Using the Primes 120v Charger at 240 Volts, Cost $20 !!!

That RV adapter is just for a heavy duty 120V 30Amp circuit / socket, allowing you to use standard duty 20Amp and 15Amp plugs. It won't get you 240V. It shouldn't plug into any 240V socket in your house.

You won't find the 240V-120V adapter you want, sold commercially anywhere in the U.S., because it is dangerous in the hands of the uninformed or unwary. It can't possibly meet safety codes. If you really want to buy one online, start looking first on Alibaba in China. Though I won't swear that they'll have it either.

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Go back and read some of the many posts by Rob43 about making your own adapter. He was the expert here, and even sold custom adapters made-to-order to PC readers. But he hasn't logged in here, in more than a month.

The problem is that such adapters are inherently dangerous. Not when used for the Toyota EVSE / charging cord purpose on systems whose internals are built to automatically work in both voltages. Rather, just having such adapters hanging around where others can accidentally or unknowingly plug a 120V-only device into it, destroying them and possibly causing a fire or worse. Maybe that caused Rob43 to back away, I don't know.

There are liability problems involved in making and selling such inherently hazardous adapters to others. Possibly even to giving advice. By asking for a wiring diagram, you sort of mark yourself as insufficiently familiar with electricity, thus being a risk. Thus, you may need to go do more reading and research yourself until you are sufficiently confident about what you are doing. While it can be done, it really needs to be strictly do-it-yourself. And consider permanently attaching the EVSE and adapter together, so the adapter can't accidentally be used for something else.

Good luck!

 

Besides what fuzzy1 said above, I believe the PiP EVSE has not been fully tested for 240 v use. As you can see by looking at both your EVSE's they are not the same. The Primes EVSE has been verified to work on 240 volt by some PC users. ( remember, you accept the possible risks, whatever they might be).
Apology for not mentioning the PiP EVSE not being 240 volt tested and verified earlier as those threads are older and harder to find than the Primes EVSE.

 

Give it a shot and let us know.. looks like it should work.

 

So I took the RV adapter back and bought a 240v plug and 120v receptacle. Hooked up only one leg of the 240v plug, per a friends advise and left the second disconnected. Hooked up the 120v receptacle as usual. Plugged in the old charging cable from my 2012 Prius Plug-in that was a spare and it worked (after removing the damaged rubber seal ) I have not used it extensively, since I prefer to use the 120v with the Kill-A-Watt meter to keep track of my kwh.
Overall, I've had my Prime about a month, and am fairly pleased. Currently a full charge gives me a anticipated miles to empty of 31.9 miles. My average miles per kwh is 4.78, which is better than the 3.7 I was getting in the plug-in version, although I haven't had any winter months yet.

 

@Rob43 Im interested in buying one of your cord. 10-30p.

 

@Rob43 I am in the process of getting an electrician to install a 240V outlet in my garage. Reading your posts, it seems like I should go with a NEMA 14-50R to future proof myself. (I have a Prius Prime now). Can I get one of your converter cords?

 

Glad I found this thread. We're on our third lease of a Chevy Bolt - it's well known that the gen 2 Volt and Bolt oem evse are capable of L2 charging (albeit at like 3kw/h speed) with a simple pigtail. I have an old 10-30 electric dryer outlet in the garage and built myself a pigtail and used the oem EVSE for both of our prior Bolt leases, and our current Bolt lease. 80k miles in 3 years and everything still works fine.

I'm likely getting a Rav4 prime next year and assuming Toyota uses the same evse between prius prime and rav4 prime, I'll probably just continue using my homemade pigtail adapter with the toyota oem evse.

 

[This is not official, I am just a user]

My understanding is that by default the RAV 4 Prime charges at 16 Amps (of at least a 20 Amp circuit)

If you buy the Top of the Line RAV 4 Prime you can optionally add a 32 Amp ability that would need a larger EVSE on a 40 Amp Circuit.
It would be dangerous to use a 32 Amp EVSE on your 30 Amp outlet,

 

I built my own pigtail for emergency use, but I haven't used it yet for a few reasons. Besides all other projects, I have 3 or 4 electrical service plans I hope to eventually get around too, since there is a 50 year old 120 amp split bus panel that needs updating before I can start any of the others plans and have them work out the way I'd like.
I'm still studying stuff and have found that most? utilities in the US provide a split phase 240 volt service to residential installations. What that means to me presently is that I'd have to hookup an oscilloscope and get a wave form to really understand the properties of what a split phase consists of at the service entrance.
ie: is it a sort of (a two thirds part ) of an inline delta, a 180 degree phase, a phase lock loop, or is it something else? Since it's produced at the generator with a common, it's probably a single, but? Thanks JimboPalmer for the heads up a few pages back in this thread.
Our old fully loaded split bus 120 amp service could probably be rearranged with a sub panel to get most of what I'd like to have ATM, but with little to no room for additions safely.

 

It is two 120VAC circuits, sharing a common neutral line, but the hots are 180 degrees out of phase. So line-to-line across the whole thing is 240VAC. No o'scope needed, just check all of them with an AC voltmeter.

No PLL, they are inherently locked together by how they are produced. No delta or wye arrangements, those are for three-phase service, whereas your residential split-phase is technically single phase, coming from separate taps on a single transformer.

The big generators all produce three-phase, which is then sent through a network of transformers. Industrial and commercial customers can get all three phases, but most residential streets get only a single phase of medium voltage. The split-phase feature is created at the very last transformer supplying low voltage to your house (or several houses, mine serves 3 houses), commonly on a very nearby pole.

 

@vvillovv, you're making something simple harder than it is. What a split phase means is that your house has the same kind of incoming electrical feed as nearly every other house in the western hemisphere.

