I tricked my car charging station into powering a 7.5 kW heater

[@tverdyznaqs]

You sure have connected some technologies in this one Alec.

[@ricardoamendoeira3800]

Was looking for this.

[@oliswell_]

Say that again

[@filiformis]

Fantastic comment.

[@DoctorOnkelap]

well put

[@jan_harald]

I loved the part where he electricited all over the heat

[@IzzyIkigai]

Wait.. The unspoken king of heat pumps installed a heater like this? I feel like we need to look into this. They might be held at gunpoint by some resistive heating lobbyists or something.

[@seionne85]

I'm guessing it's because a garage heater is used infrequently, so it makes sense to save 90% on purchase price even though operating costs will be higher

[@creeper6530]

I think he hasn't found a powerful enough pump

[@brianwunschel6362]

If his garage has a window like mine he could do window heat pump ac unit. Have ac in summer and heat in winter with window unit. Or cut hole in wall to mount it

[@ZarlanTheGreen]

I'm guessing that a heat pump wouldn't have any hope of achieving the same *_speed_* of heating.

[@Hortifox_the_gardener]

I don't even get why you would heat your garage above 0°C - sure comfort and all of that but having the car ice free is enough comfort in my book. And even for just that a regular small big box store heater with a timer would be more than plenty.

[@simoncleret]

No Effort November, move aside. It's Dangerous Design December!

[@DoctorOnkelap]

for some copycat who ignores the warnings it night be darwinaward december..

[@andreasu.3546]

Or have we reached Crazy Christmas?

[@dirtrider88]

just cause you dont understand it doesnt mean its dangerous.

[@cezarcatalin1406]

@@dirtrider88 Oh but we know it’s somewhat dangerous BECAUSE we understand it. Design specifications exist for a reason and in this case half of them went out the window 😂

[@simoncleret]

@@dirtrider88 He literally spends a significant chunk of the video describing how dangerous his design is and how many changes would be necessary to offer it as a product. Did you even watch the video?

[@LeonidasLPP]

Being an electrician, I always like how you mix the basic concept with a sprinkle of something more indepth. I always learn a new idea. Thanks

[@AndrewThibeault]

Not kidding, this is the biggest reason I ever followed his channel. His explanations are fantastic.

[@zenithxivinvexthal6038]

The community demands a J1772 kettle

[@b22chris]

Boiling water in 15 seconds in my garage is a must

[@jaytalbot1146]

I assume you are talking about the home brewing community, and you are absolutely right, no more getting propane tanks refilled!

[@morgangrisby8107]

i wish there were 4kw kettles honestly, you could almost do that with a 240V 20 AMP CIRCUIT. i want my tea FAST. there are even NEMA connectors for that too that are sometimes used for indoor a/cs

[@makodolphus7810]

Finally, an electric jettle...

[@DaveF.]

@@b22chris 15s? I think that'd boil about a cup of water. So, yeah, if you're putting on a pot of tea, I'd call it useful.

[@TheDemiVis]

"do not try this at home" Damn it.. my dream of a hot tub with a J1772 socket on it are dashed yet again

[@touma-san91]

No no.. The do not try this at home, means at your home. He never said anything about your neighbors house.

[@andreasu.3546]

But a hot tub is not a space heater, so not "this". I guess you're good to go with your project.

[@erlendse]

If the hot tub is outdoor, is it actually at home?

[@marcogenovesi8570]

Tech Man Guy said that but he cannot stop you. Don't let your dreams stay dreams

[@higihups]

Important difference: He said "do not try" not "do not do", as he already tried it, you can now simply do it.

[@wembleyford]

Forget using a space-heater as your resistive load in this scenario - you could finally have a proper kettle! Neat!

[@ThanasisGrivas]

Kettle with a car charger plug 😂

[@andreasu.3546]

@@wembleyford "flash boiler"

[@raygunsforronnie847]

@@andreasu.3546 High pressure steam! Alec could be making espresso.

[@Imperial_Squid]

"steam powered grenade"

[@lbgstzockt8493]

Finally I can burn my water. Making tea in seconds will be revolutionary.

[@JimmyDorff]

Using VHS boxes for holding the heater as you drill is very on brand.

[@diyanddone]

And the laserdisc in previous shot

[@GabeSweetMan]

Now I want to know what was on those VHS tapes.

[@davidelsbury2917]

@@GabeSweetManI bet it was Die Hard ;-)

[@MonkeyJedi99]

@@davidelsbury2917 Best Christmas movie ever.

[@DO5729]

Came to the comment section to look for this comment.

[@joshamole]

I came to the comments just to acknowledge my favorite malaphore! “Burn that bridge when we get to it” a blending of two idioms “Cross that bridge when we get to it” and “Burning your bridges”. I applaud your use of figurative language 🎉

[@KatieTheDev]

It's not rocket surgery!

[@CantankerousDave]

@@KatieTheDevStop milking a dead horse.

[@Kineth1]

Don't you mean malamanteau?

[@stevethepocket]

I'm fond of "Don't count your chickens before they come home to roost." It works well for warning people not to be overconfident that things won't go horribly wrong.

[@JohnBysinger]

EV startup founder/CEO here, just wanted to say how impressed I am with this video. You described so many things about AC charging in a manner so clear that I'll be sharing it with people who need to understand how it all works better. I know engineers who could benefit from this! Thanks for making it, and doing such a clear and thorough job doing so!

[@RamrodRedfish]

All of his videos are so well done. He’s a great teacher

[@allaboutroofing2]

Is this the Fēnix power start up from like 6 years ago that had one round of funding in 2018? I'm sorry, but you aren't a start-up. More like a no-start.

[@allaboutroofing2]

I remember because you stole the company name of a well established flashlight and battery manufacturing company.

[@noyb7920]

Having worked in engineering for quite a few years, I can confirm there are MANY, oh so many, engineers who could benefit from watching this channel. Also many startup founder/CEOs. (heh) Also that "digital" signals aren't really digital, but that's a whole different can of worms.

[@stevethepocket]

@@allaboutroofing2 Eh. Better to fail because you can't secure funding than succeed because the funding you do secure is from a nutjob who insists on putting himself in charge of stuff he knows nothing about, projecting a public image of being a genius inventor, using his earnings to buy out and immediately tank a major tech company, and [this space reserved for whatever horrible stuff he helps Trump do in the next four years].

