V2L adapters

Nobbyplopps said:
Brilliant. I don’t do many miles per year and will be charging the MG4 up at work on my 12 hour shifts. So basically, what with the cost of living and the high price of electric, I will be syphoning electricity from work mwahahahahahahaaaaaaaa
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Is this via some sort of special device or just a long extension cord? I would be interested to find out what is required to power the entire house without having extension cords dotted everywhere from that v2l adapter.
 
drivethru said:
Is this via some sort of special device or just a long extension cord? I would be interested to find out what is required to power the entire house without having extension cords dotted everywhere from that v2l adapter.
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No not really. Park on my drive, put the V2L adapter in, plug the lawn mower into the adapter then away I go. Will probably need an extension cord for the back garden though.
 
In another thread some sparky managed to wire his whole house up and draw 7Kw! Not for the amateur though. I just had a long extension lead, haven't tried more than about 2.5Kw which is plenty for most uses.
 
drivethru said:
Is this via some sort of special device or just a long extension cord? I would be interested to find out what is required to power the entire house without having extension cords dotted everywhere from that v2l adapter.
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There is information on how to do it on this thread.

V2L, V2H, V2G - How does it work with MG EVs?

Hi all, new to the forum. Ordered an MG4 a week ago and expecting delivery in the second shipment Oct/Nov. Having done a bit of research on V2G it still seemed a way off with only one very expensive chademo bidirectional charger model out, so I was about to order an Easee charger. Then on...
www.mgevs.com www.mgevs.com
 
drivethru said:
Is this via some sort of special device or just a long extension cord? I would be interested to find out what is required to power the entire house without having extension cords dotted everywhere from that v2l adapter.
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I've just checked out the ability to power the whole house in the event of a power cut. First make sure that you're not going to demand more than 2.2kWh - so keep power-hungry devices such as the washing machine or electric shower turned off. FYI I have a TN-S supply with RCBOs on each circuit.

Now children, don't try this at home...
Here's a quick-and-dirty method that breaks every rule in the book but it's a simple and effective way to power your house from the car, rather than the other way round:

1) Make a short 'death' lead with 13A plugs at each end and ensure that the earth wire is NOT connected. This is necessary because the car's earth (on the PE pin) isn't bonded to its neutral (carried on the N pin). Failure to float the earth will cause the car's residual current protection to halt the discharge process the moment it's connected to the domestic supply - where earth and neutral are bonded locally in the case of a TN-C supply, or at the substation with a TN-S supply.

2) TURN OFF THE MAIN BREAKER to isolate your consumer unit from the incoming mains supply and ensure you don't try to supply the national grid!

3) Plug one end of your 'death' lead into the V2L's trailing socket(s) and plug the other end of the 'death' lead into the nearest convenient 13A outlet, probably in your garage.

4) Make sure that power-hungry devices such as the washing m/c or electric shower are turned off, then start the car's discharge process.

You may not wish to power the whole house, maybe just the g/f ring main. If so, only the MCB or RCBO associated with that circuit will need to be turned off. Your 'death' lead should then be plugged into an appropriate 13A outlet indoors, which will probably require use of an extension lead. Finally, please don't attempt this if you're not a competent person and make sure no-one other than yourself has access to the 'death' lead.
 
Interesting and potentially useful advice - but I would caution anyone reading that if you needed this advice to know what to do then you probably don't know enough about electrics to safely experiment: always consult a qualified expert first if there's any doubt and if you are doubting, probably you should employ a professional to do it instead.
 
tsedge said:
Interesting and potentially useful advice - but I would caution anyone reading that if you needed this advice to know what to do then you probably don't know enough about electrics to safely experiment: always consult a qualified expert first if there's any doubt and if you are doubting, probably you should employ a professional to do it instead.
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Sorry, I assumed that my references ‘don’t try this at home’, ‘quick-and-dirty’, ‘breaks every rule in the book’, ‘death lead’, and my final sentence ‘please don't attempt this if you're not a competent person’ would suffice as a warning for the presumably adult members of this forum.

Of course my temporary fix, hastily arranged during what turned out to be a 4½ hour power outage, clearly doesn’t comply with IET 18th Edition Wiring Regulations. But then neither does my car itself as regards the regulations applying to portable generators (section 515.4.4).

I mentioned previously on this forum that to avoid risk of shock it's advisable to use only double-insulated (Class 2) appliances on the V2L – I'm assuming that my MG5 FL hasn't got a rogue inverter. The PE connection isn’t adequately bonded to the car’s chassis; I measured a minimum of 11.9 ohms. The neutral isn’t anywhere near earth potential, nor is it sufficiently insulated to constitute a proper floating source, as can be obtained from a building site transformer. I measured 83V between N & PE!

