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Certified EVSEs?

Discussion in 'Prime Plug-in Charging' started by Jeff Hicks, Oct 15, 2019.

  1. Jeff Hicks

    Jeff Hicks Junior Member

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    I just saw this on a Pinterest. Is the EVSE your considering UL listed? Granted it is from 2017 so it may not be that pertinent today. This is why I bought a used Prime EVSE off eBay and bought one of Rob43’s pigtails to get 240 volt charging. Used EVSE 200.00 , pigtail 49.00 = Safe reliable 240 V EVSE.

    https://chargedevs.com/features/amazon-evse-safety
     
    #1 Jeff Hicks, Oct 15, 2019
    Last edited: Oct 15, 2019
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  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    u/l?
     
    #2 bisco, Oct 15, 2019
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  3. Jeff Hicks

    Jeff Hicks Junior Member

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    Once a product passes all of the tests, the NRTL will issue the product its mark – for example, the familiar UL mark, or the ETL mark for Intertek. Only products which bear one of these marks, or the mark of another approved NRTL, on or near the rating plate, are safety-certified.
     
    #3 Jeff Hicks, Oct 15, 2019
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i'm no fan of amazon. i buy a few products there that are hard to find locally, but i don't like their business plan.
    we do do some hopping at whole foods though.:oops:
     
    #4 bisco, Oct 15, 2019
  5. Tha_Ape

    Tha_Ape Active Member

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    The stock power cable is UL listed, but would you be able to sue if you ran 240V through it and something happened? Probably not, because even though the internals are the same as for 240, they'd probably reference the label as only indicating 120V.

    For the record, I think that risk is extremely low... just food for thought
     
    #5 Tha_Ape, Oct 17, 2019
  6. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    why would you sue, no insurance?
     
    #6 bisco, Oct 17, 2019
  7. noonm

    noonm Senior Member

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    While a non-safety certified EVSE doesn't mean its an unsafe product, for something with the power to do some serious damage, I would go with one that does. For North America, that's usually going to come from UL (i.e. UL-listed) or Intertek (i.e. ETL). For Europeans, it will likely be a CE certification instead.

    I took a quick look at EVSE's on Amazon and it looks like all of them claim some sort of certification (probably because ChargedEVs called them out in 2017). However, you have to be careful because not all certifications mean the same thing. For example, I see a few them claim being "UL-recognized" rather than "UL-listed". Here's a good explanation of the difference, but the short answer is:

    • UL-listed = It has been tested as a whole product designed to go to the consumer
    • UL-recognized = It has been tested as a part that can go into UL-listed product, but is not intended to go to the consumer directly

    Also, I personally don't always trust what the seller/manufacturer says on their website unless they have a clear picture of the mark on the product. At least in the US, there is no active enforcement mechanism that's checking to make sure that each and every product advertised as having safety mark XYZ is correct and up-to-date. The best methods to ensure the product you're buying is properly certified is to go to the NTRL's website or to ask the manufacturer for a copy of their certification document. For example, here is UL's for EVSEs:
    UL Product Spec
     
    #7 noonm, Oct 17, 2019
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