[@whamtheman]

Ahh, Decent Effort December

[@bahamutbbob]

The bloopers, where he comments on messing up immediately. After No Effort, going back to Regular Effort can be a struggle!

[@petermacdonald2138]

😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅

[@MariuszChr]

you mean Decentber

[@DeviantOllam]

This is a good comment ☺️

[@junkman8742]

Still in Mediocre May

[@sydwashere8659]

Do I have an electric car or a garage? No, did I watch this entire video? Yes

[@jimmyzhao2673]

Me too !

[@lajya01]

I don't care about EVs but as soon as the video is about home electricals, I click.

[@fascistpedant758]

The best part is that if you don't have an EV, you can bring the heater to a public charger and plug it in there. Merry Christmas!

[@oznerol256]

Kinda reminds me of CCS to Schuko adapters in europe. Just imagine someone rolling up to a public EV charger and plugging in their phone!

[@TV3MASTER]

@@oznerol256 i actually charge my laptop and power tool batteries this way when on the road.

[@JEFF-ft6qm]

I vote this the best comment.

[@lajya01]

If you wanna sleep in your car, I wonder if it would cheaper to plug a heater into a charger or idling the engine.

[@AndrewGillard]

​@@lajya01If you mean an electric heater _connected to the mains power grid_ (as opposed to powered by the car via an inverter), it'll almost certainly be cheaper to use an electric heater. Idling an ICE vehicle uses an amount of fuel, per hour, approximately equal to 0.6× the engine displacement. For my 1.3 litre (1300 cc) hatchback that's 1.3×0.6 = 0.78 litres per hour, which is around £1.05/hour at current UK prices for unleaded petrol. An electric heater would likely need to be absurdly overpowered for car-heating purposes to cost anywhere close to £1/hour at typical UK electricity prices. I'd imagine that even a 1 kW heater would be too much to run continuously in a car. Though obviously this depends on the car's thermal insulation and the outside temperature.

[@colewelden]

This is so scary relevant that I feel like it was made for me. I've been watching this channel on and off for a long time now, but only a few days ago I was looking at an almost identical heater for my workshop. I also was having issues with how to properly power it. I was going to run a new set of 10/3 to power it, myself. But this still feels like a video tailor made for my current situation.

[@malicious217]

Alton Brown is out there somewhere praising your modification to turn a Unitasker into a Multitasker and so am I!

[@Soccergirly.and.VeloDad]

One of the pros that wasn't mentioned is the cost savings of the cord itself. Those heavy gauge cables are expensive!

[@Agnemons]

If you are worried about a one-off cost, you are not going to pay $1 an hour to run it.

[@tb_eest]

@@Agnemons You may not be worried about it, but some savings are never unwelcome

[@Viper-zk9mv]

@@Agnemons but its also only really a dollar to heat up the garage in an hour, and then greatly decreases

[@FishFind3000]

I have a similar heater and it pulls ~21 amps at full load so all you need is 10gauge wire. The cord necessary would cost like $20-30 bucks and you don’t need that massively large cable the car uses.

[@WarrenGarabrandt]

I'm surprised you didn't install a mini split heat pump in your garage.

[@liftboy92]

I think he said that in the "Your furnace is too big video" - He would need the HOA approval to add a split system to the outside wall.

[@patricescattolin43]

I thought there was one already to control humidity?

[@brianwunschel6362]

They have solar mini splits too

[@amg5619]

Somewhere he has one in a garage I remember lol

[@luisfernandoconti5210]

​@@patricescattolin43I think he moved to another place.

[@chadmasta5]

I feel like some people in the comments are missing the point of this a little. I've seen a few Europeans and Australians pointing out they already have 240 volt AC, which...yeah we know, and a couple people pointing out the existing 240 volt plugs you could attach to the heater. Both of those things are addressed in the video. The point is that there exists an extremely easy to use way to power high current 240 volt devices but it's currently severely underutilized. Honestly Alec, this is a really incredible idea and the fact that you made it real is super cool!

[@bosstowndynamics5488]

As an Australian myself I'm not convinced those commenters had even watched the start of the video properly, our 230V connections can handle more power than a NEMA 15 can but not anywhere near 7.5kW, and most of the European comments are mentioning 3 phase connections which is pretty much the entire point of this connection - a multiphase high current outlet.

[@jamesphillips2285]

@@bosstowndynamics5488 J1772 is single phase. It is the EU variant, IEC 62196-2, SAE J3068, that has up to 3 phases.

[@petergibson2318]

In the EU the single-phase voltage has been standardised to 230vac.

[@haraberu]

For European circuits the same principle applies; you could get 3.6 kW out of a normal outlet, but an electric car outlet can provide 19.2 kW or even 38.4 kW depending on how it's hooked up. Although I've never had significant problems plugging or unplugging anything from a CEE Red outlet.

[@UnimportantAcc]

@@haraberu never? Even the big 63A plugs never given you trouble? Must be my tiny baby hands 😂

[@MagicMadeThis]

Did some IT work at a mostly Solar powered apartment complex some months back. the solar panels were all arranged to act as a sort of car canopy, and beneath them, every car had access to a charger station. wish i was there for electrical i would have loved to take a look at the power management for such a serious setup. hoping to see solar charger spots become a fixture at apartments and office buildings excellent video! super neat project

[@leecasey3022]

"Mostly solar powered apartment complex". Sure.

[@wxtrails]

"Have you seen the Wikipedia article on NEMA connectors?" Bro, I've got it bookmarked 😂

[@bonivuselderheart2716]

Fun Fact: there are industrial trailer mounted resistive heaters that are used as load banks for things like generator load testing. The one they use at my work is an 800 amp, three phase beast, and I like referring to it as the world's biggest toaster. :D

[@BarafuAlbino]

I used to work at the factory. One of those things disappeared without a trace during a 45 minutes midday break. It didn't even have wheels.

[@JorisKofman]

In fact in DK they use a modified heater to test if newly installed circuits for changes work as intended

[@salibaba]

The contactor for it must be immense and sound like an anvil?!

