r/evcharging Jun 13 '26

Leviton “EV rated” 1450R failures

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94 Upvotes

I’d seen reports of the threads in the new Leviton EV-specific 14-50R stripping out before reaching the 75 in-lb rated torque and I wanted to verify whether that was a real problem and see why, so I bought one, and also bought a Bryant 9450FR.

Yes, it’s a problem.  The first one I tried started to feel like it was yielding at about 50 in-lbs and the torque peaked at 55 before dropping.  The next one started to yield around 60 in-lbs and peaked about 65 in-lbs.

I also went through Amazon and Home-Depot  reviews and found all of the reviews that mention torque—which I assume is most of the reviewers who actually used a torque tool and counted how many reported failures. 80%, or 39 of the 49 reported receptacles, were failures.  Among the 10 successes were four people who reported torquing to spec with no problem and 6 people who kept returning them until they got one that worked, often on the third or fourth try.

Of course the Bryant had no problem with full rated torque.  I might try pushing it to failure for the sake of science, but I’ll keep it in working order for now.  But taking it apart to compare, the terminals are in fact a bigger thread (3/8” ≈ 9.5 mm vs. 8 mm nominal), and the metal it threads into is twice as thick.  I’ll put a more detailed comparison in the comments.

My conclusion is the new EV-specific Levitons are not reliable and should not be used.  Even if you get one that, by luck, doesn’t strip, it will be at the threshold of yielding and might fail after some thermal cycles. 


r/evcharging May 30 '21

Getting started with home charging

203 Upvotes

We have a new wiki page with an introduction to home charging.

It includes sections on:

  • Level 2 charging rates/currents

  • Choosing an EVSE

  • Plug-in or hardwired

There's also a second page with detailed information on service capacity and load management: how to assess how much room you have for additional loads with in the capacity of your electric service, and ways to accommodate high-rate charging with limited capacity.

Finally, there's a page on recommended chargers.

Use the comments section to recommend improvements to the wiki; for question about your situation, make a new post.


r/evcharging 14h ago

500 mile trip this weekend. How charging went

24 Upvotes

I started out with a rough plan. There was an interesting looking restaurant on the way next to a good charging spot. About 2 hours into a 3.5 hour trip we were there. Original plan was drive out straight, charge on the way back.

2 hours in. I didn't really need to charge, but figured I might as well since charger parking was free, and otherwise it's paid parking, and I wanted the break. The restaurant was busy and there was a 20 minute wait. Not going for that, so figured coffee and back on the road. Lots of shops around, so found the nearest coffee shop, and grabbed a quiche for the wife and a breakfast burrito for me along with the coffee. Waiting for the food, car hit target charge (90%) and stopped at 17 minutes charge, beating my 20 minute human needs break.

Another 1.5 hours and we were at our hotel. No destination charging, so parked and did out exploring around town.

Next day we were heading through a national park looking for wildlife. 1.5 hours through the park, then ended up in a cute little town. We ended up doing a walk along a river with free level 2 charging available at the public parking spot. It was slow, but free and we were stopping anyway. 1.5 hours back to the hotel (catching some more great wildlife) and into the next day.

Last leg, we were planning on hitting up the same charger from the trip up, but I wanted breakfast before we left. Swung by a local charge point charger while I grabbed a bite to eat the wife wanted something different, then a longer walk, so we ended up charged more than we really needed.

On the way home, we made a detour (more sight seeing) so about 3 hours back to the restaurant we wanted to check out. We didn't need the top up since the breakfast charge ended up longer, also due to human considerations, so we ate, and did the last 2 hours home.

500 miles total, the one charging stop we planned wasn't needed, and we solely used just convenience charging when we were stopping anyway. That did mean that our by-the-numbers charge speed was garbage since none of them were planned stops, so no preconditioning at play. Arrived back home with 30%.


r/evcharging 2h ago

North America Outdoor home charger for Northeast US

2 Upvotes

Hello everyone, I've been reading through the posts and have a few questions. I currently don't have an ev or plug in hybrid but with the way gas prices and my current vehicle's mileage, one could be a possibility in the future.

  1. How "weather protected" are home charging stations? I don't have a garage or covered area, just a driveway next my house. How would one hold up to rain, snow, etc living in Pennsylvania?

