[BillM]

I happened to be looking over Honda's charging cable instructions that come with the level 1 charging cable in the Clarity, and notice that the first sentence in the After Charging section of the operating instructions states disconnecting the plug from the outlet.

Would you say this is a compelling requirement after each charging session ? Or was it merely a lead-in to the following sentence, to hold the body of the plug when disconnecting?

Does everyone disconnect the charging cable plug from the outlet after charging ??

 

[Groves Cooke]

I leave mine plugged in most of the time. Only exception is if I am going somewhere where I can charge the car for the return trip.

 

[4sallypat]

I think that refers to if you are moving around with the charger from place to place and taking the charger in the trunk each day ?


I have 2 chargers: the Honda OEM charger stays in the trunk for travel destination use.

In my garage, for daily charging I have a Duosida dual voltage charger that is left plugged into the 120V wall outlet all the time for faster L1 charge times....

 

[BillM]

I can’t conceive of a reason to require unplugging from the outlet, unless, remotely, a concern for the longevity of the POWER indicator if connected 24/7 ? Seems unlikely.

 

[mowcowbell]

I might be concerned about power surges/spikes during thunderstorms and would unplug it, but otherwise it would remain connected.

 

[BillM]

Definitely something to consider. I fortunately live in an area that has very few lightning storms, but I will be alert to them in the future!

And I believe it is the kind of thing that a corporate lawyer may have caught. As an example of this, I am thinking also of the written warning against using extension chords. This we may solve if we use the proper gauge wire for the maximum possible amperage at our set-up. But not much one can do against the surge from a proximate lightning strike.

 

[Walt10410]

I have installed 2 surge protector, one on each side of the 120V on the panel. Have had no worries or issues since installed. good luck.

 

[DucRider]

The J1772 connector that plugs into the car was designed for thousands of plug/unplug cycles. The standard household outlet is not.

The 120V receptacle (outlet) should be checked regularly if that is your primary means of charging. A loose connection is a source of heat and gets worse over time. Fires have resulted. It might also be worthwhile to upgrade it to a heavy duty (or better) unit. Those typically put in homes are purchased as cheaply as possible (individually the price difference is negligible, but builders/electricians can buy thousands in a year)