[@james2042]

It's like my job where I calibrate and maintain electron microscopes and I tell people my job is fixing really expensive rulers

[@sixstringedthing]

Marshmallows! Git yer marshmallows 'ere!

[@kooooons]

6:47 THANK YOU! As an EV owner living in a flat in a pedestrianized area my primary mode of charging is AC charging at 22 kW using public infrastructure close to my flat. And that just works. But it seems everyone is increasingly stubborn in focussing on DC gigawatt charging 0-80% in 2 minutes. I have a cheap, old, and crappy EV. If my city hadn't built 22kW AC chargers I couldn't own an EV. But the entire country stopped building them, the prices are going nuts and 22 kW AC charging is rarely even an option in new EVs. People that have to park their cars on the streets and don't have money for a large battery need charging infrastructure, too. But it'd be good for everyone, as not having to stop for charging will always be faster than the fastest charger. A few days ago I went to charge my car to visit relatives and almost all of the chargers were in use by cars with huge batteries and crazy charging speeds but they all used destination charging instead.

[@ezrollerj]

Glad our taxes went to your consumer toy...

[@RomvnlyPlays]

@@ezrollerjI didn’t know providing infrastructure for emerging technology was such a waste. Just because you don’t agree doesn’t mean anything.

[@nuitari1669]

Ah, Reneault? Really weird that most EVs don't make use of their huge, chunky, inverters as chargers too...

[@urusledge]

Get a Honda CR-X.

[@thekingoffailure9967]

@@ezrollerj most infrastructure except for basic food and water supply is for, essentially, toys

[@PW.Skyline.V37]

0:10 I like the ka-chunk closed captioning lol

[@Lngbrdninjamasta]

😂😂

[@fuhkerz]

As someone who often uses captions since my hearing isn't so great without headphones, I enjoy the little easter eggs and extra effort this channel puts in to the captions. I mean, he even captions the flubbed lines in the outtakes - pretty accurately at that! Much better than the automated garbage other channels use.

[@robklemm2753]

This made me go back to the end with captions on, was not disappointed.

[@IncroyablesExperiences]

I've done the same for a large battery product (22 kW available in EU), analog resistor + diode technique was way simpler than expected! Some cheap charger even accept the resistor only. It's also possible to add another precise resistor + a button to make the equivalent of the "cable release" button for EVSE that lock the cable. This way it's possible to trick EVSE on the road. Amazing to see a DIY video from you :)

[@justinstreich1952]

The other reason that you do not want to cycle plugging in different appliances into those NEMA plugs is because they are generally manufactured cheaply because they usually get an oven or dryer plugged in to them and then that's it. Cycling a cheap plug will eventually lead to a high voltage arc that is very likely to cause a fire.

[@xiaodingjones1554]

No problem in the rest of the world! They handle it just fine.

[@Steffen_H]

27:17 That is why I love the Electrical Connectors we use in Germany: - CEE 7/3 (Type E Socket aka Schuko) and CEE 7/7 (Type E & F Plug) for up to 16A (for continues loads it is only recommended to use 10 - 13 A max, e.g. Car charging) - IEC 60309 (aka "CEE System") with ratings up to 125A for continues loads (16 A, 32 A, 63 A & 125 A) > 230 V, 1 Phase (L, N & PE) > 230 V / 400 V, 3 Phase (L1, L2, L3, N & PE) - Type 2 for Car charging - CCS 2 for Car fast charging

[@happygimp0]

Type J wäre besser als Type E. Typ J ist einfach viel zu gross und nicht Verpolungssicher.

[@alouisschafer7212]

Einfach so geil alles dreiphasig und standardisiert zu haben.

[@TOMASZ19890605]

not only in Germany, but I'd say everywhere in Europe.

[@l.s.8150]

​@@happygimp0 Naja, geiler wäre es wenn es pol-variabel bleiben würde und Endgeräte verpflichtend beide Leiter (L&N) schalten würden. Dann kannst du als Verbraucher deine (Winkel-)Stecker stecken wie du möchtest, ähnlich USB-C. Ein Träumchen wäre dann noch jedes Gerät mit auswechselbaren Kalt-/Kleingerätekabel C6/C7/C13 zu versorgen und mit einer Last entsprechenden Feinsicherung (PTC / schmelz / Automat) in der Buchse geräteseitig (britisches Prinzip). ...schon wieder Sabberflecken auf dem Hemd.

[@handygohst]

But you can only use CCS for 8 hours with 16, 32 etc. Everything you need after that requires a fixed connection.

[@1RandomToaster]

Only a minute in but that heater is a great picture of the future for me. There are a lot of occasional use “shop tools” that would benefit from this. The heater is a perfect example because it benefits from the extra pixies but even table saws or compressors would benefit. Things you’d use in the garage to work “where the car normally is”. Hopefully that comes along with ubiquitous pixie powered cars.

[@pizzaivlife]

yup- welfder, table saw, all kinds of things need a lot of 220 the few times a month you need them as a hobbist

[@ShirokoCycling]

AC chargers will become the dryer outlet of the garage. 220V, and it's high amperage ready.

[@firefighter4443]

Welder! My buddy has a welder that can plug into 120v 15A or 240v ?Amp. Either way, it’s an intermittent use device that could be powered with an electric car charger outlet! I’ve tried to figure the cost of running a dedicated 240v outlet for JUST a welder for him, but it costs too much for his limited use.

[@1RandomToaster]

@ The “problem” is that there’s no profit motive. “Big Welder” doesn’t make money off of intermittent welders, they make money off of people who make money welding. The actual product that can come to market here (at least in 2024) is an “interposer” that handles the “pretend to be a car” part and gives the user a “safe” outlet.

[@OleJanssen]

Theoretically, it should be pretty easy to make this thing respect the charger's current limit. Basically any microcontroller should be able to work with the J1772 capacity communication and respect the connector's disconnect switch if programmed correctly. Then, a simple relay could be used to interrupt the control cirquit for the heater's contactor accordingly. So with enough dedication, this could easily be made safe.

[@klaernie]

It would even make the unplug-arc go away, would provide a way to delay the enablement of the power for a second while being plugged in, and could also drive a solid state relay to enable/disable the load without arcs entirely by using zero-cross-detection. And the last one could even allow PWM to adjust precisely to the allowed current.

