Just got a level two charger but got a few question

Your choice. I would put a plug on it for easier upgrade or replacement in the future

You can't get the car out of park with the charge cable plugged in.

Tell the electrician what you want and he'll pull the correct size wires. It's cheaper now to oversize. If you have to redo the job in the future to up size the wiring that's expensive.

Personal preference, I would not.

 

1. Hard wired is best/safest.
2. Your Prius Prime will not start until you unplug it.
3. The Prime will not attempt to charge above 16 Amps, (you can set it to 8 Amps) so the EVSE can't over charge it.
4. To 'future proof,' have your electrician use at least 8 gauge wire. (6 gauge for the Leaf) https://www.subzero-wolf.com/assistance/answers/romex-size-and-amp-ratings-information
You can put a 20 amp breaker on line now, and a 50 Amp breaker later, when you have a need. (Or be brave and use the 50 now, but I like it to pop when it draws more than it should) The Leaf maxes out at 40 Amps, (50 Amp breaker, 6 gauge wire) the Bolt at 32 Amps. (40 Amp breaker, 8 gauge wire)
5. I do not understand question 5

 

I agree with @JimboPalmer, but would modify #1 a little bit. I would put in a receptacle if the EVSE is made like the OEM and meant to be coiled and taken in the car if desired. I would not chop off the plug and hard wire it. Not worth it. If the EVSE has a pigtail and is meant to be wall mounted, the hardwired approach is a little safer and more logical, although a properly installed receptacle is also safe. It's just that, over time, there is a wear factor as with any other frequently used receptacle.

 

What I did was sourced a spare cable off of Craigslist so I minimize the wear and tear on the socketed end.

Now the only part that sees the use is the J1772 end and that’s designed for that.

Another way to reduce premature maintenance .

 

Agree with JP and Jerry also, but we get a fair amount of lightning here (as well as the lightning capital where Jerry lives) and I always feel better with the EVSE and car off line during the storms. Hence a heavy duty outlet for the pigtail on my EVSE.

 

Very good point. Thank you for reminding me of that. I don't have L2, but that precaution would apply to L1 charger as well.

 

A better solution might be a suitably rated disconnect switch on the line. Leave the equipment plugged in, but open the disconnect and remove all power. This will both protect from surges and lightning and save having to plug/unplug things.

 

I would avoid hardwired because what if you have to send in the unit for warranty purposes or if you move?

 

Hardwire is old school, beneficial before there was any sort of standard. It was considered safer prior to UL rated devices and the ability to easily adjust charger draw becoming common.

Now, you can simply have a 14-50 outlet put in and know setup is complete.

 

I recently installed the charge port. I put in a 40 amp breaker. But let's the wiring for up to 50 amps just in case I need a change. All I have to do is swap out the breaker and the receptacle. A 40 amp breaker will be fine for you because it will take up to the 30 amps you need for a bolt. Did Prius Prime I have plugged in to the chargepoint regulates its own charge. It's a good idea not to hardwire unless it's outside. The reason is if you decide to get a different car and needs smoke amperage you have that option. That's supposed to hardwire you have to change everything unless you have the wiring setup for a larger amperage. When I get home from work I plug it in and just leave it and unplug it the next day. Or unless I'm using it that day. There's no harm in leaving it plugged in because the Prius Prime communicate to the chargepoint to its needs. In the winter time the Prius Prime comes on just to heat the traction battery. Nancy reason why I always leave it plugged in. Also in the summer time would I want to air conditioner car it's nice having it plugged in. The charge time is usually if it's completely empty 1 hour 50 minutes to 2 hours. It's great having a level 2 charger at home because you're always have a full battery. Hope that helps

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Glad you mentioned that. A disconnect is on my list of upgrades for exactly that reason. Then I can just leave it plugged in and not be concerned about lightning or vampire current. My Duosaida draws enough just running the LED that it adds up. And I don't want to wear out the breaker turning it off and on.

