[FrankMN]

Hello, how are you limiting the amount of amps your car can pull? I have a 30 amp circuit with 14-50 plug and looking for good EVSE options. I do not want to upgrade from 30 to 50 amps.

Hi, there is a setting in the car menu to select the charging speed (normal, reduced, minimum). I have a 40 amp charger on a 50 amp breaker, but for some reason the charger pulls about 43amp, and cannot be regulated. So i lower the amp changing that setting. Went from about 43 to 36 to 25. At roughly 25 amp it took about 7.5h to go from 30% (if I remember correctly) to 100%.

 

[Tax2022]

You are probably best off buying an EVSE which allows you to adjust the maximum current like the Grizzl-E Level 2 EV Charger or Chargepoint Home Flex. In your case you'd set the EVSE to 24 amps (80% of 30). Alternatively, you could try to buy a 24 amp EVSE (less common), or buy a higher amperage EVSE and rely the the car's "reduced charging" setting. I wouldn't recommend the latter as you'll eventfully forget to have it on reduced charging and create a hazard.

Thanks. It makes sense. I will try to get an adjustable charger with at least one 24amp setting.

 

[Tax2022]

Hi, there is a setting in the car menu to select the charging speed (normal, reduced, minimum). I have a 40 amp charger on a 50 amp breaker, but for some reason the charger pulls about 43amp, and cannot be regulated. So i lower the amp changing that setting. Went from about 43 to 36 to 25. At roughly 25 amp it took about 7.5h to go from 30% (if I remember correctly) to 100%.

Thanks. Will try again with various settings and choose the one that is optimal. Based on your output it looks like minimum might work for what I am looking. Does this setting stay permanently or do we need to change every time before charge?

 

[FrankMN]

Thanks. Will try again with various settings and choose the one that is optimal. Based on your output it looks like minimum might work for what I am looking. Does this setting stay permanently or do we need to change every time before charge?

Good question. I don't drive much, so I am still using that 1st charge I have done last week. I think so, but cannot be sure.

 

[Big Butter Jesus]

Hello, how are you limiting the amount of amps your car can pull? I have a 30 amp circuit with 14-50 plug and looking for good EVSE options. I do not want to upgrade from 30 to 50 amps.

My Grizzl-E charger has dip switches inside the case where you specify the amperage. Some of the connected ones do it through an app, but mine's pretty simplistic.

 

[Tax2022]

Thank you so much for all your replies. There were really helpful.

 

[KiaevCan]

I have a question. Would a 14-50 always output 40A? Wouldn’t a 30A circuit have a 14-30 outlet installed instead?

 

[ag5bpilot]

I have a question. Would a 14-50 always output 40A? Wouldn’t a 30A circuit have a 14-30 outlet installed instead?

A 14-50 is rated at 50 amps, but for a continuous load such as charging a car, it can only be used for 80%, or 40 amps.

Likewise, a 14-30 or 10-30 outlet is for a 30 amp circuit, but for continuous use, 80% or 24 amps is the maximum allowed.

You use the word "output", but I wouldn't use that word to describe an electric outlet. How much current is drawn is determined by the device plugged into the outlet. The outlet itself, and the wiring behind it, is just copper. There's no smarts there. If you plug in something that draws too much current, that is how much current will flow until either the circuit breaker trips or the wires overheat and catch fire.

 

[KiaevCan]

A 14-50 is rated at 50 amps, but for a continuous load such as charging a car, it can only be used for 80%, or 40 amps.

Likewise, a 14-30 or 10-30 outlet is for a 30 amp circuit, but for continuous use, 80% or 24 amps is the maximum allowed.

You use the word "output", but I wouldn't use that word to describe an electric outlet. How much current is drawn is determined by the device plugged into the outlet. The outlet itself, and the wiring behind it, is just copper. There's no smarts there. If you plug in something that draws too much current, that is how much current will flow until either the circuit breaker trips or the wires overheat and catch fire.

Ahh my apologies for the improper use of terminology.

