Tom Moloughney repairs a homeowner’s damaged plug and discusses what caused the issue.
It’s well known that most electric vehicle charging happens
takes place at home
It is not a secret that
Not every Level 2 charger is made the same.
However, even though L2 installations are typically seen as simple, they too have their differences. These enclosures handle significant electrical currents. Should anything fall short of standards, the outcomes could be catastrophic.
To emphasize that point, our guy Tom Moloughney kicked off a segment on his
State of Charge
The YouTube channel named Recharge Rescue briefly involves him visiting individuals who have issues with their home charging stations. He then elucidates the problem before bringing in a certified electrician with expertise in electric vehicles to fix the situation.
His series began last year, however, the newest addition transports us to Ohio for a
Mustang Mach-E
owner with a degraded NEMA 14-50 receptacle.
The video opens with some very important advice: not all outlets advertised as industrial grade can cope with the rigors of continuous high-power use. Moloughney highlights a Leviton 279-S00 plug, which typically sells for around $10 and is described as being industrial grade. He compares it with a newer Leviton plug designed specifically for EV charging, and the differences between them are notable. The upgraded plug is considerably thicker with more metal inside and better mounting connections for the wiring on the housing.
The price difference is also notable—$66 versus $10. But Moloughney notes that the higher price is absolutely worth it for the improved quality and capability. In short, you pay more to get more.
Visiting the Mach-E owner, we see that the melted NEMA plug was indeed a smaller, lower-grade unit. In this particular case, the owner was fortunate a major fire didn’t occur. The outlet got hot enough to fuse the charger’s plug in place. Moloughney brought a new charger to install, and with an experienced electrician on hand, the outlet was eliminated completely in favor of hard-wiring. The breaker box was also updated with a 50-amp breaker—it was discovered that the previous electrician used a 60-amp breaker with 6 gauge Romex wiring to power the 50-amp outlet. The new charger was derated to 40 amps so it wouldn’t overdraw the circuit.
The upgrade proceeds without issues, however, the key message from the video is to avoid cutting corners during your home setup. Typically, hardwiring is preferable; nonetheless, if you choose to use a plug, ensure it’s not only industrial-grade but also able to manage sustained high-power needs for EV charging. Additionally, it’s advisable to have a certified electrician who has expertise inEV installations perform the work.
More On Charging:
- Trump’s Removal of EV Chargers Might Cost Taxpayers More Than $1 Billion
- Individuals Are Defacing Tesla Superchargers
- The Best Electric Vehicle Home Charging Stations for 2024
- How to Select a Residential Charging Station for Your Electric Vehicle