The wave forms and transformer layout look more or less like this sketch that I found on electronicsstackexchange.com.




The transformer @fuzzy1 mentioned, as it steps down the voltage to house voltage, has 240 volts on the secondary of the transformer. There is also another wire called a center tap that comes from guess where. Right, the center of the secondary. That's the neutral. That means the voltage between it and either end of the secondary will be about half that of the entire secondary. However, it can "float." So that center tap is held at ground potential by "bonding" which is simply connecting the center leg to the house's ground. I once got shocked pretty hard by a neutral that was floating at about 70 volts above ground because the builder neglected that essential step.

One hot leg goes to every other breaker slot in your panel and the other goes to the ones in between them so that a double pole breaker (240V) will span two slots that are 180 degrees apart giving you 240V power for your dryer, EVSE, etc.

As for a sub panel, that might be a good idea, but it's not something to mess with unless you've had electrical training which your post indicates is not the case. Without proper training, a person doesn't even know what he doesn't know. Double that for replacing your service entrance.

 

I've had an electricians crew rewire about 75% or the houses old cloth insulated wire inside conduit while adding 2 new 20 amp circuits and am very satisfied with the work. Forgive me if I gave anyone the impression I'm planning to do any of the more complex rewiring, especially the jobs that require a permit, without professional guidance.
I have found one issue with half voltage in a junction box and another with two circuits in a junction box (that appeared to be one circuit from tracing a bundle of 10 romex cables) that were surprising, to say the least.

One of the reasons I haven't used my homemade pigtail, it that fact that I don't fully grasp the concept of the phase shift, the EVSE's internals and how it relates to the european 220 volt service the EVSE also supports.

Sure I'm making it more complex that it needs to be, but for professionals to put basic electrical concepts into layman's terms without leaving lots of holes in the process takes a special talent that's not easily found. Goes without saying, is mostly the same for all professions.

And thanks to both for correcting my not so silly Fundamental mistake concerning the generator... since it's an integral part of the split phase equation as a whole and how it might effect the prime OEM EVSE with extended use at 240v.

 

There is no actual phase shifting involved, no time or phase delay or phase-locked-loop. Though it is identical to having a 180 degree phase shift or an inverted voltage on one leg.

The generator and big transmission lines know nothing of the split-phase, they see only 3-phase. The local distribution lines know only single-phase and maybe 3-phase.

The split-phase portion is very narrowly localized to your house and the little transformer immediately connected to it. For me, that transformer is 150 feet away, not even out to the street 250 feet away.

Voltage varies depending on ever-shifting supply and load conditions, so all connected devices must be able to accept a reasonable range. 240 or 230 in North America and 220 in Europe are commonly within the same acceptable range for a great many devices. Though some devices don't like the frequency difference, 60 Hz in the North America, 50 Hz in Europe. The EVSE shouldn't be one of the things that care about that frequency difference.

Based on your questions, I must echo Jerry's guidance to use profession help or installers.

If you mean half of 120V, like 60-ish volts, then some error or problem is present. It should be fixed.

 

@fuzzy1, I appreciate your responses to my posts and I understand some of the properties involved with both 3 phase and single phase, and I too have a transformer on a pole about 75 feet from the property line and I'm haven't counted how many transformers there are on the line, but I'm fairly certain the one closest to our house feeds at least 10 other homes. I only recently learned about split phase and both yours and Jerry's posts addressed some of the difficulty I have currently grasping how the wave form is produced at the transformer. Thanks again for that.
Since it's seems to need repeating that professional help is recommended in my case, if feel I need to repeat that I never meant to give the impression to anyone that I always attempt repairs without professional guidance, especially the more difficult ones. Although I do a lot of different kinds of repairs and installations on my own when I feel I have a through understanding of what I'm getting involved with. Like almost everyone else I know, sometimes I get surprises too, like the one I mentioned in my last post ..... bundle of at least 10 romex lines.

The circuit with the half voltage at the junction had two feeds entering it. It was found and the two feeds disconnected from each other. It is located just below two code violations performed by the bathroom remodel contractor when they updated the water service and installed a new electrical circuit (not part of the two circuits in the junction box) during the remodel 30 years ago. Gotta love old homes and the surprises most of them have hiding away just waiting to be found by whomever is the lucky one at the most opportune time. I wouldn't bore anyone with the several other glaring plumbing and carpentry code violations I've already repaired and ones waiting for approval to be repaired from that bathroom remodel.

 

Helpful Hint:

There's no such thing as 240V to ground in a house.
For you to get zapped by 240V you must cross the two out of phase 120V lines at the outlet or CB box.

But 120V to ground going through your meat will kill you just fine. You can't get zapped by 240V.

Is this true?

 

I glad you made that clear. Thanks. Takes a load off my mind. I've seen some scary mistakes left behind even by people who are supposed to be pros including yours truly.

True in every western hemisphere country I've been in. Not true in the European and African countries I've been in. They are 220-240V to neutral.

I read somewhere that more people die from 120V electrocutions than any other. Probably a combination of common access by the untrained, lack of respect for the potential danger (pun not intended), and that voltage being in nearly every small appliance and power tool.

 

@Bill Norton was that a trick question? I started making a list of its and whens
Like will a combination arc breaker or a dual function arc gfci breaker keep the meat fresh?

Learned another new term today. Not sure exactly what the difference is yet.

 

Yes, and less likely to get zapped ever again.
You now have 'Respect for the Potential' , as Jerry says!

 

Would this work?

My house came with a 240 plug outside for previous owners tesla. Replacing the plug with this one and already merged the female receptacle with the cord. Will be using with the 2017 Prius Prime charger that came with the car. View attachment 204071 View attachment 204072

SM-N986U1 ?
View attachment 204074 View attachment 204075

 

This receptacle

SM-N986U1 ?