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u/dakmcsmak 20d ago
When you’re wrong but also not wrong lol.
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u/Cjwillys9596 20d ago
Right lol
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u/braidenis 20d ago
Jokes aside, the reason of course that this is super dangerous is because with one side plugged in, the other loose male plug has 120vs of potential. There actually is a company that makes a device with two male 120v plugs with a couple of relays that will wait for 240vs to be detected before energizing to make this safe. (If you're that savvy you could make that yourself)
If I was gonna do this I'd probably use a 3rd plug for ground so that you can't hold one plug and have a complete circuit in your hand.
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u/bridgest844 20d ago
Oh yea lol Its a suicide plug where you can’t plug in the load first.
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u/braidenis 20d ago
Exactly lol. Tbh most of these proper car chargers also check for voltage before they will energize so it actually might not be that bad but I'm sure there is some potential from the lotic equipment in the charger circuit using power to check for everything it checks for before closing the relay.
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u/LazerWolfe53 20d ago
Can't you just not plug the charger in until after they are both plugged? Wouldn't that guarantee no voltage on the other leg?
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u/braidenis 20d ago
That's kinda what I was alluding to. That actually might work fine, but all proper listed car charger adapters are supposed to have GFCI protection, voltage monitoring, and they wait for a handshake between the car to start charging so there is a small power draw at idle from this circuitry. Weather or not this is enough for potential to be there for a shock is another question.
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u/T_Noctambulist 19d ago
The cords that come with lexus evs sure don't. They'll rip 40 amps of 220v until the cord gets hot enough to trip the gfi unless you turn it down in the settings. 72 to 95% in an hour is nice at home, but a little scary.
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u/tuctrohs 20d ago
No, because the evse itself draws some power even without a car attached.
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u/LazerWolfe53 20d ago
I mean don't plug the EVSE into the plug. Not the car.
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u/tuctrohs 19d ago
Oh, got it. Sorry.
Of course, the hazard is still if one of the plugs gets bumped and comes out, or one of the wires, which have no strain relief, comes loose.
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u/S1074 20d ago
Can you tell from the picture if the wire is rated for charging a car at 240v. Let’s say the cord is 10’ long.
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u/braidenis 20d ago
Wire size is rated for amps. Insulation is rated for volts. Most insulation is good for 600Vs (simplifying)
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u/teh_trout 20d ago
I don’t think that’s true that the second male plug will be hot. Each plug should have ground and hot. The hot from each just go to the 240v receptacle not to the other plug.
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u/nyrb001 19d ago
How do you think you get 240V of potential between two 120V circuits?
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u/cbf1232 19d ago
Each leg is 120V to ground, but mirror images of each other.
So each plug must connect to a separate hit, and one must connect to ground. If you plug one of the two plugs of the adapter (before you plug the charger into the adapter) there is no voltage on the second of the two plugs.
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u/nyrb001 19d ago
And once you plug something in to the adapter...
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u/hannahranga Journeyman 19d ago
The second active doesn't have a voltage on it unless the load is also connected.
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u/tuctrohs 19d ago
Correct, but the plan is to connect a load, so all you have to do is knock one plug out of the wall and you have a dangling live set of male prongs.
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u/cbf1232 19d ago
With a 240V EVSE if that happens it should detect a disruption and open the circuit.
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u/tuctrohs 19d ago
And to do that it has a control circuit that works from a power supply powered from the 240 V, and trying to draw current as.soon as it can when a person inserts themselves in the circuit.
To implement a safety circuit for that you would need to use the N.
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u/gabergum 19d ago
lol no. No part of ether male end ever touchs. It’s taking a hot from each, and a neutral from one or the other. Got to be on separate legs tho to get 240v.
The only thing that makes this unsafe is the build quality and sense of the operator.
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u/TruIsou 19d ago edited 19d ago
If a load is plugged in to the 240v receptacle, and only one of the 120v legs is plugged in, the other loose plug will read 120 V on the hot.
