Extra Charging cord

There are several ways to free up space in a panel. Dual or twin breakers that take up only one breaker slot freeing up a slot for a new breaker. Remember, people rarely are running their panels to capacity or rating. Especially with scheduled charging in our Primes.

 

I picked this up from Amazon. 110 and 220. Works fine. I installed 220 on a 50 amp breaker for about $275.00 on a 75 foot run. Wire was the most expensive part.

Duosida
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Level 2 EVSE Portable Electric Vehicle Charger (240V, 16A) - Faster Charging Speeds

 

Why not just get a couple HEAVY gauge(like 12 or thicker) extension cords and keep the charging cord that came with the car wound up in the back of the car? That way you can just pull the charging bundle out of the car, plug it into the extension cord and plug it into your car. Then when you leave, unplug the bundle and toss it in the back.

TWO outdoor, long, heavy duty, GFCI equipped extension cords will not even run you half the cost of one extra charge cables. Not to mention you can get them from almost any Home Depot or Lowes.

Large gauge cords are important so they don't get hot and melt from the load. I use a 25ft 12 gauge so I can reach my window from my apartment's parking lot. lol

 

nono.Just the extension cords stay outside. You can get little caps to cover the female side opening so water doesnt corrode/ rust the connectors. The cord that came with your car with the block and stuff, travels with you in the car. Just like wind up the cord and throw some zip ties on it so it stays wound up. Then just plug the extension cord into it and it into the car.

I included a diagram.

 

The cord that comes with the car is very rugged/durable. I left mine buried in a foot of snow all winter attached to the extension cord. The cord can be wet when charging as well. You don't have to keep it in the car. In fact, I would just toss the bundled up cable under the car in it's shadow when it's charging. That will also prevent it from getting run over or hot from the sun if you live in a warm state. It's really not a delicate cable. lol
If you're concerned with getting your trunk wet or dirty, just get a shallow Rubbermaid container to put the cord in when the weather is messy. Since the cable would be constantly tied up in a roll, you can just toss it in there.

 

First, I'd get another quote or two from other electricians. Also, have someone check the actual load rating of the wiring. Older home builders installed 15A breakers in places like carports even though they used conduit capable of 20-25A circuits. If the wiring can support it, you might just need a new breaker.

Second, you might want to consider replacing the 15 A circuit with a 20 A 120v and a 20 A 220v circuit. If the 15 A circuit is on one breaker, it can be replaced with a dual breaker, if you can get one that's both 120v and 220v. If not, I'm sure it can be combined with another 120v circuit to free up a spot for a 220v breaker.

Running two wires will take the same labor, but twice the cost for wiring. You could use the same wire for both circuits, which might not actually cost any more given the other costs of using two different wires.

Finally, consider running a 240v wire from an existing stove or dryer line.

 

It is against the electric code to run one breaker and wire both 120 and 240 appliances to it. Depending on the length it may make more sense to wire a large gauge wire to a sub panel in the garage area and then run short branch circuits of both voltages.

As for a device you can use right now, the Toyota cord from the Prius Plug-In (before the Prime) was only capable of drawing 12A since that's all the car could draw. It had a 15A plug on it. You should not require a 20A circuit for any appliance unless it has a 20A plug to connect to your house (like a standard plug but one of the two main prongs is turned 90 degrees so it's horizontal)


iPhone ?

 

Since you state charging will be overnight, just get the least expensive level 1 cord, and set your Prime to accept maximum 8 Amp charging on the screen. No need to worry about higher demand on the 15 Amp carport circuit. See page 123 in owners manual for 8 Amp setting procedure. I did.

 

i don't understand how most 120v evse can be 16 amps, aren't most 120v circuits 15, except in special situations?

doesn't the charger in the car control draw?

 

I'd also be interested if anyone has any experience with cheap chargers - I'm out of space in the garage and I'd like to just leave one mounted outside on the garage wall using an existing 120V outlet I have.

 

Pretty much anything which can hold 16A would have to use internal components rated for 20A or higher.

120V, or level 1 chargers as they are known, provide for "up to" 16A but it is common for them to be capped at 12A due to this being 80% of 15A and breakers are always sized using the 80% rule. So a 15A circuit with only the EV cord on it should not draw more than 12A, otherwise you would need a 20A circuit.


iPhone ?

 

so if you use a 120v 16a evse with the prime on a 20a circuit, will it charge at 16 amps?

 

I believe so. I have not had access to that type of equipment to try it. However, I have heard the Chevy volt chargers like to melt plugs because I assume it's trying to charge it 16 A which is too much for the 15 amp plug, it should be around 12


iPhone ?

 

You asked for the least expensive way to have 2 charging cords and limit your cost of charging at 2 locations without a time constraint. Time for personal responsibility. Read your owners manual for any impact on remote A/C.

 

The Prime permits 8A draw, pg 123 owners manual. I suspect many people plug into garage outlets rated at 120V 15A and have other draws on the single circuit which may trip breakers. Toyota must have suspected this with the ability to set EVSE draw at 8A. Most newer construction would have 20A circuit in garage for accessories.

 

so the evse controls draw, not the charger?