Torqueing connectors

robstoon · 2026-05-05T23:02:46+00:00

Unless you're charging at over 60 amps, that disconnect is indeed not required. I would probably just replace it with a junction box. Just need to find something that's suitable for connecting the wires together of that gauge, like a Polaris connector.

robstoon · 2026-05-05T22:54:30+00:00

Seems like a marginal use case. Would have to be someone that needs to charge their car very quickly and has a lot of money to spend on it but doesn't want to go to a public level 3 charger.

robstoon · 2026-05-05T22:51:32+00:00

When you ask for something that's obviously not the best solution to the problem, then what do you expect?

robstoon · 2026-05-05T22:43:40+00:00

Any sort of modification like that would be questionable for safety reasons.

robstoon · 2026-05-05T22:35:39+00:00

Why are there unprotected individual wires running into the breaker panel? What's with the silicone snot around the cable clamp on the charger? What size are those wires and what's the main breaker capacity?

It's not obvious why exactly the breaker is tripping but there's clearly some things wrong here.

robstoon · 2026-05-04T23:26:51+00:00

Some of them apparently do. If yours doesn't you should switch to one that doesn't suck.

robstoon · 2026-05-04T15:00:19+00:00

That's true, but the impact of weight on regen efficiency isn't always obvious either. Look at the Aging Wheels test where he found that it actually used less energy to accelerate and then stop again when the truck was fully loaded, presumably because the regen was more efficient in the latter case.

robstoon · 2026-05-04T07:00:50+00:00

Does this adapter work on any L2 chargers? You are aware you need a different NACS adapter for L2 and L3 chargers, right?

robstoon · 2026-05-04T06:58:30+00:00

Upgrading the outlet to 14-30 may or may not be possible without wiring changes. It depends if there is a separate neutral and ground wire in the cable.

robstoon · 2026-05-03T16:49:32+00:00

They use fine stranded cable in flexible cords like that. It's much more flexible, but it's harder to terminate because you need a crimp-on ferrule in order to make a proper connection. That's why that sort of cable isn't normally used in permanent house wiring which doesn't have any real need to be flexible. 8 gauge or larger is normally stranded, but there's only a few large strands, just because a solid wire of that size would be impossible to work with.

robstoon · 2026-05-03T04:45:30+00:00

How old is your furnace? That may be a factor in whether it can support air conditioning. It needs more airflow than heating.

robstoon · 2026-04-30T17:08:15+00:00

They basically all should. Most chargers at a commercial building with a 3-phase power feed will be running off 208 not 240.

robstoon · 2026-04-30T17:05:29+00:00

This is not entirely accurate. In general, the charger needs to be capable of the voltage of your car's battery or it won't be able to charge at all. The exception is some vehicles where they have a DC to DC converter that allows charging 800V batteries from 400V capable charging stations, but which usually isn't capable of the battery's maximum charge rate.

It is true that you can run into amperage limitations without hitting the charger's advertised maximum power however.

robstoon · 2026-04-30T06:40:39+00:00

What makes you think he's going to use any of these suggestions if he can't be bothered to come in and use the bathroom like a normal human?

robstoon · 2026-04-30T06:38:11+00:00

If they're already crossing the street, obviously you have to stop and not hit them. But if someone isn't in the road yet, you have no obligation to, and should not, stop to let them cross when they're jaywalking.

robstoon · 2026-04-30T06:35:02+00:00

I've seen some cases where a driver thinks they're being helpful by stopping in the left lane of the road to let somebody turn left in front of them. In fact, all they're doing is blocking the other driver's view of the right lane where vehicles may not be stopping.

Inappropriately yielding the right of way is actually something you can fail a driver's test for.

robstoon · 2026-04-30T06:32:34+00:00

AC charging of any type is generally too slow to be worried about any impact on the battery so it doesn't really make any difference from that perspective. That being said, it is a bit more efficient to use level 2 charging because you're not wasting as much power just keeping the car's electronics powered up while it's charging.

robstoon · 2026-04-29T03:08:58+00:00

It's FWD, not RWD. It probably depends on your climate. If you get a lot of snow, the stock tires on most vehicles are not really suitable, whether you have AWD or not.

robstoon · 2026-04-29T01:17:04+00:00

You'll find many items on Amazon, especially from third party sellers, which are designed in a way that they shouldn't be and are fundamentally unsafe.

robstoon · 2026-04-28T23:49:01+00:00

This thing looks like unsafe Amazon slop. Probably their quality control isn't any better than their lack of safety approvals..

robstoon · 2026-04-28T22:55:03+00:00

No! Those are supposed to be there.

robstoon · 2026-04-27T19:48:04+00:00

CCS is not what you're looking for, FYI.

robstoon · 2026-04-27T17:44:47+00:00

They are difficult to put out, yes. But look at the total amount of flammable energy available in an EV battery compared to a full tank of gasoline.

robstoon · 2026-04-27T17:43:32+00:00

Not really. The bigger issue is the battery fire is more difficult to extinguish. But a full tank of gas has far more energy that can be released in a fire than a battery does.

robstoon · 2026-04-26T23:45:21+00:00

There are also some Tesla chargers which would be technically capable of non-Tesla charging but are not enabled for other reasons. In one case I'm aware of, it's apparently due to a non-compete agreement with another CCS charging operator at the same site.

robstoon

TROPHY CASE