L2 charging using a dryer connector

[micmel2]

What do most people do when they plug their L2 EVSE into their dryer's outlet? Do they "wheel" out their dryer when it is needed, or is there an easier way whose method escapes me? Do they make a Y-connector with two heads so then at least I wouldn't have to plug and unplug the dryer whenever I need the juice? My dryer is in a room adjacent to my garage which has a NEMA 10-30 (old dryer) connector. I could hire an electrician to wire me up a 240 outlet in my garage, but if I can make this work, then I may be able to save the $$$. I'm currently charging using L1 at 12 amps which is fine for now, but I'm looking at my needs in the future. Thanks in advance for any input.

 

[jennrod12]

Convert your dryer to natural gas - it's more efficient and cheaper! :mrgreen:

Jenn

 

[aarond12]

Cheaper might be a stretch, especially if your house isn't set up for natural gas like mine.

I wired up a separate socket for my EV. Only do this if you are an experienced (and licensed) electrician. Otherwise, get an electrician to do it for you. Because my panel is right where I needed the socket, I was able to add the new socket very inexpensively.

My Clipper Creek EVSE did not come with a dryer plug -- just the three wires (two hots and one neutral/ground). I added the dryer plug onto the end so, in a pinch, I could use it at a friend's house.

 

[Don]

What do most people do when they plug their L2 EVSE into their dryer's outlet? Do they "wheel" out their dryer when it is needed, or is there an easier way whose method escapes me? Do they make a Y-connector with two heads so then at least I wouldn't have to plug and unplug the dryer whenever I need the juice? My dryer is in a room adjacent to my garage which has a NEMA 10-30 (old dryer) connector. I could hire an electrician to wire me up a 240 outlet in my garage, but if I can make this work, then I may be able to save the $$$.

Simplest (and cheapest) would probably be to add another outlet box directly beside the existing dryer outlet and then wire the two NEMA 10-30 sockets in parallel

If the dryer outlet is in the shared wall between the garage and the laundry room, the second outlet could be flipped so it's in the garage and not the laundry room and yet they could still be side by side and wired in parallel. If you're handy with patching sheetrock walls, you could probably do this all yourself. The wiring would be as simple as extending the three wires from the existing socket to the same exact pins on the new socket - Even if you're not an experienced and licensed electrician, this should be easy enough for the average guy to accomplish

Don

 

[MitsuEV]

What do most people do when they plug their L2 EVSE into their dryer's outlet? Do they "wheel" out their dryer when it is needed, or is there an easier way whose method escapes me? Do they make a Y-connector with two heads so then at least I wouldn't have to plug and unplug the dryer whenever I need the juice? My dryer is in a room adjacent to my garage which has a NEMA 10-30 (old dryer) connector. I could hire an electrician to wire me up a 240 outlet in my garage, but if I can make this work, then I may be able to save the $$$.

Simplest (and cheapest) would probably be to add another outlet box directly beside the existing dryer outlet and then wire the two NEMA 10-30 sockets in parallel

If the dryer outlet is in the shared wall between the garage and the laundry room, the second outlet could be flipped so it's in the garage and not the laundry room and yet they could still be side by side and wired in parallel. If you're handy with patching sheetrock walls, you could probably do this all yourself. The wiring would be as simple as extending the three wires from the existing socket to the same exact pins on the new socket - Even if you're not an experienced and licensed electrician, this should be easy enough for the average guy to accomplish

Don

While Don is trying to provide a simple helpful solution. Please do not attempt this.

Please follow NEC rules. What Don is recommending is not code compliant nor safe practice.

Each circuit breaker and conductor are rated for a specific amount of amps. Your best solution is to run a separate circuit from your breaker panel to a new outlet (per NEC rules). OR get rid of the dryer and utilize that circuit.

The highest recommendation is to hire an electrician to install a (separate) proper circuit and conductor. This will prevent unsafe conditions/fatalities. and research the current NEC codes of which your municipality is bound by.

