[CurrentEvent]

Can you say "void your warranty"?

 

[BeachBoy]

Wow thanks!!!! I saved like $600 CAD for a second station

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

 

[patrick_dube]

This is awesome news. Thanks to Chris TX for this examination!

 

[Sean Nelson]

Then you'd have to hack off the 5-15 plug that contains the thermal protection, built into the EVSE. That's why I think leaving the EVSE unmodified is best

Are you saying that there's something in the plug itself that senses its temperature? If so, I guess I understand the tradeoff. But I don't like it.

 

[davhamm]

And to answer your question about why GM doesn't provide 240V adapters like Tesla, it's because GM's infinite wisdom says Volt owners don't care about charging at L2 at home.

Or it might just be that UL will not certify any such adapter and GM does not want to take on the liability. Ever wonder why the Pigtail on the charger is so short, maybe go check UL specifications.

 

[nhrabill]

Or it might just be that UL will not certify any such adapter and GM does not want to take on the liability. Ever wonder why the Pigtail on the charger is so short, maybe go check UL specifications.

I would have guessed the short pigtail was due to the New storage space that they made for the charging cable.

 

[Chris TX]

Or it might just be that UL will not certify any such adapter and GM does not want to take on the liability. Ever wonder why the Pigtail on the charger is so short, maybe go check UL specifications.

And this EVSE is only UL certified to run at 120VAC (but I'm getting 125VAC from my outlets!) GM took on a helluva responsibility by supplying crappy Lear EVSEs to 2010, 11, 12, and 2015 Volts, too. Lear was cheap, Lear caused problems, Lear EVSEs got a ton of warranty recalls that cost GM money. Lear got the boot for the 2016 models and Clipper Creek came in and saved the day with a thermally protected plug. No more melty outlets or warranty claims due to faulty outlets.

The wonderful thing is, this EVSE has a thermal protection on the plug. UL and NEC spec for this device running at 120VAC is for maximum length wiring in the house combined with the full length of the EVSE (which is over 25ft). If the combination of house/garage wiring plus a ~2 foot adapter PLUS the EVSE causes too much circuit resistance, there might be other problems. Additionally, that "too much resistance" scenario would be mitigated by the EVSE's built in thermal protection.

Sure, it's not a certified solution. However, it's safe. Everything that 240VAC touches is compatible with that voltage. The gauge of wire used in the EVSE is plenty thick for 12A. If this was a Lear unit, I probably wouldn't have messed with it.

 

[summit]

This is awesome ! thank you Chris TX.

Anyone else has done this please post.

 

[canehdian]

It doesn't seem like the question has been asked, so..
Why isn't GM marketing it as capable of 120/240v if it is fully compatible inside?
It would clearly be a huge plus to sales as one of the things turning a lot of people off it needing to spend another $500-1000 up front to be able to charge more quickly.

If turbocord can make an adapter, certainly GM could, and sell it for a profit.

And/or, why doesn't clipper creek do this with their own branded version of this unit? Unless they have an exclusivity agreement with GM (custom design) and aren't allowed to use a similar design themselves... (the Gen1 unit was clearly just a slight cosmetic redesign of their existing unit)

 

[wws]

It doesn't seem like the question has been asked, so..
Why isn't GM marketing it as capable of 120/240v if it is fully compatible inside?
It would clearly be a huge plus to sales as one of the things turning a lot of people off it needing to spend another $500-1000 up front to be able to charge more quickly.

Since it appears that GM sub-contracted the design out to Clipper Creek, maybe GM themselves didn't realize it could operate either way?

The other question is of those "50% who only charge at 120v", how many could/would use 240v if they didn't have to shell out several hundred dinero for a new EVSE?

 

[[email protected]]

Got any pics of your red/brandy combination? I would love to see them!

 

[Chiumanfu]

ChrisTX, thanks for your work on this.