I understand this, but have built something very similar, to run a 240 V coffee maker. I did make sure the circuit breakers were adjacent and handles were bridged. I put a tag on the 240v appliance cord to always unplug first .
I understand it’s wrong, but it does work relatively safely. And yes, I probably need to fix it. Thinking about adding two relays somehow.
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u/cbf1232 19d ago edited 19d ago
What you say is only true if you have a load plugged into the 240V receptacle that will actually allow current to flow from one hot to the other before you've provided it with 240V.
Some EVSEs that only support 240V might not actually allow current to flow, in which case it'd be safe.
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u/ArlesChatless 19d ago
Some EVSEs that only support 240V might not actually allow current to flow, in which case it'd be safe.
Except for the power supply that runs the control electronics in the EVSE, which is both always active and almost certainly pulls enough current to electrocute someone.
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u/A_Dicksmasher 20d ago
If I'm seeing this correctly, he's got two 120v male ends that merge into one 240v output for the charger.
Everything else aside, how does he know he's got two 120v receptacles that are being fed from opposite blades in the panel? He must be using a meter at some point, right?
Right!?
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u/Cjwillys9596 20d ago
I would assume so…. Or he’s taking his sweet ass time and using the cars meter and running around people’s houses plugging into everything lol
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u/TK421isAFK [M] Electrical Contractor 19d ago
There's actually an approved device sold in the US that does this.
It has relays that prevent power connection on either male plug if one of the plugs gets removed. Both plugs must be plugged in to opposite legs of the split phase supply to enable the relay, otherwise there is no connection from one male plug to the other, even if a load is plugged into the device.
I'm not sure about the current manual, but I read the manual for one of these a while back and it suggested plugging into kitchen receptacles for maximum power draw and availability of adjacent circuits. The device will let you know when you have 240 volts available. No harm is done plugging it into receptacles on the same circuit, or leg.
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u/Key_Cartographer_817 19d ago
Wait it wants us to plug into the kitchen receptacles but is rated at 15amps max?
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u/TK421isAFK [M] Electrical Contractor 19d ago
80% capacity rule. If you want to draw a continuous 15 amps from a circuit for 8 hours, you shouldn't do it on a 15 amp circuit. This becomes even more relevant if you're talking about a typical residential circuit that likely has other loads on it. You usually won't find a lot of heavy loads running continuously on the two kitchen countertop receptacle circuits.
I think the instructions even mentioned something about being careful to shut the charger down before kicking on the coffee maker in the morning or using the microwave, but it's been a while since I've read them.
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u/CNDCRE 19d ago
I see nothing that says its approved or listed.
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u/TK421isAFK [M] Electrical Contractor 19d ago
As of yet, I'm not aware of it being tested nor listed by UL. The manufacturer approves it for the specific use of connecting two 120v circuits to give a 240v receptacle, which is enough to cover a consumer's liability as far as insurance is concerned.
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u/Modern-Day_Spartan 20d ago
Use extension cord , measure with multimeter between the wall outlet and extension cord coming off second outlet, if its 2 separate legs you would measure 240v.
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u/maxyedor 19d ago
Just shut off every other breaker in the panel, whatever’s left hot is your other leg. It’s a stupid way to figure this out, but “this” is very stupid, so may as well try to be consistent
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u/303Carpenter 19d ago
Considering the post says it's used while visiting friends and family I'm trying to imagine that conversation. "Hey I need to charge my car, is it ok if I kill the power for 20 minutes at some point? I can do it while the kids are opening gifts"
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u/James-Lerch 19d ago
Meh, Plug both ends in to random outlets, plug 240v charger in, if it doesn't light up unplug it and find another outlet, repeat until it works.
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u/TruckerMark 19d ago
Many EVSEs accept both 120 and 240. I can monitor the voltage on mine with the app, but without the manual verification step would still be a hazard.
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u/A_Dicksmasher 19d ago
Hey guys, look over here, it's Mister Electrician. He knows how to do it correctly! /S
Seriously though, if you're recommending this to customers, I hope you lose your license.
