member

    Joined:
    Dec 10, 2021
    123
    35
    0
    Location:
    SW USA
    Vehicle:
    2022 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Limited
    I'm not sure what it is. The electrician said it's a 6-20P. :confused:
     
  6. TerryM

    TerryM Member

    Joined:
    May 31, 2016
    46
    43
    0
    Location:
    West Central Illinois
    Vehicle:
    2021 Prius Prime
    Model:
    XLE
    A 6-20 receptacle will have the right blade slot horizontal when the ground plug is at the bottom. What you have is a 5-20 receptacle. They are different so that someone doesn't plug a 120V appliance into a 250V receptacle. Too bad they didn't make them more distinct so that you could tell the difference just by looking at them.
     
    Darien Day likes this.
  7. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2008
    23,280
    15,079
    0
    Location:
    Indiana, USA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    Bumping the contrast on your charger plug, you can just barely make out the NEMA 6-20 up at the top. It sure didn't get stamped very sharply.

    s-l1600.jpg

    That receptacle in the wall is a 5-20. You can see the various NEMA shapes here.

    Kind of funny that an electrician would mix them up.
     
    jerrymildred and Darien Day like this.
  8. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 28, 2016
    11,491
    14,100
    0
    Location:
    Tampa, FL
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Some additional input from someone who did this for a living even though the previous is all good stuff, @Darien Day. I suspect that your electrician might not be very experienced or maybe is a little sloppy since he was confused about your outlet. At a glance, the "T" shaped horizontal slot is a dead give away that it's 120V. (Edited to fix the brain fart that's crossed out above. Don't know why I did that. I know better. But it shows how easy it is to get those two things mixed up.)

    The receptacle in your first picture is a 5-20R (for receptacle) which is a 120 volt, 20 amp receptacle. It has one hot wire, one neutral, and one ground.

    The plug on your EVSE is a 6-20P (for plug) which is a 240 volt, 20 amp plug. It connects to two hot wires (that's how you get 240V) and one ground. That's why the blades and slots are opposite on the 5-20 and the 6-20. In many cases, you wouldn't want to plug into the wrong voltage.

    Also, there is no such thing as a 16A outlet and I've never seen or heard of a 16A breaker. What you need at minimum is a 20A breaker, 14/2 with ground Romex cable, and a 6-20R receptacle. For mine, I went with 12/2 with ground, a 30A breaker and a 10-30R receptacle since my EVSE has a 10-30P plug on it. In fact, many people like to really future proof it by putting in 50A wiring which would be 8/2 with ground. It won't help with your Prime, but it'll save time & money for when you eventually get an EV and want to charge faster.

    Edit to add: a big reason I upsized my wires and breaker aside from matching the plug is that breakers should not be asked to carry more than 80% of their rating for extended times. 16A on a 20A breaker is right at the limit. A 30A capacity will probably last longer.
     
    #8 jerrymildred, Jan 28, 2022
    Last edited: Jan 28, 2022
    Darien Day likes this.
  9. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2008
    23,280
    15,079
    0
    Location:
    Indiana, USA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    It seems, according to this chart, that a 6-20R also has one T-shaped slot. The biggest difference between it and a 5-20 is the orientation of the slot that's across from the T-shaped one.
     
    jerrymildred likes this.
  10. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 28, 2016
    11,491
    14,100
    0
    Location:
    Tampa, FL
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Exactly. It's so stinkin' easy to switch those differences in your head, especially when your fingers get going faster than your old brain. Both have the "T" but the 240V has a horizontal slot on the opposite side rather than vertical. I'll fix my boo boo. Thanks got catching that in time.
     
    #10 jerrymildred, Jan 28, 2022
    Last edited: Jan 28, 2022