Bought a cheapo charger; it hasn't caught fire yet

[cduzz]

I just bought https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07TKVJ389 ; I was sold after watching the totally insane video (on the video attached to part of the product's amazon profile) of someone in bare hands plugging it into a car and an outlet then holding it under water (for only a couple seconds). Any company willing to possibly kill a hand model is a company that gets my business! Hopefully they used the engineer who designed the enclosure.

I made a little stand to keep it propped up and out of the dirt and a little out of the weather. I've decided to just leave it plugged into the NEMA 6-20 plug that's already there, on the presumption that if I'm not plugging / unplugging constantly (as I have been doing with the mobile charger that came with the car) the plug will be up to the task.

As of now, it's been charging for about 3 hours and the plug isn't warm at all and the charger box itself is warm to the touch but not obviously so. The internal temperature sensor is reporting:

So far so good. Outside air temperature is about 65 degrees freedom...

I'm not happy that this thing is within 5 feet of where the natural gas meter is for my house but it'll probably be okay.

 

[X Fan]

Hopefully “yet” is not the operative word.

 

[cduzz]

Hopefully “yet” is not the operative word.

I'm not thrilled that the internal temperature meter went up 3 degrees in the past hour; I'd hope that it would stabilize after a couple hours of being on. The display is on 24x7 which also isn't awesome, but I expect the idle draw isn't going to be substantial.

There's a button on the front that switches from the default of 10a draw to 16a; the setting stays at whatever it's been set to as long as it's plugged in; in this case that means it'll stay 16a until I hit the circuit breaker or the city cuts power because a tree fell somewhere.

As far as it catching fire... indeed hopefully it doesn't. It's in a somewhat low-stress environment (only 16a) but it is also a generic thing sold on the internet's large volume and somewhat sketchy swap meet...

 

[beatle]

I think for $230 I'd probably buy a used Tesla UMC for the freedom to use many different plugs and charge at more than 16A. Yes, you'll pay for each adapter, but sometimes you really need that option. It's a nice looking unit though.

One of the Q&As no the Amazon page was humorous:

Q: Can I use a 5-15 adapter and plug this into a 120V outlet? Outlet and adapter would be covered but rest out in the rain.

A: (Another user) - The specifications on the label list a 240 volt input and output. They don't specify a range such as 120-240 volts. So without actually trying to plug it into a 120v source I'm not sure if the internal electronics would operate properly at the lower voltage. It's very possible that it could work but you'll have to try it to be sure.

A: (Seller) - you can try it，it should work theoretically​

 

[mswlogo]

Hopefully the wall outlet your plugging into is GFCI. It does not matter if the unit has GFCI as well. Both are required.

 

[cduzz]

The existing setup lacks GFCI except where the EVSE offers it. This is one of the reasons why I wanted to have a setup where I either hard-wire the EVSE into the plug or at the very least ziptie the cover on the receptacle and only take it apart once in a while to verify that everything's in good order. My original plan was to get a hard-wired clipper creek LCS-20 which I think would avoid the GFCI issues.

As to why I used this vs getting a mobile charger (or getting another mobile charger) -- the tesla mobile chargers are pretty expensive. Similarly, 240v GFCI circuit breakers are also really spendy.

How long has it been a code requirement to have an outdoor 240v outlet protected by GFCI as opposed to just being in a weatherproof box?

The situation would be extremely dangerous if I were to unplug the EVSE and plug in a welder and use it in the rain barefoot, and I imagine the NEC is designed to cover the "profoundly dumb" use case...

I'll put a little padlock or zip tie the enclosure shut.

 

[Doanster1]

Sounds like it’s functioning fine for you. However, you are concerned on a few fronts, so for me saving a couple hundred bucks wouldn’t have been a trade off I would’ve made. Not worth the worry IMO. I wanna plug my car in and go to bed not thinking about overheating, fires, etc.

 

[beatle]

Not like the Tesla UMCs or HPWCs are immune to failure or fire either. I would not lose sleep over either charger.

 

[Prof]

This charges at 16 amps while the Tesla chargers go up to 48 amps.

 

[jerry33]

At only 16 amps, it better not be warm. A NEMA 14-50 will charge faster and more efficiently and still be low cost.

 

[cduzz]

Yeah, at 16amps I'm not actually sure why it's warming up. An EVSE is just a relay and a couple other things.

At the end of a 5 hour charge session it was up to 121 degrees. 121 is warm but not exactly hot. I got this specific unit because it is advertised as being an IP66 enclosure but that of course means there's no ventilation inside.

A nema 14-50 would require a 50 amp circuit and new wires. My house has a 100 amp feed and already has a 50 amp sub panel for the AC and basement electric heat... I'm not sure if I'd need a new feed from the utilities, but I'd certainly need a new panel to update to 200 amps and they'd need to move my meter. I don't think it'd be a $400 job to run a new reasonably sized circuit because of all the other things that'd need to be updated. This is only one of the joys of living in a 200 year old house...

The NEMA 6-20 allows me to reuse a conveniently located outdoor NEMA 5-20 plug/circuit. That particular plug was the only one on the circuit and the wires for the circuit were installed at the same time they installed the AC (judging by the date code on the wires). So as a matter of expedience it seemed reasonable to start with just turning the 120 circuit into a 240 circuit with a missing neutral leg.

The box itself may also just not be calibrated in that it reports that it is 85 degrees after being left outside in 60 degree weather (but plugged in). I'll fiddle with it more and see what's what. The amperage and current draw also dance around like crazy (15.3-15.6a and 220-245v) and don't really agree with what the car says.

 

[beatle]

Sounds like you've got the right tool for the job given your constraints.

I charge on a 6-20 when I visit my girlfriend's parents. It only gets me about 4% per hour, but that's enough most of the time. Unless I'm pulling in with 20%, I'll generally be back to 90% overnight. I rarely need a full charge the next day for errands anyway.

I would also not shell out big money for a 14-50 unless you're already upgrading the electric service in your house for other reasons. "Just install a 14-50" is a common solution, but as you know it is not always a ~$500 job.

 

[Rocky_H]

The NEMA 6-20 allows me to reuse a conveniently located outdoor NEMA 5-20 plug/circuit. That particular plug was the only one on the circuit and the wires for the circuit were installed at the same time they installed the AC (judging by the date code on the wires). So as a matter of expedience it seemed reasonable to start with just turning the 120 circuit into a 240 circuit with a missing neutral leg.

Sounds like you've got the right tool for the job given your constraints.

Yeah, I agree. For smaller circuits, there are a lot of pretty good EVSE units that are decently built and good price. I like it. And doing a quick switch of a 5-20 to 6-20 is one of the more useful but underrated methods of getting a charging circuit.