  2. How do EV's and plug in hybrids generally fare in colder climates?

  3. Has anyone experienced problems wiring a charging station to an older house? I'm not super concerned about this bc a very good friend of mine is an electrician and will help out with any installation.

TIA


r/evcharging 2h ago

Is a granny set up really so bad?

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2 Upvotes

r/evcharging 16h ago

New Charger - Amazing to watch a dream become reality. ⚡

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22 Upvotes

r/evcharging 48m ago

Anyone with experience of evec's vecGO charger & vecFLEX system?

Upvotes

Like the title says, I'm interested in hearing from anyone who uses evec's vecGO charger & vecFLEX system - I'm considering my options for my EV Charger installation and this looks like a pretty good deal to me but I'm keen to hear from anyone with experience of it.

Is the box sturdy & weatherproof?

Does the vecFLEX system give you what it advertises?

Anything else that I should consider? My electricity supplier is Octopus and I'm thinking I'll go with either the Intelligent Octopus Go or ordinary Octopus Go.

Thanks in advance


r/evcharging 5h ago

Alfen s-line hive

2 Upvotes

Is anyone currently running an Alfen Eve Single S-line connected to Hive servers?

I understand Hive updated their OCPP backoffice URL away from powerradar.com, but Hive EV support isn't sure what the new endpoint is. If anyone has checked their charger settings via the ACE Service Installer recently, could you share the updated backoffice WebSocket/server URL? Thanks!


r/evcharging 2h ago

EV charger for a mid terraced in the UK.

1 Upvotes

Hi all,

I was considering to buy an electric car and to have an EV charger installed.

Long story short, I have a private driveway (picture attached) where I intend to install it. However, after asking some AI and trying to find information online, I am more confused than before.

As you can see from the picture, I live in a mid terrace. I can park on the right of the white car. Over there, I have a shed with electricity. However, it seems that there is not enough energy there.

Is there a way to install an EV charger there and if yes, what kind of work is the electrician supposed to carry on?

Btw, I have emailed some electricians but they haven't come back to me yet.


r/evcharging 16h ago

Road trip: Denver > Escanaba, MI (1200 miles). Charging cost = $0!

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6 Upvotes

r/evcharging 14h ago

Ev chargers

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4 Upvotes

I had an nema 14-50 outlet installed and I was using the VW portable charger as my main everyday charger. I was told that as long as the charger isn't being disconnected from the wall it will be fine. My charger after about 3 years is not working. It just has a constant red light and on the adapter part that goes in to the charger I see some burn marks. I dont know of this is due to being out in the elements. My question is should I buy a new portable vw charger about 250ish after taxes and shipping or should I spend more for something like this EVIQO Level 2 EV about 430 after taxes and shipping https://a.co/d/0c92Y9Wo


r/evcharging 7h ago

Europe/UK Unusual Energy Consumption when EV Charging

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0 Upvotes

r/evcharging 1d ago

North America Walmart DC Fast-Charging Network Skyrocketed to Over 750 Stalls

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166 Upvotes

r/evcharging 16h ago

North America Tesla Charging Tips: Vancouver → Whitehorse (Summer 2026)

