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Understanding the Included charger

Discussion in 'Gen 5 Prime Charging' started by Jake Armitage, Jul 30, 2023.

  1. Jake Armitage

    Jake Armitage New Member

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    Currently, I'm using the included charger to charge my Gen 5 in a standard 120v outdoor outlet. It usually charges in about nine hours. I would like to shorten that time. What is level two charging; Is that just a matter of plugging the included charger into a 240v outlet, or do I need an actual level 2 charger?
     
  2. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Level 2 AC charging is charging at 208-240V. Power ranges from 3.3kW to 19kW. I believe the new Prime is still limited to 3.3kW?

    I don’t think the Toyota supplied charger (technically called Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment or EVSE) has the plug type of a 240V outlet.

    You’ll need both the outlet and the EVSE/charger unless you hardwire a Level 2 EVSE.

    If you go the plug route, the typical outlet is a NEMA 14-30 or 14-50. The second number (30 or 50) is the rated amperage of the outlet. 14 is the design type. The other typical outlet is NEMA 6-50 - this one is 208V 3-phase.
     
  3. Mr.Vanvandenburg

    Mr.Vanvandenburg Senior Member

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    The fairly inexpensive evse’s for sale online, many can use a 6-20 240 volt outlet. That’s all is needed to charge a Prime. Any 20 amp outlet can be converted to a 6-20 receptacle and by installing a 20 amp 240 circuit breaker. Done by a licensed electrician of course.
     
    #3 Mr.Vanvandenburg, Jul 30, 2023
    Last edited: Jul 30, 2023
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    Yeah, just get an adapter for yours
     
  5. douglasjre

    douglasjre Senior Member

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    I'm confused. Wouldn't a 3 phase be 480V?
     
  6. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    I guess 208V can be both single and 3-phase. 208V 3-phase probably goes to commercial? 480V to industrial?
     
  7. NullDev

    NullDev Junior Member

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    I wired a short adapter to convert the standard Nema 5-15 (15A @ 120V) to a L6-15 (15A @ 240V) and plugged it into a 240V outlet wired to a 20A breaker.
    [​IMG]
    Obviously, this adapter does not meet code and I put lots of warning labels on the end to deter anyone from plugging something else into the end. The end result is the car charges much quicker and it only takes about 11kWh to fill the car rather than around 14kWh.