[@roflchopter11]

Probably not, as with either low frequency duty cycle control or a chopper dimmer, peak power is basically unchanged. Heat generated in the conductors is proportional to the square of the current (which is proportional to the delivered power)

[@ghammer9773]

If you purpose modded a multi-coil heater to do this, contactors could rewire the coils (series versus parallel) to obey that limit. I did steal this idea from Subaru heat seats from before they went through the ecu.

[@sniperczar]

I think the other point of concern is the connector temperature. Most EVs will monitor the connection point thermals and pause or derate in the event of excessive heat/resistance in the connector. If there is buildup on the connector pins or the plug angle is not flush there can be a lot of heat generated through those pins.

[@seraphina985]

Yeah I was thinking that something like a 250V, 48A Power MOSFET would be better. There are plenty of products out there more than capable of doing this they are used in all sorts of industrial control systems etc like the solid state inverters of multi-speed industrial motors. Hell electric locomotives use this technology and they can be switching 25KV 5KA supplies.

[@sixstringedthing]

I love Alec's specifically inserted and very unmissable Do Not Try This At Home legal diaclaimer, spoken in a tone and with a distinct pause afterwards which loudly said "Look, if you're going to try this at home I can't stop you, and I actually think this is a pretty good idea or else I wouldn't have built it. But you really need to be very aware of the risks to life and property that you're taking on here, please do not injure your family and/or burn down your house and then say that I told you to do this." One can't be too careful these days. Great idea mate! (using the car charger to power other high-load stuff I mean). Funnily enough, I have a similar but opposite problem; I've decided it's really about time to clean out the very poorly insulated sunroom (junk storage room) at the height of Aussie summer... an AC car charger would be great to run a portable air-conditioner (heat pump) if only they weren't so horribly inefficient due to the open-loop design. :(

[@Khrrck]

The dual hose portable models are actually fairly reasonable efficiency wise since they mitigate the open loop issue (condenser air is both pulled from and then returned to the outdoors). Not as good as a window or permanently installed unit but not nearly the energy guzzlers they used to be, especially if you get one with variable speed compressor.

[@chemputer]

This reminds me of how in the early days of electricity in the home, a lot of devices came with an _edison screw_ connector, because, you know, the _lights_ in a house were electrified first, before we designed wall outlets and before they were common. If you got _really_ lucky, it might even be a nice enough connector to allow you to still plug in your light! So you could still SEE!

[@KurtCollier]

I love how there is a random LaserDisc™ laying on your tool bench in your garage. that re-organization project is much more desperate than you made it sound at the beginning! I hope your things find a wonderful and good and right home.

[@kylemacintoshlinux1449]

8:51 "We'll burn that bridge when we get to it" Ah-ha! I knew I couldn't be the only one that likes to use that phrase.

[@NotTechSupport]

There are dozens of us!

[@maxounette-jv7dj]

there are millions of us!

[@combustible7267]

a malaphor :D

[@trevors2041]

In underground mines in US/Canada, the power cables for 3-phase power use a similar way of announcing power connection - they have a Pilot Wire, 3 phase wires, and ground wire. At the equipment (Load), there is a 5.6V Zener diode between Pilot and Ground, so that when connected there is a 5.6V potential from pilot to ground (instead of fancy communication schemes its just a roughly 20ma current loop which is happy when it sees 5.6V), but this ensures the piece of equipment has the same ground potential as the power source. This is referred to as "Ground Check" and ensures the equipment is always grounded for operator safety

[@gregordiseth6651]

This might be silly, but there is nothing more satisfying than the healthy CLACK of a large contactor closing. That is all :-)

[@thedownwardmachine]

"Just checking your home insurance policy..." (clicking some keys) ..."aaaand IT"S GONE."

[@junkman8742]

The car charging is a bigger liability

[@xiaodingjones1554]

​@junkman8742 Is it? Having a non-electrician mess with a charger I would think would be way more of a liability.

[@osculant]

@@junkman8742the car charger is probably unmodified and UL listed.

[@MichaelSteeves]

"We'll burn that bridge when we come to it." LOL

[@Julianna.Domina]

That's my favorite malaphor (blending of similies/idioms)

[@spamcan9208]

​@Julianna.Domina wow, there's a term for everything

[@moarjank]

it's even better, since the sacrificial component of a fuse has been called a bridge.

[@rnptenafly]

I was thinking he should’ve said “we’ll burn that garage when we come to it.”

[@DaivG]

Next up: A welding station! Love the thought and appreciate you taking the time to do the work to show off the proof of concept.

[@FishFind3000]

You just use the existing wall plug……

[@DaivG]

@@FishFind3000 For a 240v welder?

[@pbpx]

Already found an adapter online for J1772 to Nema 50. would be great for a hardwired charger.

[@adamengelhart5159]

@19:39: "unless you're a supercommuter" I should be in the clear, then. All I've got is a Touring machine :-D

[@antonliakhovitch8306]

Oh my God, I actually did a double-take (thought that was a typo and almost scrolled past). This is incredible

[@PhoenixClank]

Please accept this completely regular expression of gratitude ; )

[@chaos.corner]

Get out.

[@hanifarroisimukhlis5989]

But will you halt?

[@Stryford1]

We have two EVs and we've also never felt we needed to have two chargers (EVSE). I hope a company will take your idea and make a heater like yours!

[@AileTheAlien]

10:05 Ugh, you didn't de-burr the hole you drilled. My OCD! 😆

[@whatsinanameish]

You need to set up a rotating spit for a haunch of roast while you heat the garage. Two birds with one resistive heater.

[@DoctorOnkelap]

or you might realise that carnism is not ok just because your mommy told you it was.

[@unclejohn5012]

​@@DoctorOnkelap Your not going to convert anyone here mate.

[@nikkiofthevalley]

​@@DoctorOnkelapAlmost nobody thinks that. Personally I like meat, I don't like factory farming, but it's the reality, there's no other choices on the market, and others would eat the meat if I didn't anyways.

[@PabloEdvardo]

@@DoctorOnkelap imagine literally existing as a living being today because your entire ancestry ate meat, to then get high and mighty. your lifetime isn't special, bud

[@SlinkyD]

Imma go huntimg just becuse of this commemt ​@@DoctorOnkelap

[@RegularCars]

This is brilliant!