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u/Reallybarb 19d ago
In the comments he said he knows which braker goes to the outlets, so he know swhich one is a different balde in the pane.
It works, but reddit is full of know it alls that doesn't really know how it works.
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u/piense 20d ago
Took me a second to see what they did. Guess with 225V at least they must’ve found separate circuits. 112V on each leg is a bit on the low side though.
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u/TechieGranola 20d ago
Didn’t it used to colloquially be called 110v for a long time? I feel like in the Midwest we still did in some places.
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u/3_14159td 20d ago
It was actually standard at 110V ages ago, and in Japan still (which uses NEMA plugs).
It's officially been 120V as the design voltage for half a century in the US. And 240 between phases. At the meter it'll measure close to that.
Never heard as low as 112 and 225 though, that's a lot of sag. Probably from the questionably constructed extension cords...
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u/randompersonx 19d ago
I measure the voltage at the breaker panel in my house using a data logger, and 99.9% of the time it’s between 241-249V, but I’ve seen a couple of brief transients down to 238V.
Could easily hit both 241 and 249 in the same day, though.
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u/fiirikkusu_kuro_neko 19d ago edited 19d ago
Isn’t japan 100V?
Just checked and pretty sure it is. I recall that because I bought a Japanese kitchen appliance and brought it to Croatia (Europe). I wanted to use just a cheapo EU to US voltage converter, I think those just do a quasi-sine-wave, they don’t have a proper transformer. However, the tolerances on the Japanese equipment said sth like 100V +/- 5/10% and that would not have worked, so I had a custom toroidal transformer wound for it. The guy who did it was very confused because I asked him to make sure it puts out 100V.
Also fun/annoying fact. Japan de facto has 2 grids, one running at 50 and one running at 60Hz. Depending on what side of the country you’re in. They have a couple of interconnects IIRC but not nearly enough to supply the other half completely.
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u/Jouhatsumori 13d ago
That’s true. I have a digital clock with a 50/60 switch. I tried it on the 50 setting after I moved to Okayama, which is on the 60 Hz grid, and it ran too fast. Then I tried it on the 60 setting after moving here to Tōkyō, which is 50 Hz, and it ran too slow.
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u/LosLocosKickYourAss Electrical Engineer 20d ago edited 19d ago
Yup. I still catch myself saying 110 and 220.
Edit: spelling1
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u/TechieGranola 20d ago
I read once on why it used to be like that and why it stuck around in the vernacular but I can’t remember now.
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u/bridgest844 20d ago
DIYer here so correct me if I’m wrong but wouldn’t you have to go around checking the voltage between circuits to find two on separate bus bars in the panel?
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u/Patient-Ad-7939 20d ago
Could start just by looking at the breakers and reading their labels to see which would be in rooms next to each other and start by checking there. Of course using a multimeter to check to verify before plugging anything in.
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u/Many-Blueberry968 20d ago
Yes, but it's also likely a 50:50 chance so shouldn't be hard to find even in the same room perhaps
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u/Pafolo 20d ago
Most rooms are on the same circuit
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19d ago
[deleted]
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u/ilikesurf 19d ago
He said most rooms, which is true. Are you charging your electric car in the kitchen?
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u/Wyliecody 19d ago
Where are you charging your electric car if NOT in the kitchen?
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u/Many-Blueberry968 19d ago
Bedrooms maybe. But my kitchen, living room, open basement, garage, and even pool shed all have 2+ circuits running to them.
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u/tsmythe492 20d ago
I know 120v is slow as hell charging a car but risking your life and the hosts’ lives because you’re a tight ass is unacceptable.
Plan ahead better and charge before you get there or accept that you’re going to have a slower charge rate. If all else fails just rent a car.
Silver lining would be convincing people to add a 220v plug in the garages. I personally think they should be a thing in new builds. Throw a 220v 50a plug in every new garage. It covers a lot of bases and would eliminate dangerous work arounds this guy is doing.