Did you confirm the gauge of the output cable? The stamp on the sheath looks like 18 gauge or maybe 16, it's hard to read. Are you be comfortable pushing 3kW down 18AWG wire?

 

[Chris TX]

ChrisTX, thanks for your work on this.

Did you confirm the gauge of the output cable? The stamp on the sheath looks like 18 gauge or maybe 16, it's hard to read. Are you be comfortable pushing 3kW down 18AWG wire?

The three main power carrying wires are 16 gauge. The pilot wire is 18 gauge. And yes, 16 gauge is plenty for delivering 12A.

 

[Chiumanfu]

Thanks. One more question. My outlet is 10-30. Will this mod work with a hot-hot-neutral? I know it shouldn't make a difference as neutral and ground go to the same place in the electrical box anyways but I wanted to check to make sure you don't know of any issues.

 

[Chris TX]

Thanks. One more question. My outlet is 10-30. Will this mod work with a hot-hot-neutral? I know it shouldn't make a difference as neutral and ground go to the same place in the electrical box anyways but I wanted to check to make sure you don't know of any issues.

10-30 is fine. It only uses ground for GFCI sensing.

Here's a picture of an adapter I made for 14-50:

And for a "torture" test, I ran a 25' heavy duty extension cord (14 gauge) from it, plugged the EVSE into it, and did a zero-to-full charge on my Volt. Nothing got warm at all on any connection.

 

[Seeskan]

10-30 is fine. It only uses ground for GFCI sensing.

Here's a picture of an adapter I made for 14-50:

Great work...
2 questions, 1. Did you leave the neutral wire from NEMA 14-50p unused?. 2. The 5-20r on your adaptor is a 20amp, 125v, correct?

 

[Chris TX]

Great work...
2 questions, 1. Did you leave the neutral wire from NEMA 14-50p unused?. 2. The 5-20r on your adaptor is a 20amp, 125v, correct?

Yes, the neutral is clipped. And yes, it's a 5-20R which also handles the 5-15P on the EVSE. I used it because it has bigger lug holes for the larger gauge wire and has better contacting internal blades for the plug bite.

 

[lunarx]

Do International customers get L2 EVSE?
Perhaps we get the same EVSE, except for the L1 connector?
Seems to work fine with the Chris TX QuickCharge Adapter and a Quick220.

 

[Dave G]

And to answer your question about why GM doesn't provide 240V adapters like Tesla, it's because GM's infinite wisdom says Volt owners don't care about charging at L2 at home.

Wrong answer.

The reason is that GM is a much bigger company, i.e. a much bigger target for lawsuits, so GM has to keep L1 charging very simple and goof-proof. Remember, when it comes to electrical connections, there are a lot of idiots out there, many of whom can end up on a jury.

By contrast, GM's L2 charger must be installed by someone who knows what they're doing, typically a qualified electrician, or if it's installed by the homeowner, you're supposed to get the permit and have it inspected. Either way, the risk of a lawsuit is much lower.

 

[Chris TX]

Wrong answer.

The reason is that GM is a much bigger company, i.e. a much bigger target for lawsuits, so GM has to keep L1 charging very simple and goof-proof. Remember, when it comes to electrical connections, there are a lot of idiots out there, many of whom can end up on a jury.

By contrast, GM's L2 charger must be installed by someone who knows what they're doing, typically a qualified electrician, or if it's installed by the homeowner, you're supposed to get the permit and have it inspected. Either way, the risk of a lawsuit is much lower.

That goes against everything GM has publicly said about only providing L1 EVSEs along with 3.3kW and now 3.6kW onboard chargers. They've publicly stated it's because customers don't care about faster charging at home. Where are you getting this whole lawsuit hypothesis from?

And it seems to me there's much more risk of melty/burny outlets when using 110V in the garage or extension cords like plenty I've seen in this forum and in the FB group. If you're plugging into a 240V outlet, there's a strong chance it's been installed with much thicker wire and has properly tightened lug terminals to handle many more amps than the Volt can pull.