Kill-a-Watt question for power gurus

[AySz88]

Used mine for 3 months with it plugged in 24/7 and the 110V EVSE plugged into it 24/7. When I stopped using it after my 224 V system was installed I found the outlet on the Kill-a-Watt charred and partially melted. I had even installed a new outlet in the garage before I installed the Kill-a-Watt. It still works but I won't use it long term again.

Was this the old (now recalled) 110V EVSE? I wonder if it may not have been the kill-a-watt, but the EVSE.

[Henry_FL]

The old ESEV ( orange color both cords ) did run very hot on the Kill-a-watt, the new one is just warm and no issues

[Mike-o-Matic]

Attachment 5812Attachment 5813

had mine connect for about 4 months now, 24/7

Thanks for posting these photos. I just put up a dedicated outlet yesterday, but don't have the EVSE on hand yet, so they're very useful pictures.

On a related note, here's a PDF I found that shows how to locate the mount plate for the 120V EVSE. I don't know the original source URL but I've rehosted it here: http://webpages.charter.net/flume/vo...SE-install.pdf

Thanks everybody, for your very informative inputs. I will probably take off my Kill-a-Watt after a couple of days, once I have a good idea what's up through that socket.

[Henry_FL]

If you look at my pictures closely, I mounted the base for the ESEV on 3/4" stands off's. This compensates for the Kill-a-watt bumping the plug out and keeps the cord from flexing/stressing the kill-a-watt socket. Another benefit is it helps keep the chargers base a bit cooler will air flow on the back-side

[Mike-o-Matic]

If you look at my pictures closely, I mounted the base for the ESEV on 3/4" stands off's. This compensates for the Kill-a-watt bumping the plug out and keeps the cord from flexing/stressing the kill-a-watt socket. Another benefit is it helps keep the chargers base a bit cooler will air flow on the back-side

Thanks for pointing that out. I surface-mounted a box, rather than flush-mounting the outlet. Here's a picture of the panel and outlet I installed. Naturally, it sticks out pretty far, so I'm likely to need standoffs as well.



Elsewhere, I saw somebody else's install that used large bicycle hooks for easy EVSE hanging and removal, plus easy cable routing. That seemed like a good solution as well, but I'd like to use the purpose-built bracket, as I'm not planning to take my EVSE with me very often.

[Mike-o-Matic]

I replaced the duplex AC receptacle in the wall with one that has a receptacle on the bottom and a switch on the top (Home Depot). The switch on the top controls the receptacle on the bottom. The 110V EVSE is plugged into the bottom and when I'm not using it, I just press the rocker switch above it to turn turn it off.

That's a nice solution. When I did my box, I was undecided about the need for switching, what vampire power usage the EVSE would draw, etc. So I used a double-wide so that I can add a switch easily later. I just need to swap out the faceplate.

[cnicholson]

I just wanted to put in another plug for the iMeter Solo, which is basically a networked kill-a-watt (remotely read and track instant load and cumulative use). It's a nice solution for anyone into home automation stuff. It is an Insteon device. They offer a remote screen, so you don't even need a computer.

It is also easy to put an Insteon relay/switch between the iMeter and the EVSE and, for example, add a rule that says "when load is less than 10 watts for 10 minutes, cut off all power to EVSE (if you were worried about vampire draw). You could then re-energize the EVSE on a timed basis or with a click on your iPhone (or whatever).

[Wolfman]

Nice installs. I just bought the goods to add a dedicated outlet for mine. I have two outlets in the entire garage, and both are on the same circuit. When the car is charging, I cannot do anything else.

[Jedi2155]

One of my coworkers did fry a Kill-a-watt meter while using it on a Volt. He mentioned that it lists the max power, not the max continuous power on the Kill-A-Watt. Although he was running it longer than most since he lived in a cold area (thus the battery heater probably pulled a lot more power over that period.). I haven't had a problem with my kill-a-watt 120v EVSE.