[compulady]

I've had my RAV4 prime a little over a week and in the past few days as it has gotten colder (20's F) several times when I have plugged it in it has caused my circuit to overload and I have had to go from my detached garage to my basement to reset it. I will call an electrician but now I am considering getting a dedicated charger like a Grizzl-E or something similar as long as I am having an electrician come.

Has anyone else had something similar? There is not much on that circuit besides the garage door and light.
Advice appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[rsl360]

This is while using the 110 charger that comes with the car? How many amps is the breaker thats' tripping? Is it a GFI, and is it tripping on GFI instead of overload? (not sure if one can tell that?)

 

[8AA]

You can also go into the vehicle settings and lower the current that the car draws.

 

[Fauvel]

Anything else on the circuit? The 110 cable can draw up to 13 amp. If you have anything else on the circuit
it might trip the breaker. I had a dedicated 120v/20 amp (Canada) dedicated plug installed for the RAV4 Prime
at my Summer house. But 15A could have been enough.

 

[JDS]

As said above, make sure it is on a 15 amp circuit, not a 10. Then try ti find a 15 amp without and big loads on it like a freezer.

 

[compulady]

I am using the 110 charger cord that came with the RAV4.
I guess I need to call an electrician before ordering the charger.

 

[JDS]

I am using the 110 charger cord that came with the RAV4.
I guess I need to call an electrician before ordering the charger.

yes, my answer referred to the 120v circuits.

 

[iTim314]

I am using the 110 charger cord that came with the RAV4.
I guess I need to call an electrician before ordering the charger.

In the interim, you can go into your RAV4 Prime's settings via the dashboard display (steering wheel controls) and reduce the current draw to 8amps. It'll extend your charging times even more, but at least it would most likely work.

 

[compulady]

Thanks for the advice. I will lower it to 8amps for my next charge and also call an electrician.

I started looking into EVSE's, are there any that are HomeKit compatible? Is there an app for Grizzl-E?

 

[iTim314]

I started looking into EVSE's, are there any that are HomeKit compatible?

Not that I'm aware of. I'm curious as to what you are wanting to accomplish with a HomeKit-linked EVSE?

 

[JDS]

I bought the Chargepoint Home Charger. Great app, charger works great.

 

[slab]

I started looking into EVSE's, are there any that are HomeKit compatible?

There are EVSEs that are compatible with Alexa/Google Assistant, and while HomeKit doesn't directly integrate with either (unlike Home Assistant and OpenHab), you might be able to use something like this to achieve some measure of integration with them. It depends on what you are trying to accomplish.

 

[Datsa Noydb]

Is it a GFI, and is it tripping on GFI instead of overload? (not sure if one can tell that?)

None of the GFI (actually GFCI) outlets I have seen will trip on overload, just a ground fault. That requires them to be installed on a standard 15- or 20-amp breaker.

When I built my detached garage, I found that GFCI-protected outlets were required everywhere on the ground level. Rather than install a GFCI outlet, then install standard outlets downstream of it, I opted to install GFCI breakers in the panel. Breakers are about double the cost of outlets, but all the outlets now look alike. Satisfies my CDO*.

*CDO is a lot like OCD, but it's alphabetized, LIKE IT SHOULD BE.

 

[compulady]

Not that I'm aware of. I'm curious as to what you are wanting to accomplish with a HomeKit-linked EVSE?

If there were one I may be more likely to lean towards that if all else were similar but if not no problem.

 

[compulady]

It's a 20amp circuit but it appears to be kitchen and garage on the same circuit. The refrigerator may be on the same circuit I haven't tested since charging this afternoon. I'll call an electrician Monday.

Would they have to run a new line out to the garage to upgrade to an EVSE L2? Do they even do that in the winter? (I'm about 30 miles north of NYC). I need to learn more about the EVSEs. I've been looking through the forum here and found a few good threads.

 

[NotReady4PrimeTime]

I started looking into EVSE's, are there any that are HomeKit compatible?

I don't know of any HomeKit EVSEs to date. However, I got a ChargePoint Home Flex and the app has some Siri integration. I can use Siri to start/stop charging, if I like. I can also ask Siri for the "charging status" and it takes me to the stats of the current charging session.

 

[NameofUser]

Grizzl-E has a "smart" wifi connected charger. Might still be back ordered.

 

[NotReady4PrimeTime]

The ChargePoint Home Flex is also a wifi-enabled "smart" EVSE. The Siri integration is halfway between having to use the EVSE's app and actually having full blown HomeKit integration.

 

[iTim314]

Would they have to run a new line out to the garage to upgrade to an EVSE L2? Do they even do that in the winter?

Yes, since you indicated that your fridge is on a 20A circuit, this is most likely on a single-phase 120V circuit. A new circuit would be required for Level 2. Level 2 EVSEs use 240V or 208V, requiring both phases (two hots). You commonly see these for large appliances like electric ranges, water heaters, heat pumps, and dryers.

I don’t see why anyone wouldn’t do this in the winter. I guess that’s just the electrician‘s personal working preference.

 

[iTim314]

It's a 20amp circuit but it appears to be kitchen and garage on the same circuit. The refrigerator may be on the same circuit I haven't tested since charging this afternoon. I'll call an electrician Monday.

Also, it’s generally good advice to have any refrigerators on their own breaker in order to minimize the likelihood of an over-current event tripping the breaker and ruining your food.