 

[micmel2]

I didn't think there was a magical bullet to get this to work short of ditching the electric dryer. My electrical panel is in my garage, so hiring a licensed electrician is probably the most prudent and cost-effective thing to do. Thanks all for your replies!

 

[DonDakin]

Hello,

I am using the dryer outlet shared with the EVSE. One female outlet and plug/unplug. This is by the book since the plug ensures that only one
load is plugged in at a time.

I charge mostly at L1 8 amps OEM EVSE, that covers almost all of my charging. I do use the l2 when I am more pressed for time and I think I will
use it more in the winter. I already passed last winter L1 8 amps but next winter will be easier with less planning ahead.

I don't really mind the plug/unplug thing too much, it's workable. The outlet is cheap to replace at $5.00 so I can replace it
every year if it wears too much but I doubt that will happen since I think I swap plugs less then 100 times a year.

ALso my house is older and the 100 amp entrance is full so adding a breaker is not possible without a big costly upgrade to the panel. I have to work
with what I have.

If you can relocate the dryer plug so that it's easy to access then it's a good way to go. Mine was on the floor in a standard box and I
just attached it to the wall above the dryer.

To tell the truth I mainly got the clipper creek L2 evse with the dryer plug for the rare times that I wanted to replenish
the car from dead to full over night something you just can't do with L1 8 amps. Also for the 2 hours that I can charge between
coming home from work and going out for the evening to
get a full(er) charge if I need it.

Those times are rare but it's nice to have it when you need it.

Also the LCS-25 is super
small, you can bring it with you on the road and charge at a friends house at L2 which opens more doors for the car, and the government here in Quebec
pays 50% of the costs of a NEW EVSE.So I went for it rather then the EVSE upgrade route which would not qualify.

The only thing that sucks is the remote operation is more problematic with the clipper creek, works great with the OEM EVSE and does work with the clipper creek
but it's more fooling around with the clipper creek if you need the timer or preheat/cool functions at L2.

Anyways I think you will find that even when you have L2 at home you will still charge L1 alot if that is what you have been doing for awhile.
That's what I'm finding out.

Cheers

Don....

 

[Don]

While Don is trying to provide a simple helpful solution. Please do not attempt this.

Please follow NEC rules. What Don is recommending is not code compliant nor safe practice.

Each circuit breaker and conductor are rated for a specific amount of amps.

I'm not aware of any code this would violate and I would never recommend anything unsafe to anyone. What I suggested is perfectly safe. Circuit breakers are sized according to the wire ampacity and that hasn't changed. With two outlets on the same breaker, it would probably be possible to trip the breaker if you were using both the dryer and the EVSE at the same time, but no possibility of fire or any damage because the breaker is properly sized for the wire feeding the two outlets

Your house is wired exactly this same way, BTW. You most likely have 3 or 4 duplex wall outlets in parallel on the same 20 amp circuit breaker. Even if you have only 2, then you still have 4 places where you *could* plug in 15 amp loads, which again you can't run all at the same time, or the breaker will trip

Again, breakers are sized according to the wire used in the circuit and not for the total number of outlets (and possible loads) on the circuit

But . . . . since you say your breaker box is in the garage, by all means the best way to go would be to install a dedicated outlet for the EVSE powered by a dedicated breaker in your power panel - This is actually much simpler than messing with the sheetrock in my earlier suggestion . . . . and it shouldn't cost you much either, depending on how far away from the breaker panel you want your new outlet to be. If your new EVSE isn't going to be portable, I would recommend direct wiring it and skipping the NEMA 10-30 socket and plug. If all you ever plan to use the EVSE for is your iMiEV, you don't even need it to be a 30 amp circuit - Since the car cannot draw any more than 15 amps @ 240 volts, your new outlet could legally be a 20 amp circuit, fed with inexpensive 12/3 wire. My L2 EVSE is powered with such a circuit. Since both my upgraded OEM L1 EVSE and my homebuilt L2 EVSE have NEMA l6-20P twist-lock plugs on them, I have two NEMA L6-20S twist-lock sockets side by side, one fed with 240 on a pair of 20 amp breakers and the other with 120 on a single 20 amp breaker - I can actually plug either EVSE into either socket, depending on how quickly I need to charge

