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
It’s possible a wire was loose at the receptacle from the beginning, and having it plugged in for, seems like longer then you usually do, caused the arching which causes the heat and melted your electrical box. If you had a GFCI breaker it would of tripped sooner. I’m not sure if the make combination breakers with AFCI/GFCI for 30amp plus receptacles. Just change your breaker to one of those, see how far back your cable is fried and put new receptacle there. Keep us updated!!