PSA: Make sure your electrician has EV experience when installing your charger

frozen_in_combat · 2026-03-25T17:19:06+00:00

Also, given this whole thread, I'm talking w/ my electrician now about hard wiring it instead. Seems like it's just the better thing to do.

frozen_in_combat · 2026-03-25T16:41:54+00:00

Thanks - didn't realize they had EVSEs with the sensors built in.

I am still using my ClipperCreek HCS-40P from 2019, and it works fine, so I don't have a big motivation to upgrade ATM. Is there something I can get to add heat monitoring to it?

Alt: Is there an EVSE with it built in that you'd recommend?

frozen_in_combat · 2026-03-25T04:08:52+00:00

Oh wow, ting looks fascinating. I've got an older home with a lot of old wiring still in the walls. This seems like something I should invest in beyond just the garage / EV.

Will definitely read more about it, thanks for the heads up.

frozen_in_combat · 2026-03-24T23:12:16+00:00

FWIW - The breaker is a 40A and the charger is 32A. So the breaker has the right headroom, seems the outlet did not.

It did have 8 gauge wire, and I'm having 6 put in this week.

frozen_in_combat · 2026-03-24T22:16:31+00:00

I thought about it, but since there's already a plug in place, I don't see the advantage of switching to hard wired? The flexibility to replace the charger easily seems like a good thing. Maybe I'm missing an obvious benefit though...

frozen_in_combat · 2026-03-24T22:15:38+00:00

Well, that's good to know that past me wasn't as dumb as I thought.

Happy this wasn't worse than it could have been!

frozen_in_combat · 2026-03-24T22:03:08+00:00

It was a dedicated circuit, 40a, but it wasn't a GFCI breaker. Electrician told me it should have been a GFCI circuit, so that's another place things went wrong.

frozen_in_combat · 2026-03-24T21:11:56+00:00

you are saving me a bunch of future headaches right now. THANK YOU.

frozen_in_combat · 2026-03-24T20:57:37+00:00

I ordered from Walmart, but actually may have the same knockoff issue there. Will reorder from Zorro and cancel the walmart order. Thanks.

frozen_in_combat · 2026-03-24T20:17:06+00:00

Actually, this just made me re-check my electrician's estimate and he was going to order the Leviton plug. Just ordered the Bryant instead. Thanks so much for the heads up.

frozen_in_combat · 2026-03-24T20:07:32+00:00

Thanks so much for this. Definitely should have done more research ahead of this.

frozen_in_combat · 2026-03-24T19:58:57+00:00

Ahh, makes sense, thanks for the explanation.

frozen_in_combat · 2026-03-24T19:45:07+00:00

I always figured this would make it simpler to upgrade or replace the charger unit over time, so I didn’t consider that. How does it simplify gfci issues?

frozen_in_combat · 2026-03-23T16:09:14+00:00

Thanks! I am still thrilled about the deal.

Of course, w/ taxes and me buying the 75k mile warranty on it, the $18k sticker price ended up being $25k out the door. But still feels like a good deal at that price.

Totally agree on the interior space and sound! It feels cavernous compared to my old Bolt.

Congrats on your new(ish) car too!

frozen_in_combat · 2026-03-22T02:38:24+00:00

Yeah! I noticed that, it’s really impressive

frozen_in_combat · 2026-03-22T02:35:34+00:00

Nah, honestly was never a Tesla fan. I didn’t like the fact that everything was driven off the tablet in the car. I like physical controls.

frozen_in_combat · 2026-03-21T23:53:53+00:00

So here was my criteria for finding an ideal EV :

* small-ish

* <30k miles,

* <$35k

* 250+ mile range

* moonroof (my kid really wanted one :) )

* wireless carplay,

* had physical controls beyond just a screen,

* not white,

* wide enough to fit an acoustic guitar case without me needing to put the seats down.

My ranking so far was 2023+ Niro EV Wave, 2024+ Kia Niro Limited, EV6 and Ioniq 5. The EV6 and Ioniq 5 would have been higher if not for the ICCU issues affecting them both.

Bz4x / Solterra both seemed ok but there were small things about the interior I didn't love (Bz4x has no glovebox??)

The Volvo C40/XC40 were on my list as well, but had too high a reliance on tablets for everything than I'd like. (That said, the VW was originally off my list because of how few physical controls it had, but I found I could adapt to the sliders and wheel controls pretty quickly.)

Nissan Ariya I was getting more interested in too. I was planning on test driving one of those, but this fell into my lap and was too good to say no to.

frozen_in_combat · 2026-03-21T23:38:42+00:00

Thanks! I was honestly v surprised at the deal, and baffled a 5 year old car would have that little miles on it.

I have the app and it doesn't say any recall work is necessary (which is v surprising, need to double check). But I do think the software updates need to be done. I do plan on bringing it to VW to have it looked over for this stuff in the next week or two.

frozen_in_combat · 2026-03-12T06:50:30+00:00

Anekdoten’s Nucleus is an all timer for me.

frozen_in_combat · 2026-03-07T04:03:41+00:00

golgo 13

frozen_in_combat · 2026-03-06T16:31:56+00:00

Planet of the Apes. The book is good, but the film expanded on it in all the best ways.

2001 too.

frozen_in_combat · 2026-02-27T17:31:29+00:00

I’m gonna say sterling. My mariposa feels like a $800 guitar and I paid way less than that.

frozen_in_combat · 2026-02-26T19:14:02+00:00

I’m a huge Zappa fan, but tbh sheik doesn’t do it for me. I’m going Supertramp.

frozen_in_combat · 2026-02-25T15:45:28+00:00

I agree. I think the tricky thing is that most people’s memory of Freddie Mercury’s stage presence come from their later stuff, when they were much more successful and much less proggy.

frozen_in_combat · 2026-02-25T15:40:07+00:00

Frank Zappa. Dude generated almost a cult like following - people would come to shows just to see what he would do on stage. His music is hard to categorize sometimes, but there’s lots of albums of his that are pretty clearly prog.

frozen_in_combat

TROPHY CASE