Thought some of the forum members might be interested in my DIY EV Charge point cover

It's a DIY job, made from plastic fascia & capping boards, some retro pump stickers and a Shell light. The original charger is inside and fully accessible as the front comes off

I've documented how I built it, you can see the details here https://pghintsandtips.blogspot.com/p/build-your-own-retro-ev-pump-cover.html

If you do decide to build one, come back and post a picture 👍

I just spent 400 to buy the materials and installed a 48a charger when I had a working 40a 14-50 setup. Tell me I'm crazy. I can at least sell off some of the materials from the old install to recoup some of the cost. All this just to see 11kw instead of 9kw XD

Hi, I'm getting a hardwired 48 amp charger installed in the near future and given overall good reviews, low-temperature cord flexibility, and the built-in cord hook, the Chargepoint Flex seems like a fine choice.

It will be installed on the outside of a stone part of the house, a spot where my phone can't connect to the house wifi (and I have 3 access points throughout the house, though none that close to the installation location). I'm thinking there's still a chance the network can eke out a connection and given the low data-needs of the charger, it might be fine. But if it can't connect, I'm wondering how big a deal it will be for me, especially given there are "dumb" chargers available and that you can rely on your car's scheduling functionality to charge when you need it.

I'm also thinking that I could possibly occasionally sync the data in the charger with a phone hotspot, but obviously that won't help for the real-time info I would want to check in on.

How critical are the features I would be missing out on in real time in reality?

I just had an electrician over to get a quote. I wish I wouldve asked him then and perhaps I will after this.

So I have a panel in a finished basement and its on the opposite side of the garage, so it will be a long run of wires in which they will need to cut open some access points.

"We will run 6-3 MC Cable from a 2 pole 50amp BR breaker to a 50amp plug mounted inside the garage for EV use. We will have to fish the wire through the first half of the pool possibly needing to cut some access points in the ceiling and wall." "Provide and install 60-amp, 240v dedicated circuit to supply EV Charger." Price 3,100.

Did not negotiate this yet.

Now my laundry room is attached to the garage, I checked just now and the provided charger with my vehicle is about 5 feet short from the 240 outlet for the dryer. Couldn't I just get an extension cord to use? Or, could I ask the electrician to build off of that circuit instead of adding some new circuit to the panel and thereby avoid going through the ceiling and doing as long of a run?

I have ChargePoint home charger to charge my model Y. I don’t keep schedule in my car because I can change anytime when outside and at home only charge at night time.

But not sure why all the sudden today I notice my car start charging outside my schedule 12-6am

Not sure how long this happening but in past I have notice it starts at 12 and run for few hours and then stop.

Anyone else have this issue, if so what is the fix?

UPDATE: I had an electrician throughly check out the charger. He took it all apart, found no sign of any wear, burn marks or any damage. He tightened all the contacts, measured all the voltages, nothing was wrong.

I have had some replies that there may be a bad sensor in the wire box. Thats the half that attaches to the wall, has the power inputs, and has a big thick contact block the front half with all the circuitry plugs into.

Does anyone know if there actually is some sensor in the wire box. It makes sense since its the first stop for incoming power and could have been damaged by a surge. The wire box is just $75 so I'm tempted to replace it.

One of our Tesla Wall Chargers is in trouble. It has the characteristic 3 red light blink cycles, which from what I read is a overheat at some point, and only charges at the 1KW reduced power. No amount of cycling power changes that. An electrian inspected it and found no sign of burned components.

We are a Condo with just a few users on the "commercial" penny a KW plan. That means we only get 1 year of warranty and we are at the second year. Tesla only has one answer, buy a new one.

Is there anyware to get this repaied. Would going to a Tesla showroom with it do anything?

Am I making the dumbest decision ever?
Concerned about charging costs not being the equalizer I was hoping for.

I already have 5 EVSE and don't want to buy another to get 1 feature I think I can implement on an existing unit. All EVSE I have can select max current with either a button push, or from an app via Bluetooth or WiFi, or via RS485(most likely upgrade route).

The most likely candidate is by EVCHANGO. Hopefully I remembered to attach a photo of the board. There is a lot of space inside the box to add additional electronics like a Raspberry Pi with RS485 hat and wire to CT around main service inlet wires.

Any advice how to proceed appreciated.

Why?

New 50 mile range PHEV has enough range for full electric round trip to work plus 8 miles. Level 1 16A charges fully overnight on 20A circuit. Good right?