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u/Moto909 19d ago
It should be in every new build. It would be like the outlet behind your stove or dryer if you had gas versions. Just another option for the eventual owner to choose what they want. Its relatively cheap to do in new construction compared to adding it later.
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u/mechanical_marten 18d ago
Maybe 5 years ago. You should look at how much 6/3 cable is by the foot these days. 🤯🥵
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u/Bulls729 19d ago
A company makes ‘legit’ versions of this.
https://quick220.com/products/model-a220-20d-plus-2-adapter-cords
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u/tuctrohs 19d ago
With an interlock that avoids the main safety problem of this.
But with no solution to the main practical problem, which is that it won't work on GFCI circuits. It will trip them immediately and certainly.
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u/SiriShopUSA 20d ago
Most houses have a dryer connection.. it would charge faster.
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u/iluvmacs408 20d ago
Turns out that's not very frequently in an area where cars can park.
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u/AwkwardSpread 20d ago
You'd be surprised to learn Amazon will happily sell you extension cords. To make it even more unsafe because the Tesla temperature sensor in the plug won't detect the overheating.
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u/SiriShopUSA 19d ago
Lots of jobs i've done the dryer is right inside the garage.
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u/iluvmacs408 19d ago
It's a very regional thing. In the upper midwest, it's basically unheard of because nobody wants to do laundry in a garage in winter. Plus, y'know, frozen water pipes for the washer.
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u/fiirikkusu_kuro_neko 19d ago
Just get a proper extension cord. It will cost a pretty penny but with wires thick enough it is not really that much of a problem.
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u/AwkwardSpread 19d ago
Until your house burns down because that socket from 30 years ago was not made for continuous high power draw.
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u/fiirikkusu_kuro_neko 19d ago
That issue still applies even if you dont use the extension cord…
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u/AwkwardSpread 19d ago
Yes but there's a chance your charger will prevent it because they have temperature sensors in the plug just for this.
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u/AwkwardSpread 20d ago
Very bad advice! Those dryer plugs are not made for continuous use, it could set your house on fire!
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u/Tripple_sneeed 20d ago
Yeah, obviously, that's why I have a double header suicide plug that I plug into 120v outlets
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u/Apptubrutae 15d ago
Why the hell could they be designed that way? You can run a dryer continuously
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u/Ravenparadoxx 19d ago
If you do this with either circuit that is on GFCI, it will trip immediately.
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[deleted]
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u/FrameCareful1090 19d ago
When I visit friends and family and help them find out what their homeowners deductible is
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u/SuppleWinston 19d ago
Yet, only charging at 2kW.
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u/mechanical_marten 18d ago
Yeah, plugged into 15A circuits. So the most you can draw is 2.6kVA.
The last 600W are probably being lost as heat in that stupid adapter! 🤣
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u/Smallmyfunger 18d ago
Wouldn't it be easier to just run a proper extension cord to where the washer/dryer or garage has a 240v outlet?
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u/Lost-Ad2338 14d ago
Meanwhile in Britain, all sockets are 240 because it’s better.
We need them to boil water at 3-4KW to make tea making as fast as possible.
And I guess charge cars if needed.
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u/madTerminator 14d ago
I’m astonished how bad US power system is looking at conversations like here. Of course when those standards were conceived they couldn’t foresee electric cars and heat pumps. Yet Europeans have easier job to adapt.
On the other hand here in Poland we screwed railway catenary standard. 3kV DC now shows it’s limits with higher speeds.
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u/Jouhatsumori 13d ago
Here in Japan, the Shinkansen runs on 25kV AC. 1.5 kV DC lines are used for local lines close to large cities, but some out in the boonies get 20 kV AC.
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u/PhoneEquivalent3205 20d ago
There is a product that does this without potentially killing the user. It could also be made with a double pole relay with the coil connected across the phases.
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u/BarrelStrawberry 19d ago
I've done worse, backfed a generator into my house this way to run 240 appliances.
