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Seeking Feedback - How Interested Would You Be In Roadtesting an EV Charger Checker Tool Kit?

rscasny

imageGiven the interest and growth of electric vehicles (EVs), it was just a matter of time for one of our suppliers to begin offering tool kits specifically for EVs. One of our suppliers, Megger, is interested in having the element14 Community roadtest this kit. This product is designed to check the safety and operation of EV charger points.

I'd like to get your thoughts about this tool kit. If you have the time, please vote in the poll below.

Let me tell you a few things about this tool:

The new EVCC300 introduces a new and convenient way of checking electric vehicle (EV) charge points. A simple all in one concept provides an easy to use solution to check both the safety and operation of mode 2 and single phase mode 3 (level 1 and two phase level 2) EV chargers. The instrument is ideal for those wishing to perform a fault finding check on an EV charger following manufacture or repair, or just part of a maintenance schedule/inspection.

Here are some features:

  • Checks mode 2 and single-phase mode 3 (level 1 and two phase level 2) chargers
  • Checks chargers with SAE J1772 Type 1 and Type 2 connectors
  • Performs four EV charger safety checks
  • Performs four EV charger operation checks
  • Checks to see if nuisance tripping or RCD/GFCI is likely to occur
  • Reads control pilot state response from EV Charger to IEC61852-1

Here are some technical documents:

Datasheet:
Quick Start Guide: 
User Guide: 

For More Information



  • I would love to EXCEPT I have no place to use the tester.

  • Things would be much easier if I had an EV and a few charging stations within convenient reach, but the infrastructure isn't quite there yet and I'm not sure how welcoming public charging point operators will welcome someone coming by to put a tester onto their gear. I suspect one would at least pay for a subscription to charging to enable the charger so that it can be tested. I wonder if any tests require special access as well.

    I suspect it won't be much of a test to run it on a cheap standalone EVSE either ...

    - Gough

  • As Gough says.  I actually have a charger at home but I wouldn't want to plug a tester in.  I know this doesn't require entry into the unit itself (I assume) but Pod Point don't allow any one to open it up and they deactivate the device if it is and require an engineer to come out.  There are also plenty of commercial chargers in the area but I wouldn't want to plug it into any of them either.  I guess you're looking for someone who installs as a day job to try it out.

  • Definitely, and I have an EV so I have the opportunity to test it out. 

  • I'd definitely be interested.

    However, here in the UK we use CCS and it looks like this model isn't compatible with that. Is there likely to be a CCS version as part of the road test? Nevermind. It seems it does support CCS. I was reading this on my phone and couldn't properly check the details.

  • I would be keen if I had an EV, unfortunately that circumstance is a ways off.

  • I’m guessing it’s a bit like the outlet testers you can get for outlets at home?

    If so, it would make a lot of sense for an EV owner to routinely quick-test before charging their car - you’d hate for an old, worn, or generally faulty EV charger to damage your EV.

    I don’t have an EV at this point, which is why I voted no.

    image

  • in reply to ntewinkel

    As far as I can tell, it's actually a lot more sophisticated than that, but it's mostly concerned about checking the EVSE (charging equipment)'s safety protective mechanisms are correctly functioning rather than whether it's correctly wired or might cause damage to an EV.

    It checks that there is an Earth connection and the connection resistance. Mash this together with some additional checks on charger-vehicle communications as well (as that's needed to get the charging going). Then, you can think of it more like the test button for your RCD/GFCI to see that it will trip in case of Earth leakage, but also that it trips in time. But in the case of an EVSE, this has to happen on AC and DC.

    I wonder if EVSE's are designed to automatically clear earth leakage trips, or whether this could become a "weapon" to disable EVSEs at will :\

    - Gough