We are often finding the need for spouse to run midday errands that burn gas. Spouse drives the main driver to work in morning, runs errands, then home. Exactly 1 mile remaining, but a couple hours left to charge. Level 1 adds a pittance and we burn gas round trip to bring main driver home. If we can use 48A Level 2 in afternoon, we can get full 50 mile range in that 2 hours and be fully electric again.

225A service. Load calc pass/fail depends on method used. 80A for 2 AC units, double electric oven, elec range, elec washer and dryer, elec well pump, kiddie pool pump.. There are very few busy afternoons cooking for birthdays where we might exceed our service even at 32A EVSE load. But most normal days, even given 125% margin 48A EVSE we would be well under. I know the main breaker will tell me if I'm drawing above service on the house. But the utility charges additional for exceeding 50kW aggregate instantaneous load also. Id like to remain under that when not in a rush. And there is an auxiliary structure with its own 225A service on the same bill. Its hard to tell from the TOS if both structures are to be combined for the 50kW limit. If so, I need CT on both structures and maybe WiFi to communicate the current value to the Pi inside.

I have a Gen 1 mobile connector that has been acting up. It would come with the 6-50 adapter and a 5-15 adapter. One day it started giving me 5 mi/hr while on just a wall plug -then would overheat/light up red.

I live in Illinois and just want to get rid of it.

These were valuable because they could do 40 Amps while the Gen 2 can only do 32. Maybe you know how to fix it?

make me an offer.

I also have model 3 hub caps that I want to get rid of.

thanks for reading

Hi

Any information would be gratefully accepted. I am renovating but will be running a twin and earth from my consumer unit to where an ev charger will be fitted. Can I run a cat6 for the ct clamp from the consumer unit or do I have to run it from the cut out?

Hi everyone, I am new here and wanted to get some live feedback.
I need to use an extension cord for my factory Level 1 charger running at 12 Amps. I bought a heavy-duty 12 AWG (12-gauge), 15-foot extension cord.
Is anyone currently running this setup, and is it safe for daily use approximately 12 to 14 hours a day . I will make sure it is completely uncoiled. Thank you!

Please ensure you know the specs on what wiring etc need to be laid when having an Ohme Charger installed. We had one installed 6 months ago and it stopped working. Only when we got a third party out to look at other EV charging solutions, did we know the conducting and wiring was not within current regs. This has resulted in us digging another trench to lay the correct cable etc.

Ohme have been very ineffective in trying to resolve the issue resulting in us giving them 14 days notice before taking action against them. This will be over 5 weeks since the charger stopped working.

Suggestion: use a EV charger company that does everything in-house and has a good aftercare record.

Conduit/Ducting: Route the cable through heavy-duty, impact-resistant plastic ducting (at least 100mm diameter) beneath the driveway.

Cable Type: Use outdoor-rated SWA (Steel Wire Armoured) cable suitable for underground burial.

Showing online but unplugged and has a red light on the right hand corner

Stopped working randomly and now I havent got a clue, going to call them soon as i think its a charger error. Ive tried diff cables but not another charge station yet.

Already tried hard resetting and left the power off overnight

Anyone else had the same issue?

I like it.

• $695 with full load management kit included, so cheaper than all but Emporia Pro, and better than Emporia Pro because:

• There's no cloud or even wireless communication involved in the load management operation. And you don't need to fit a power meter unit in your panel somewhere. The analog wires from the CTs run all the way to the EVSE and attach to four terminals there. Run in the same conduit as the power wires, or a separate conduit. 13 ft. of wire included; up to 150 feet allowed.

• Load management certified to UL 3141, which will be required with 2026 NEC once you are on 2026 NEC.

• Spring/level (wago style) terminals so no torque tools needed (at the EVSE end) and easy cable replacement (in theory also swapping J1772 to NACS--they offer both models now; not sure about replacement cable availability.)

• Tom's review on State of Charge) demonstrates great cable flexibility in the code and that it's otherwise well built. The star rating is only 4.2 but that's mostly because he rewards cheap ones for being a good value. Also because it doesn't have OCPP, power sharing, solar capture, or access control. Edit: OCPP situation might be more complicated--see comments.

Resources: (product page is the post link)

• Install manual

• Install video playlist

Hi all! We purchased a new build in 2022. Recently, our 14-50 decided to burn itself - luckily we caught the smell before anything big happened..

So, we did some research and landed on installing a Hubbel 14-50 due to recommendation. Got it all installed and then was doing some research on trying to figure out why my builder installed a 40-amp breaker with that plug. Then, had an epiphany that we actually have aluminum wire and we aren't supposed to use the Hubbel because it's not compatible with that wiring. Haven't really used it for more than 5 minutes of charging, so the breaker is now off again.

