I hope I'm not too jaded, but this reads really weird to me. The author disses a "$5 range outlet" (even though I don't think they're usually that cheap), then talks about spending several hundred bucks on better outlets for "evaluation"... and the evaluation never comes. We just get a paragraph of innuendo without any real-world testing or even a thorough teardown.<p>Do the plugs have any real-world design flaws, or is this just gear snobbery? Can the author show that they're heating up too much? Given that there must be hundreds of thousands of home chargers, what's the incidence of problems caused by cheap 240 V plugs?
I need to see evidence of this "overheating and melting the outlet". Electrical code requires downrating of actual capacity to prevent things like this.<p>You're far more likely to see damage due to loose connections - either the wires are not fully secured to the outlet, or the plug is not fully seated & snug, both of which cause overheating.
I worked at an EV charger manufacturer. This is a known issue. The issue is a 240V plug value engineered for non-continuous use for things like cooking and laundry loads (where amperage spikes but levels off at fairly low amps) versus a continuous 7-10 hour load like an EV/EVSE (where you have high amps continuously and lots of resulting heat transfer).<p>It's limited to home EV charging. This is one reason why given the choice between a NEMA plug source or a hard wired source (to circuit in Junction box), I would choose the wired source/circuit connection.<p>The plug manufacturers also know about the melted NEMA connector issue and are designing versions for continuous use at the higher price points mentioned.
Does this distinction also apply at the lower amps of ordinary 12V plugs? I frequently trickle-charge my EV from an ordinary 12V outlet outside on the porch for 14 hours or more, is that going to be a problem?<p>(EDIT: sorry, yes, I meant 120V outlet)
> Even though the 14-50R outlet is technically a 50A outlet, when used as a kitchen range plug, they are often wired on a 40A circuit. This is permitted by the Canadian Electrical Code rule 26-744 5).<p>I wonder if the US National Electric Code allows this.