[charlesH]

There is often a difference in the voltage transient protection components between 120VAC and 240VAC devices and that is one reason why there can be a warning not to operate something rated at 120VAC on a higher voltage. That may not be the case for the Kia L1 EVSE but I haven't seen an evaluation of the circuits to know for sure. If the higher voltage causes the transient protection devices to fail, the input fuse to the EVSE may blow or it may just loose the voltage transient protection without any indication of a problem. Without some engineering evaluation of the L1 EVSE, it's not a good idea to be using it on a higher voltage even if it appears to be working OK. If an L2 EVSE is available for less than $200, spend the money and don't take a chance of damaging the battery charger in the car.

What makes you think there is any transient protection in the Niro evse? Do you have an circuit diagram of an evse with transient protection?

From all the evse circuit diagram examples I've seen the 120/240V connects to a 12V power supply IC and a relay. Nothing else. 120/240v compatible 5-12V IC power supplies are pretty standard in the world and sold by the millions.

But like I said. Use at your own risk. $200 is not a lot if you need it to sleep well.

 

[JnTX]

I'm sure the EVSE units that come with Fords and Chevrolets have transient voltage suppression in them because I have seen the diagrams. Most of the build-it-yourself EVSE units do not have it. I don't know if the chargers in the cars depend on the external transient suppression or if it is only to protect the EVSE itself. Without more information, I am reluctant to run something designed for 120VAC operation on a higher voltage.

 

[charlesH]

I'm sure the EVSE units that come with Fords and Chevrolets have transient voltage suppression in them because I have seen the diagrams. Most of the build-it-yourself EVSE units do not have it. I don't know if the chargers in the cars depend on the external transient suppression or if it is only to protect the EVSE itself. Without more information, I am reluctant to run something designed for 120VAC operation on a higher voltage.

I would be very interested in a link to any evse circuit diagram you think useful.

 

[jmurphEV]

I'm sure the EVSE units that come with Fords and Chevrolets have transient voltage suppression in them because I have seen the diagrams. Most of the build-it-yourself EVSE units do not have it. I don't know if the chargers in the cars depend on the external transient suppression or if it is only to protect the EVSE itself. Without more information, I am reluctant to run something designed for 120VAC operation on a higher voltage.

I would speculate that any commercially available EVSE from a reputable manufacturer would have TVS on the AC input. That's the most sensible point to place the protective circuit as it protects everything from the EVSE logic to the relays and offers some layer of protection for the vehicle. I agree that converting a unit designed for 120 to 240 risks damaging any component not rated for the higher voltage. Will it work? Absolutely. Will it last as long as a purpose built level 2 charger? Maybe. I wouldn't be surprised if a global company like Kia used the same basic EVSE and just attached the appropriate line cord for a given region. That alone might be the reason for the lower voltage rating on the US spec version. The NEMA 5-15 connector is only rated for 125V so just attaching that to an EVSE that can otherwise handle 240VAC would lower the approved rating to 120VAC.

[csb]In an old job we had a machine shop set up and one of the 120VAC outlets was mistakenly wired for 240VAC by the contractor. I got a wicked surprise when I plugged a ShopVac into it for the first time. > [/csb]

 

[tigerucla]

When we got our Chevy Volt in 2017, I read up a lot on their EVSE (specifically this thread: https://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread.php?218442-2016-Volt-120v-EVSE-is-L1-L2-Conversion-Capable). It gave me enough confidence to make a pigtail adapter to fit our dryer outlet, and I've been charging our Volt on L2 ever since. (I used beefy components, like 10 gauge wires and lockable connectors, and labelled it in bright yellow and red to discourage anyone from plugging anything else into it.) I find it is more useful on the Volt than the Niro, due to the larger battery (we have a Niro PHEV). We have not felt the need to charge L2 on the Niro yet, but we can use the Volt's EVSE plugged into 240V if need be.

For those interested in building an adapter, there's lots of great info in that thread, including many disclaimers that you do it at your own risk. But considering the number of people doing it without incidence, and the electricians who've taken apart the Volt EVSE to determine that all the components are compatible with 240 volts, I would say it's definitely successful for the Volt EVSE. And, as jmurphEV said, Kia probably used the same basic EVSE for all regions, so it would probably work for the Niro EVSE as well.

Good luck, and happy EV driving!