It would be helpful if forum members who possess a V2L lead and a multimeter would take some measurements to corroborate or refute my findings...
Without a discharge in progress what resistance appears between Earth (PE) and the 12V battery negative terminal that's strapped to the car's chassis?
While discharging without a load what voltage appears between Neutral and Earth?
And what 'mains' voltage appears between Live & Neutral?

Many thanks in anticipation.
 
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I was just adding to your warnings - it was indeed clearly labelled but I felt there might be one or two out there who needed reminding that a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing.

I hope someone can help you take the readings you are looking for.
 
tsedge said:
Interesting and potentially useful advice - but I would caution anyone reading that if you needed this advice to know what to do then you probably don't know enough about electrics to safely experiment: always consult a qualified expert first if there's any doubt and if you are doubting, probably you should employ a professional to do it instead.
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Naaaaa it will be alright
 
Vingnut said:
I measured the resistance between PE/PP to be 1998 ohm on the 2000 (2k ohm) scale.

Disclaimer. Used a cheap meter that zeroed to 5 ohm at the 200 ohm scale
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I think this is an adapter for a BYD. BYD VtoL has PE/PP resistance of 1998 ohm.
 
Made a V2L cable according deze specs 480 ohm
SAE J1772 - Wikipedia
IMG_20230616_194723303.jpg
 
3.5KW 13A Type 2 V2L with BS1363 AC Socket
 

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Staffex said:
I've just checked out the ability to power the whole house in the event of a power cut. First make sure that you're not going to demand more than 2.2kWh - so keep power-hungry devices such as the washing machine or electric shower turned off. FYI I have a TN-S supply with RCBOs on each circuit.

Now children, don't try this at home...
Here's a quick-and-dirty method that breaks every rule in the book but it's a simple and effective way to power your house from the car, rather than the other way round:

1) Make a short 'death' lead with 13A plugs at each end and ensure that the earth wire is NOT connected. This is necessary because the car's earth (on the PE pin) isn't bonded to its neutral (carried on the N pin). Failure to float the earth will cause the car's residual current protection to halt the discharge process the moment it's connected to the domestic supply - where earth and neutral are bonded locally in the case of a TN-C supply, or at the substation with a TN-S supply.

2) TURN OFF THE MAIN BREAKER to isolate your consumer unit from the incoming mains supply and ensure you don't try to supply the national grid!

3) Plug one end of your 'death' lead into the V2L's trailing socket(s) and plug the other end of the 'death' lead into the nearest convenient 13A outlet, probably in your garage.

4) Make sure that power-hungry devices such as the washing m/c or electric shower are turned off, then start the car's discharge process.

You may not wish to power the whole house, maybe just the g/f ring main. If so, only the MCB or RCBO associated with that circuit will need to be turned off. Your 'death' lead should then be plugged into an appropriate 13A outlet indoors, which will probably require use of an extension lead. Finally, please don't attempt this if you're not a competent person and make sure no-one other than yourself has access to the 'death' lead.
Click to expand...
Have just ordered my MG4, EV charger being installed next week. Aside from implementation with death lead is as I speculated (will confirm with qualified electrician who will advise against it). My power provider gives me 3 hours of free power, that's say 19kwh, I drive around 15km per day, say 3kwh, my average daily house consumption is only 7kwh (say 350-400 watt per hr with occasional kettle or toaster spike). Do you think my energy provider will think I am taking the p*ss with zero kwh chargeable consumption, though they will get $1 per day supply charge.
 
Additional warning. Using V2l one is using a floating system. use double isolated tools only. It is dangerous to use a power block with multiple sockets; if two different people each use a tool at the same time connected to that V2L power block and one tool becomes faulty the second person using the other tool may be electrocuted.
 
Please could you press your function button and tell us what voltage you're getting on and off load.
 
DeMille said:
Additional warning. Using V2l one is using a floating system. use double isolated tools only. It is dangerous to use a power block with multiple sockets; if two different people each use a tool at the same time connected to that V2L power block and one tool becomes faulty the second person using the other tool may be electrocuted.
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True, the car is a floating source - like that provided by a building site isolating transformer. But rest assured, even if the car was up to its knees in water and the V2L was running a faulty appliance or appliances with live casings the car's RCD would trip the moment any significant current flowed to earth, thus protecting the operator.
 
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