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Almost burned the house down

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It was permanently affixed—I bought an extra just to keep it plugged in and be able to carry the other in the car wherever I went…ironic. so now I just bought a new UMC from the Tesla store…anyone know why the hell used UMCs are sold on ebay for much higher than the Tesla store? Are Tesla store deliveries backed up?

also, thanks to the great advice from folks on this thread, i bought a new Hubbel receptacle, hope i Never have this issue again! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IPBMUKY/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_QRHHRRG8H24WRF77XAT3?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

It fortunately, it appears quite common as a consequence of the cheap receptacle installed by my electrician. even the Amazon reviews for this item talk about exactly this, even with pictures. I consider the mystery solved, thanks to you awesome people on this forum.
If one is operating a mobile connector permanently affixed like this would it be acceptable to eliminate the receptacle entirely by cutting off the plug and directly splicing the UMC to the supply wires in the box? Just wondering.
 
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If one is operating a mobile connector permanently affixed like this would it be acceptable to eliminate the receptacle entirely by cutting off the plug and directly splicing the UMC to the supply wires in the box? Just wondering.

That would void the device’s certifications. Your insurance company probably wouldn’t be too keen on this non-compliant modification in the event of a fire or some other claim resulting from that.

If one intends for an installation to be permanent, it’s best to use the appropriate hardwired equipment, aka a Wall Connector.
 
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I just looked at my NEMA 14-50 outlet but could find no manufacturer info, only NEMA 14-50 stamped on one edge and 240V 50A along the opposite edge. How can I tell if mine is Leviton or not? Maybe I'll pull it tomorrow and see what kind of terminal screws it has.
Never mind. I looked on the linked master thread guide and found that the pictured Leviton looks exactly like mine.
I'll be off to Walters Electrical Supply tomorrow to get a Bryant.
One difference is the Bryant/Hubbell ones are larger diameter. The part that sticks through the cover plate, I mean.

Leviton: about 2-1/8 inch diameter
Bryant/Hubbell: about 2-1/2 inch diameter

Note that because of the larger diameter you need to get a different cover plate if you replace a Leviton with a Bryant/Hubbell. The cover plates they have at your local box store won't fit. I got mine from from Gordon Electric Supply if I recall correctly, but there are several online electric supply retailers that will work. You can probably get it at Grainger too if you have a burning need to pay more.
Grainger was the least expensive source I could find for Bryant 9450FR in Orange County. I won't deal with amazon, so Grainger's $45 price and local pickup was best. Even my favorite Hank's Electric carries only Leviton and Eaton; Walters only stocks Hubble at $121.
 
That would void the device’s certifications. Your insurance company probably wouldn’t be too keen on this non-compliant modification in the event of a fire or some other claim resulting from that.

If one intends an installation to be permanent, it’s best to use the appropriate hardwired equipment, aka a Wall Connector.
If one is operating a mobile connector permanently affixed like this would it be acceptable to eliminate the receptacle entirely by cutting off the plug and directly splicing the UMC to the supply wires in the box? Just wondering.
The plug adapter on the UMC communicates with the onboard charger so it knows what rate of charge it can support. I doubt if the UMC would work at all if directly wired.
 
THIS ^^^^ perfectly explains the challenge of wiring connectors, especially high W.

What satellites you design for, if you can divulge.

Well, the most recent one that's still flying is the Advanced Camera for Surveys repair on Hubble Servicing Mission 4. I'll just note that ACS was the first instrument they got running again after the recent timing anomaly. Good to know it's still hanging in there! That was a fun mission. We managed to successfully create and build the stuff to repair it, and hand it to John Grunsfeld and Drew Feustel to install, in just 18 months. Drew was especially useful for the mission because he builds cars in his spare time, so when the release bolt for Wide-Field Planetary Camera 2 stuck, he knew by feel how much torque he could put on it without breaking it. Gearheads for the win!

Since then I was on the X-ray Spectrometer on the Japanese Hitomi satellite, which, well, you can look up what happened to it, sigh. At least we got a high-impact paper out of it before the, uh, incident.

Current project will launch a decade or so after I retire (and will be in a solar orbit so an absolutely stable thermal environment, which is a lovely change).
 
I've had continuing problems with hot plugs. I wired up a wall 6-50R with 6awg wire and used a 6-50P-to-14-50R adapter, then plugged in my 40amp EVSE (it's not a charger and I wish people would stop calling it that) with its 14-50P cord end. Temp on the plug and adapter would reach 140 F. I used an infrared thermometer. Seemed a bit too hot. Replaced the adapter with a new one. Still same temp. Swapped out the wall 6-50R with a 14-50R and plugged the EVSE directly into it. Still hot. 14-50P EVSE cord end was 8awg so I spliced out the molded plug with a new 14-50P molded end that was all 6awg. Still hot. Swapped out the molded 6awg 14-50P EVSE plug with a clamshell 14-50P I got from home depot and wired the plug up myself and it was much better. Around 100 F.

My belief is these molded plugs are cheap and there's some thin metal conduit portion inside that's heating up and conducting out through the molded plug. With the clamshell plug I can see for sure the wire is connected to the plug prongs and is torqued correctly.