Hi everyone! So after a long and torturous time with the end of my Gen 3, I was able to get a 2017 Prime Premium. I've spent hours on the site looking up the info for this oft-asked question (I believe), but the search doesn't work very well and there's so much info that I'm pretty confused. Then again, I usually am! Ok, so the only outlet I have that's on the outside of my home is a NEMA 6-20 plug at 240v on a 20A breaker (that made it sound like I know about electricity!). I know that the EVSE has a switching-type power thingy (coming from the music world, that's a very common type of thing for our power supplies- just swap out the IEC cable and you're good), so I'd like to plug it in to 240 but it's only got the standard connector. So my choices are- make an adapter (fine with me, but I can't seem to find a list of the specific parts I would need for a 6-20), buy something I found on Amazon/Ebay called the "ev doubler" at 60 bucks (ok, not too bad, any experiencers?), or buy an EVSE on Amazon that's around 125 bucks (starting to hurt now, I'm in a time of great financial strain) and that is by one of those companies with the Crazy Name Department that probably is employing trained seals to make their products. I'm sure they're fine but it would be cool to hear an endorsement. Any adapter or that type of device would only be in my car so there's no danger of anyone trying to use it to power their hair dryer or something. Because outside hair dryers are important when out in the field So what would you guys do? Worse comes to worse I suppose there must be some kind of step-down doohickey to bring it down to 'normal' power, but that seems silly. Much appreciate the time and please don't snark at me, I really did a lot of searching and reading and I guess I'm just dense! Thanks! O C
The EVSE has a fused temp sensor in the NEMA 5-15r or 5-15p (whichever it actually is), I've read here at priuschat, kinda sounds legit but it's not important enough to me to verify. If you can't find a pig tail that fits both the outlet and the OEMs EVSEs plug for sale, because it can't pass local code(s), than you'd have to make you own, Or The legit way it to buy an EVSE with a NEMA 6-20 plug that fits your outlet. Does that sound like what you'd hear from your contemporaries in the music business?
Ha ha, no, they’d say “what are you babbling about?” and then ask me how I’ve managed to survive this long in our industry! Also “legit” and “music business” in the same sentence is equally amusing…! What I’ve actually found today reading bazillions more posts is that the Rob43 pigtail would be the way to go, as long as you keep it away from any situation where someone else might try to use it. In my case I would affix it to the EVSE which I keep locked in the car anyway, and also my outdoor 240v panel is in a location that I can’t fathom what or why anyone would use it all. Of course, he’s apparently not around anymore so that’s that. That said, I’m a little leery of doing it myself, I’ve made bazillions of audio cables but those don’t try to kill me. Although the result of plugging them in might cause someone to want to kill me. The EV Doubler thing looks to basically be another version of the pigtail adapter (please, please correct me if I’m wrong!), and at 50 some-odd dollars (I’ve got eBay coupons!) would be fine. I do like the idea of doing it on my own. It’s those Amazon EVSEs though. I just don’t know about them. If it’s anything like the music industry, then those off-brand versions of reputable gear will have terrible quality parts inside and be more of an issue than a homemade kludge made with quality parts, and the peace of mind of knowing what actual parts they are. Like I said, if anyone would like to endorse one, I’m all ears. But if it has to be modded in anyway or the like, nope, no thanks. As an aside, I love this car! I still can’t believe I got one, it was a crazy bunch of coincidences that I was even able to (the story is in the gen. 3 section, although it’s exceedingly boring!). I was really helped by several forum members and that set up the chain reaction that got me from a Gen 3 Three 2012 with a blown head gasket AND the dreaded ABS issue that Toyota refuses to fix to this car now. This forum is great. O C
Rob45 has other Great Gen 4 threads here ie: wheel fitment, 12 volt charging, etc. Should check them out too. he stopped posting a few years ago, I can't help but wonder if this pigtail might have contributed to him no longer posting, since it doesn't meet code ( anywhere, at least that I know of, anyways). Not that that stopped me either, I made my own version, that I'm too chicken to try. lol ... I also got a 10gauge 100 ft extension cord at harbor freight, just in case I needed to speed up my charge to Level 2, since I don't have any 240 volt outlets. (Glad I got it back than, they cost almost double now). edit: besides regarding the pigtails, there's no ( I mean NONE long term reviews ) so what we know currently is that it works, but for how long is still anyones guess. It should be just fine in most cases, that is if you don't mind assuming, reading between the lines of initial testers / users reports. Butt ! It's always nice to read about the music bus from insiders. I've got some stories too, but I digress. EVSEs are built to a standard and you can't get anymore DIY than OpenEVSE Kits - Electric Vehicle Charging Solutions as long as you stay within your electrical capabilities, they have some nice offerings, but they are not $50 either. Besides you still have to find one that comes with your NEMA 6-20 since that is a deciding factor for your application, unless you decide to follow another path of course there are other options out there at both e bay, ama zon and ali ex, but you have to do some homework or - well you know what can happen. There was a LOT more discussion about EVSE 8 years ago than there is now. But if you use a search engine of choice ( mine is duckduckgo ) and point it at priuschat, it typically works much more reliably than the forum search function, unless you get really really lucky with your search term entry. I'm not going to comment on the EV Doubler. I don't wanna know, or possibly miss something obvious and kick myself for not seeing, later. Been there and don't wanna be there again if I can help it.
