KANSAS CITY CHARGING STATIONS

Letter from Mike Chancey

The "club standard" for 240 Volts is the NEMA 14-50R receptacle, commonly used in homes for electric range outlets. For an outdoor install, the slick choice would be the combination 14-50R 240 Volt outlet, a 120 Volt 20 Amp outlet, and built in breakers for both in a weather proof box with in-use cover. These are available from Home Depot for about $89. As shipped they do not have a GFCI, but one could be installed. I can see switching the 120 Volt to GFCI, but I suspect most 240 Volt EV chargers would trip the GFCI if one is used on the 240 Volt. Under the NEC, EV charging stations are allowed a higher trip current for the GFCI, but nobody makes the matching breakers anymore.

Sunday I picked up another choice for an outdoor 240 Volt outlet. This was also from Home Depot. It is a model UO54P, just a single 14-50R outlet in a weather proof box with in use cover. It was about $20 and for some reason was over with the outdoor lighting stuff. It doesn't include spots for the breakers or a 120 Volt outlet.

Technically, under the National Electric Code (NEC) Article 625, EV charging stations are supposed to meet very specific standards. they rate them in three levels, Level 1, 2, and 3. To meet the code, a level 1 charging station is simply a 120 Volt 20 Amp GFCI outlet with in-use cover. Level 2 requires an EV specific connector not interchangeable with any other existing system. Only two systems have been approved to meet the code. One is the GM/Hughes inductive paddle charging stations used on the GM EV-1 and Toyota RAV-4 EV. These are no longer manufactured and were only compatible with very high voltage EVs around 312 Volts. They turn up for sale used fairly often, but you can't purchase the matching receptacle for the EV as they were all destroyed. The other NEC approved system is the AVCON system I have installed on my Civic conversion. This was the setup used on the Ford Ranger EVs and the Honda EVPlus. At the moment these are still available, but without any local public stations using them I cannot recommend installing one. These actually are just a high-tech outlet and still just provide 240 AVC to the EV.

Basically, we are in a bit of a gray area with the outdoor 240 Volt outlet issue. By the book the only legal option is the AVCON, but technically it only applies to EVs manufactured after 2000. Conversions were never mentioned. Also the NEC specifically states it only regulates up to the outlet, not what is plugged into them, then Article 625 merrily goes ahead and does just that.

The slick legal solution would be to tell your electrician you want to install an outlet to plug in your Recreational Vehicle. These also use the 14-50R outlet. Use either of the two units from Home Depot I mentioned and you should be good to go. If he insists on a GFCI on the 240 Volt circuit, you can ask him to double check the regs as I don't believe it actually requires them. If it does go ahead and have him put in a GFCI breaker for the 240 Volt. If it later becomes a problem, it can be switched to a non-GFCI one.

Thanks,

Mike Chancey
Kansas City, MO
Owner/Moderator
MAEAA Egroup
 

Last Updated: 02/08/2009