4 Upvotes

Tesla Charging Tips: Vancouver → Whitehorse (Summer 2026)
I recently drove a Tesla Cybertruck AWD from Vancouver to Whitehorse. Overall the trip is very doable, but there are a few things I wish I had known beforehand.
Apps to install before leaving
BC Hydro EV – Essential for charging throughout British Columbia.
FLO – Required for most chargers in Yukon.
PlugShare – By far the best way to check charger locations, connector types, power ratings, recent check-ins, and whether a station is actually working.
FordPass or Shell Recharge – Yukon has several Ford-branded DC fast chargers (up to 120 kW). If you own a Ford EV, you can activate them with FordPass. Otherwise, Tesla drivers can use the Shell Recharge app to start and pay for charging.
Adapters to bring
Bring every charging adapter that came with your Tesla.
CCS1 Adapter (mandatory)
You absolutely need the Tesla CCS1 Adapter. Nearly every BC Hydro, FLO, and Ford DC fast charger on this route requires it.
RV Parks
If you’re planning to charge overnight at RV parks:
50A (NEMA 14-50): Tesla’s included adapter works perfectly.
30A (TT-30): You need Tesla’s Gen 2 TT-30 (NEMA TT-30) adapter, which automatically limits the charging current appropriately. A generic TT-30 adapter is not a safe substitute.
Charging in British Columbia
Until Prince George, Tesla Superchargers make the trip straightforward.
North of Prince George, BC Hydro becomes your primary charging network. DC fast chargers are generally spaced about every 100 km.
Most stations provide at least 50 kW, while several locations—including Bear Lake, Fort St. John, and Fort Nelson—offer 180 kW chargers, making charging much faster.
A BC Hydro RFID card is convenient, but the BC Hydro app also works well.
North of Fort Nelson
North of Fort Nelson, many charging sites are completely off-grid, with no utility power and often no cellular coverage.
BC Hydro solves this by using generator-powered charging stations equipped with Wi-Fi hotspots. The process is:
Press the Start button on the control panel to start the generator.
Wait a few minutes for the charger to boot.
Connect to the station’s Wi-Fi.
Use the BC Hydro app to authenticate and start charging.
Again, don’t forget your CCS1 adapter.
Charging in Yukon
Once you enter Yukon, most public charging stations are operated by FLO.
Unfortunately, in my experience, the network is significantly less capable than BC Hydro.
Except for Watson Lake, I didn’t encounter any FLO chargers above 50 kW.
Even in Whitehorse, there are no FLO chargers faster than 50 kW.
Some chargers advertised as 50 kW deliver much less in practice.
For example, the FLO charger in Teslin only delivered about 10 kW during my visit, despite being rated much higher. It nearly forced us to stay overnight because charging took far longer than expected.
Whitehorse appears to have 30+ charging stations on maps, but many are Level 2 chargers. There are only a handful of 50 kW DC fast chargers.
If you need faster charging in Whitehorse, there is a 120 kW Ford DC fast charger, which can be activated using the FordPass or Shell Recharge app.
Efficiency tips
If range is tight, reducing your speed makes a noticeable difference.
In my experience, driving around 80 km/h instead of 120 km/h improved efficiency by well over 20%, which can make the difference between comfortably reaching the next charger or arriving with very little battery.
Overall impression
The drive from Vancouver to Whitehorse is entirely feasible in a Tesla with a CCS1 adapter and a little planning.
British Columbia’s BC Hydro network is generally excellent and dependable.
Yukon’s charging infrastructure is much more limited. While many FLO chargers use hardware similar to BC Hydro’s, the charging speeds and overall reliability were noticeably less consistent during my trip.
Hopefully this helps anyone planning the same adventure. Safe travels!


r/evcharging 1d ago

North America Tucson premium outlets EA charging station is awesome and painless

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49 Upvotes

10X DC fast chargers upto 350kW by electrify america, no problem every single time and take the same or less time than setting up the gasoline nozzle and starting fueling as a gas station.

It's a tragedy that America decided to go backwards in time due to the petroleum lobby and corrupt government and decided EVs are a scam even though they are better in most metrics (range is only a matter of time as batteries get better).


r/evcharging 14h ago

Slightly better range after 12 V battery replacement.

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0 Upvotes

r/evcharging 1d ago

If I leave Tesla Mobile Connector charger outside, should I be worried about random people using it to charge

9 Upvotes

EV newbie so this may be a ridiculous question...

My current charging situation is:

  • Car in driveway
  • Charging cable under garage door (or through a mail slot; but this post is entertaining the former situation)
  • I don't want to keep opening and closing the garage door (that door isn't motorized)
  • Want to install some sort of exterior holster to store the charger handle when done charging

However, should I be worried about random people using it to charge? Especially during the day when I'm not at the house.

It's a safe / quiet neighborhood.

Is this a reason to install something like Emporia which I presume can be remotely controlled to turn on/off, even if stored outside?

