LEVITON CHARGER EVB40-PST Installation Height Question

[ekcanzano]

I have decided the EVB40-PST (surface mount) is the EVSE I want for my RAV4-EV. I am seeing conflicting information from Leviton about how high to mount the mounting plate for the EVSE.

I would like to get started on the installation while the EVSE and Mounting Kit are in transit to me. Not having the parts here is making these inconsistencies very aggravating.

All citations in Leviton’s technical materials say the top of the charger should be no higher than 48" off the ground and no less than 42". This is very consistent.

The problem arises when I reference the installation instructions for the mandatory installation kit (not thrilled they extracted another $78 out of me). It clearly shows that the top of the mounting plate should be anchored to the wall at 48". However, they mention that the top of the EVSE is higher than the top of the mounting plate. The drawings very clearly show the plate significantly lower than the top of the EVSE (but no dimensional info). So if I follow the diagram and instructions stating the top of the plate should be set at 48", when I hang the charger on the plate, it could easily be 6 to 10 inches taller than the stated 48" maximum height (52" to 58"). So the question is: If I want the top of the charger to be at 48", how high should the top of the mounting plate be set?

The second question I have not been able to find an answer to is: How long is the power supply plug and cable assembly below the EVSE? And how does that relate to how many inches below the bottom of the mounting plate should I locate the electrical box? I would like to mount the box, install the conduit, pull in the conductors, ground the system, and prepare for the landing of the wires.

Recapping:
If I want the top of the charger to be at 48", how high should the top of the mounting plate set?

How long is the power supply plug and cable assembly below the EVSE? And how does that relate to how many inches below the bottom of the mounting plate should I locate the electrical box?

Anyone out there have any hands-on experience with installing the EVB40-PST?

Thanks.

 

[madcow]

Ok, so here are your answers:

1. The top of the charger could mean a few things. When you receive your unit, you will see that there is a red housing that mounts on top of the mounting plate. The top of this red piece is 7.5" from the top of the mounting plate. A white plastic cover snaps in place on top of the red housing. The white plastic piece doesn't sit flush with the wall since it forms a lip to hold the power cable in place when you wind it around the housing. The top of the white plastic piece is 8.5" above the top of the mounting plate. Once you wind the power cable around the housing it's about 10" or more from the top of the cables wound around the housing to the top of the metal mounting plate.

2. The power plug is 12" long from the black piece that screws into the housing to the end of the plug. I can't answer the second part of this question because I'm using the internal location for the power outlet. Let me explain, I ordered the flush mount version, and because Leviton is stupid and made the part numbers nearly identical 5 vs. S, Amazon screwed up and shipped me the surface mount version. Once I received the EVSE, I quickly realized that this is the same unit with the power cord relocated. In fact, in the instructions, it shows how to relocate the power plug from the bottom location to the top location. You'll need a security bit torn to take off the 4 screws on the metal box that contains the electronics, but after that, it's basically 3 wire nuts and you can relocate the power plug. The installation is way cleaner with the power outlet located inside the housing. I'm not even sure why Leviton calls one a surface mount because the box that they include with the kit is really just a water resistant cover that would fit over a surface mounted outlet. I think the kit is well worth the cost and the mounting plate makes the install a breeze. It took me and my electrician 1.5 hours to install the circuit, run the power wires #6, mount the outlet, mount the EVSE, and open up the box and move the power plug.

I would highly recommend that you wait until you get the kit so you can understand exactly what I'm talking about. I know the feeling of wanting to get started, but the install was so easy that you could do it all in a few hours. My EVSE is mounted much higher than 48", 71" to the top of the white plastic part. This is because I have it installed on the inside wall of the garage above a workbench.

I really can't say enough about the mounting kit. I was really hating it when I also had to pay an arm and a leg for basically the metal bracket (since the other parts I could buy from Home Depot for less than $10, but it was well worth it. It's super easy to take this thing off the wall and put it back on. In fact, thanks for asking the question because it gave me an excuse to take mine off the wall and put the cover plate over the outlet (since I used the internal location, I didn't have a cover for the outlet).

Let me know if you have any more questions. Good luck.

 

[miimura]

See the PDF linked below. The diagram for the relative position of the electrical box shown on the last page is actually misleading. They show a box recessed into the wall. That would be a "Flush Mount" installation but the location shown is proper for the "Surface Mount" installation which would have a metal box completely outside the wall. For a true flush mount, the box recessed into the wall must be above the mounting bracket. Look at Page 2 to see the two versions and their plug locations.

http://toyota.leviton.com/sites/toyota.leviton.com/files/Toyota_NextGen40A_Bundle.pdf

Excerpt from above Leviton PDF

Note the position of the box to the left of the stud. This is important for both the flush mount and surface mount because the only mounting holes Leviton provides are on the centerline of the unit. My electrician put the box on the right side of the stud, so I had to install a piece of plywood on top of the drywall so that I would have something to securely screw the EVSE to. I intentionally did not purchase or use the mounting bracket, I just bought some short 1/4" Lag Screws and screwed the unit directly to the plywood.

Apparently, centering electrical boxes 48" above the finished floor is standard for garage outlets. My electrician did that without my input during construction. It resulted in a very comfortable height for the flush mount unit. I would put the box 28" above the floor for a surface mount installation.

That is the currently unused NEMA 14-50 outlet on the other side of my garage in case people don't know what a surface mount box looks like. This one is surface mounted because that wall is a concrete retaining wall and it didn't make sense to cut into the concrete.