 

[charlesH]

When we got our Chevy Volt in 2017, I read up a lot on their EVSE (specifically this thread: https://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread.php?218442-2016-Volt-120v-EVSE-is-L1-L2-Conversion-Capable). It gave me enough confidence to make a pigtail adapter to fit our dryer outlet, and I've been charging our Volt on L2 ever since. (I used beefy components, like 10 gauge wires and lockable connectors, and labelled it in bright yellow and red to discourage anyone from plugging anything else into it.) I find it is more useful on the Volt than the Niro, due to the larger battery (we have a Niro PHEV). We have not felt the need to charge L2 on the Niro yet, but we can use the Volt's EVSE plugged into 240V if need be.

For those interested in building an adapter, there's lots of great info in that thread, including many disclaimers that you do it at your own risk. But considering the number of people doing it without incidence, and the electricians who've taken apart the Volt EVSE to determine that all the components are compatible with 240 volts, I would say it's definitely successful for the Volt EVSE. And, as jmurphEV said, Kia probably used the same basic EVSE for all regions, so it would probably work for the Niro EVSE as well.

Good luck, and happy EV driving!

This fact is reassuring.

Thus far after a full week of use, the only difference for the evse I've noticed between operating in L1 mode vs L2 mode is charge times are cut in half.

 

[jmurphEV]

The in me is curious to try this but the in me figures that I don't really care about charge time at home and plus I'd have to install a 240VAC circuit in my garage so why risk it. But then the :nerd: in me loves electrical work and sort of wants to install such a circuit so to say I'm a bit about this would be an understatement. >

Thanks a lot @charlesH

 

[atc98092]

The in me is curious to try this but the in me figures that I don't really care about charge time at home and plus I'd have to install a 240VAC circuit in my garage so why risk it. But then the :nerd: in me loves electrical work and sort of wants to install such a circuit so to say I'm a bit about this would be an understatement. >

Thanks a lot @charlesH

I was fortunate that I had an unused 220v circuit in my breaker box, since I had disposed of my hot tub after 25 years. But I did have to pull the wires out of the conduit, add some new conduit in my garage to feed a new outlet for my EVSE. Cost me less then $10 by reusing materials I had, and since the circuit was already in my service I didn't feel the need to apply for a permit. But I'm also comfortable working within an energized breaker box. I would caution anyone that has the slightest uneasiness to let an electrician do the work.

 

[Ptrs]

During the lease of my 2016 Soul EV, I purchased an upgraded Nissan Panasonic EVSE, and I am using that as my back up EVSE in my Niro. I bought adapters for it, so I van pul into a few different outlets from a standard home 120v to a NEMA14-50 240v 50 amp. The maximum amp the EVSE will allow is 16 am because of the size of the cable that used to be an L1.
An added advantage of purchasing this is I can change the amount of amp drawn by the EVSE, so if I am connected to an outlet that will easily trip, I can dial it down — not needed in the Niro because you can do this from inside the car.

The final primary reason I did this is that I leased my Soul and did not want to deal with returning the EVSE that came with the car to its original state.

 

[Roadkill401]

Make one of these for $20

Just so you are aware. the evdoubler120 will only work if the two elecrical plugs are out of phase from each other. The way you get your 240 volts is you have two 120v AC lines out of phase, so when one line is at +120v the other line is at -120v, so the difference between them is your 240v. If you were to plug that adaptor into two outlets that are in phase, then you'd have effectivly no voltage at all as there would be no voltage difference between the two lines. Just a heads up incase someone buys one of those and can't get it to work.

 

[atc98092]

Just so you are aware. the evdoubler120 will only work if the two elecrical plugs are out of phase from each other. The way you get your 240 volts is you have two 120v AC lines out of phase, so when one line is at +120v the other line is at -120v, so the difference between them is your 240v. If you were to plug that adaptor into two outlets that are in phase, then you'd have effectivly no voltage at all as there would be no voltage difference between the two lines. Just a heads up incase someone buys one of those and can't get it to work.

I've seen those advertised, and none of them explain what "2 separate circuits" really means. The odds of two outlets on different circuits being close enough together for those short cables to reach is almost non-existent. And even if you used an extension cord for one leg, even plugged into a completely different circuit doesn't mean you're connecting to the 2nd line feed. I doubt many people understand how residential homes are actually wired at the breaker box.