[@cwantuch]

I would 100% buy one of these if it existed as UL approved product.

[@hemesath3]

Im not even gay yet and Im in love with this guy.

[@usefulpineapple4538]

I somehow didn’t and did expect you to be here

[@draconious4005]

@@usefulpineapple4538 After the Technology Connections gag in the Cessna 150 video? I 100% expected it.

[@Julianna.Domina]

Huh, fancy seeing y'all here

[@bjarkeistruppedersen8213]

Yes, now rebuild it as an air fryer. We all know you want to do it 😃

[@d3str0i3r]

i've said it before, every parking space should have an electric car charger, and a battery buried under it, this would be a great help to the electric grid as it could help even out the peaks and troughs in electrical demand, as well as give airports and hospitals large banks of backup battery power for use in emergencies so that they don't have to rush as quickly to start their emergency generators

[@mostlyguesses8385]

All the things you mention cost big money. Wiring parking spots is each $6000 so raises rent $100 if paid for over 6 years. Adding a battery for rare once a year power outage doubles that. And burying batteries to then have cars drive over them is less safe than outhouse sized stacks of batteries in a fenced grass field. Gasoline of usually $2000/yr is cheap, having $6000 be spent to wire parking spots will be a pain. ..... Frankly I have no garage so I'm gonna run a Honda generator in my trunk, rather than waste hours a week finding a fast charger in middle of night...

[@Orphioux]

This is so cool, I love seeing all the creative ways you have found to apply your knowledge you obtained from nerding out on things and tinkering with them.

[@Autunite]

In Norway, and probably most of europe, we have both 230V and 400V plugs that can handle loads up to 63 amps at three phases. They look pretty similar to your charging cable, but are color coded with blue for 230V and red for 400V. These have been standard for decades, and are pretty much common in both industry and some home garages where workshop tools are used.

[@vablo7198]

Never actually seen a single phase plug be used anywhere.

[@kraəb]

aaah! enda en person fra norge!!

[@unitrader403]

@@vablo7198 they are pretty common for Camping Vehicles

[@gnumone]

actually that's incorrect. blue/red is for single/three phase

[@litigioussociety4249]

American homes only have 220-240 going in, then splitting 110/120 up or down for the standard outlets. There's around 480 coming off the street, but I think you have to have a commercial license in most states to run a line for it, which allows service stations and other things to transform it personally outside their building.

[@GrahamReed42]

A company I know uses heaters on an adapters like that to get a controlled load for the charging stations they make. It was cheaper than a suitable quantity of power resistors. (Which would use the same adapter but would look more... technical I guess.)

[@MichaelSteeves]

Load Banks are very common for testing loading of generators. At my work we have one that will handle 1 Mw. It is a good outdoor heater!

[@whatusernameis5295]

what is a heater but a good power resistor?

[@nes999]

​@@MichaelSteeves I can smell that from here.

[@aggese]

Funny enough the power resistors will also work like s heater so it is exactly the same as a heater -logic circuit's

[@eriottomakurashi]

Thanks for putting the effort into making subtitles. It is very much appreciated!

[@IcyMidnight]

I'm glad Alec is monitoring his electrical temperature and pressure to make sure his hacked together heater is safe!

[@Ipergorilla]

Hey, thanks for stating out the Celsius conversion at 16:24. I know it's a chore and commenters can give you a hard time when you don't. It's a show of kindness on your side towards us international viewers and it doesn't go unappreciated with me ❤️

[@code3responsevideos872]

I got my grandpa one of these heaters for Christmas a year or two ago. He’s old and always sits in his garage, and for years was using 2 1500 watt space heaters. All while still freezing. I ran a 220, out there myself and he absolutely loves it. He keeps it on with the thermostat so it’s always the right temp. Worth every penny for someone who did 2 tours in Vietnam!

[@SilverstrikeSD]

That's really kind of you to help him out. Sounds like you're the grandchild he deserves.

[@SkyhawkSteve]

great work!

[@Austron]

I've literally been looking for a way to power an EVSE and a 7.5kW garage heater with a single 50a circuit for months now, and you've given me the exact solution I need, the perfect Christmas gift!

[@izimsi]

Why not just install another receptacle and not use both at the same time?

[@xiaodingjones1554]

​Exactly. No need for all this connector stuff. The power is already on the wall!

[@dakoriki]

23:34 To my EU industrial electrician eyes that "nice" contactor looks like every other contactor I've pretty much ever seen installed anywhere. Even most home electrics have a similar ones for sauna stoves or boilers etc.

[@AMalas]

3 phase contractors must just not be too common there

[@wogfun]

cool

[@coski87]

Here in Argentina where we follow similar electrical standards as Europe, this contactors are also super common

[@bosstowndynamics5488]

@@AMalas I think you've got that backwards, what they're saying is that the contactor that Alec sees as relatively high end by US standards would be an assumed standard in the EU, implying the availability of lower grade designs in the US than what's allowed in the EU. Similar to how the EU tends to use Wago connectors for wiring where the US typically uses wire nuts.

[@EdilbertoAriasRolon]

Same here in Paraguay, South America. At home I put 3 phase ("mini") contactors to everything, my ovens, water heater, steam iron, etc, really because a like the "clunk" sound.. Generally the contactors controlled by wifi switches. So everything is controlled the same way no matter the load is. Greetings from Asunción.

[@KevinDC5]

My mans went sleeveless while using the power tools! A true renaissance man! Cheers!

[@TheTeramon]

24:37 i love how Alec shows us a demo of something potentially bad for charger, but do not use HIS charger for that :D

[@xmas1888]

Has a NEMA 14-50 outlet on his wall, but decides to put a J1772 port on the heater instead. This is why I love this channel!

[@sjmww1235]

To be fair, the 14-50 is a pain to plug/unplug as described in the video. Personally, I did something similar but I used a California style twist lock connector instead of the j1772

[@KristinaBaker-ql5hi]

@@sjmww1235 he should’ve just installed a second plug. It would’ve been far less trouble and much safer.

