General question about electricity

The_Green_Hornet

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.

Maybe so but the term is widely used and most people understand what is meant by it, namely it is a socket for a plug.

Plug Socket Buying Guide | Types of Socket | Screwfix

Plug Socket Buying Guide | Toolstation

Plug Socket | Find the Perfect Socket for Your Needs

Plug Socket | wickes.co.uk

MWT

tim_p said:

MWT said:

Exactly... you just need either the EV or the EVSE to be compatible and you can have IOG.

But obviously you’d have to manage the charge yourself as Octopus can’t talk to a granny charger as they would something like an Ohme or a Zappi. 

To get onto IOG and have Octopus manage your charging you just need a supported car (Tesla for example) or a supported EVSE (Zappi or Ohme for example).

Either will do, you do not need both, so your granny charger will do just fine as long as your car is compliant.

Gerry1

8

The_Green_Hornet said:

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.

Maybe so but the term is widely used and most people understand what is meant by it, namely it is a socket for a plug.

Or it's a plug for a socket!  It's obviously ambiguous.  'I need a new plug socket for my electric drill because it cracked when its lead hit the garage floor.'

The_Green_Hornet said:

Gerry1 said

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.

Maybe so but the term is widely used and most people understand what is meant by it, namely it is a socket for a plug.

Plug Socket Buying Guide | Types of Socket | Screwfix

Plug Socket Buying Guide | Toolstation

Plug Socket | Find the Perfect Socket for Your Needs

Plug Socket | wickes.co.uk

Doesn't make it correct.
If I said 'I put my smart meter in the draw', few people would think I was raffling my IHD. Same if I said 'the children waved their Union Jacks when the King passed by', few people would think they were using big poles.

Spoonie_Turtle

Gerry1 said:

8

The_Green_Hornet said:

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.

Maybe so but the term is widely used and most people understand what is meant by it, namely it is a socket for a plug.

Or it's a plug for a socket!  It's obviously ambiguous.  'I need a new plug socket for my electric drill because it cracked when its lead hit the garage floor.'

The_Green_Hornet said:

Gerry1 said

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.

Maybe so but the term is widely used and most people understand what is meant by it, namely it is a socket for a plug.

Plug Socket Buying Guide | Types of Socket | Screwfix

Plug Socket Buying Guide | Toolstation

Plug Socket | Find the Perfect Socket for Your Needs

Plug Socket | wickes.co.uk

Doesn't make it correct.
If I said 'I put my smart meter in the draw', few people would think I was raffling my IHD. Same if I said 'the children waved their Union Jacks when the King passed by', few people would think they were using big poles.

Context provides the clarification.  An electric drill obviously has a plug, no socket.  Nobody would call just a plug a 'plug socket'.  

Language changes as usage develops over time; dictionary definitions only describe what is widely understood and accepted by speakers of a language, they do not prescribe what is 'correct'.  
[Not a clue what point you were making with your other two examples.  If there were ambiguity most people would naturally add in extra words to clarify.]

Gerry1

Common mistakes to write 'draw' instead of 'drawer' and 'Union Jack' instead of 'Union Flag'.

Spoonie_Turtle

Gerry1 said:

Common mistakes to write 'draw' instead of 'drawer' and 'Union Jack' instead of 'Union Flag'.

So you proved precision is not an absolute necessity when context makes the meaning clear, since we understood what you meant by those sentences despite the 'mistakes'.

If you had actually meant 'draw' not 'drawer', the usual usage would refer to entering into a prize draw if the context weren't already evident.

Gerry1

It's derailed the thread, so we'll have to agree to disagree.

Qyburn

Gerry1 said:

 'Union Jack' instead of 'Union Flag'.

Unless it's on the jack staff.

Alnat1

The phrase plug socket shows what the socket is used for. There's more than one kind of socket.

We use the phrase tooth brush in the same way, you wouldn't want to get it confused with a toilet brush.

RedFraggle

Have you ensured the Dimplex Quantum's are set to charge correctly on your cheap overnight period? Probably yes but don't want you to get a large bill if they're not programmed correctly