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[kphonik]

While charging a Zero?! I thought it was pulling less than 10a?

[Richard230]

While charging a Zero?! I thought it was pulling less than 10a?

I think the on-board charger pulls about 12 amps, max.

[Manzanita]

My Kill-a-watt caught fire while I had my bike plugged into it. Reading around the EV forums, that isn't uncommon when drawing high current for extended periods of time. I would not recommend any long term or consistent use with it.

Yes, my $19 Kill-o-Watt meter (p4400) stopped working in less than 2 months when used inline while charging my bike...

[oobflyer]

I've never tried to charge while using the Kil-o-watt meter - I only used the meter to measure the current, then removed it from the circuit.
I do use the WEMO wi-fi switch every night and have never had any problem with it overheating. It's rated at 1.8 kW - the Zero SR draws 1.4 kW - my Vectrix draws 1.5 - 1.6 kW.

[nigezero]

The Ego is almost identical and I loved the WeMo story, but not available here. It's been very reliable and accessible too, had to reset a few times too.

The WattWatchers device is like an Intel inside device that various GUIs are available to use in different ways. I have a monitoring focused App and a Solar/load monitoring app too. It's stunning, world class and 3G compatible too from next month.

[JasonS]

FYI - I still have my bike plugged into my kill-a-watt on a daily basis (when it's not at the dealer), and so far so good.

[CrashCash]

FYI, for what it's worth... I had my new Delta-Q from Zero start popping breakers that were rated 20A & 25A with nothing else running on the circuit.

I also had a light switch stop working, which was wired duplex (i.e. two switches at each end of the garage controlled an overhead light, and you flip the state of either switch to change the on/off state of the light)

I opened up the wall box to replace the switch, and it was wired with lamp cord, not Romex or anything code! Right then I knew it was a bodge job far beyond my meager electrical skills, so I called in an electrician.

I explained the situation and showed him the switch wiring, and he gave me a break on the price because I was trying to make the house safe. He spent a couple hours going "are you f*cking kidding me?" and showing me other bodge jobs by what I assume was the previous owner.

It's a wonder I'm not living in a box next to a pile of ashes.

[JasonS]

That's a bit scary...  Are you confident he found all of the bodgery?

I sometimes grimace at the cost of buying the right wiring for the job (when I know I have ample, oh, lamp cord, leftover extension cord scraps, etc.) but it's really worth using the right materials if you're gonna do the job.

I've added an outlet in my garage (in a convenient location for my Zero), replaced the A/C in my garage/shop, and ran a dedicated 220V circuit for my table saw.  Oh, and installed a whole-house surge suppressor after a wind storm induced power failure took out my dishwasher, cooktop, some self-amplified speakers, an iPod dock, various CFLs, and a few light socket motion sensors (the kind that are handy in pantries and closets). 

Worth the piece of mind to do it (or have it done) right.

[CrashCash]

I hope so. We pulled the electrical outlets and switches inside the house, and they looked to be code. It seemed the previous owner got a wiring diagram for duplex switches and had a field day.

There's GFCI outlets in the bathrooms wired to a common reset button in the garage, but that appears to be code. "Sigh, that's the way they did it in '79 when this was built..."

Yes, I am bad at trying to do it all myself, but I do get pro help to do a lot of stuff. They usually have expensive special purpose tools and know tricks of the trade. Like when my toilet started backing up into the tub, the plumber instantly knew to snake down the roof vent.

I saw that lamp cord and thought "yup, THAT'S been dicked over right well, and I can only make it worse."