[@MHawkeye]

@@KristinaBaker-ql5hi sometimes im not sure if people actually watch the entire video or not, would be interesting to see youtube timestamp when a comment was posted for xmas comment 3:10 was addressed and reasoning is at 3:44 for kristina 14:18 all of this isnt even the point of the video anyway

[@KristinaBaker-ql5hi]

@ my point was never to unplug and re-plug the heater in my point was that you can just install a second plug sometimes I wonder if people even read the comment before they post mindless banter in reply

[@kepstin]

@@KristinaBaker-ql5hi It's explained in the video at 14:18 why installing a second plug would be impractical. (To repeat from the video: because adding a second circuit for a second plug would nearly fill up the electrical box, and probably wouldn't be approved by an electrician without an electrical service upgrade.) Edit: I guess the part that's not obvious is that North American electrical codes do not allow you to have multiple outlets of this type on a single circuit.

[@andreasu.3546]

Not sure if the term is used in the US, but where I live, home AC EV chargers are called a "wall box". Because it is all they are, boxes on the wall.

[@m0llux]

Yep. The colloquial term is "wall box", and the correct term used in the technical specifications is "Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment".

[@andrewholden1501]

I've never heard them called that over here in New England, but I like the term. More descriptive of what it is.

[@jamesphillips2285]

@@m0llux Problem is only nerds know what you are talking about if you say EVSE; except from context.

[@IMelkor42]

I suppose 'Set-top boxes' for digital TV were 'just boxes' too...

[@DeviantOllam]

Do you think during the winter months you will generally just keep the charging station plug parked up there in the shop heater? Or do you tend to hang it back on the standard cradle when not in use? When the shop heater is off, is the circuit completely off with no vampire load?

[@Phoen1x883]

There's the glowing light on the front, but I doubt there's any notable vampire load - wasting power requires components, and that thing doesn't have many to do the wasting.

[@TechnologyConnections]

Probably not - I expect this will get used pretty rarely. And as far as vampire loads, the heater only has that neon indicator which is negligible but the charging station would hold its contactor in continuously if I left it plugged in, and that probably pulls a watt or so.

[@jacobconnerly]

DeviantOllam on a Tech Connections video? What is this, a crossover episode?

[@joshuajhoyt]

It's dev!

[@RedTail1-1]

​@@jacobconnerlyhe has over 100 comments on this channel...

[@KanalFrump]

With a smart appliance-side contactor box to handle the safe switching issues, it's a great idea for pluggable high-current garage workshop machinery like lathes, saws, mills etc. Nice presentation Alec.

[@MrIcerly]

Another fun use for this is block heaters for diesels. Also, I know of someone who did exactly this to keep their camper warm at night with electricity when available and very importantly not otherwise impeding other evs from charging.

[@BonkedByAScout]

I may have seen these on your channel but there's smart switches that you can plug two 240v 30a devices into with a NEMA plug (there's a couple plug types available) and they'll power a secondary load if nothing is on or the primary load and turn off the secondary if both are on. I bought one and tried it with a 5000w heater and my dryer on it (it worked) but I ended up returning it in favor of hard-wiring the heater because I'm using it to keep my washer from freezing. I generally keep it set around 50f but crank it up when I'm working out there. When I first got it I cranked it up to max on a 5F day and it got my garage to 90F, lol.

[@Kingkoopa00]

24:55 - Fun fact on early Tesla's. The main 400V battery pack contactors wore out very quickly due to the arcing damage from opening and closing all the time under different voltages/loads. Tesla fixed this by having voltage detection circuits on both sides of the contactor. When the car wanted the contactor to close, it matches the voltage on both sides of the contactor before closing. Leading to little, if any arcing. After the contactor is closed, it's then able to push through the massive amperage needed.

[@bradlevantis913]

I’ve had success changing my car with a 20 Amp 240 volt charger. And the wall plug is far less obnoxious. You are spot on about those DC fast chargers. Way overkill for most applications. And I did get a kick out of your last comment about how awesome it is to just plug your car in overnight. I actually have a relative who cant grasp how convenient that is. He still things gas stations everywhere are just as good 😂

[@leecasey3022]

Running the cable to your overnight street parking spot a mile away is also awesome.

[@jblyon2]

I recently rented an electric car when visiting family. The hotel I was staying at had 10 32 amp chargers (which I was sadly the only one using them over several nights). I got many comments on how annoying charging must be. I said I just park at the hotel, plug it in as I get out of the car, and it's fully charged the next time I go out to the car. I always set out with a full charge and can drive around all day without issue. Charging was only a pain on a couple long drives I did, and mostly only because it was a Polestar 2. Every ~130-140 miles of interstate driving meant a 35 minute charging stop. While I was ready for a break at those distances, I was not looking to have to stop for that long, every time (and due to distances between CCS1 chargers where I was most times you needed to charge to 80% or close to it.) The charging curve of that car SUCKS for road trips.

[@Matt-xc6sp]

@@leecasey3022 the future isn’t for poors

[@shaider1982]

6:55 here in my country, malls have free charging (malls are still a thing, a one-stop shop for food, groceries, clothes, movies, etc.)

[@TheDJ42]

12:29 Actually, if it’s 7500 watts it should be pretty warm.

[@innoillust]

Lol

[@KlueBat]

This would be a great way to hook up an occasional use welder!

[@mister_milkman]

Why not just plug that into the socket in the wall? Wtf am I missing here, is there some US regulation that forbids using that socket for anything else?

[@davidroddini1512]

@@mister_milkman as mentioned in the video, there’s nothing *wrong* with unplugging the car charger to plug in a welder. However the plug is not designed for frequent plugging and unplugging. The 1772 connector at the other end is designed for it. So if a welder can be modified to *safely* use the 1772 connector for power input, it would be a good idea.

[@stazeII]

Wonder if the inrush current from a welder might damage the contactor…

[@davidroddini1512]

@@stazeII that’s why I said it would be a good idea if it can be done safely. I’m not certain whether it can be done safely or not as I don’t have any experience with welding.

[@mister_milkman]

@@davidroddini1512 Guess I missed that part. Strange to me that a plug would not be designed for frequent plugging.

[@doubledude4381]

16:54 well that actually made me think of how much energy it takes to move just 1 person(usually) in a giant metal box.

[@jamesphillips2285]

Yup. To get order of magnitude energy reduction you need to abolish R1 zoning (to allow multiple dwelling units to share walls) and get most people on mass transit (economies of scale).

