General question about electricity

Moley27272

Last year I had an electrician come an take out two old power supplies and put a new single power unit in.
This year i bought an electric car and I use a 3 pin supply to charge overnight, (otherwise known as a granny chArger)  I'm on Octopus intelligent Go so my cheap rates are 23:30-5:30. I also use the the octopus app which on occasions allows me cheap rates for the house outside these hours. I'm retired so I don't need fast charging and I don't use the car for long distances. 

Two weeks ago i changed my radiators and bought 2 second hand Dimplex quantum G series , 150kwh and one 125kwh. They were installed a few days ago and I'm very happy with them.

So last night i plugged my car in to chArge overnight. This morning the cars 13amp plug has blown. It smells and is blackened and now in the bin. 

Am I overloading ? If I buy a new variable charger for the car that is 6-13 amp, will this work ? What are my options ? Maybe I need a second power supply? It maybe cheaper to buy a 7kwh car charger that also uses my cheaper overnight tarif. ? 

Thank you

MattMattMattUK

Moley27272 said:

Last year I had an electrician come an take out two old power supplies and put a new single power unit in.
This year i bought an electric car and I use a 3 pin supply to charge overnight, (otherwise known as a granny chArger)  I'm on Octopus intelligent Go so my cheap rates are 23:30-5:30. I also use the the octopus app which on occasions allows me cheap rates for the house outside these hours. I'm retired so I don't need fast charging and I don't use the car for long distances. 

Two weeks ago i changed my radiators and bought 2 second hand Dimplex quantum G series , 150kwh and one 125kwh. They were installed a few days ago and I'm very happy with them.

So last night i plugged my car in to chArge overnight. This morning the cars 13amp plug has blown. It smells and is blackened and now in the bin. 

When you say power supply, do you mean the consumer unit, the box on the wall with RCD/trip switches in?

Was it the plug or socket that has blown? Very unusual for the actual charging cable/plug to go. What power draw have you been pulling? Generally although a 13amp socket can supply 13 amps it is not designed to do so for hours at a time unless it is a heavy duty one, so sometimes the advice is to set the car to draw less, 10-11 amps instead.

Moley27272 said:

Am I overloading ? If I buy a new variable charger for the car that is 6-13 amp, will this work ? What are my options ? Maybe I need a second power supply? It maybe cheaper to buy a 7kwh car charger that also uses my cheaper overnight tarif. ? 

That comes down to cost and utility, you could just install a heavy duty 13 amp socket that would be fine, ideally a weatherproof one. You could install a commando socket, you could install a 7kW EV charger, but those increase in cost from a hundred up to a thousand depending on options, electrician, how much work is needed. Personally in your position and based on your description of your circumstances I would go with the heavy duty 13 amp socket. 

Gerry1

Moley27272 said:

Two weeks ago i changed my radiators and bought 2 second hand Dimplex quantum G series , 150kwh and one 125kwh. They were installed a few days ago and I'm very happy with them.

A load of more than a quarter of a MegaWatt?  You won't need any lightbulbs, your wires will be glowing !

Moley27272

MattMattMattUK said:

Moley27272 said:

Last year I had an electrician come an take out two old power supplies and put a new single power unit in.
This year i bought an electric car and I use a 3 pin supply to charge overnight, (otherwise known as a granny chArger)  I'm on Octopus intelligent Go so my cheap rates are 23:30-5:30. I also use the the octopus app which on occasions allows me cheap rates for the house outside these hours. I'm retired so I don't need fast charging and I don't use the car for long distances. 

Two weeks ago i changed my radiators and bought 2 second hand Dimplex quantum G series , 150kwh and one 125kwh. They were installed a few days ago and I'm very happy with them.

So last night i plugged my car in to chArge overnight. This morning the cars 13amp plug has blown. It smells and is blackened and now in the bin. 

When you say power supply, do you mean the consumer unit, the box on the wall with RCD/trip switches in?

Was it the plug or socket that has blown? Very unusual for the actual charging cable/plug to go. What power draw have you been pulling? Generally although a 13amp socket can supply 13 amps it is not designed to do so for hours at a time unless it is a heavy duty one, so sometimes the advice is to set the car to draw less, 10-11 amps instead.

Moley27272 said:

Am I overloading ? If I buy a new variable charger for the car that is 6-13 amp, will this work ? What are my options ? Maybe I need a second power supply? It maybe cheaper to buy a 7kwh car charger that also uses my cheaper overnight tarif. ? 

That comes down to cost and utility, you could just install a heavy duty 13 amp socket that would be fine, ideally a weatherproof one. You could install a commando socket, you could install a 7kW EV charger, but those increase in cost from a hundred up to a thousand depending on options, electrician, how much work is needed. Personally in your position and based on your description of your circumstances I would go with the heavy duty 13 amp socket. 

thank you. Yes by power supply I mean the box on the wall with trip switches. It was the plug that blew and the 13 amp fuse had broken. The plug socket outside is also black and cracked, it still has the red light on - have I just had a near miss?  I have found charging cables come with variable amps, 6-13amps.  How can I tell if the outside socket is 13amp, or indeed suitable for my needs. ?

born_again

Moley27272 said:

thank you. Yes by power supply I mean the box on the wall with trip switches. It was the plug that blew and the 13 amp fuse had broken. The plug socket outside is also black and cracked, it still has the red light on - have I just had a near miss?  I have found charging cables come with variable amps, 6-13amps.  How can I tell if the outside socket is 13amp, or indeed suitable for my needs. ?

This is one reason these chargers are for emergency only.
Please invest in a proper wall box. Yes they cost more, but what price do you put on your lives?

