Granny charger

[Betsy2017]

More questions.
If I'm away at Daughter's and need to use Granny from a socket what is the best course of action to stop the plug getting to hot etc.
Charge for 2 to 3 hours then leave an hour? and restart and do same?
Will it affect the battery to do this?
Charge overnight for 8-10 hours.
I have asked and her f box has RCDB's?
Thanks in advance.

 

[salty]

More questions.
If I'm away at Daughter's and need to use Granny from a socket what is the best course of action to stop the plug getting to hot etc.
Charge for 2 to 3 hours then leave an hour? and restart and do same?
Will it affect the battery to do this?
Charge overnight for 8-10 hours.
I have asked and her f box has RCDB's?
Thanks in advance.

If your Daughters house is a fairly new build, can't see any problems. If not just check it every so often to see if the socket is getting hot. That's what I did, when I 1st used the Granny Charger, mine was fine, didn't even get warm. And my socket is a fairly old one. But obviously all properties are different. Just keep an eye on it.

 

[Jomarkh]

Hi, As long as you are using a good newish socket overnight should be fine. Just check the plug top to see if it warm which okay hot is not. Are you using an extension cable too?

 

[Betsy2017]

Got a tough lead extension with a RCD built in ,just incase,we were unsure how close to the house we could get (Can use the ext lead for lawn mower etc and in garage

 

[smokie]

If you're using an extension lead unwind the extension fully and try to spread it out a bit even if you don't need to.

 

[Gomev]

If you're using an extension lead unwind the extension fully and try to spread it out a bit even if you don't need to.

and make sure its a 13amp lead, many are only 10amp.

More questions.
If I'm away at Daughter's and need to use Granny from a socket what is the best course of action to stop the plug getting to hot etc.
Charge for 2 to 3 hours then leave an hour? and restart and do same?
Will it affect the battery to do this?
Charge overnight for 8-10 hours.
I have asked and her f box has RCDB's?
Thanks in advance.

You mention charge overnight, is your daughter on a time of day tariff, if not charge anytime when it's a lot easier to keep a check on the plug.

 

[Jamesrr]

and make sure its a 13amp lead, many are only 10amp.

That's unnecessary with the 8 amp charger supplied with the MG4 here in Australia.
I doubt it's different in the UK.*
A reputable 10 amp cable is ample.
Charging when the tarrif is low makes a lot of sense

*(Update) But of course it is different in the UK! Whilst the supplied charger only draws 8A, you should use reputable 13A extension cords as a matter of course.

 

[Gomev]

That's unnecessary with the 8 Amp charger supplied with the MG4 here in Australia.
I doubt it's different in the UK.
A reputable 10 Amp cable is ample.
Charging when the tarrif is low makes a lot of sense

It is different in the UK.

 

[Aupa]

Agreeing with the general trend of comments here. A check of plug temp after an hour will tell the tale.
Monitoring my granny charger on the app shows 1.7kW charging. That corresponds to about 2kW at plug, below 10A.

 

[Jamesrr]

It is different in the UK.

Of course it is! What was I thinking

Yes, always use a reputable 13A extension cord if in the UK. The MG supplied charger appears to draw the same 8A as the one supplied in Australia, but it is always the correct practice to use an extension cord rated to the full current capacity of the circuit.

 

[GaryMG4]

Depending on your car/granny charger you may be able to limit the charge current, on the MG4 you can limit it to 6amps if you have concerns.

 

[M44LCY]

If the socket is protected by an RCD in your consumer unit, don't use an extension that also has an RCD. Nothing drastic would happen, but the two RCDs can create a conflict as the system tries to work out what to do. That, of course, is the simple version. But the message is to only have one RCD (or RCBO)

 

[salty]

Everything OK. Using my new 3.3 kW granny charger. Charged for 19 hrs. Socket never even got warm.

 

[Jomarkh]

Was it drawing 3.3kW all the time?

 

[salty]

Was it drawing 3.3kW all the time?

No idea. All I know is, it charged me car.

 

[Betsy2017]

Thanks for all replies.
To see how things went did 2 x 3hour charges, drew 2.25 avg kW, 9.2 A, around 230 volts.
Plug never felt hot, just warm (less warm than some mobile chargers).
Reason I tried 3 hours was sometimes I have tumble dryer on for 2-3 hours a time (yes not constant)
So just seeing how it went.

 

[Jto]

Hi
For the last three years I charged HS PHEV on the granny charger and I am charging my ZS on the granny charger, so long as the wiring and the plug and socket are in good condition you should be ok but must inspect them on a regular basis and as you only do a charge when I would suggest a visual inspection each time. If this going to be on a regular basis then think about have a electrician fit a out side socket for this.

 

[pmknowles]

Of course it is! What was I thinking

Yes, always use a reputable 13A extension cord if in the UK. The MG supplied charger appears to draw the same 8A as the one supplied in Australia, but it is always the correct practice to use an extension cord rated to the full current capacity of the circuit.

That's not strictly true - it's obviously OK to use a 5A rated extension cable to supply a device rated at 1kW or less. Fuses are rated to protect the cable (and no other reason) in a fault condition. The rating for a ring main circuit is 32A (but the socket is obviously only rated at 13A. A '10A rated' cable should not have a 13A fuse in it but, as the standard fuses are 1A, 3A, 5A and 13A, the fuse will not fulfil its purpose of protecting the cable. In my opinion 10A rated (1mm²) extension cables should not be allowed to be sold.
There is also an earlier post which talks about not having 2 RCDs (RCBOs) stating that they will cause a 'conflict'. This is untrue. If you have 2 RCBOs rated at the same value it will be pot luck which one (or both) will break first in the event of a fault. It can be argued that it would be good practice to have a lower rated RCBO for devices outside as the user is likely to be in a more vulnerable position (could be standing on wet grass for instance). A separate RCBO would also prevent 'nuisance' tripping of the whole house because of an issue outside. The point is having 2 RCBOs doesn't make it dangerous.

 

[Jamesrr]

That's not strictly true - it's obviously OK to use a 5A rated extension cable to supply a device rated at 1kW or less.

My rationale being one may well use the extension cord inadvertently with a device which does pull the full 13A and not just the 8A charger.

 

[Jomarkh]

There are 10A fuses in plug tops used in a lot of cheap extension leads and IEC cables.