New member question.

Yes but very expensive. I think they were around 300 to 400 US

 

welcome to priuschat! i have never used a public charger here. do we need a converter? why are they different? all the best!

 

In the UK, public charging stations have a socket which is different from the standard UK residential one. As mentioned, the adapter cord and plug cost quite a bit, and are not provided with the car. The charging stations use a Mennekes connector. This is unlike in North America, where charging stations come with a cord and J1772 plug that fits into a socket on the car.

 

that's unfortunate. is there a reason they do it that way?

 

From the Wiki page, they say it has something to do with support for the additional wires needed for 3-phase circuits, which are only used in commercial settings in North America. But as to why they chose to not provide cords on the EU public charging stations like they do here, I don't know. I guess it saves cost to provide only a receptacle.

 

Given the high incidence of copper theft in the UK, charging cables would probably disappear within minutes of being installed.

"Copper cable theft is estimated to cost the British economy £1bn a year."

 

I've been quoted £500 from Toyota for the correct cable. My dealer stated that if I use a non-approved cable which you can get for £200 it would invalidate my battery warranty.

At £500 its just not economically viable.

 

I would argue that at £200, it's not economically viable either. We here on Prius Chat have said it time and again, it's not worth it to pay for public charging stations. Unless you have ridiculously high electricity rates at home, the small battery on the PiP isn't worth it.

Have solace in knowing that you are a pioneer in this new world of plugging in cars. Standards will soon be in place and costs will come down. You don't want to spend £200 and end up with Betamax or Windows Vista.

 

It's pretty bad in these parts also. Lot's of street lights and traffic signals go dark around here due to copper theft, but I have not heard of charging stations getting ripped off. People have been advised that legitimate service folks don't work at 1am, so even if they appear to be wearing appropriate uniforms with a reasonably marked truck, one should call the police in that case.

Actually, there is no reason they couldn't use aluminum in the cable, is there? A bit fatter wire, but a lot less attractive to thieves.

 

There is a good reason why Cu is used instead of Al.
Need advice - Outlet caught fire | Page 2 | PriusChat

 

That article describes what happens when aluminum wiring is improperly installed. Specific kinds of connectors and wiring techniques are required when using aluminum wiring, but a competent electrician should be able to install it in a safe and code-compliant way. Authorities around here are discussing replacing copper by aluminum wiring in street lamps and such to discourage the copper thieves, at least in areas prone to theft.

 

Really? So, improperly installed copper wiring wouldn't catch fire? I don't suggest Al cannot be installed and used safely. But the facts are Al cannot outperform Cu for electrical wiring.

99% on a history paper is fantastic. 99% safe airplane landings for an airline would be catastrophic. When it comes to an item that experiences high voltages and lots of wear and tear in close contact with your customers, there is no question you use the best materials. All it takes is one injury failure to doom the business, even damage the EV charging industry. Al in street lamps or traffic lights? Sure. No one is touching those cables on a daily basis. Our EVSE's are expensive for what they do but there is zero tolerance for injury failures.