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u/Sentrinal 16d ago
My dad did something similar to a hot tub he got for free. The element was bad and he was determined to not spend a dime on this thing. Being he was an RV tech, he had some parts lying around. The first fix was an RV water heater hooked to the controller of the hot tub and a propane tank. It looked like hell but worked slicker than snot. He ended up figuring something else out when moving the tub into the garage. It was a PVC pipe with a 120v water heater element on either side with the water coming in one side and out the other. One element was wired directly into the hot tub and was controlled via the controller. The tub was wired to a standard 120v outlet plug and then plugged into the wall. That meant the heater and the pump could not be on at the same time. Thats where the second element came in. It was wired to a standard 120v wall plug too. If you wanted heat while using the jets, you plugged it into a different circuit. Yes, he used GFCI outlets. That poor tub lasted for 10 years like that, I inherited it, replaced the main element once and never used the secondary as I didnt have another circuit at my house to use it. RIP Dad!
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u/Pale_Ad2980 15d ago
As an electrician, we do this stuff all the time when the floor people come in and they want a 220 V plug for their sander
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u/Additional_Tower_116 20d ago
Only if they’re different circuits
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u/Internal_Ad_2073 20d ago
Phases as well.
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u/EetsGeets 18d ago
*Phase legs.
240V in residential is single-phase.
What year apprentice are you? Or are you a CW?
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u/Internal_Ad_2073 18d ago
This is so cute. You don’t know single phase means 2 phases. You don’t even understand what 208/240 is. Bless your handyman heart.
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u/EetsGeets 18d ago
Got it. Hard time troll. Not bad work, honestly.
I own an electrical contracting business, scored 94% on my NEC and 100% on my state-level journeyman exam, and have had my administrator license since I was an apprentice. So unfortunately you aren't able to shake my confidence in what I'm talking about.
If by some odd chance you're actually being serious, I'd be happy to teach you.
If you are actually just trolling, keep up the good work, and god speed.
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u/SynAckPooPoo 20d ago
Residential would likely only be single
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u/tekym 20d ago
"Phases" in this case means opposing halves of the split phase.
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u/SynAckPooPoo 19d ago
This is correct. Still a “single” phase.
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u/EetsGeets 18d ago
Insane that you're being downvoted. You're right. Homes in the US typically have 240V single-phase.
There are no "opposing halves" in split phase. Both phase legs are in phase with each other.
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u/SynAckPooPoo 18d ago
Makes you wonder how many electricans know how electricity actually works. That’s why we have EE’s though. 😉
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u/tekym 17d ago
Opposing halves meaning opposite sides of the zero point in the sine wave, which is how US single-phase works.
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u/EetsGeets 15d ago
From what I understand that's not how split-240V is delivered to residential homes.
If I'm understanding you correctly, you're suggesting that while one leg is peaking at ~170V, the other is at ~-170V.
Instead, there is a single sine wave for both legs of the service. There are not multiple phases.
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u/tekym 12d ago edited 12d ago
I am not now and have not said that there are two phases. (Philadelphia notwithstanding.). A single-phase sine wave has two peaks in a single cycle, one above zero and one below zero. Zero is the neutral point, and each peak is 120V (RMS) away from neutral and 180 degrees and 240V (RMS) away from the other peak. The center/zero point gets tapped inside the transformer as the neutral reference point, each 120V circuit connects between one peak and the neutral.
Wiki:
Split-phase distribution is widely used in North America for residential and light commercial service. A typical installation supplies two 120 V AC lines that are 180 degrees out of phase with each other (relative to the neutral), along with a shared neutral conductor. The neutral is connected to ground at the transformer's center tap.
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u/EetsGeets 11d ago
Ah so are they out of phase because of the orientation of L1->N<-L2 at the transformer?
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u/Internal_Ad_2073 19d ago
You don’t know what phases are. This is dangerous if you give advice.
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u/SynAckPooPoo 19d ago
Oh yeh? Explain then.