You are/were in the business too? You must be as nuts as I am. LOL I am writing this from my studio as we speak, sitting here with my assistant, Mr. Pie, 17 pounds of feline awesomeness. Then you know we rig stuff all the time, and then claim it was on purpose if people like it later. I'm pretty sure my guitar rig can contact other dimensions at this point. And my electronic drums! Oh man, it's great showing up to a gig in a Prius and taking all the gear out like it was some kind of clown car! I remember early on as an intern, sitting in a room whilst a Famous Producer was talking about some crazy drum sound he got on an album to a journalist or somebody, and as soon as he left he turns to me and says, laughing "actually, what happened was the mic stand fell and I didn't notice and when we brought up the track it sounded like that!" Anyway, great info, I really appreciate it. I found the info I needed, which is exactly what I thought it would be, to make my own pigtail. Maybe he stopped posting because of the reasons you stated, but I would think it would be because of naysayers actions, probably. You know how it goes. Maybe competitors? Who knows. Or like the music industry was when I first started- how do you become a wizard? Kill the wizard who taught you LOL I saw some of the same EVSEs from Amazon, but on eBay for like half. That makes me distrust them even more. And looking at the EV Doubler, they actually have a 6-20 one that looks like it's just the pigtail sans cord in between the ins/outs. So yeah, I'm gonna do it. Why not? Oh yeah, that. But BESIDES that, I think it's worth it. I recently swapped out a broken power supply on an audio interface which is something I thought I would never be able to do, it was terrifying but it came out great. Fortune favors the bold! You can write that on my headstone if I screw this up! Yeah, I was at Harbor Freight a week ago or so and I couldn't believe how much extension cords were. Wow. I guess they make them with the same stuff they use to make light sabers... O C
Heads up ! If I need Level 2 charging speed I get it at one of the local free chargepoint or pay for use non local chargepoint chargers, since chargepoint is the only network I have an account with. Otherwise I use Level 1 speeds at home. Matter of fact, as I've learned recently, I now switch from the Max charge speed setting in the car to the 8 Amp setting during winter months and wished I'd figured that out 8 years ago.
Aha! Where I live, there is no "winter," as you call it. We just slowly melt into the asphalt... There are free chargers? Do tell! I'd have used L1 here no prob, except literally the only plug outside is the 240v. Because I don't have a garage. It's my studio So there's no easy access to any plug outside anyway. I will look into this chargepoint thingy, as I will be travelling next week and even though I don't have to charge, it would be cool to know if I could if I felt like it. I've had the car for three weeks tomorrow and I've yet to go to the gas station and yet it's not been plugged in (by me, it's used!)... unreal. I've used Charge Mode a couple of times but I find that even the regular Hybrid mode does a good job of getting me some EV miles. I absolutely loved my Gen 3, but this is a whole 'nother level. And we've got another Prius, also a Gen 4, but not plugin. That switch to 8a is great, just found that out today, could be very useful in the future when not charging at home. I cannot believe I bought multiple VWs. What the hell was I thinking? I guess it's the ol' self-loathing or the fact that my mechanic was 'Ollie' as in the 'Ollie' the skateboarding trick was named after, so he was great to talk to, and boy, did I spend a lot of time there! Now how the hell do I turn off the little piano song?! O C
Go to plugshare.com It's way more complicated now than it was 8 years ago, (there are 50 or more networks now, there used to be only about 5. but it's a blessing after you learn how to use it to your advantage. It'll show you - although not so easily - what network is the best game in your town (the Conquistador apartment complex close? ) to join (most convenient and / or maybe even cheapest ( as in free ) There are others that have conditions, such as times when charging is free or times when charge rates go up. It's always nice to know what's available locally when you need to use them. Free is nice if you can find it in your area. On the road it's another story that's like a box of chocolates. It's always best to have been there at least once so you've got some kind of idea how good or bad the reviews of the chargers are. Or if they are even still around or broken or shut off, but if they are you can always get gas instead and catch a cat naps somewhere else.
