My mum is quite elderly and needs some help. She’s got this Honda EV, but the charging place nearby charges $40 every time. Plus, they hit her with a $1 per minute fee if she’s late disconnecting the cord.
The problem is that her rental only has 40 amps, and the landlord says it’s too costly to upgrade the wiring or get a new box.
Is there anything she can buy to make charging at home easier? Would a generator or one of those Jackery boxes work? She’s just got a regular house in San Diego.
Just to clear things up, saying 40W amperage is a bit off. Your mum might be able to charge slower, like at 30A or 50A, especially overnight. That way, the car would probably be full by morning.
If the panel isn’t too far and it’s a common type, a qualified electrician should be able to set it up without too much hassle.
Generators and Jackery boxes really aren’t great for charging cars. It’s not efficient at all.
If the dryer’s in the garage and it’s electric (usually 30A), you could check the plug type and find a compatible charger. Snap a pic of the plug and the panel, and maybe an electrician can help figure it out. Sometimes it’s just a matter of swapping between the dryer and EV plug.
@Henrik
Just to add to that…
Neocharge smart splitter or Splitvolt could be good options if she’s only got one dryer or stove outlet in the garage.
@Henrik
I usually charge at 24A because I’ve got a 30A outlet, and I heard that charging at the full 30A isn’t the best idea since it could trip the breaker. Charging takes about 10 hours, but that’s just overnight for me and I’ve never had any issues.
@Grant
That’s the 80% rule… You should only be using 80% of a breaker’s capacity at any time. That’s why you might see a 60A breaker being used for a 48A charger.
Honestly, just charging on a regular 110V outlet might be fine for most of her needs. If she doesn’t drive more than 50 miles a day, it should be good enough. Maybe just hit up a fast charger once or twice a year.
Did the car come with a regular wall outlet charger? You could just mount it on the wall to keep the plug from wearing out. Just don’t use extension cords for safety reasons.
@Freddie
She really needs a long extension.
Harrison said:
@Freddie
She really needs a long extension.
How long are we talking? The one I linked earlier is 16 feet.
Most extension cords can’t handle that kind of power for a long time, especially if the weather’s rough. You might get away with a proper J1772 extension cord, but they aren’t cheap.
@Freddie
Can we just link two $160 cords together?
Harrison said:
@Freddie
Can we just link two $160 cords together?
That’s risky… If you’re charging at 12A on a 110V outlet, it’s probably okay. But at 40A, it could get pretty dangerous.
Harrison said:
@Freddie
She really needs a long extension.
Why not just get an electrician to put in a dedicated 110V outlet right near the panel in the garage?
Honestly, the simplest fix might be getting an outlet put in at the highest rating the landlord will allow and then just grabbing a charging cord from Amazon that matches. Even something like a 20A 220V outlet could work fine. You wouldn’t have as much risk of the outlet overheating like you would with the bigger amps.
@Luca
Completely agree.
A 20A 220V setup gives about 11 miles per hour of charge, which should be plenty for most folks. It’s also easier to install since it only needs a 12/2 wire. Plus, 16A chargers are pretty affordable—my local hardware store has a good one for around $200.