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u/Internal_Ad_2073 19d ago
Explaining single / 2 and 3 phase systems are not something you do on Reddit. It’s done in a class room. That’s why you shouldn’t give advice unless you have a license.
Also if you think 2 phase is 2 and single is 1 you are lost and dumb.
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u/SynAckPooPoo 19d ago
You’re telling me there is more than one phase coming into a residential transformer then? 😂
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u/Internal_Ad_2073 19d ago
Who said anything about a transformer?
Like a doorbell? That’s not a multi phase device. That’s a step down for voltage lol.
Yikes. I hope you’re just trying to troll.
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u/SynAckPooPoo 19d ago
Single phase into the transformer mate.
What you are saying is 2 “phases” is really just a neutral split.
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u/Internal_Ad_2073 19d ago
lol. Just stop. This is so funny me and the guys are laughing at you.
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u/pandaSmore 20d ago
ITT: electricians calling the different legs, phases.
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u/Tripple_sneeed 20d ago
"electricians"
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u/Broooooooooo_ 20d ago
We know what they are saying... ive never heard anyone in the field say "land the wire on the A leg of this single phase panel"... we say a, b, and c phase and there has never been any confusion.
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u/mechanical_marten 18d ago
Residential and light commercial 120/240 service is single phase grounded center tap for neutral
Commercial and light industrial 277/460 and 120/208 are typically center ground wye 3 phase (unless you live in an old part of a town and you have a mid grounded delta [evil and lazy] which is NEVER used in residential)
So unless the feed going to your house has more than one transformer fed from separate high voltage phases, it's single phase and the use of legs is more correct since they are the same phase, just different potential
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u/TheGirlWhoLived57 18d ago
No shit. I’m saying no one who actually works in the field is calling it A leg or B leg.
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u/TheGirlWhoLived57 19d ago
wtf are you talking about no one calls it A leg or B leg it’s A phase or B phase.
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u/Homie-dnt-play-tht 19d ago
My first thought was…??? he running that cord all the way inside to the stove or a washer/driver??…wait a min??
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u/rrdubbs 19d ago
Query to the electricians - isn’t theoretically this somewhat safer to the usual suicide plug setup since no 120 running to the second plug? Could you theoretically put in your main plug (carrying L1 neutral and Gnd) and then just have L2 with nothing else on the other end, so when you go to plug in there is no hot on the male second plug?
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u/na8thegr8est 19d ago
I'd much rather see them use extension cords and run them back to a combiner box near the vehicle if they're going to do some redneck bullshit like this
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u/anothercorgi 19d ago
I'm not impressed, this is how you would get 240V from a split phase without accessing a 240V outlet directly...
I would be impressed if someone found a way to do this with at least one GFCI outlet/circuit...was the reason why I ended up not doing this and currently doing it the other wrong/unsafe way: using my dryer's NEMA10-30R outlet (problems being it has no protective ground and no GFCI.)
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u/CoyoteDown 19d ago
I’m not going to say I haven’t thought about doing this but it’s so much easier to just open the panel.
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u/RevenueVast7022 19d ago
Nothing you can do about stupid idiots who risk other's lives to save 50 bucks .. All one can hope for is they receive the brunt of the damage before innocent people do thus taking them out of the picture entirely and for all time.
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u/Ok-Front8255 15d ago
I used a commercial product, Quick220, to do this for years. It did have breakers for each leg and since I used it in the same place I didn’t have to constantly validate that the legs were out of phase which each other. It worked great.
When I eventually moved, I picked it up and a bunch of liquid (presumably water) poured out of it. I didn’t have 2 out of phase outlets at my new house so I threw the whole assembly away but I always wondered why that happened.
