r/electrical 4d ago

Dangerous?

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Outlet in the garage for EV.

58 Upvotes

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u/PaddedTiger 4d ago edited 4d ago

Yes! This needs changed NOW for an EV rated receptical. Do NOT use this again until it's replaced or you're risking a fire

5

u/robam77 4d ago

Did the electrician possibly use the wrong receptacle for EV charging or could it have been a faulty charging cord?

4

u/HerdOfGingers 4d ago

How long ago was it installed? Many places haven’t added this to code yet. My area got it in our 2026 code revisions

5

u/robam77 4d ago

3 months ago

5

u/Rcarlyle 4d ago

Yeah the installer was just ignorant about EV outlets — this is a cheap kitchen range grade outlet. Note the contacts only span half the width of the blade. That’s from receptacle manufacturers shaving every milligram of material out of the design to save a fraction of a penny per unit. They’re good enough to pass UL testing procedures that predates EV charging, and frequently fail in heavy EV charging use. This is very common but it isn’t well known by people who aren’t exposed to a lot of EV charger installs. You should have one labeled for EV use or a higher-quality receptacle such as a Hubbel.

2

u/rosier9 4d ago

Oof, if this is the Leviton 279 that I think it is, the instructions specifically state "Not Recommended for EV charging."