EV Charger Plug fire - be careful! (Input requested. Link to pics below).
Dodged a full house fire last night. Outlet completely melted. Fire burned casing and wall, but went out on its own.
Equipment:
- Siemens versicharge 240/30A plugged into a NEMA 6-50 in a drive under garage.
- Dedicated line with 40A fuse
- Professionally installed during home construction.
Events:
- Charged friends MS 100D for 8 hrs during the day
- Charger rested for 1.5 hrs
- Plugged in a MS 75 to top off for the evening
- MS charged for a few hours then breaker tripped
Next morning I go out to find this near catastrophe.
Very scary. Melted box, all wood is charred.
Curious if I need to replace the entire wire (which is run through about 50 feet of walls in my house).
I read that EV chargers should be hardwired to avoid fault points like a plug.
Also read that most NEMA plugs aren’t intended to handle current for long periods of time (designed for a few hours running a dryer).
Electricians coming tomorrow.
Welcome any comments about how to protect myself in the repair/ reinstallation.
I’m likely going to hardwire the charger (no plug) and look into adding a temperature sensor or something - and definitely a fire sensor.
Link to pictures of failed plug: https://imgur.com/gallery/2joUiOp
Some cheap receptacles have their metal contacts going only half height of their slot. If you put a new one, make sure those contacts go full height, just like the pins on your charger plug. Also, make sure the electrician torques the screws to the correct settings. My Tesla Wall Charges states to torque the screws to 5.6 NM, which is tighter than hand tight with a screw driver.