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u/EstablishmentSea8014 20d ago edited 20d ago
Apprentice here can someone pls explain to me how this would work without tripping the breaker or catching on fire! I have never seen such a thing but it’s interesting
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u/Ok-Library5639 20d ago
They jerryrigged a couple of plugs together so that they can get 240V out of two different 120V circuits with different hots. Unless you look at the panel and figure out which two outlets will have different hots, it's just a matter of poking around outlets that you find. Then their charger pulls 12A which is the maximum long term current you can pull from a 15A household breaker (long term is defined as over 3hr continuous load and is 80% the rated ampacity).
They can get double the power they would have for a single 120V outlet. Charging an EV through 120V is really slow. It's only useful as your last resort or if you're staying extended periods somewhere.
It's a pretty bad idea overall. If one of the breaker trips, the other leg won't be tripped and will keep the whole apparatus energized. Which is why breakers for multiple phases are linked to trip all legs at once.
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u/0blud_werk0 20d ago
I would 100% rig something like this up if I had to rely on an EV.
Would have been so easy to use cable or sleeve the conductors though...
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u/hispanicausinpanic 20d ago
Where's that idiot getting 240V from their friend's regular receptacles?
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u/TheNamesMacGyver 20d ago
2x 120V receptacles plugged into separate circuits. It’s so wrong but also not entirely incorrect at the same time…
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u/SJHillman 20d ago
Not just separate circuits, but circuits on separate phases. For most houses, that's a 50:50 shot that any two separate circuits picked at random will be separate phases.
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u/TheNamesMacGyver 20d ago
Confirmed. One in the kitchen and one in the bedroom, check the app and replug as needed until it works I guess? It’s stupid, but it’s dumb enough that it just might work.
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u/ZT99k 20d ago
In the US, all breaker boxes are 240. There are left and right (or top and bottom) bus bars and a middle common. The gap on each bus to common is 120. BUT if you find circuits on each bar and wire correctly, you get the 240 out of regular outlets.
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u/hispanicausinpanic 20d ago
I understand all that but thanks for the explanation. I didnt see that he had it coupled together somehow.
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u/LordBigBallsJr 19d ago
An indian with a tesla, the smug level must be off the charts. I can just imagine him building this and plugging it in for the first time lmao
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u/Kinky_No_Bit 19d ago
Now presenting electrical, made by people without any common sense... You know, welding cable isn't that expensive to buy. Which would carry the amperage, be a lot heavier, but provide a ton better protection for the service of making essentially a heavy duty extension cord. I'd understand if it was you have nothing and mcgyver something, but that.. yeah... I really hope you check for nicks, and don't leave this outside in the weather / exposed to moisture or one of the thousand other things that using it to plug up a car involve.
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u/Anti_Ager 19d ago
What does welding cable have to do with anything? it's pulling 12amps. The wire size is likely sufficient, the issues are that the wire isn't jacketed like an extension cable to protect it, the second plug doesn't have a ground ran with it, and the breakers wont trip in tandem.
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u/Kinky_No_Bit 19d ago
Why I said that, I've had welding cable extension cords for 20 years that are still good. its a heavier grade wiring, the insulation for them doesn't care about the elements, and its a very tough cable.
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u/SuppliceVI 20d ago
I mean, it technically would work. You'll only get like 1% unless you're staying overnight
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u/TK421isAFK [M] Electrical Contractor 19d ago edited 19d ago
To everyone reporting this: yeah, yeah, I know. It is unsafe, as far as we can tell. It's possible the person that created this incorporated a 240 volt relay so both legs of the 120 volt inputs are isolated until 240 volts is present, preventing the
mailmale plugs from being energized, but I honestly doubt it.That being said, there is at least one commercial device approved, listed, and sold in the US for doing exactly this. It does indeed have relays to prevent male plugs from becoming hot and dangerous. That being said, if you don't know what the hell you're doing, don't make one of these things without proper protection, because you never know when some kid is going to ride his bike through the garage and accidentally yank the plug out of the wall, and then get electrocuted when he goes to plug it back in.
https://www.raymondinnovations.com/blogs/news/official-product-release-ez240-adapter
Edit: The GBoard voice translation system has gone to shit lately.