Bosch Charger w/240 Volt Outlet

[markusg]

Hi All,

Has anyone wired a NEMA 15-30R plug to one of the discounted Bosch chargers? I'd prefer to avoid hiring an electrician if I can.

 

[FutureFolly]

They make NEMA plugs meant to be hand wired. I did this for a hot tub. It's not tricky, but be aware of a few factors before you decide. They sell units already corded with a plug, but the rebate is probably very specific. This isn't crazy to do yourself, unless you're a novice DIYer. Electricity isn't for novices.

-It will certainly void your warranty from Bosch.
-The outlet should be at least a foot off the ground.
-Consider how much childproofing is necessary and possible.
-The plug will not have waterproofing protection like a lot of the commercial ones.
-You need to verify the wiring actually supports 30 amps, probably 10 gauge unless it's a long run from the panel. The longer the run the lower the gauge necessary. Check charts online. Someone before you might have put in the outlet and circuit breaker recklessly to install a dryer or something like that. DON'T ASSUME.
-Buy a Ground Fault Current Interrupter outlet. They're pretty cheap. You can read about them, but they're important for safety.
-An Arc-Fault Circuit Interrupter breaker isn't a bad idea either. A new circuit breaker in general is a good idea.
-Really consider if you want to assume this liability. This kind of current really will burn a house down, and fire does not cover up jerry-rigged electrical work. If you own the property your insurance would probably not pay to rebuild the house if your work was sighted as a cause forcing you into bankruptcy. This sort of thing happens thousands of times a year to people that do gas or electrical work on their house.

Good luck. Don't mess around and you'll be fine.

 

[Electricbowtie]

I bought a Bosch 30A PowerMax, a 30A GE dryer cord and ran 8G wire to a new garage outlet from a 40A 2 pole breaker in my power panel. No issues since August and the dryer cord doesn't even get warm.

 

[markusg]

Thanks for the replies, guys. All of the electric in the house was replaced around 2008 so I think I'm in good shape.

Electricbowtie, do you have a link to the GE dryer cord somewhere online or a photo of how it looks wired up?

Thanks,
Mark

 

[Electricbowtie]

Here is the dryer cord I used.

http://m.homedepot.com/p/GE-3-Prong-30-Amp-Dryer-Cord-WX9X4GDS/202214665?N=5yc1vZc35j

There are three screws on the back of the Bosch unit that match the dryer cord and the cord runs through a strain relief. From there I ran it to my new outlet which I mounted to the wall and ran the PVC conduit to it from under the house. I installed an outlet cover with a screw lock to protect from kids getting into it.

 

[davewill]

The Bosch 30a EVSE requires a 40a circuit, which needs a 50a plug and outlet. You need to be using 14-50, not a 14-30.

 

[jay5729]

While the Bosch 30a EVSE does require a 40a upstream breaker in the installation manual, when used with the Spark EV it will only pull 15a or 16a continuous because the Spark only has a 3.3kWh charger onboard. I ran 10aug wire from a 30a breaker in my service entrance (where your electricity meter is) about 8 inches through the wall into my garage and wired a NEMA 10-30 (old style dryer plug, rated at 40a) because the Bosch EVSE only has a 3 wire connection. ( I did run the 4th ground wire and connected it to the receptacle box of the dryer plug). I then picked up a replacement dryer cord (with the male 10-30 connector) at HOME DEPOT and connected that to the Bosch EVSE. Mounted the unit and everything is working great. Granted if I ever upgrade from the 3.3 kWh charger in the car, I will most likely need to rewire to 8aug and up the breaker to 40a.

 

[FutureFolly]

While the Bosch 30a EVSE does require a 40a upstream breaker in the installation manual, when used with the Spark EV it will only pull 15a or 16a continuous because the Spark only has a 3.3kWh charger onboard. I ran 10aug wire from a 30a breaker in my service entrance (where your electricity meter is) about 8 inches through the wall into my garage and wired a NEMA 10-30 (old style dryer plug, rated at 40a) because the Bosch EVSE only has a 3 wire connection. ( I did run the 4th ground wire and connected it to the receptacle box of the dryer plug). I then picked up a replacement dryer cord (with the male 10-30 connector) at HOME DEPOT and connected that to the Bosch EVSE. Mounted the unit and everything is working great. Granted if I ever upgrade from the 3.3 kWh charger in the car, I will most likely need to rewire to 8aug and up the breaker to 40a.