Reducing charging speed when temps are melting high, is just as beneficial as it is when temps are below freezing.
Ah, I did not know that! I will do that when the temps go back up to 348 soon (I'm in South Florida). Especially since I have no way to garage my car. Looking into DIY'ing an awning or something because it's in the sun for part of the day. Which is pretty much everything here! The sun wrecks paint, my Gen 3 was perfect and then in a few years all the clear coat was burned off, no matter how much waxing or protection I used. And old VW, oh that wasn't even five years old before they had to repaint it (which was a battle), and then it happened again. But it was much better than the interior, which was utterly laughable. Like the time I was driving down the street in my 2001 New Beetle TDI and I hit a tiny bump and the entire glove compartment section just fell off!! Ridiculous. Why did I keep buying them?! No idea. O C
Another thing I'd recommend is to double check (it buried in the MIDs settings) is the hybrid battery cooler. I turn it off in the winter, just so I have to hunt for it again in the spring, and so far I've had to hunt for it every spring when I also shut off the hybrid battery heater, which is a lot easier to find in the Gen 4 Prime. It's with the Charge Settings Might want to turn that one off too. If you'd like to see the Gen 4 Prime heater Professor Kelly shows it for a minute in this video which is mainly about the Gen 5 Prime Hybrid Battery Thanks for the link @mva
Only a minute? After the fun, did you look at the charge timer on the MID that show when you open a door while plugged in and charging? Or you can also put the car on ON mode while charging and monitor amps in with Dr Prius.
No. I was lying. It was longer. It takes awhile to remember prayers from various religions, the names of long gone ancestors, and to do the Safety Dance.
what speed did the car show your setup pushing juice to the in car charger and battery ? see the edits I made to #15 while we were both typing at the same time
Ha! It said it 1:50 til full charge, I do not know at what state the battery was at when I plugged it in, but I'd never charged it, so not sure other than the "charge immediately" message I always get. Drove around today, it read as having 25.xx miles of EV and it was just great! I don't I'm ever gonna use any gas around here, but I have a four hour drive on Friday so it'll be interesting to see how does with those first miles on the highway. Maybe I can really milk it with some judicious use of the Charge mode, but then again my car will have gear in it so maybe that will affect it, but it'd be no heavier than having a second person in the car and I'm removing the baby seat for the trip. I did get Dr. Prius! Haven't tried it yet. I have a bluetooth OBD and I always used the Car Scanner app on my old Prius, so this should be cool. Now the excitement of properly inflating my tires for optimum mileage! Can anyone stand the suspense?! O C
Car Scanner is much better than Dr Prius for engine data and maybe even Hybrid Assistant for customization features so you can set it up to see only what you want to see and I always use it to check my Prius warmup cycle during winter, mostly. Dr Prius is by far the Best ( IMO ) when you want to know what the hybrid battery is up to. All the way from New to End of life. Of course, there are some metrics that play a more important role when the pack is new and others that help more towards pack end of life situations ( whatever End of Life means to any one Prius owner ). [EDIT] car scanner fun facts: after the last update car scanner finds more Gen 4 sensors, but not all of them give correct readings (as in all apps). All the hybrid, well 99.9% anyways of my Primes hybrid battery stats match when comparing car scanners all senors function to the data DrPrius shows for the Primes Hi Voltage battery pack and the 12 volt system too. [/EDIT] Did you find the Hybrid Battery Cooler feature on your Primes MID yet? It only took a half hour for me to find it again yesterday evening ..
I'm going to look today, I've been a busy bear. BTW, thank you so much for all the great info, you've been a big help. Of course, I don't have to deal with this "winter" you speak of... wait, that's not a good thing. I hate the heat, it's debilitating. But I watched that video you sent, which was great because I kept watching it because the guy is just great to listen to even though most of it was nonsense to me. But I appreciate a good teacher and I learned some cool stuff. So I will find the heater and shut it off, because it's already occasionally 245 degrees outside. Car Scanner has been really really good, super helpful when I was having all my Gen 3 issues. I've heard about the Gen 4 issues with apps, I guess there's not much I can do about that. Eager to try Dr. Prius. I've got two cars to test it on, my Prime and my ex's regular Gen 4. Oh and my sister's Gen 4. Did I mention my brother is looking at Primes? We're all becoming Priusized. Pretty sure both my cats have Priuses (Priora, dammit! I know my Latin!), but they can be secretive. Tomorrow's my first long drive with the car, looking forward to that. DATA! Gotta inflate my tires, turn up the music, and drive like Grandma! I have a heated seat and I'm gonna use it! Party time! O C