Moley27272

born_again said:

Moley27272 said:

thank you. Yes by power supply I mean the box on the wall with trip switches. It was the plug that blew and the 13 amp fuse had broken. The plug socket outside is also black and cracked, it still has the red light on - have I just had a near miss?  I have found charging cables come with variable amps, 6-13amps.  How can I tell if the outside socket is 13amp, or indeed suitable for my needs. ?

This is one reason these chargers are for emergency only.
Please invest in a proper wall box. Yes they cost more, but what price do you put on your lives?

I accept what you say but nowhere does it say these chargers are for emergency only. I don't use my car for long journeys, some days I don't use my car. So charging slowly over a 6/7 hour period suits me.

Gerry1

Moley27272 said:

MattMattMattUK said:

Moley27272 said:

Last year I had an electrician come an take out two old power supplies and put a new single power unit in.
This year i bought an electric car and I use a 3 pin supply to charge overnight, (otherwise known as a granny chArger)  I'm on Octopus intelligent Go so my cheap rates are 23:30-5:30. I also use the the octopus app which on occasions allows me cheap rates for the house outside these hours. I'm retired so I don't need fast charging and I don't use the car for long distances. 

Two weeks ago i changed my radiators and bought 2 second hand Dimplex quantum G series , 150kwh and one 125kwh. They were installed a few days ago and I'm very happy with them.

So last night i plugged my car in to chArge overnight. This morning the cars 13amp plug has blown. It smells and is blackened and now in the bin. 

When you say power supply, do you mean the consumer unit, the box on the wall with RCD/trip switches in?

Was it the plug or socket that has blown? Very unusual for the actual charging cable/plug to go. What power draw have you been pulling? Generally although a 13amp socket can supply 13 amps it is not designed to do so for hours at a time unless it is a heavy duty one, so sometimes the advice is to set the car to draw less, 10-11 amps instead.

Moley27272 said:

Am I overloading ? If I buy a new variable charger for the car that is 6-13 amp, will this work ? What are my options ? Maybe I need a second power supply? It maybe cheaper to buy a 7kwh car charger that also uses my cheaper overnight tarif. ? 

That comes down to cost and utility, you could just install a heavy duty 13 amp socket that would be fine, ideally a weatherproof one. You could install a commando socket, you could install a 7kW EV charger, but those increase in cost from a hundred up to a thousand depending on options, electrician, how much work is needed. Personally in your position and based on your description of your circumstances I would go with the heavy duty 13 amp socket. 

The plug socket outside is also black and cracked

No such thing as a 'plug socket', it's either one or the other.  If it's fixed to the wall it's just a socket.

lohr500

I stand to be corrected, but I think most granny chargers are rated at 10 amps max. (Or at least most of them were when I was shopping around for a second one for my Mitsubishi PHEV a few years back).

I suspect the issue you have had will be due to a poor quality wall socket, rather than the plug on the granny charger (assuming it was the original molded plug on the charger and not a replacement one that has been fitted manually).


As MattMattMattUK suggests, get the socket replaced with a good quality heavy duty one such as MK.

I only ever charged my PHEV using a 13 amp socket and never had any issues with overheated plugs or sockets.  

Netexporter

A granny charger will find any defect in wiring, eventually. It's why you shouldn't use them with extension leads, as it adds more points of potential failure. (I've got the scorched lead to prove it!)

Moley27272

Gerry1 said:

Moley27272 said:

MattMattMattUK said:

Moley27272 said:

Last year I had an electrician come an take out two old power supplies and put a new single power unit in.
This year i bought an electric car and I use a 3 pin supply to charge overnight, (otherwise known as a granny chArger)  I'm on Octopus intelligent Go so my cheap rates are 23:30-5:30. I also use the the octopus app which on occasions allows me cheap rates for the house outside these hours. I'm retired so I don't need fast charging and I don't use the car for long distances. 

Two weeks ago i changed my radiators and bought 2 second hand Dimplex quantum G series , 150kwh and one 125kwh. They were installed a few days ago and I'm very happy with them.

So last night i plugged my car in to chArge overnight. This morning the cars 13amp plug has blown. It smells and is blackened and now in the bin. 

When you say power supply, do you mean the consumer unit, the box on the wall with RCD/trip switches in?

Was it the plug or socket that has blown? Very unusual for the actual charging cable/plug to go. What power draw have you been pulling? Generally although a 13amp socket can supply 13 amps it is not designed to do so for hours at a time unless it is a heavy duty one, so sometimes the advice is to set the car to draw less, 10-11 amps instead.

Moley27272 said:

Am I overloading ? If I buy a new variable charger for the car that is 6-13 amp, will this work ? What are my options ? Maybe I need a second power supply? It maybe cheaper to buy a 7kwh car charger that also uses my cheaper overnight tarif. ? 

That comes down to cost and utility, you could just install a heavy duty 13 amp socket that would be fine, ideally a weatherproof one. You could install a commando socket, you could install a 7kW EV charger, but those increase in cost from a hundred up to a thousand depending on options, electrician, how much work is needed. Personally in your position and based on your description of your circumstances I would go with the heavy duty 13 amp socket. 

The plug socket outside is also black and cracked

No such thing as a 'plug socket', it's either one or the other.  If it's fixed to the wall it's just a socket.

Then its a socket I plug into

Moley27272

Netexporter said:

A granny charger will find any defect in wiring, eventually. It's why you shouldn't use them with extension leads, as it adds more points of potential failure. (I've got the scorched lead to prove it!)

nope I don't use extension lead. Its fitted outside and I drive 1 metre from it to plug my car in