 

Ours (Clipper Creek LCS-30P) is plugged in, but also mounted to the wall. Conceptually it could be used portably, but I haven’t had any need to.

One potential complication regarding using L2 EVSEs portably is finding the correct type of outlet (there are several).

 

I was originally planning to install the ChargePoint-branded EVSE, but I didn’t want to change our 30A breaker and such.

The ChargePoint EVSE was 30-Amp, but legally/code-wise, you have to maintain a 25% margin. Our Clipper Creek LCS-30P is a “30-Amp” EVSE, meaning that it’s sized correctly for a 30A breaker, meaning 24A.

The ChargePoint EVSE has more features though, such as monitoring changing on your smartphone.

 

Typically, these are quite easy to unwire. Open the box, unscrew the clamps for the wires. But, it is still easier just to unplug it. And if you move, you leave the new owner a 240V receptacle to work with.

 

You have a few electrical code problems there. The exposed non-metallic cable from the supply panel going to the receptacle box is not allowed by code - that should be in either armored cable or conduit.

Article 334 "Nonmetallic-Sheathed Cable: Types NM, NMC and NMS"

334.10(3): "Cables shall be concealed within walls, floors, or ceilings that provide a thermal barrier of material that has at least a 15-minute finish rating as identified n listings of fire-rated assemblies."

334.15 Exposed Work.

(B) Protection from Physical Damage. Cable shall be protected from physical damage where necessary by rigid metal conduit, intermediate metal conduit, electrical metallic tubing, Schedule 80 PVC conduit, Type RTRC marked with the suffix -XW, or other approved means. Where passing through a floor, the cable shall be enclosed in rigid metal conduit, intermediate metal conduit, electrical metallic tubing, Schedule 80 PVC conduit.

 

Doesn't the disconnect only disconnect the (2) 120V lines? I don't believe it breaks the ground. Lightning will follow that ground most often to it's final destination. We have lots of very tall pines near our house that act a lot like lightning rods. When we built our house I asked the electrician if lightning rods attached to a copper cable and ground would be helpful, at which he laughed and pointed to the pines with taproots that go down 10 feet. Several people that have irrigation wells have had their pumps and other items blown up in bad lightning storms here within the last few years.

 

#4---Your electrician will determine the capability of your home electrical panel to supply the charging station. If you don't have the capacity for, say, a 40 amp draw, or 30, or 20, it's a moot point. Keep in mind the 80% rule--the expected load must draw only 80% of the circuit capacity. Thus, a 50 amp circuit for a 40 amp load, 40 amp circuit for a 32 amp load, etc. If necessary the electrician can install a (double pole-double throw) switch so your panel can supply 240 volt power to either a laundry dryer or your charge station, or some other alternative like that.

A point of clarification...the charger is inside the car. The charging station (EVSE) is the device you hang on the wall. The charging station is a smart power supply that communicates with the charger inside the car and supplies the power the car's unit requests, tapers the power down as requested, and shuts off when done.

I don't live in thunderstorm country. How well do lightning arrestors and surge protectors/suppressors work out? I do have a whole-panel surge suppressor on my panel, mainly to protect from the voltage surge when wind blows a tree across the power lines. I expect the suppressor to sacrifice itself doing its job. After the surge suppressor handles one big surge, it may fail and pass through future surges. For expensive electronics I have point of use protectors in addition to the panel surge protector. The suppressor/protector has a voltage protection rating (VPR) of the voltage it will pass before it shunts the surge to ground (and sometimes dies when doing so). I've read that the whole panel unit should have a VPR of no more than 600 volts, and the point of use protector VPR below 500 volts...lower is better, and expect to replace it after it does its job.

 

I had a qualified electrician put this in for me. It's no different than the outlets I have in my garage. It's connected to my fuse box which is ground today. And it's no different than Romex going through the house for receptacle that's 120 in my garage. The charge port that's connected to the outlet communicates with the car which brings the power down or up and regulates the power. And he fought it will not do a charge.

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