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I recently received a 220V Level 2 Electric Vehicle car charger as a gift, and it comes with an old 3 prong 220V dryer outlet (NEMA 10-30). I'm currently renting, so I cannot run 220V lines where I'd like to, however the car charger unit says that it can run off of 120-220V.

So, I'd like to wire up a NEMA 10-30R such that I can plug it into a regular house outlet at 120V which would allow me to plug in the car charger. Yes, I realize it will charge slower on 120V than 220V, but I'd like to use it now since I'll be renting for 2 more years or so.

My first thought was to simply connect 120V hot to one of the hot prongs on the NEMA 10-30R, then connect neutral to the other NEMA 10-30R hot, and finally bridge that neutral connection to the normal 10-30R neutral connector.

Am I even remotely onto something here? Someone on Amazon.com's reviews for the car charger said that they did it, however no detail was provided, and Amazon doesn't carry this charger anymore, so I can't go back and ask.

Thanks!

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DO NOT wire a 10-30R receptacle to 120V, and a "standard" 120V 15 or 20A receptacle CANNOT be put on a 30A circuit. If this unit is capable of being run on 120V then there will be instructions on how to convert/wire it. There will be a way to replace the plug on the unit with a standard 15 or 20A 120V plug. You may also need to re-wire it internally.

Can you post the name and model of the charger? More info may be available online.

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  • Yes, that is absolutely not my intention, sorry I should've been more clear. The electric vehicle only charges at 12 amps, and my intention is only to create an adapter from standard 120V household 3 prong to a NEMA 10-30 receptacle. I have no intention of actually installing a NEMA 10-30 plug into the wall that could confuse someone in the future. This is the model: Ebusbar BEV-H02A10 EV Charger Level 2, 240 Volt. As far as documentation goes, the manual is bare bones and provides no info on wiring an outlet for it.
    – William
    Jan 27, 2017 at 13:19
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Look up the manufacturer of the charger and find instructions. The instructions for it would list how to wire it for 120 or 220

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I found the answer to my question from a Nissan Leaf owner. He said that he simply wired his NEMA 10-30R as 'hot-neutral-ground' with ground on the L shaped prong. This configuration applies a 120V potential to the transformer in the charger, thereby allowing it to charge at "Level 1".

I'll be making a small adapter to be used to plug into NEMA 5-15R. So, the small 1 or 2 foot adapter will have a NEMA 5-15P on one end with a NEMA 10-30R on the other in 'hot-neutral-ground' configuration. No permits needed, since it won't be installed on the house.

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  • OP supplies answer to question .... Random user downvotes correct answer ... cool lol
    – William
    Jan 28, 2017 at 0:28
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Is the breaker box in the garage where the car will be charged? Are there at least two unused panels in the breaker box? Is your landlord ok with you installing a new circuit?

If the answer to all these questions is yes then I would simply install a new 220v 30a circuit for the car charger and use an external outlet, metal shielded cable. When your lease is up you can remove it or leave it in there. You'll need 10 gauge "4 wire" which will be labeled 10-3 (yes it's a little confusing). The car charger says it only pulls 16 amps (assuming the input current is the same as the output current) but you still need a 30 amp circuit if your installing a 30 amp receptacle.

Keep in mind that adding new electric service such as this means you need a permit and a code inspection. Here's where you might have a hard time convincing the land lord to let you do this.

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    The landlord might be pleased that value is being added to their property at (almost) no cost to them - it could easily make the property more attractive to the next prospective tenant.
    – Andrew Morton
    Jan 27, 2017 at 15:59
  • I think that most lease contracts state that anything that is installed or fastened to the property now becomes part of the property
    – Dan Mantyla
    Jan 27, 2017 at 16:02
  • Unfortunately there is no garage, and the landlord is not comfortable with letting me install a new 220V 30A circuit in the panel. Believe me, I'd love to have a garage and be able to do all of that haha. Fortunately, I heard back from a Nissan Leaf owner who said he's done exactly what I was requesting. He simply wired the NEMA 10-30 as 'hot-neutral-ground'. That way, the transformer simply sees a 120V potential from the hot to neutral and it automatically operates at "Level 1" charging.
    – William
    Jan 27, 2017 at 17:58

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