Poll: What 240v Receptacle Do You Have ?

I've got 2

A NEMA 6-50 (50A) and a NEMA 6-20 (20A).
I use the 6-20, so that's what I voted in the poll.

A welder used to live here so I got outlets galore. Made no sense to use the 6-50 since the car maxes out at 16A. The 20A outlet seemed more appropriate. If I ever get a 100% EV, I'll use the other outlet.

 

Rob43 I am adding a new circuit for my level 2 charger in my garage. I am going to hard wire it in when I run the new circuit. I have done electric work most of my life and will be doing it myself.

I would like to remind people to be sure to buy a safety certified unit that is UL listed. A professional electrician will not wire in or work on a Level 2 charger that isn't listed by UL. There is a liability issue if there were personal injury or structural damage caused by a unit malfunction and he had worked on it. There can also be a possibly insurance problem if structure damage was caused by a homeowner installing a non UL listed device.
Here is a wonderful video talking about Level 2 and car chargers in general. You will find this Manufacturer has many informative videos on this subject. I am not trying to hijack this thread but saw it as an opportunity to provide a possible resource to people as well as respond to the survey.
Here is the video

ClipperCreek Goes Through Time, Expense for Safety

 

i have the 14-30r rotate to lock

 

I put other. I have a 30A circuit in the garage. I put on a 14-50 outlet for my bigboy EVSE. Then I bought a RV and that outlet went to that use. Now i charge nightly over 6 hours.

 

NEMA 6-50, since that is what the 32A Chargepoint Home charging station wanted. The breaker panel is on the other side of the garage wall from the outlet, so having an electrician install it up to code did not cost that much.

 

The 240v 40A is a 14-50.
The 120v 20A is my fallback if the 240 fails.

I will add that wasps just love to build their nests right above the J1772 handle holder.

 

The National Electrical Code (2017), at least as published by NFPA, doesn’t allow the use of locking receptacle outlets for electric vehicle charging:

625.44 Equipment Connection. Equipment shall be connected to the premises wiring system in accordance with one of the following:

(A) Portable Equipment. Portable equipment shall be connected to the premises wiring systems by one or more of the following methods:

(1) A nonlocking, 2-pole, 3-wire grounding-type receptacle outlet rated at 125 volts, single phase, 15 or 20 amperes
(2) A nonlocking, 2-pole, 3-wire grounding-type receptacle outlet rated at 250 volts, single phase, 15 or 20 amperes
(3) A nonlocking, 2-pole, 3-wire or 3-pole, 4-wire grounding-type receptacle outlet rated at 250 volts, single phase, 30 or 50 amperes
(4) A nonlocking, 2-pole, 3-wire grounding-type receptacle outlet rated at 60 volts dc maximum, 15 or 20 amperes

The length of the power supply cord, if provided, between the receptacle outlet and the equipment shall be in accordance with 625.17(A)(3).

(B) Stationary Equipment. Stationary equipment intended to be fastened in place in such a way as to permit ready removal for interchange, facilitation of maintenance or repair, or repositioning shall be connected to the premises wiring system by one of the following methods:

(1) A nonlocking, 2-pole, 3-wire grounding-type receptacle outlet rated 125 volt or 250 volt, single phase, up to 50 amperes
(2) A nonlocking, 3-pole, 4-wire grounding-type receptacle outlet rated 250 volt, three phase, up to 50 amperes
(3) Any of the receptacle outlets in 625.44(A)(1) or (2)

The length of the power supply cord, if provided, between the receptacle outlet and the equipment shall be in accordance with 625.17(A)(3).

(C) Fixed Equipment. All other equipment shall be permanently wired and fixed in place to the supporting surface.​

There is are charts of the non-locking and locking plug/receptacle configurations towards the end of ANSI/NEMA WD 6, Wiring Devices—Dimensional Specifications. Collect them all!

 

^ Well, that's interesting. My (licensed) electrician wouldn't install it without those outlet covers since they were outside the house and subject to possible water intrusion. If he knew about this provision, he might have just used an outlet box he had available. I don't have to lock the actual plug, since the EVSE itself is installed with a lockable bracket to prevent theft.

 

That’s correct: the outlet covers are required by the Code in damp or wet locations (see 406.9 and 625.56). If a cover is designed to accept a security lock, I see nothing wrong with using one, if you wish.

“Nonlocking” in 625.44 refers to the receptacle configuration: straight-blade devices, as in your photo, are permitted, but the kind that turn to lock in place, such as those sold by Hubbell under the Twist-Lock brand, aren’t allowed, at least in jurisdictions that have adopted the Code without amending that section.

 

^ OK, thanks for the additional and very detailed information. The covered kind was what I requested when we spec'd out the install. Didn't know there were options other than covered or not covered.

 

DavidA your electrician was smart putting a cover on the units. Water has a way of getting in to things especially outside, in or around a garage where water is often used.It looks from your installation that you had a conscientious one doing your work!

 

mine came with the curved plug, so i installed the curved outlet. i wonder what their reasoning is.

 

Considering every electric car (even my fathers 2005 Zx40) have a charger interlock disabling motion I don’t see a good reason to disallow a plug that doesn’t fall out of the socket, unless they figure the weight of the evse on the cable could damage the connection?

All sounds very silly, sort of like it being perfectly fine for 110vac wiring to have a rated current breaker that matches the wire rating but may not match the outlets rating,
While on 220 the practice is disallowed even when outlets are ganged to a single breaker

Mental masturbation at its best

 

mine is a permanent mounted install, just not hard wired. i wonder if there are portables with a curved plug.

 

It's required by the code to have a water cover on exterior outlets. Being a licensed electrician, and given that in most jurisdictions this type of work requires a permit, he follows the code. The newer codes assume the outlet will be in use during rain and require the newer covers that allow the cord to be plugged in while the outlet remains covered.

 

plus, with gfi, a little moisture easily confuses them.

 

No one actually recommends a NEMA 1-15 socket anymore.