We have had a melt down

Electrically speaking that is

Sorry to interrupt the Greek Trip but I have been dealing with some things here in real time.

The 220 volt charger that I use to charge up my EV melted! The plug is welded to the outlet. So I have spent the day dealing with RIVIAN and Lectron and the builder of the house, trying to determine what to do and whom to hire to get my charger back up and running.

I tried to charge it up using the 110 volt outlet but it kept tripping the GFI (Ground Fault Interrupter.) I thought at first that this proved RIVIAN was the culprit. But when I called back RIVIAN (for the third time. Actually they were very polite and kind, even though they were dealing with a mad man worried that he may have just dodged a house fire), RIVIAN said “We don’t recommend plugging into a circuit with a GFI.

So I turned off the garage outlet breaker, pulled out the outlet that had the GFI system, and bypassed the GFI.

Then flipped the breaker back on, plugged in the RIVIAN and it has been charging very nicely ever since. But at 110 volts I still have 68 hours to go to get a 95% charge!

RIVIAN said it’s not their problem because I used a Third party charger.

The third party Charger rep send me an email with a long list of questions and requests for photos and videos.

So I thought, as long as I have to write to the Charger mfg., Lectron, I may as well put it all out there on the record. So Lectron, this journal entry is my statement.

At this point I have formed no conclusions; however there are some possibilities.

1. The manufacturer of the breaker, rated for 50 amps, made a defective product and the breaker failed to trip even though the flow of current exceeded 50 amps.

2. The electrical contractor failed to run 220 volt wiring of sufficient capacity to handle 50 volts? Not sure how or why that would make the plug melt without tripping the breaker.

3. The receptacle to which the electrician wired, made by Leviton, failed to carry 50 amps, and melted. (It did melt).

4. The manufacturer of the charger, Lectron, did something wrong, causing the plug to melt and eventually trip the breaker after melting the outlet.

5. RIVIAN did something wrong, causing the plug to melt and eventually tripping the breaker.

6. If there was an improper wiring job, then the Township inspector failed to do his job as well.

Can you think of any other potentially culpable parties? Frankly I don’t think I am culpable but I am sure one of the above folks will start blaming me. That’s the way they generally roll in my experience.

The plug is literally fused to the outlet.

I have called my trusty brother in law, an engineer, and got his advice. I need to find an independent person experienced in these matters to take this thing apart.

So I thought, let’s just put it all out there. I won’t have to repeat the same story to each of the above interested parties, just tell them it’s all in the blog.

Maybe I can pick up a few new subscribers that way!

Anyway thanks for reading and sorry to interrupt the Greece trip. Spoiler alert, we had a great time in Greece, made lots of new friends and saw lots of stuff~! Highly recommend!

We’re getting a lovely rain now.