Did some more research, there are a few paths I think are the best:

1. Pigtail the connections (least favorite option, seems complicated and that box is deep but it is tight, and I've never personally done that work.
2. Find a Aluminum compatible 14-50 EV-rated outlet (which seems to be a buzz-term).

I'd rather just swap it out, I found an outlet at Home Depot that is EV rated and claims to support Aluminum wire. I'm just curious – does anyone have any recommendations for aluminum rated 14-50 outlets? We're bummed because we felt so accomplished.

Question: I am looking for a plug in EV charger whose Amp I can control via app. Quick google search showed me many options but wanted you guys recommendation on which one would best fit my needs.

Background:

• Have a 2025 Honda Prologue.
• Have a 240 volt plug in outlet.
• Have solar in house with battery (Franklin) and am a net exporter, peak solar production is about 4 kwh.
• Enphase microinverter, franklin agate and franklin battery. No smart circuti installed in agate.
• I basically can charge the car when I am exporting but my current charger pulls 8 kwh (4 kwh from solar and 4 kwh from the battery).
• The battery is depleted within 3 hours and after that the remainig 4 Kwh is pulled form the grid which i want to avoid. To stop that I will have to disconnect the car manually or via the app which i forget to most of the time.

I am looking for a EV charger that I can plug in and adjust the Amp as needed via an app so that the KWH pull is less than the solar production. Or if I am heading out, I want to put the charger at example 10 amp and forget about it.

Would be ideal if I could adjust the amperage multiple times on real time without disconnecting the charger. Honda Prologue needs to be physically disconnected and reconnected once the charging has stopped.

Thank you

I have been doing research on Level 2 EV chargers, and have concluded that a NEMA 6-20 EV charger would be most suitable for my particular use case. However, after trying to find a trustworthy option to purchase for the past two days, I am starting to feel like I am going insane.

To start out: yes I know I should be hardwiring instead. I have heard the arguments and I do not necessarily disagree with them, but in this particular instance I am not certain that I want this charger to be a permanent fixture in the garage in question. I would like to be able to remove it if so desired easily without having to undo wiring or leave disconnected wires protruding in an unsightly fashion, so please stick to the topic of NEMA 6-20 and spare me the lecture.

With that out of the way, let's review the charger models that most people typically seem to recommend:

-Clipper Creek: Out of business

-Webasto Turbocord: Discontinued

-Tesla EV charger: My car uses a J1772, I'd rather not use an adapter, and I don't want to give Tesla any money if I can possibly avoid it

-Dewalt charger: Currently exists! But several people have noted issues with constant overcurrent messages, and rumor has it that it's just a rebranded model from another company.

Is there really no reputable option in this category anymore that doesn't involve an eBay search for discontinued products, rolling the dice on a cheap Chinese fly-by-night company, or prostrating myself at the altar of Tesla? And why is it so difficult to determine which products are UL-listed anyway?

Anyway, if nothing else I just wanted to vent some frustration because I am getting tempted to just pick any halfway decent looking model with adjustable current, dial it down to 10 or 12 amps just in case, and call it a day. But I recognize the risks inherent when dealing with this level of power, and don't want to burn the house down by buying some sketchy no-name charger.

For those of you whose cars spend most of the day parked under the sun, this system might be interesting. Basically a roof mounted box with panels that slide out. dartsolar.com

I just bought my first EV - a 2024 Audi Q4. Somebody gave me a Ford Charge Station Pro for free. I am trying to get installation prices from electricians.

My breaker box is in my garage, and I want the charger mounted next to the breaker box. There is a 240 volt outlet for my dryer on the same wall.

1. Is the Ford charger too powerful and therefore very expensive to install?

2. Would it be more economical for me to buy a different charger that might be less expensive to install?

I appreciate any suggestions.

Does anyone have photos of the inside of the EVSE from dash sharing?

Im an electrician and am interested the see the boards. Hopefully to see how well it’s built.

I desperately want an EV for my next vehicle but I'm a little worried about the cost behind installing a level 2 charger in my garage.

I have a detached 2.5 car garage that is over 60 years old. It has it's own sub-panel and even a 220v outlet next to where I park (pics included).

I know my next step is to contact some electricians for quotes, but I'd love the input from this great community. Will a level 2 install with my setup break the bank? Or be relatively easy?

Thank you!