[@ledsalesoz]

And then you realise that, with over 9kWh in a litre of petrol, that ICE vehicles require 5 times or more of the energy to move the same person the same distance. Typical ICE vehicle efficiency is below 20% in the real world, 80% of the energy in the fuel is simply wasted as heat, noise and vibration. Think about that...

[@mdrudholm]

EVSE connectors may transcend their original purpose and become a generalized power connector standard for heavy duty use the way USB became one for light duty applications.

[@hauberbrian]

We just need heavier duty USBC cables that can handle 30amp@240v or 5amp @4.5v for your phone 😂

[@Shredxcam22]

Uh there is already common plugs out there. Melteic, kilarc. Nothing new

[@TheNobody1324]

@@hauberbrianLemme just plug this giant cable in to charge my phone

[@creeper6530]

Ooh, I wish

[@bahamutbbob]

​@@hauberbrian Let Linus know, he's already overbuilding USB cables, why not overbuild them some more? 😅 (I'll probably snag a few of his cables when they release, unless the price is ludicrous)

[@evanfort]

For the arcing problem -- it would be easy to use a timer relay board or something fancy like an arduino to just wait a second before sending power to ground through the resister.

[@pancudowny]

Look at this way, Alec: If they ever market an electric turkey fryer that operates on 240VAC, you'll know how to get it setup the same way, and never worry about having one of those typical fires while using it in the garage... maybe.😕

[@Montgomerygolfgator]

Ooh, I bet running the heater for a few hours before charging the car on extremely cold nights to warm the car up a bit is probably an excellent idea. Not to mention, it melts off the ice. If Alec had a drain in his garage, he could warm up and give his car a quick spray off to remove salt and let it dry for a few dollars every few days to keep rust at bay. Then the car would be nice and warm for charging too!

[@mikemondano3624]

Is the car's heater broken?

[@TOMASZ19890605]

AC charging is not impacted at all by cold. I charged y EV on AC at -28 degrees Celsius, with no impact on charge speed.

[@nogmeerjan]

@@TOMASZ19890605 That is only possible with a battery heater. Unless your battery has some battery chemistry specifically design to do so.

[@jsjs6751]

​@mikemondano3624 Running a heater of a modern EV inside a garage will cool the room. Not ideal.

[@ThePlumbeus]

@@jsjs6751sadly there are many EV without heatpump. For my car it would add 3 grand as extra.

[@jonessperandio]

Next step is putting this connector in an electric showerhead, like the ones we use here in Brazil (the so-called suicide showers). That would be interesting.

[@EdilbertoAriasRolon]

And connect (and disconnect) it while under the shower, just to probe that it's a safe device and or the J1772 connectors are. Greetings from Asunción Paraguay. (We like Lorenzetti, Corona, Tramontina, etc)

[@grahammonk8013]

@DeviantOllam (the so-called suicide showers) I wish I had taken a picture when our direct heat shower blew our 60 amp 240 volt fuse to the power company connection. The burn mark on the wall was about 12 inches across. This happened as sister was stepping out of the shower and her head was about 12 inches away. It was about minute or so before she could talk coherently.

[@Skiman__]

Sounds like Something electroboom would make lol

[@icetwo]

I have an electric bike. As the chargers for these bikes have a normal household connection, if you run out of power on the road you either have to pedal yourself or drive to a charging station for e-bikes. But there are also a few manufacturers who have built adapters from electric car charging stations to household sockets. They also have to pretend that the charging station is a car, but it works. It works not only with bicycles but with all electrical devices that you might need on the road.

[@jamesphillips2285]

Problem is that your charger needs to be designed to tolerate 240V. Also you should be converting to a NEMA 6-15 socket instead of a NEMA 5-15 socket.

[@ab-tf5fl]

If, at some point, somebody manages to produce an e-bike battery that could recharge itself in 5-10 minutes, being able to use car charging infrastructure to extend your range would be awesome! (Hopefully, the charging adapter required to do this would not be too bulky to carry on a bike).

[@importprogram]

27:54 Let's just hope there isn't 10+ different variants of a "all in one connector" like USB-C PD currently. Still having an all in one "higher load portable equipment connector" would be fantastic.

[@SolarWebsite]

I drive a Renault Twizy, which has a fixed power cord for a normal plug at the end (European CEE 7, in my case). To be able to charge at public chargers, I carry a Type 2 to CEE 7 adapter in the vehicle. This works very well. It has switches to simulate the car sending signals like "everything looks okay to me, gimme power!" What I still want to do, one day, is go to a public charger, bring my air fryer, connect the air fryer to the public charger via the adapter and heat up some "bitterballen" (a Dutch snack). Just because I can 😁

[@rocbolt]

Oh god instead of everything becomes crab its everything becomes thunderbolt

[@ntsecrets]

I have co workers that charge at work and essentially never pay for charging their car.

[@davidgriffiths-bc]

It’s the best thing ever. We have free charging at work as well.

[@jsnsk101]

they should be fired for theft

[@4rtie]

@@jsnsk101 you should get a better employer

[@synestetic1687]

In the country where I live, this is allowed to be a tax-free employee benefit.

[@Mister-Whiskers]

My daughter’s apartment complex has several free level 2 charging parking spaces. She never pays to charge her 2024 model Y.

[@JustaMuteCat]

Talking about plugs, remember the video where you explore the holes used for indexing during manufacturing of the regular plugs? You probably know this already by now but in Japan they use those holes as part of a locking safety system specially for outdoor plugs (like varanda placed washing machines). You just stick them in and twist, then a mechanism inside the wall outlet will lock the pins. You CAN use them without locking and you can install them indoors too but I have only seen them outdoors on apartments and on industrial settings. You could check if you have any patreons that live in Japan that would be willing to mail them to you so you could do a video on them if you interested.

[@Anderino]

I'd look into buying and shipping those to him if he's interested. I'd just need a shopping list

[@ChuckVanPelt]

I have a single level 2 charger in my home and it is ample to charge both our Kia EV6 and Fiat 500e. Also, I kinda love this heater idea.

[@TheSeanUhTron]

I believe there are some battery banks that can charge off of J1772 using an adapter. Honestly, I think it would be great if more appliances using J1772/J3400. More and more garages are going to have those "charging stations", and it would be convenient to power appliances such as heaters, grills, welders, with it. Hell, even a hot tub could be powered by it.