Yes, my understanding was that it will draw current until the circuit breaks which was my original intent of the question. I want to upgrade my current 3.3kW/16A EVSE to a more powerful one and my strata's 6-50R says "50A" on the receptacle itself. I just wanted to make sure that I can purchase a 40A/9.6kW EVSE to charge the EV6 instead of a 32A/7.7kW unit. And I didn't really want to trip the circuit and ruin my neighbours' charging cycle if that happened.

 

[YSM$zjT8$TPuQfoDz4Lpi*Kx]

Thanks. It makes sense. I will try to get an adjustable charger with at least one 24amp setting.

I use the Shell Recharge EVSE. It is portable (you can also mount it) and can adjust to 12, 16, 24, 32, and 40). The sell a max 32 or 40 option. I got it because I needed the 24 adjustable at our rental and it gives me the most options to charge when traveling as well.

 

[ag5bpilot]

I use the Shell Recharge EVSE. It is portable (you can also mount it) and can adjust to 12, 16, 24, 32, and 40). The sell a max 32 or 40 option. I got it because I needed the 24 adjustable at our rental and it gives me the most options to charge when traveling as well.

I've got the same EVSE. At home, I use it on my dryer's 1-30 plug (with an adapter), running as 24A. That's half what the EV6 can do, but it's more than enough. As it is I'm only charging the car once a week or less. The 40A 14-50 plug it comes with is the perfect tool for traversing a charging wilderness since those are the types of places that are likely to have RV campgrounds which often have 14-50 outlets.

 

[YSM$zjT8$TPuQfoDz4Lpi*Kx]

I've got the same EVSE. At home, I use it on my dryer's 1-30 plug (with an adapter), running as 24A. That's half what the EV6 can do, but it's more than enough. As it is I'm only charging the car once a week or less. The 40A 14-50 plug it comes with is the perfect tool for traversing a charging wilderness since those are the types of places that are likely to have RV campgrounds which often have 14-50 outlets.

Nice, I use the 110 in the garage at 12amps for most of my charging and use the dryer with adapters when needed to top off before or recover more quickly from a road trip. I use it at 40amps at my parents, 16 at my brothers, and several other settings when traveling.

 

[alansh42]

Ahh my apologies for the improper use of terminology.

Yes, my understanding was that it will draw current until the circuit breaks which was my original intent of the question. I want to upgrade my current 3.3kW/16A EVSE to a more powerful one and my strata's 6-50R says "50A" on the receptacle itself. I just wanted to make sure that I can purchase a 40A/9.6kW EVSE to charge the EV6 instead of a 32A/7.7kW unit. And I didn't really want to trip the circuit and ruin my neighbours' charging cycle if that happened.

Yeah, a lot of people's setups are not up to code. The goal behind the regulations is that it's safe by default, and nobody has to remember "this 50A outlet only supports 30A".

A 14-50 outlet must be connected to a circuit that supports a peak of 50A, 40A continuous. Anything else is a code violation. If the circuit is 30A, it must be connected to a NEMA 30A outlet.

Another thread someone mentioned that they had reduced the charger draw because there were other devices on the circuit that could run at the same time. That's also a code violation. 30A and up circuits are only allowed one device to be connected at a time.

Will these setups work? Probably. Will they burn the house down? Probably not; in most cases they'll just blow the circuit breaker. But it's always safer to prevent a bad situation from happening then relying on a safety device to catch it.

 

[Tax2022]

I got zencar adjustable 10-32 amp charger and currently using with 24A setting. As of now I haven’t found any issues. Copper wire and the device itself looks like it’s CE certified. Main thing for me was portability as I tend to travel often and this one looks like a perfect fit to me.

 

[Frankhpns]

Besides getting the charger anyone have specs on what's needed in the garage?
Hardwired or 14-50 plug?

 

[Frankhpns]

You can use a 2 pole/2wire 6 gauge 50 amp cable if your charger has that style plug (6-50 receptacle). 2 wire 50 amp wire is much less than 3 wire 50 amp wire. Most chargers don't need a neutral only a ground.