 

[EVBill]

I wondered about the instructions for height as well. The city of Riverside has a nice EVSE guide and it says the following:
GENERAL INSTALLATION GUIDELINES FOR LEVEL 2 RESIDENTIAL EV CHARGERS
1. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS - All Electrical Vehicle Charging Systems shall comply
with the applicable sections of the California Electrical Code, including Article 625.
2. EQUIPMENT HEIGHT - The coupling means of the Electric Vehicle Supply
Equipment shall be stored at a height of 18 – 48 inches above the finished floor.
(CEC Art 625.29(B)).

I believe the 18-48 inch requirement in the Calif Electrical Code originate from ADA requirements:
Section 308.2.1 of the 2010 ADA Standards states that the high forward reach shall be 48inches (1220mm) maximum and the low forward reach shall be 15inches(380mm)minimum above the finish floor or ground where no obstruction to the device exists.

The Leviton instructions have the mounting plate as the primary mounting method, but the alternate method is to mount directly to the wall using holes in the centerline of the unit. The only problem is that with the flush mount, if you use a stud to attach the two gang electrical box then the centerline of the unit is not over a stud. I used drywall anchors that were good for up to 150 lbs, but the plywood method above is a good approach.

I applied for a city permit for my EVSE installation and the city inspector required me to install a disconnect switch, so you may want to discuss that with your electrician.

 

[miimura]

The Leviton instructions have the mounting plate as the primary mounting method, but the alternate method is to mount directly to the wall using holes in the centerline of the unit. The only problem is that with the flush mount, if you use a stud to attach the two gang electrical box then the centerline of the unit is not over a stud. I used drywall anchors that were good for up to 150 lbs, but the plywood method above is a good approach.

I applied for a city permit for my EVSE installation and the city inspector required me to install a disconnect switch, so you may want to discuss that with your electrician.

I disagree about the stud placement and mounting. If the box is nailed directly to the left side of a stud, the Leviton holes on the centerline will line up with the stud perfectly. See my picture of the open unit above.

I thought disconnect was only required for hard wired installations. The plug should qualify as disconnect. Is the problem that the flush mount installation covers the plug?
My inspector didn't say anything about disconnect. He was the inspector that handled most of my inspections during construction throughout the prior year and a 14-50 outlet was placed and inspected then. I only changed the outlet from 14-50 to 6-50 to match the Leviton and he only suggested that I label the breaker "EVSE" since there are 2 other 50A breakers in the panel.

 

[ekcanzano]

Wow, I wish to say thank you for all these wonderful replies!

After careful consideration, I have decided to take the wise advice to wait until I have my EVSE in hand. It should be soon and that will eliminate any duplication of work if I guess wrong. I also have noticed that I want to relocate an existing conduit entering my service panel before I add the new conduit for the EVSE. This will satisfy my need to get things done while waiting for delivery of the EVSE.

For all my years of computer ownership (since 1986), this is the first time I have ever posted to a blog. I could not be more thrilled with the helpful and generous outpouring of great and thoughtful replies. Is am very grateful I found this Forum.

While I am acknowledging my gratitude, I would like to thank Dianne Whitmire and Gloria Rincon of Carson Toyota for the best possible buying experience. Before finding them (thru this Forum), I had spoke to nine+ dealerships in preparation to purchase my RAV4-EV. I was very frustrated with the lack of knowledge the dealerships had regarding the EV. None of them could compete with the complete and total understanding of the vehicle or the purchasing/lease options. Dianne and Gloria REALLY know the RAV4-EV and have been selling/leasing them since RAV4-EV Generation One.

Again, thank you all.

 

[EVBill]

I disagree about the stud placement and mounting. If the box is nailed directly to the left side of a stud, the Leviton holes on the centerline will line up with the stud perfectly. See my picture of the open unit above.

Miimura is correct, if the box is nailed to the left side of a stud the centerline will line up with the stud. I realized that my electrician installed the box on the right side of the stud so that's why it didn't line up.

The inspector quoted California Code 625.23 "Disconnecting Means. For electric vehicle supply equipment rated more than 60 amperes or more than 150 volts to ground, the disconnecting means shall be provided and installed in a readily accessible location. The disconnecting means shall be capable of being locked in the open position."
I tried to argue that the circuit breaker was just around the corner on the outside wall of the garage, and that if there were a fire it would be better to access that than a disconnect switch near the EVSE that might be in flames. But the inspector didn't buy that and said it needed to be within line of sight. My permit was specifically for an EVSE installation vs installation of a 240V outlet in the garage.

 

[fooljoe]

"For electric vehicle supply equipment rated more than 60 amperes or more than 150 volts to ground"

But the EVB40 is neither of those things (residential 240v service is 120v to ground.)

 

[miimura]

"For electric vehicle supply equipment rated more than 60 amperes or more than 150 volts to ground"

But the EVB40 is neither of those things (residential 240v service is 120v to ground.)

Ding Ding Ding! We have a winner! Fooljoe wins the prize for pointing out the (somewhat less than) obvious.

 

[fooljoe]

lol

 

[miimura]

I KNEW the disconnect was not needed, I just didn't know exactly why. Fooljoe pointing out the nature of residential split-phase 240V power (L1 and L2 both 120VAC from ground) in close proximity to the rule just made it seem so obvious. Somebody needs to point this out to the inspector before he causes a lot of other new EV owners extra headaches. At first, a 40A EVSE seems like such a special piece of equipment, but it's really not.

 

[EVBill]

Fooljoe pointing out the nature of residential split-phase 240V power (L1 and L2 both 120VAC from ground) in close proximity to the rule just made it seem so obvious. Somebody needs to point this out to the inspector before he causes a lot of other new EV owners extra headaches.

I brought this up with the inspector and he agreed the disconnect switch was not required. Stated that since my inspection he had gone to a training seminar on EVSE's and passed the info along in their office. I should have brought this issue to the forum earlier, when the inspector gave me the notice to correct work. This forum is a great source of info.