Hi all, hope the title makes sense. Been reading about a few people who have travelled across to Perth from Sydney. Crowd funded 22kw 3 phase sockets got mentioned a lot. Now I understand its basically a 3 phase socket attached to a building that you can use to charge your EV etc, but how do you know which 'Cable/socket' standard will apply. Does 3 phase have 2 sorts or plugs for 22kw charging, EG 4 pin and 5 pin in Australia? Appreciate any advice, incase I look to buy a cable that could make use of these 3 phase sockets in the middle of nowhere. Thanks
Does your Kona have a 3-phase on-board charger? If you don't know just look under the plastic cover. The 3-phase one is silver coloured, the 1-phase black. Generally Type 2 receptacles or tethered-cable EVSEs in public spaces are usually wired in 3-phase. They could be 16A (11.8 kW) or 32A (22 kW) per phase. A few ABB DC charger units here in NZ also have a Type 2 receptacle at 63A (43 kW) per phase. At a motel/hotel it could be either 1- or 3-phase at 16A or 32A. A 1-phase on-board charger will need 32A on the one phase of the EVSE to reach 7.4 kW. A 3-phase on-board charger can reach 7.4 kW on a 1-phase supply (at 32A) or 10.8 kW on a 3-phase supply (with 16A per phase). If you have a 1-phase on-board charger you would want to own a 1-phase Type 2 to Type 2 cable rated for 32A. If you have a 3-phase on-board charger you would want to own a 3-phase Type 2 to Type 2 cable rated for 32A, quite heavy and expensive. If you buy a 16A cable it will only charge at 3.6 kW if you happen to plug into a 1-phase EVSE no matter what it can supply. If you're wondering how the car or EVSE knows what cable you used, it does so by the resistance present at the PP pin. The PP pin at each end has a resistor to GND that indicates the per-phase cable rated capacity. There is no conductor between these inside the cable. 32A cables use 6.0 mm2 wire, indicated on the outer jacket. Simple, aye! I should add that the reason for having "22kW" or higher Type 2 receptacles is because the older Renault Zoe EVs could only charge on AC, but at either 22 or 43 kW. These days most EVs have 3-phase OBC's that top out at 10.8 kW approx and only need 16A phase.
Hi Kiwi, thanks and very interesting but not quite the answer I expected. Probably due to my poor understanding of the issue I'm trying to explain. I'll have to check if my 2019 Kona is 3 phase. From what I read, I got the impression that you could use a portable 22kw cable/charger, plug it into the 3 phase socket on the wall and charge at 22kw/H. Is that possible and if so, what is the '3 phase plug standard' that needs to be on the cable. 4 pin or 5 pin? I'm asking as I think ive seen both. Would you also need an AC to DC converter to do the above perhaps?
3-phase plus ground = 4. As I, mentioned the most you’ll get is 10.8 kW assuming you have a 3-phase OBC.
If it's a 2019 I'm pretty sure it will be single phase like mine. What I think you might be looking for is something like https://www.evolutionaustralia.com.au/product-page/giger-portable-electric-car-charger-3-phase to allow you to charge from 3 phase outlets at caravan parks, roadhouses, showgrounds and the like. This is quite an expensive bit of kit and as KiwiME has mentioned, your charge rate will still be limited depending on the location. If you take this path, use plugshare as a guide. If you intend to be overnight in a location that only has 3 phase plugs, other adapters such as https://www.electrotraders.com.au/3-phase-to-single-phase-protected-adapter-5-pin-32a-angled-plug-to-3-pin-10-amp-socket are available which would allow you to use your granny charger. Security of your adapter may be a problem for you to solve.
