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

I used the contact page on evupgrade:

"There is plenty of discussion on the PriusChat Prius Prime threads regarding
the ability of the OEM portable L1 EVSE cord with a 110V plug to be run on
220V with no modification of the EVSE. Have you looked into the PP EVSE and
do you know if the internals can run on 220V? It seems to me that if it
can, Toyota should sell a 220V end pigtail that can be swapped with the
provided 110V end pigtail. Shouldn't be an expensive thing. If they don't do
it, perhaps you want to. It seems a huge waste of money to have to buy
an L2 "charging station" with a lot of extra stuff you don't need or a
separate portable L2 charger similar to the provided L1 portable cord (I see
Walmart sells one for $240) if all it really needs is a different pigtail."

This is the reply:

"The unit has a multi voltage power supply but there are other components not rated safely for 240V and using an adapter from 240V to 120V is a hazard.

Regards,
Mark
EVSE Upgrade
[email protected]
509-651-8000
"

 

Thanks for showing us this mod. Saving a few hundred $ for L2 EVSE is one thing if you already have 240V outlet you can utilize. In my case, putting whole new 240v outlet and upgrade all wires and main board breakers, the total cost of entire project ellipses the saving on EVSE. At that point as might as buy a brand new L2 EVSE. But that probably won't happen with just one PRIME. I will tackle that project if and when I buy next PHEV or BEV with much bigger battery.

 

The only thing I don't like about Rob43's setup is that he's got something that looks like an ordinary 120V outlet on the end of that cable, but it isn't a 120V circuit. The wiring work is beautiful, and it looks like great gear.

To add a constructive clarification, I would have approached this by replacing the charger brick inlet plug with a NEMA 6-15 220V plug. Then I would have made up a very similar converter cable, different only on the car end. A NEMA 6-20R receptacle would be instantly identifiable as "not a normal outlet" and provide inherent safety. From my brief search just now, this would still cost around $60 to do.

I do get the point about not wanting to mess with the stock charger part vs. devaluing it in the eyes of a future owner, but those things don't cost that much; if it were me I'd probably want an extra one in the trunk anyway.

 

Rarest commodity on the planet and they call it "common."

I'd be a little nervous about a cord that long being used that way, but it does appear that you've taken precautions.

 

Perhaps but they do not have a "solution/product" for the Prime, (for Toyota) only the PIP & RAV 4. I don't see where his answer has anything to do with his company's profits. Since the Prime is now in its 4th year, if there was a profit to be made in modifying the charging cable, I would think they would already be doing it.

Given you can buy a Duosida L2 Charger for about the same as they charge to modify a PIP EVSE (and far less than the conversion for some other vehicles), I can't see any reason to send them my cable even if they did offer the service. Might as well have 2 cords for the price of 1, one of which can be used at both voltages since the Duosida includes a 240V-110V pigtail.

 

Not trying to be a "Debbie Downer" but since there were plenty of questions about the actual guts of the EVSE being capable of handling 240V here and in Carsten Steeberg's thread, I figured it was worthwhile to ask someone who might actually KNOW if it was. And since I got a response, it seemed a good idea to let others who have asked the question see the answer. The response wasn't specific as to what parts are not rated for 240V and even if it were I probably wouldn't understand the potential ramifications of running 240V through them. Maybe they are fine for a few hours, more than enough to charge a Prime, but would fry with continuous use over many hours. Maybe they have just never been tested at 240V so no one knows if they could potentially handle 240V continuous for a decade.

I hope you never have any problems with your conversion cord and if others choose to make their own conversion cord, I hope they never have problems either. Apparently Carsten has been using something similar with no ill effects for quite some time and I've not seen any posts saying someone tried it and fried anything. That suggests that while it would be a good idea to be watchful for potential problems, they aren't likely to occur.

 

I’ve got two months straight of daily charging on my 240V-adapted Prime charger, for what it’s worth. $9 in parts and I’ve got it safely wired to a NEMA 14-50.

 

Hi Rob,
I am happy write about my experience
My Wife and I have now used our standard Prius Prime 120V charger plugged in to our outside "dryer" receptacle (via a converter cable) for over 15 months - charging both the the Prius and my 2017 Volt. This has been a flawless experience. Interesting observation - the Prius charges significantly faster than the Volt!
I hope this helps
Carsten

 

I plugged my Prime EVSE (on 240V adapter) into my Tesla today to confirm the amperage. It is indeed 12A as rumored in the past!

My Duosida unit is 16A and did charge my Prime faster. But the Prime's charging estimates do not change whether 12A or 16A.

 

Glad you were able to confirm that the Prime EVSE limits the charging current to 12A whether plugged into a 120-volt or a 240-volt supply.

In a previous post I noted that the function of the electronics in the EVSE is to advise the Prime about how much current the EVSE can deliver. I believe that the Prime uses this information to adjust its demand.

I'm not sure why the Prime's estimate of remaining time to full charge is the same at 12A from the OEM charger and 16A from your Duosida.One would expect that the difference of 16A being 33% greater than 12A would be enough to affect the Prime's calculation.