Don

 

[peterdambier]

Can you get something like

CEE-STECKER 4-16 :: CEE-cultivation plug, 230V, 16A, blue

http://www.reichelt.de/CEE-Connecto...tml?;ACTION=3;LA=3;ARTICLE=74912;GROUPID=3402

and

CEE-STECKER 1-16 :: CEE-plug, 230V, 16A, blue

http://www.reichelt.de/CEE-Steckver...CLE=29104;GROUPID=3402;artnr=CEE-STECKER+1-16

Try country Virgin Islands and language english :mrgreen:


The blue means 230 Volts and this version is "single phase" but I would not worry about "zero" = "L1" and "L1" = "L2" as long as "PE" is ground.

Here they are rather inexpensive. They can take 16A continuous and I am told they are used in container villages on construction plants all over the world.


Here is what you find in my trunk:

My Schuko (black) is a bastard that works both in France and Germany but not in Swizzerland or the UK. The blue CEE 230V/16 is what hardcore EV people do use in Europe and what you find at caravan lots. Red CEE 400V/16A is acriculture, industry and construction places and the bigger CEE 400V/32A is what Teslas like though they can use only one of the three phases but they can use the 32 amperes. There is a blue CEE 230V/32A but I have never seen one.

There is a red CEE 400V/64A and bigger, they can really grow big on fairy grounds. But 400V/32A is the biggest your electrician is allowed to install at home. The 50 kW quick chargers need a permission for each and every location and only the big electricity dealers are allowed to install and connect them. Maybe that is why electricity on construction and fairy grounds is astronomically high and depends on the phase of the moon.

Apropos, my manual says in bold print "no extension"

Looking around in real life nobody is charging without an extension and mostly you will need an adapter cable on the extension in the first place.

But please N E V E R touch a live wire without somebody watching you on youtube at least.

If you dont want to touch the wires yourself you are right. Dont do so.

If you love the fun be careful. Joining a hamradio club and learning for a hamradio license is a good idea and after passing the exam you should know what you are doing. Of coarse the are the usual way how to learn an get a proper license but amateur radio is an inexpensive way to go and you will meet a lot of people who can supervise your first steps for a beer or a glas of water.

Cheers
Peter and Karin

 

[danpatgal]

I installed two outlets (and piggybacked a 3rd ala Don's suggestion, for a standard 120v plug) in my garage with an electrician for less than $300. The actual routing of the wiring was minimal since my plug was by my service panel, so mostly it was the labor to do it.

I installed another outlet in our ceiling for a 2nd EVSE on my own. It was less than $100 in materials (a longer run of 8ga wire) and a couple ours of my time.

The EVSE upgrade is actually kind of a neat solution in that they have the standard 120v plug as the main plug, and then offer all sorts of "pig tails" to mate that to any plug (standard dryer, old dryer, welder, or other higher powered plug configuration). It's kind of annoying how many plug options there are, but once you get the ones that are common or where you'll need to plug in, then you're set.

You could do a similar thing with the SPX and Leviton EVSEs as they are made to have a plug, then just create pigtails for different situations you might have.

 

[micmel2]

DonDakin:

I like your solution. Unfortunately my 10-30 connector is in the wall maybe two feet up from the ground directly behind my dryer, i.e. not accessible unless I physically move the dryer a few feet out. Do you know if anyone sells a 10-30 extension cord? I don't need it very long, perhaps maybe three feet would be sufficient. I could then plug the dryer into the extension cord most of the time, and then unplug it during those relatively rare times when I need the 240V charge.

 

[DonDakin]

Hi there,

I don't know of any dryer extentions that are already made but You can build an extention from stuff at home depot. You can get a molded dryer plug (male) with 3-4 feet of wire already attached and a box and dryer plug (female) for about $35.00

If you have basic tools and a volt meter it's pretty easy to do but if you not comfortable with wiring this then maybe you can purchase the parts and bring it to an electrician to wire it up. Should not be expensive.

Think it thru to find your best solution and let us know how it goes.

Don....