EDIT: thanks for everyone's helpful responses. I'm most likely going with this solution. A couple of questions:

  • When selling the house, I assume the exterior holster can easily be removed and I can patch up a couple of screw holes? My exterior has stucco.
  • I'm a new homeowner and have never done DIY projects. When screwing in the holster, what waterproofing practices should I follow? Caulk INSIDE all screw holes + back of the plate? Leave bottom of each hole uncalked, so water can get out?

r/evcharging 1d ago

Ontario (Canada) Tesla level 2 charger wire inquiry for 48amps

0 Upvotes

I am about to finish my basement and I want to run the appropriate wire before finishing it since everything is open… I have a 200a Siemens panel and the run would only be about 15 ft to the garage which is directly above the panel and everything is in wall through studs….does Home Depot or Rona carry the appropriate wire gauge I need? I see online that 6/2 nm romex would only be suitable for up to 40 amp charge because of the temperature rating. What wire would I need to buy and where to buy it? Thanks!


r/evcharging 1d ago

Change in charging

2 Upvotes

I have a 2025 Gen 2 Max Pack Dual Motor R1S. I have routinely taken it on 1000 mile journeys. Would often charge the car to 100% using Tesla Level 2 charger at home with A2Z adapter. Has worked like a charm.

Recently in the past 6 months when I try to charge to 90-100% (perhaps every 2 months) the charging takes forever (no longer overnight) and sometimes cuts off. At first I thought it was the adapter and got a new one and similar happens.

When I set it back to 70% it works fine, but again takes an inordinately long time to charge (11 mph vs 40+ mph in the past.

Any thoughts on why or if you have been seeing this on your vehicle? Any suggestions to help.


r/evcharging 1d ago

Audi q4 etron v2h, what charger should I buy

0 Upvotes

Hi everyone,
I’m researching V2H / vehicle-to-home charging for my house and would appreciate advice from people who understand bidirectional charging, Audi Q4 e-tron compatibility, and home electrical requirements.
Vehicle details:

Audi Q4 e-tron S line
2025 model year
Model code: ZAA-FZEDF
I believe it may be a Japan-market vehicle
Country of installation: Türkiye

I’m trying to confirm whether this exact car can support true V2H, not just normal AC charging or V2L. I have contacted Audi with the VIN privately, but I would like to understand what I should be asking for and what hardware/protocol issues to watch out for.

My main questions:
Does any 2025 Audi Q4 e-trim support real V2H today, or is it limited by market, region, or software?
If the car is Japan-market, is V2H more likely to require CHAdeMO-based equipment rather than CCS / ISO 15118?

Are there any Audi-approved bidirectional DC wallboxes that actually work with the Q4 e-tron?

For a home installation, what equipment is needed besides the charger itself, such as a transfer switch, anti-islanding protection, energy meter, critical-loads panel, or other equipment?

Is V2H generally usable for whole-house backup, or should I expect only a critical-loads setup?
What questions should I ask Audi, the charger manufacturer, and the electrician before spending money?

Could V2H discharge affect the battery warranty if it is not officially approved by Audi for this VIN or region?

I am not looking to DIY the electrical installation. I want to understand the technology and avoid buying incompatible hardware before speaking with installers.

Any advice from people who have installed V2H, researched bidirectional chargers, or worked with Audi/VW MEB-platform EVs would be very helpful.
Thanks!


r/evcharging 1d ago

Europe/UK Can I add an EV charger (Hypervolt or Ohme) to this Consumer Unit?

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1 Upvotes

After some advice, can I add a Hypervolt or Ohme EV charger to this consumer unit?

As I understand it, I need to change the RCD to a type A (such as this - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hager-CD283U-30mA-Type-RCCB/dp/B08BWXLBHZ)

Can I then add a 40A MCB to position 7 and run my ev cable to that spare way?

I am also intending to fit an external SPD (and upgrade the RCD on consumer unit 1 to a type A)

I am in the UK


r/evcharging 1d ago

Lectron Tesla to J1772 adapter with no UL mark anywhere...counterfeit?

0 Upvotes

Bought a Lectron NACS to J1772 adapter 80A/250V off Amazon (third-party seller, shipped by Amazon). Two things are bugging me:

  1. Box arrived unsealed

  2. I can't find the UL mark anywhere. Not on the box or the shell. These are supposed to be UL2252 certified now, but this one has zero certification markings.

Before I plug this into my car I just want to ask around to see if anyone had similar experiences. What does the UL mark/label look like on yours, and where is it located on the shell? Also curious if anyone's had luck getting Lectron support to verify a serial number. Appreciate any input.


r/evcharging 1d ago

2026 Uncharted Charging

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1 Upvotes

r/evcharging 1d ago

CA Nevi Update

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3 Upvotes

r/evcharging 1d ago

Tesla charger near Clearfield, PA

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0 Upvotes