General advice us to get cables with 1.5mm core (not 1.25mm which are common). The roll up ones are rarely 13a rated although there are some. Then it’s down to how much you want to spend. I’ve heard tough leads being recommended but I carry one of these from amazon , bright colour, different length and you can get a waterproof surround fir the plug if you want. https://amzn.to/2n9nqc3
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Here's how to charge with 32A commando in UK
- Thread starter Fraank
- Start date
General advice us to get cables with 1.5mm core (not 1.25mm which are common). The roll up ones are rarely 13a rated although there are some. Then it’s down to how much you want to spend. I’ve heard tough leads being recommended but I carry one of these from amazon , bright colour, different length and you can get a waterproof surround fir the plug if you want. https://amzn.to/2n9nqc3
I’m one of those who has happily ignored this important point. A commando socket is especially attractive if, like me, you can’t get the OLEV grant. I did the installation myself, and only got an electrician to wire into the consumer unit and check everything was done properly. It cost next to nothing, has a much smaller footprint than a wall connector and has been 100% reliable. I’m also satisfied that it’s perfectly safe.
I do think that a commando + UMC is completely safe for you (and me) as the people that installed it, know not not plug it in while standing in a storm or 2" of water. However, is it safe against the stupidest or most innatentive person you know that doesn't under stand electrics? Probably not.
So while I have no qualms using my setup, I wouldn't sell the house as having a charger, and would hesitate to let others use it outside of ideal conditions. And mine is only 16A.
'safe in adverse conditions' is what doing it right gets you, hence the regs.
Yes, the regs have to ensure that the equipment is safe for those who, in fairness, don’t need to know the first thing about electrics or how they work.
I actually think that in some instances a 3 pin UMC may be far more dangerous than a properly installed commando socket. There are plenty of properties that have very old, outdated wiring where some sockets would have trouble maintaining a constant 10A supply.
The regs say that a commando socket for EV charging must be earthed to a particular standard, so why shouldn’t this apply to a 3 pin UMC? The current is lower but the voltage is identical and the principle is essentially the same.
I've had this, luckally the UMC detects it somehow and reduces the currant. Any plug inside my parents garage couldn't cope and kept over heating, luckally they have an outdoor set that seem to wired correctly. Surprisingly, that house is only 10 years old and all the sockets should have been fine really. Grrrr.
The UMC is pretty smart and I feel it gives you a fair bit of leeway to make mistakes like this.
I'm not sure how a UMC would detect the over heating of the domestic wiring feeding the UMC? I guess voltage drop may be one way but don't over estimate the capabilities of a UMC with regard to this. Its safety features are pretty rudimentary and pretty much just earth - neutral leaks and under voltage..
.jg.
Member
With the adaptor for a 13A socket, the UMC will draw 10A but you should look for extension cables rated for 13A, normally designated as "Heavy Duty". I have one of these, from Screwfix:
PRO XT 13A 1-GANG UNSWITCHED EXTENSION LEAD 10M
Toolstation have this one:
Extension Lead 13A 230V
It not used under cover, it might be worth condering a Dribox for the UMC, adaptor and extension cable socket.
or ... an alternative temporary cover requires 2 bricks and a bucket. Put the UMC on one brick then cover it with the bucket and put the other brick on the top of the bucket to keep it stable. This keeps the UMC off the ground in case there is torrential rain that runs across the ground as well as ensuring rain protection from above.
If you are on a 13A UMC you probably shouldn't be in a rush, so if a torrent was coming I'd probably unplug (or have the UMC part inside). For normal dampness on an extension I just kick the plug and UMC under the car and make sure water won't run down the cable into anything.
Given the wide variety of circumstances, chargers, extensions, cables and electric vehicles combined with the huge variance in electrical competence of the general public, I was pleasantly surprised to find that a search online failed to come up with a single instance of a person receiving an electrical shock whilst charging their EV (any brand). There are now hundreds of thousands of EVs across the world and there must be many thousands of questionable charging arrangements being used on a frequent basis... everyone can't just be "lucky" ... the car designers must have got something seriously right in the safety department!
Clearly everybody must be following the electrical safety advice given here.
I found the advice amusing.
Who writes this stuff?
Public chargers are generally very good as you'd expect, domestic chargers especially those via portable chargers will be ultimately backed up by household electrics that have become increasingly good. I'm sure there are plenty of molten extension cables out there but the distribution board saved the owners, not the charger or the car.
You’ve also got to look at PEN fault protection & RCD. B, with dc residual current protection, which adds significantly to the cost. The solution doesn’t give load balancing either so you could overload the main supply in certain conditions
I'm not convinced about PEN fault protection personally. The circumstances seem so implausible that to have a PEN fault + car not noticing and opening it's own charging contactors + someone touching it + standing on wet ground is unthinkable.
On top of that if you have water or gas supplied through metal pipes then you basically have a separate TT earth installed anyway.
PEN fault detection without a separate TT earth seems to rely on voltage monitoring, which the car does itself.
On top of that if you have water or gas supplied through metal pipes then you basically have a separate TT earth installed anyway.
PEN fault detection without a separate TT earth seems to rely on voltage monitoring, which the car does itself.
Car can't open its own charging contactors because there isn't one where it's needed - in the earth conductor.
First post here as well.
from what i know and have made for my use
the tesla 16amp blue commando single phase will let you charge at 16amp (resisters in the adaptor tell the charge current)
the tesla 32amp (slightly bigger size) blue commando will charge at 32amp (resisters in the adaptor)
i also made a red 5pin 3 phase ( must be 5 pin with the neutral ) plug to 2 sockets a 16 and 32 commando, to simply use phase 1 of the 3 phases available, i then choose how must to load the supply and use either the 16 or 32 plug and let the umc do the rest
so you only need a tesla 32amp commando to umc2 load
if you have a 32A commando its going to draw max 7.4 kw on a single phase, most homes in UK are single, its very rare to see triple phase unless you're a commercial building or you're next to one that shares the same line, especially on old build homes, just wont see it 100%! 32A commando going to work the same as a e.g gen 3 wall connector, as you're likely to be limited 7.4 kw, save that money. all these fancy wall chargers is just a management system to tell you its charging from your phone, you can just look in your car then go to sleep, its still going to take a long time to charge but at least you'll be paying for a low rate. fyi. mine only cost £460 plus labour (buckinghamshire) hope this saves you all money if you're looking for solution, as this is the cheapest solution I've found which makes sense. if you think paying about double of what I got mine for a smart charger to tell you, its charging then thats madness, but if your setup can actually pull more than 7.4kw and you're in need for speedy charging then yeah spend the money.
RichardTheKing
Member
Happy days. The kink doesn’t look great - have you thought about a short 1.5m ceeform extension cable so the UNC can be supported on something?
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