Keep in mind that there is nothing to prevent someone from replacing the
15 amp receptacle on a 15 amp circuit with a 20 amp receptacle. You can
still only draw 12 amps. The circuit capacity is what you care about,
not so much the style of receptacle.
The only method I am aware of to determine the ampacity of the circuit
is to identify the breaker. There are all sorts of nifty electronic
devices to aid you in doing this, but that is the bottom line.
Here is a link to a typical circuit breaker identifier:
http://www.tequipment.net/Extech/CB20/Circuit-Breaker-Tracers/
Plug in the transmitter into the receptacle and then run the "sniffer"
over each breaker in the panel. It will light up and beep when it is
over the specific breaker for that particular circuit. No need to
disrupt power. Very slick.
Bill D.
On 1/20/2016 8:48 AM, EVDL Administrator via EV wrote:
On 20 Jan 2016 at 8:03, Mike Nickerson via EV wrote:
You could have a 15A
outlet with 20A wiring, but I wouldn't try to draw 16A from it. While the
wiring could take it, the outlet isn't rated for it.
If you take two "commercial duty" receptacles apart, one rated 15a and the
other 20a, you won't see any difference in them.
I haven't tried this with the 15a recepts from the 50 cent baskets at the
big box stores, however. My suspicion is that with new ones you can draw 16
amps all day. With 20 or 30 year old cheapo receptacles, I wouldn't
recommend it.
Broadly speaking, if the left slot (with ground pin down) is T-shaped, it's
a 20a rated 120v recept, and you can use up to 16a for charging. Otherwise,
limit your charging to 12a.
I can't think of any way to determine the receptacle's capacity
electronically, without tripping the breaker or blowing the fuse. I'm not
an engineer, though.
David Roden - Akron, Ohio, USA
EVDL Administrator
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