All modern multi-voltage high power supplies and chargers that I know use a PFC (Power Factor Correction) front end to guarantee that they draw current in phase with the voltage and correct the power factor to very close to 1 so that the load looks like a resistor with the real Wattage identical to the VA draw, in other words: to avoid "reactive" current as well as guaranteeing a sinusoidal current, leading to optimal power transfer. I have never measured the PF of the Soul EV but I would be very surprised if it is not close to 1. Regards,
Cor van de Water Chief Scientist Proxim Wireless office +1 408 383 7626 Skype: cor_van_de_water XoIP +31 87 784 1130 private: cvandewater.info http://www.proxim.com This email message (including any attachments) contains confidential and proprietary information of Proxim Wireless Corporation. If you received this message in error, please delete it and notify the sender. Any unauthorized use, disclosure, distribution, or copying of any part of this message is prohibited. -----Original Message----- From: EV [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of David Nelson via EV Sent: Sunday, December 25, 2016 12:52 PM To: Lee Hart Cc: Electric Vehicle Discussion List Subject: Re: [EVDL] Actual current carrying ability of NEMA L6-30 Thank you, Bruce and Lee. That is the additional information I was looking for. The only way I have to measure the power factor of my Kia Soul EV+ is to charge off of 120V. Is it safe to assume that the PF on 120V will be substantially similar at 240V? Thank you again and hope you are having a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. On Sun, Dec 25, 2016 at 10:05 AM, Lee Hart <[email protected]> wrote: > From: David Nelson via EV <[email protected]> >>Please note that I am not asking about electrical code here! I know >>what the code says. >> >>What is the actual sustained current carrying ability of the NEMA >>L6-30 plug/sockets? > > The ACTUAL capacity is determined by the temperature rise. The materials used to make the connector (usually the insulating materials) have a temperature limit. Typical numbers range from 80 deg.C to 130 deg.C. That''s what ACTUALLY sets the maximum sustained current. > > OK; going by memory since I'm away from home for the holidays... Most L6-30 and -50 receptacles are made from black thermoset plastics (like bakelite) that have a high temperature rating and won't melt. UL says they are good up to 130 deg.C. UL rates them for a 40 deg.C rise. In their testing, the temperature rise at full current did not exceed 40 deg.C. Thus, it can carry full rated current in an ambient as hot as 90 deg.C before the insulation will rise above 130 deg.C. > > Now a 90 deg.C ambient is pretty hot (194 deg.F)! It's more likely that your maximum ambient will be more like 50 deg.C (122 deg.F). This means you can run at a current that causes TWICE the temperature rise before the insulation's maximum temperature rating is reached. > > Heating is determined by the SQUARE of the current; so double the temperature rise doesn't mean double the current! But you can run sqrt(2)=1.414 times the rated current. That means the receptacle can handle 50 x 1.4 = 70.7 amps in a 50 amps connector in a 50 deg.C (120 deg.F) ambient. > > The same logic applies to the cords and plugs. However, they are likely to be made of cheaper soft plastics with a lower maximum temperature rating. They will MELT if you push them this hard! > > But you can get plugs made of the same high-temperature thermoset plastics as the receptacles. They are bigger, and have to be manually attached to the cord. > > Likewise, look at the insulation rating of the wire. It's usually printed on it, or there will be a code (like SO, SJO, TTW, etc.) that you can look up online to find its temperature rating. > > Finally, you could put a temperature sensor on the connector, and use that to determine how much current you can actually draw. > > Season's greetings! I'll EVing you! :-) > > -- > Excellence does not require perfection. -- Henry James > -- > Lee A. Hart http://www.sunrise-ev.com -- David D. Nelson http://evalbum.com/1328 http://www.levforum.com _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org Read EVAngel's EV News at http://evdl.org/evln/ Please discuss EV drag racing at NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA) _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org Read EVAngel's EV News at http://evdl.org/evln/ Please discuss EV drag racing at NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
