Rolec EV Wallpod

[Glan gluaisne]

The simple answer is that there isn't really a wholly safe replacement, as no one makes a Type B (i.e. DC tolerant) RCBO as far as I'm aware. Also, I'm not aware of the 16 A RCBOs ever being problematic. There are hundreds of these Rolec 16 A RCBOs on caravan sites, as before they ventured into charge points Rolec had been selling 16 A commando outlet caravan hook up points for a couple of decades.

 

[Zakalwe]

Might be worth a watch....

 

[rincewind]

Might be worth a watch....

Bugger. Just waiting for mine to go wrong now.

 

[Glan gluaisne]

The only component that tends to fail in these Rolec units is the RCBO, AFAIK. The EVSE controller they use is the Mk 1 version of the Viridian EVSE, the one that doesn't have any sort of DC tolerant RCD protection or open PEN protection. The Viridian/Mainpine EVSE modules are well made, and generally reliable, plus they are still available.

If push came to shove, then it wouldn't be hard to replace the 32 A RCBO with one with a trusted brand, like this Garo one:32A RCBO 1P+N Type A Char C 30mA (Garo) and also replace the EVSE module for one that includes DC tolerant RCD protection and open PEN protection, like this: EVSE Protocol Controller 2.0 (EPC 2.0)

The result would be a charge point that was compliant with the regulations and that should be as reliable as any other on the market.

 

[bitmanEV]

FWIW, all those Rolec units that do not have a Type B RCD, and which were installed with the aid of grant funding, were never compliant. Long before the regs were amended to include EV charging, in Section 722, almost the same wording was in the spec for all grant aided charge point installations. Rolec, and a few others, chose to ignore this, most probably because Type B or Type EV RCDs were expensive. Doesn't excuse them, though, they still broke the rules. IIRC, the requirement for a Type B/Type EV RCD dates back to around 2012/2013, so all grant aided charge points installed after that date should have been compliant. Rather bizarrely, because what's now in Section 722 of BS7681 wasn't actually included in the regs themselves back then, and was a separate note, it didn't apply to any non-grant aided installation. All a bit bizarre, when you consider the risk.

As for the crap Chinese components Rolec use, there's evidence that even the newer, RCBOs, the green writing ones, can burn out. The ones with the blue writing were universally crap, dozens, perhaps even hundreds, of them failed, some coming close to starting fires, as the photo below shows. Best bet is to replace a duff one with a decent brand, i.e not cheap Chinese tat.

View attachment 606585

Thanks @Glan gluaisne to bring this up

I had this issue addressed in my post #21 (Rolec EV Wallpod) but was shot down...

 

[arg]

The simple answer is that there isn't really a wholly safe replacement, as no one makes a Type B (i.e. DC tolerant) RCBO as far as I'm aware.

I hesitate to suggest it, since it's not a like-for-like replacement, but in the majority of cases the overcurrent function of that RCBO is redundant (there being an MCB of similar rating back at the consumer unit). Therefore a Type-B RCD alone would be adequate. Does mean that you are taking on responsibility for design of the whole circuit rather than just a simple repair.

Also, I'm not aware of the 16 A RCBOs ever being problematic. There are hundreds of these Rolec 16 A RCBOs on caravan sites, as before they ventured into charge points Rolec had been selling 16 A commando outlet caravan hook up points for a couple of decades.

If you search around around you can find people grumbling about them in the caravan application too, though not as prevalent as the EVSE failures.

For example, here and here (in both cases the initial post is reluctant to name the manufacturer, but subsequent posts make it clear it's Rolec). (edit: looks like those are both reports of the same incident, so maybe only limited significance).

 

[Glan gluaisne]

I hesitate to suggest it, since it's not a like-for-like replacement, but in the majority of cases the overcurrent function of that RCBO is redundant (there being an MCB of similar rating back at the consumer unit). Therefore a Type-B RCD alone would be adequate. Does mean that you are taking on responsibility for design of the whole circuit rather than just a simple repair.



If you search around around you can find people grumbling about them in the caravan application too, though not as prevalent as the EVSE failures.

For example, here and here (in both cases the initial post is reluctant to name the manufacturer, but subsequent posts make it clear it's Rolec). (edit: looks like those are both reports of the same incident, so maybe only limited significance).

I've never understood why Rolec fitted an RCBO inside the charge point enclosure in the first place. I have a suspicion that it may well be because they just re-purposed an existing outdoor supply enclosure, that they had been using for both 13 A and commando outlets, perhaps. In design terms, as it's the cable to the charge point that needs over current protection, and that has to be done at the supply end, just fitting an RCD in place of the RCBO makes sense. IIRC, there is room for a 3 module device in there, with a couple of half module breakouts either side of the 2 module RCBO. Seems an easy enough mod to just fit a Type B RCD in there, and not too costly now that these have come down a lot in price.

I wasn't aware of the 16 A ones being troublesome too, but then I've never done any work on caravan sites. Doesn't surprise me, as it seems these are made in China and I've never been impressed with any of the electrical products from China. I once bought a Chinese made car battery charger that had the line and neutral crossed internally, and worse still, had what was supposed to be the neutral connected to the negative battery lead. Very luckily I checked it before using it, as it had a metal case and only a two core lead, so I was suspicious that it wasn't really class II. As supplied, the line was directly connected to the battery negative lead.

 

[Zakalwe]

If push came to shove, then it wouldn't be hard to replace the 32 A RCBO with one with a trusted brand, like this Garo one:32A RCBO 1P+N Type A Char C 30mA (Garo) and also replace the EVSE module for one that includes DC tolerant RCD protection and open PEN protection, like this: EVSE Protocol Controller 2.0 (EPC 2.0)

The result would be a charge point that was compliant with the regulations and that should be as reliable as any other on the market.

A Trigger's Broom.....

Replace the main components and it'll be reet.

 

[Glan gluaisne]

A Trigger's Broom.....

Replace the main components and it'll be reet.

One big advantage of the Rolec is that it just uses off-the-shelf, DIN rail mount components, all of which are available readily. There are issues about things like the warranty, and the responsibility someone takes on by doing such a modification. In terms of safety, then there's no real issue with replacing poorer quality parts for better quality ones, although clearly any such work needs to be done by someone competent. Having said that, it's not rocket science, and the level of competence needed to wire up a charge point using off-the-shelf parts isn't hard to acquire.

At one time, Mainpine/Viridian were encouraging DIY charge point construction, and there are videos around showing people putting units together. IIRC, one of the people involved got all sorts of threats from some in the electrical industry, and as an outside observer it seemed to me that most of those threats were driven by commercial interests. The last thing charge point manufacturers want to see is someone showing everyone that they can build a safe and reliable charge point for far less than they are selling their products for. Having seen a DIY built charge point, assembled from one of these early kits, I have to say that the quality of the components and workmanship looked better than that of some of the budget commercial units.

However, whilst it's fine to DIY something for your own use, it's a very different matter when it comes to doing something like this for someone else. When we sold our last house I completely removed all traces of the charge point installation, as it was a unit I'd made (still have it here) and there was no way I could do the required sale EICR without pointing out that my home made charge point had no form of approval. It wasn't unsafe, but it just could not be CE marked or shown to be in full compliance with things like the LV Directive, EMC Directive, etc. I did think about just swapping it out for a commando outlet when we sold the house, but, given that surveyors seem to be a bit sensitive about stuff like that on domestic installations decided it was better to just remove all trace of there ever having been a charge point installed.

 

[MrBadger]

Moderator comment - several posts moved to dedicated UK Wiring Regulations and Charge Point Safety thread