It sounds like your run isn't even 10 feet. Even a 6.6KW charger doesn't even pull a full 30 amps. Although redoing 10 feet of wiring isn't a big deal at all, 10 gauge is probably fine. Hell, I'd probably redo it out of pride.

The breaker is a little bit different because they will actually trip under their rated capacity after a certain amount of time.

 

[Pegasus]

I bought a Bosch 30A PowerMax, a 30A GE dryer cord and ran 8G wire to a new garage outlet from a 40A 2 pole breaker in my power panel. No issues since August and the dryer cord doesn't even get warm.

I did this myself as well, only I used a 50A range cord and a NEMA 14-50 outlet to fully support the EVSE's 40A load capacity for future EVs (and/or if I hack my Spark EV to charge faster a la the Gen 1 Leaf folks. ) I have a 40A breaker on the circuit now because that's what the EVSE expects protecting it. (It has 50A fuses inside, so I'd rather trip a breaker than replace fuses.) As for the unused neutral pin, I just taped it up inside the EVSE so it doesn't hit anything. You could instead put it on the ground lug (along with the ground pin) since neutral and ground are connected at the panel anyway.

 

[emv]

Although there should be no problem using an appropriate dryer plug, electricity is no place for shortcuts. Bosch specifies a 40 amp breaker which, per code, calls for 8 gauge copper wire. You may get away with 10 gauge but why not do it right? And DON'T use a GFI in the circuit. Read the installation instructions, they say not to. The charger provides GFI protection.

Every year houses burn because somebody did something they figured they could get away with.

 

[FutureFolly]

Although there should be no problem using an appropriate dryer plug, electricity is no place for shortcuts. Bosch specifies a 40 amp breaker which, per code, calls for 8 gauge copper wire. You may get away with 10 gauge but why not do it right? And DON'T use a GFI in the circuit. Read the installation instructions, they say not to. The charger provides GFI protection.

Every year houses burn because somebody did something they figured they could get away with.

You're right. It's better to think about the next person and keep everything to spec.

You can't have too many GFIs though. Lol

 

[nozferatu]

After reading all this DIY stuff, screw it...I'll still hire an electrician....got a quote to install for $595 including wiring, etc....well worth the avoidance of all the hassle.

 

[FutureFolly]

After reading all this DIY stuff, screw it...I'll still hire an electrician....got a quote to install for $595 including wiring, etc....well worth the avoidance of all the hassle.

You may want to still have him put in an outlet box. It will make swapping units without an electrician easier, even if you just want a 25' cable model or something.

 

[nozferatu]

After reading all this DIY stuff, screw it...I'll still hire an electrician....got a quote to install for $595 including wiring, etc....well worth the avoidance of all the hassle.

You may want to still have him put in an outlet box. It will make swapping units without an electrician easier, even if you just want a 25' cable model or something.

True,

The outlet box is basically a three prong unit that the EVSE can plug into?

 

[buickanddeere]

As for the unused neutral pin, I just taped it up inside the EVSE so it doesn't hit anything. You could instead put it on the ground lug (along with the ground pin) since neutral and ground are connected at the panel anyway.

That is a sore point to electricians, linesmen, power generating plant personal, electrical inspectors and engineers.
If ground and neutral were the same, why is the ground bare and the neutral insulated ?
The ground is to maintain what ever it is connected to at earth potential.
The neutral is an insulated current carrying load conductor.
A properly wired sub panel, pony panel or remote panel IS Not supposed to have the neutral referenced to ground. Otherwise the ground system will carry neutral current. Voltage drop causes the grounding system to rise above true earth potential.
Many thousands of farm live stock suffer tingle volt shocks because Bubba did a home wiring job. Or the electrical system was damaged.
Can't seem to explain to people that the wiring can be wrong and the lights can still work.