Will the type 2 Mennekes plug pass though a UK letter box?

If so, this may be a way for me to avoid a difficult exterior installation of the charging unit.

I would say probably not, just tried mine and the type 2 plug is too chunky to fit through. Although there seems to be no universal standards for letterbox sizes.

Might I suggest you buy/install a cat flap? ( cat optional)

Thanks very much for the speedy reply. Take your point about no standard size for letterbox but I haven't been able to find the dimensions of the mennekes plug. Could I trouble you for these? Daniel

The only thing that is standard on the available plugs is the end that plugs into the car. IOW, you'd have to know what company made the connector of interest to be sure. Most of them have a curve to the plug, making it easier to grasp and plug in, plus, to help protect the wiring when it goes into the plug, many often have some sort of stiffener around the wire at the end of the plug. I've seen pictures of some that look more like the handle of a gun, with nearly a 90-degree bend, verses the more typical slight bend.

I doubt any letterbox will fit a type 2 plug. The letterbox on my door is huge (the biggest I've ever had) and it doesn't fit by a long shot. The type 2 mennekes is pretty chunky.

The above mentioned cat flap seems the only hole-in-a-door that will accommodate.

molybdenum99 said:

If so, this may be a way for me to avoid a difficult exterior installation of the charging unit.

Click to expand...

Have you been told an exterior installation would be difficult? There are some very compact charging units available and if you would be routing a cable through your letterbox anyway, would it not be easier / neater to have a proper EVSE situated by the door?

I couldn't spot the measurements on their pdf product range, you could try calling them

International branches / representations
UK / IRL
MENNEKES Electric Ltd.
Unit 4, Crayfields Industrial Park
Main Road, St. Pauls Cray
Orpington
Kent BR5 3HP, UK
Phone + 44 (16 89) 83 35 22
Fax + 44 (16 89) 83 33 78
E-Mail [email protected]
Internet: www.MENNEKES.co.uk

Thanks to all. It seems that 7 cm is the widest part of the plug / handle assembly.

The issue is less one of getting a line to the exterior rather than achieving an acceptable aesthetic result. The charging unit can be hidden on the wall behind a large bamboo in a planter but getting the line to the charging unit without it looking conspicuous is the issue. House underwent full architectural renovation very recently. Was talked out of having line laid at time of building work much to my chagrin now...

If you bought an unteathered charger the end that plugs into the charger can be smaller than the end which plugs into the car, it is on one if the charging cable I have.

Bill

Thanks, Bill. Untethered charger was my intention. Would you be able to measure the widest part if the smallest end of your cable?

molybdenum99 said:

Thanks, Bill. Untethered charger was my intention. Would you be able to measure the widest part if the smallest end of your cable?

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Sorry for the delay, yes. The widest part of the car end I estimate (measured) to be just under 7cm, but the widest part of the charger end is just under 6 cm. If you measure the outside of the part plug (not the handle) there is a 1 cm difference between the two, so that does all makes sense.

Bill

Thank you!

I suggest some care here. The earthing requirements are quite different for external or internal points as I understand it. If you are intending to have the car outside, in the rain for example, the earthing may be at a different level. I am not an electrician but I have seen this explained on a forum elsewhere. There is a possibility that touching the car if there was a fault somewhere would mean the internal house Earth is not the same as external ground and you could get a shock. Whilst this is remote possibility apparently at is the reason for quite different regs for the external sockets.

Unfortunately I have read that electricians all give different views a bit like lawyers ;-)

Lesson. Get professional advice.

All EVSEs contain what amounts to a GFCI circuit...it measures power in verses power out, and if there's an imbalance, it shuts the output power off. This also requires the EVSE to be wired properly for maximum safety, but being electrocuted by your car while hooked up to a functioning EVSE is essentially zero unless it is compromised in some manner.

Get professional advice

Click to expand...

I'm not an electrician, but a chartered Electrical Engineer. So I can speak only for the UK.
If your EVSE is connected to it's own Reverse Current Circuit Breaker (RCCB) - as it should be - then the balance between the Live and Neutral currents is continuously monitored (in hardware not software, thank the Lord!). If any current goes "missing" in either line - because it's going to ground, for example, or any other reason - the RCCB trips and all is safe. The "Occasional Use Charger" supplied with the car also has a ground integrity check LED, but I don't know what it checks, and I haven't bothered to find out whether the unit works at all if there is no earth connection.
But the safety systems built in will ensure you don't get electrocuted.

The functional operation of the EVSE is the same in both Europe and North America...the plug differs based on where the car is delivered...the EVSE has logic to detect what we call in the USA, a ground fault (and, apparently in the UK, an RCCB) in it. Having a second one in line normally isn't an issue, but can be. The circuit in the EVSE is self-resetting, so if it detects a fault, and that fault is removed, the EVSE can resume the charging session. If the upstream power to the EVSE was interrupted, (breaker or fuse), then you'd have to reset or replace that. Most, not all EVSE's will reconnect with the vehicle if a fault is removed. TO avoid getting into a car that was not fully charged, IMHO, you want one that can reconnect on its own (as long as it still has input power!).

Bottom line, there are multiple layers of safety in play between the supply to the EVSE, in the EVSE itself, and in the car. It would take a really weird set of failures to hurt yourself when using the thing as intended.

Back to the OP...the only thing standard on the plug is the shape of the head and the pinout...each manufacturer has their own slightly different design, so what may work with one plug, may not with another that chose a different angle, or length, or cord strain relieve, etc. On mine in the USA, I have a 4" diameter pipe inserted through my wall, and put a mailbox on a heavy duty gate hinge over the top of it. There is a big enough gap behind it for the cord to hang down behind the box without binding, and it swings out of the way to pass it through. I also fashioned a foam plug to block the hole so I don't get a cold breeze or allow bugs in. My EVSE is in side my garage, near the door, so if the car is in the garage (normally, my other car is there) it easily reaches the i3, or, if I back the car in the drive, it reaches the i3 while outside as well (the most common situation - my ICE doesn't get used much, but when it does, it's on a longer trip, and I swap positions of the vehicles).

You do realise this means having a potentially bulky EVSE in your hall/elsewhere. Which will look odd. And is the drive right outside the front door? 5m cable isn't as long as you think. Don't forget - you could always get a beefy extension cable and run a 13 amp line out instead. As long as you aren't draining the battery everyday it could be the easiest / cheapest solution. [edit to add. mine clunks and clicks qa lot as the charger kicks on and off during preconditioning. Would drive you mad if you can hear it from the bedroom]. It's bad enough when it's outside amd you can hear it muted through the wall.