[Duncan]

I just put the Volt on to charge: I'd only done about 7 miles today, so thought I might as well charge immediately and get the benefit of the evening sun on the solar panels.

I plugged in the charger, waited a couple of seconds then unplugged/replugged to override for immediate charging. Either the unplug or replug tripped the RCD and unfortunately it wasn't the garage RCD that tripped but rather the one for the entire house (so my wife wasn't happy).

Leaving aside the immediate question of whether the garage with its own RCD should go through the house RCD at all, has anyone else had a problem tripping out the power when charging? Did I maybe unplug too soon after plugging in for the first time?

 

[Paul_Moxhay]

I have had the RCD on the Pod Point home pod trip a few times since I have had the Ampera. I think it must be something to do with the Ampera because I have been charging the Nissan Leaf for over a year and it hasn't ever tripped with the Leaf.

Not sure how we prove it though

 

[garetht]

Hmmmm our "Pod" has tripped a few times (on/in the pod) - mainly after its rained.

 

[Paul_Moxhay]

I know that the Pod Point home pods are not particularly waterproof... well, perhaps I should say WERE not particularly waterproof because they might have improved their waterproofness (if that is a word!) since I bought mine a year ago.

I know that the Rolec products are very good in this respect and that is one of the reasons they cost a little more. If I were buying a home charging pod now I would definitely consider Rolec. They look cool too!

 

[RayG]

I am using a standard GM charge point and the unit is in the garage but the car stands outside - lots of rain here and no issues with tripping so far.

 

[dpeilow]

No RCD issues here. I have a C curve RCBO at home. Not sure what the one in the box at work is.

 

[Kevin Sharpe]

No RCD issues here. I have a C curve RCBO at home. Not sure what the one in the box at work is.

Not sure about the MCB curve but the RCD should be Type A according to IEC 61851-1 (and required by CENEX);

7.4 Supplementary measures "An RCD (≤30 mA) shall be provided as a part of the EV conductive supply equipment for earthed systems. The RCD shall have a performance at least equal to Type A and be in conformity with standard IEC 60364-4-41"

Moderator Comment: This post has had the commercial signature removed to comply with commercial member posting rules.

 

[dpeilow]

Yes the RCD component of the thing should be an A type for AC and pulsed DC electricity.

The reason I used a C curve RCBO (also applicable to MCB) is because of the number of times pumps and other stuff with motors turn on which will have inrush currents (this was actually with the Tesla Roadster in mind) and although I've not had issues with charging on standard B curve units, this reduces the chance of an erroneous trip.

 

[dpeilow]

I had a charge that failed to complete last week. It was in a public place so I can't say for sure that it wasn't tampering, but my suspicion is that the heavy rain we have been getting recently caused a trip-out. I'm not convinced that the plug on the standard portable unit is waterproof enough.