240 volt charging wall receptacle gets very warm 14-50R bryant

[DiveMan911]

Update on my overheating receptacle issue.
I opened up the outlet and I can’t tell exactly which size the THHN is, however it is solid copper and it’s either 12 or 10ga, so big enough for 30amps (edit…20amps). I tightened down the lugs. They were reasonably tight, but I really cranked them down. It was still warm. I basically determined this is likely an issue with the EVSE so I started troubleshooting it.
I opened up the EVSA itself with a plan to replace the wall side plug. It’s an early generation Lectron charger. What I found is disappointing. Although it’s a four wire (three conductor) plug (NEMA 14-30)…only 2 conductors are being utilized. Which I would imagine is what’s causing the heat. I’ll be finding a different EVSE.

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[TaxmanHog]

Update on my overheating receptacle issue.
I opened up the outlet and I can’t tell exactly which size the THHN is, however it is solid copper and it’s either 12 or 10ga, so big enough for 30amps. I tightened down the lugs. They were reasonably tight, but I really cranked them down. It was still warm. I basically determined this is likely an issue with the EVSE so I started troubleshooting it.
I opened up the EVSA itself with a plan to replace the wall side plug. It’s an early generation Lectron charger. What I found is disappointing. Although it’s a four wire (three conductor) plug (NEMA 14-30)…only 2 conductors are being utilized. Which I would imagine is what’s causing the heat. I’ll be finding a different EVSE.

The ground was not used?
Only the two HOTs were connected?

 

[Whammy Bar]

Update on my overheating receptacle issue.
I opened up the outlet and I can’t tell exactly which size the THHN is, however it is solid copper and it’s either 12 or 10ga, so big enough for 30amps. I tightened down the lugs. They were reasonably tight, but I really cranked them down. It was still warm. I basically determined this is likely an issue with the EVSE so I started troubleshooting it.
I opened up the EVSA itself with a plan to replace the wall side plug. It’s an early generation Lectron charger. What I found is disappointing. Although it’s a four wire (three conductor) plug (NEMA 14-30)…only 2 conductors are being utilized. Which I would imagine is what’s causing the heat. I’ll be finding a different EVSE.

Conductors need to be sized for continuous load. So if you're rocking yellow romex (12ga) your limits 16A. If you have the Halloween orange (10ga) then your limited to 24A.

 

[DiveMan911]

The ground was not used?
Only the two HOTs were connected?

1 hot, the neural and the ground.

 

[TaxmanHog]

1 hot, 1 neural and the ground.

Is this a 120 v circuit?

 

[TaxmanHog]

Sorry, I'm confused................. two discussion on this thread.

 

[DiveMan911]

Conductors need to be sized for continuous load. So if you're rocking yellow romex (12ga) your limits 16A. If you have the Halloween orange (10ga) then your limited to 24A.

It’s not Romex, it’s THHN in conduit. Conductors are wrapped in electrical tape identifying them, so I can’t read their size. I also don’t have a guage tool, so I was eyeballing it. Basically, an exact science. It’s definitely big enough for a 20 amp breaker, just seems silly they did a 20amp breaker on a 30amp receptacle.

 

[DiveMan911]

Is this a 120 v circuit?

No, 240V. The receptacle is a NEMA 14-30 with 3 conductors (2 hots and a neutral, plus the ground).

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