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Has anyone upgraded their OEM level 1 charger to a 16 amp level 1 charger?

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#61 ·
Ok i really need to ask for some empirical evidence that a 16a charger can truly charge over 12amps from a standard 120v socket. I just used a schumacher branded level i rated @ 16a off amazon that is no faster than the factory charger. What logging system are you using , what brand of charger are you using and do you have the 3.3 or 6.6V onboard?
(I dont even mind if your dash says a different time to charge when switching chargers.) Many thanks in advance
 
#62 ·
3rdgeargrndrr said:
Ok i really need to ask for some empirical evidence that a 16a charger can truly charge over 12amps from a standard 120v socket. I just used a schumacher branded level i rated @ 16a off amazon that is no faster than the factory charger. What logging system are you using , what brand of charger are you using and do you have the 3.3 or 6.6V onboard?
(I dont even mind if your dash says a different time to charge when switching chargers.) Many thanks in advance
Click to expand...
Are you sure that the 120v plug is on a 20 amp circuit? If the circuit is 15 amps or less you won't get 16 amps out of it!
 
#63 · (Edited)
The prime charges at 12 amps on a regular outlet. You can select to decrease this to 8 amps to prevent overloading a shared circuit and popping the breaker. You can’t increase the amps past 12 even if the EVSE can provide it. When charging at level 2 it will use 16 amps (more if you have the 6kw charger) because it assumes a level 2 EVSE is on a properly amped dedicated circuit. With level 1 it is more cautious to prevent issues with the house wiring (popping circuit breakers or causing fires).

Edit: the above assumes we are talking about the standard 3kw charger. If you have the 6 kw charger you can charge at 16 amps on level 1 but you have to update the charge settings in the car.
 
#64 ·
My anecdotal evidence. I was curious if it would actually limit to 12amps at 120v, it did.

If I switch my 20 amp (actually 16 amp) L2 charger to a 120V circuit, my 22 R4P SE only charges at 12 amps.

(It will charge at approx ~15 amps at 240v no problem). Following pictures are without changing any vehicle settings. Note, photos are from (2) different but identical chargers I have in 2 different locations at house. (Anbull charger off of amazon, with a homemade wifi control and data monitor).


Image
Image


Image

Image
 
Discussion starter · #66 ·
Just to revive an old thread, because damn, my memory is getting worse and worse nowadays. On 110 / 120V level 1 charging on a 20 amp circuit, the car, no matter how capable the charger is, limits to 12 amps. I should have came back to BigBlueR4P's post to remind myself, but I was able to recently test this out myself. Even on the 6.6 kw Rav4 Prime XSE charger, it will limit itself to 12 amps regardless on 110/120V. That really sucks. Toyota is just way too damn conservative with their cars, especially their EV's.
 
#67 ·
mililani said:
Just to revive an old thread, because damn, my memory is getting worse and worse nowadays. On 110 / 120V level 1 charging on a 20 amp circuit, the car, no matter how capable the charger is, limits to 12 amps. I should have came back to BigBlueR4P's post to remind myself, but I was able to recently test this out myself. Even on the 6.6 kw Rav4 Prime XSE charger, it will limit itself to 12 amps regardless on 110/120V. That really sucks. Toyota is just way too damn conservative with their cars, especially their EV's.
Click to expand...
How do you expect the EVSE to know it’s plugged into a 20A circuit vs a 15A circuit? This isn’t Toyota being conservative, this is just basic electrical practice. If it were a 20A EVSE it’d have to have a NEMA 5-20 plug on it, and that wouldn’t be useful to many owners.
 
Discussion starter · #68 ·
iTim314 said:
How do you expect the EVSE to know it’s plugged into a 20A circuit vs a 15A circuit? This isn’t Toyota being conservative, this is just basic electrical practice. If it were a 20A EVSE it’d have to have a NEMA 5-20 plug on it, and that wouldn’t be useful to many owners.
Click to expand...
By setting it? You can already lower the charging rate on this car. Most EV's now allow various charge rates to be set.
 
#69 ·
mililani said:
By setting it? You can already lower the charging rate on this car. Most EV's now allow various charge rates to be set.
Click to expand...
Toyota would still have to build the EVSE with a 20A plug. Their intention is for everyone to be able to use it without having to do any modification to their home. So 12A it is, since that’s by far the most common receptacle In North America.
 
#70 ·
iTim314 said:
Toyota would still have to build the EVSE with a 20A plug. Their intention is for everyone to be able to use it without having to do any modification to their home. So 12A it is, since that’s by far the most common receptacle In North America.
Click to expand...
It would have been totally reasonable for Toyota to limit their provided EVSE (the cable included in the car) to 12 amps, which the cable would communicate that limit to the car like every other EVSE does...

But why did they limit the VEHICLE to 12amps on 120V... that would logically (but not guaranteed) to be good for at least 15-16 amps on vehicle side.
 
Discussion starter · #71 · (Edited)
BigBlueR4P said:
It would have been totally reasonable for Toyota to limit their provided EVSE (the cable included in the car) to 12 amps, which the cable would communicate that limit to the car like every other EVSE does...

But why did they limit the VEHICLE to 12amps on 120V... that would logically (but not guaranteed) to be good for at least 15-16 amps on vehicle side.
Click to expand...
Yeah, that's my gripe. But, apparently, I found out this isn't that uncommon. Chevy Bolt's and Nissan Leaf's also does this with their onboard charger, regardless of what can be supplied on the electrical circuit and external charger. @120V, both will only charge at 12 or 13 amps. Really bizarre why they made it like this. Of course Tesla, in their infinite wisdom, allows you to set the rate to 16 amps, provided you have a NEMA 5-20 adapter.
 
#72 ·
mililani said:
Yeah, that's my gripe. But, apparently, I found out this isn't that uncommon. Chevy Bolt's and Nissan Leaf's also does this with their onboard charger, regardless of what can be supplied on the electrical circuit and external charger. @120V, both will only charge at 12 or 13 amps. Really bizarre why they made it like this. Of course Tesla, in their infinite wisdom, allows you to set the rate to 16 amps, provided you have a NEMA 5-20 adapter.
Click to expand...
So noticed something a bit interesting, it seems like J1772 has 2 options listed for Level 1 charging... I guess companies are going with the first option.... (it looks something like this)

Charge MethodNominal Supply Voltage (V)Max Current (Amps Continuous)Branch Circuit Breaker (Amps)
Level 1120 V AC12 A15 A
Level 1120 V AC16 A20 A
Level 2208 to 240 V AC<=80 APer NEC 625
 
#73 ·
iTim314 said:
If it were a 20A EVSE it’d have to have a NEMA 5-20 plug on it, and that wouldn’t be useful to many owners.
Click to expand...
I beg to differ, on the current plug being the correct one.

IMHO They should provide the Evse with a Nema 6-20P ready for 240 and also provide a Nema 6-20R to 5-15P pigtail standard.
For a $10 .. $20 cost increase on a $200 Evse they would make their cars so much more functional and look so much better in the reviews.
Yes you can get/buy/make a 5-15R to 6-20P pigtail and it will make the OEM provided Evse do the right thing (16A @ 240V = 3.3KW)
But this arrangement/workaround is dangerous as it essentially provides a 120V socket with actually has 240 V.
The other way around is safe(r) !

That and a 6.6 KW charger in in USA just like they produce for every other country in the world.
One variation less to produce/stock/document

Hein.
 
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