 

[jmurphEV]

I've seen those advertised, and none of them explain what "2 separate circuits" really means. The odds of two outlets on different circuits being close enough together for those short cables to reach is almost non-existent. And even if you used an extension cord for one leg, even plugged into a completely different circuit doesn't mean you're connecting to the 2nd line feed. I doubt many people understand how residential homes are actually wired at the breaker box.

Yeah the chances of this actually working are at best 50-50 and probably much less. I can't imagine many garages have outlets on two separate circuits, let alone on opposing phases.

 

[Spiritwalker2222]

I've seen those advertised, and none of them explain what "2 separate circuits" really means. The odds of two outlets on different circuits being close enough together for those short cables to reach is almost non-existent. And even if you used an extension cord for one leg, even plugged into a completely different circuit doesn't mean you're connecting to the 2nd line feed. I doubt many people understand how residential homes are actually wired at the breaker box.

Agreed. I've added a lot of 5-15 plugs on 3 different circuits in my garage, but I believe the closest separate circuits are still 5 feet apart. But why would I use that when I have a dedicated 240 outlet that I know will not be overloaded as it's not daisy chained to however many plugs.

The only people I see buying the 2 NEMA 5-15 plugs would probably not know any better and connect them into a paired receptacle and wonder why the circuit keeps tripping.

 

[Nellie]

The two standard plug approach is very common in the boating world. I have used a few different commercially made doublers that allow one to supply a boats 50 amp 220 volt requirement by plugging into two separate 30 amp 110 volt outlets. It often means trying different pedestal outlets until you find two that are out of phase but there is nothing sketchy about the approach if you understand what you’re doing. In my example of course, the boat gets 220 volts but 30 amps, not 50.
On the subject of sleeping soundly I would have as much or more faith in a home brewed higher voltage solution than the cheapest no-name EVSE you can buy on amazon. Just my opinion.

 

[charlesH]

Thanks. We all would love to hear back from you in a month, including your charging time.

One month and counting, still working great. Full charge time 3.25 hrs. ~8 miles per hr.

 

[atc98092]

One month and counting, still working great. Full charge time 3.25 hrs. ~8 miles per hr.

That's quite a bit of time difference compared to my 16a L2 EVSE. I go from drained (~16%) to full in 2 hrs 25 minutes top. The cost of the L2 was certainly worthwhile for me, because that extra hour to charge would mean some of my top-off charges wouldn't completely fill it between trips.

 

[charlesH]

That's quite a bit of time difference compared to my 16a L2 EVSE. I go from drained (~16%) to full in 2 hrs 25 minutes top. The cost of the L2 was certainly worthwhile for me, because that extra hour to charge would mean some of my top-off charges wouldn't completely fill it between trips.

well it's only 3hrs 15 min. (3.25 hrs) ?

difference between 12 and 16 amps

 

[atc98092]

well it's only 3hrs 15 min. (3.25 hrs) ?

difference between 12 and 16 amps

Yeah, but that still means it's almost 50% longer compared to my 16 amp EVSE. Those hours add up!

 

[EVDoctor4Earth]

For at least the US version, it is specifically labeled 120v only. Yeah, I wouldn't try it. 16 amp L2 chargers just aren't that expensive. I think mine was under $200.

We offer a fool proof way to test your L1 charger for 240V operation. And if we haven't verified your particular charger we offer a FREE EVDOUBLER for both 120V and 240V outlets. We examine the internal circuits to look for the '240V European Design'. If so you are good to go. Browse the web for our 'List of EVDOUBLER 240V Compatible Vehicles' Charge in 1/2 the time.

 

[EVDoctor4Earth]

I can't feel any warming in the cable after an hour of charging. The cable is AWG 12 which if overkill for 12 amps so I'm not surprised there is no noticeable warming.

Hey this is EVDoctor - You will not feel any warming in the cable or the charger because the heating (power loss) is proportional to the current not the voltage. It is always a good idea to check the temperature of your plugs. (luke warm is ok, hot like coffee is not). The current through the charger is 12A when running at 120V or 240V. The power delivered to the vehicle is 2x as much at 240V (power = Volts * Amps). For more information on 240V operation check our website www.evdoctor.net, You could also browse the web for the 'List of 240V EVDOUBLER compatible Vehicles'. We will be offering an EVDOUBLER kit shortly with all the parts and professional instructions.