[@zwerko]

I recently re-electrified myself. My first EV experience (~5 years ago, Tesla Model S) was... suboptimal, to put it mildly. I am a super-commuter and there were far less public chargers in the Netherlands (esp. the fast ones in case you actually do need them) and even the ones that were there would often not work for mysterious reason - this is much better now. I also live in an apartment building and our common garage didn't have an option of electrification at the time, but that also changed as we installed a system (albeit a bit fringe) where we can pull down a charger to any car spot, once I set that up I hope it will make things even easier. And then there was the car where I didn't like pretty much a single thing about it, short of its straight-line performance and handling - everything felt super-cheap & crappy, it would squeek all the time, the seats were not comfortable, driving assistance had so much false positives/negatives that I just stopped using any of the systems... That, together with quite a few unscheduled services (where, ironically, I'd get an ICE car as a temporary replacement to remind me how easy it was before the EVs were an option) and a few serious 'range anxiety' situations made me switch back to an ICE after a year. Second time around I'm having a blast - no issues whatsoever, I have chargers in front of my office and if I manage to get charging going in my garage as well, I'm not switching back to ICE ever again.

[@maj429]

Which car did you go for this time around? Model 3?

[@jeremyloveslinux]

I’ve heard of some of the larger “solar generators” having a J1772 input. Since they’re approaching multiple kWh now, a regular outlet is going to take a while to charge them.

[@emilysmith6897]

31:59 I don't refuse to see how awesome it is. My landlord (and well EVERY landlord) refuses to allow this awesomeness. And that's why I'm missing out. Like having an EV would be an absolute NIGHTMARE compared to having an ICE car for anyone living in an apartment. I realize this is Technology connections and not Energy Policy Connections, but politics is actually a huge part of the implementation of a LOT of technologies so overlooking it is often a dealbreaking oversight. Considering how homes are unaffordable to almost everyone who hasn't already bought one, and having a home right now is the only way to have an EV conveniently, something has to change. Either the housing market needs to be fixed, or we need policies mandating EV charging for apartments and condos, or hopefully both. And this is perhaps more important than the underlying technology at this point, cause like you said, the tecnology is literally just a slightly modified extension cord.

[@bosstowndynamics5488]

In fairness to Alec, he was very much targeting policymakers with his comments about rolling those outlets out everywhere and that it was lack of experience with EV home charging among policymakers specifically that was leading to an unnecessary focus on level 3 charging infrastructure. That comment about refusing to see the benefits was directed at the incredibly large and vocal minority of people who seem to comment on every video about EVs with something to the effect of "The entire concept of EVs sucks because I personally live in an old apartment building with street parking" who completely ignore the fact most Americans don't actually drive as far as they think, the majority live in single family homes with independent power hookups, and that the fix for lack of destination charging in apartments is policy, not delaying EV rollouts, demanding millions of level 3 chargers everywhere, or just plain arguing they shouldn't be more commonplace at all.

[@ard1choke]

I just got my first fully electric car. My god I do not miss gas stations, plugging in at home is so much more convenient. I just wish Subaru had put a slightly larger battery in the solterra.

[@ouch1011]

I initially read the title of the video as "I Tricked my Car Into Powering a 7.5kW Heater." As a fellow e-gmp vehicle owner, I nearly pooped my pants with excitement. I would love to be able to use the nearly 100kWh battery in my EV9 as a whole-home power backup, or especially a power source during peak load times (I pay almost the same each month for mid-peak on on-peak power usage as I do for my off-peak usage, despite the fact that the off-peak usage is like 3-4x more kWh than the mid- and on-peak usage combined because my husband and I both have EVs and long commutes). I already _sort of_ do that using the V2L and some creativity to feed it back into the electrical panel, but 1900w peak gets used up pretty quickly when you're talking about an entire home. I can still use it for my internet/router, lights, TV and fridge though, as well as things like a coffee maker/kettle or induction hotplate if needed, but for those higher loads, I have to basically shut everything else off first. Kia has announced that V2H will be supported later, but will require an expensive interface between the car and the home/electrical panel in order to work, similar to the Ford system. I'm unlikely to invest in that since I probably won't have the EV9 or this particular house long enough to make it worth it. I've actually considered buying a used Leaf with some battery degradation (the ones with multiple bars missing go for a few thousand bucks around here) and using that as basically a battery with tires, since the Chademo V2H/V2G systems for the Leaf are much less expensive.

[@SI0ter]

i'm so happy i live in a country where the CEE-Plug is used as a high demand energy plug.

[@jongranada]

Merry Christmas! I really appreciate our parasocial relationship!!

[@kwk8363]

1 Buck for an hour? For a 7.5 kWh? This is soooo cheap! Let's imagine that electricity cost you 1 buck for an 1 kWh. That's the equivalent of what I pay with my salary in my country. If I convert USD to my currency I pay 1 buck for a 4kwh, so electricity in your country is basically half the price with higher income. You Americana should feel proud of your country.

[@mx0r]

I’d ask, how much money cost you a broken bone surgery in your country, but I won’t.

[@lightningdemolition1964]

In California is costs almost $5 per hour for that much power.

[@tcg1_qc]

Here in Quebec that would be around 50¢

[@e-bikerbulgaria]

Gold, absolute gold, to be able to access any charge station via a standard 16amp single phase charger is a dream come true. When is it on sale? ❤🎉

[@Squishlon72]

Have you considered plugging in the car, open the windows and just turn on the heater? The heater in electic cars should be multiple kilowatts big. It just works if there is no heat pump in the car of course.

[@kdb678able]

Some Ioniq 5's do have heat pumps. My old Chevy Bolt had 7 kW of resiative heat. It would do the job with the windows down. Only downside is running a $20k or more piece of equipment (and potentially wearing the heater out prematurely) when a $100 piece of equipment will do. If you're doing it once, hell yeah. If you're doing it once a month I feel a separate heater is worth it.

[@thetj8243]

Most electric cars use a heatpump for heating the interior... But it would work that way... And much less hazardous than running an internal combustion engine inside a garage.

[@kdb678able]

@thetj8243 the reason they said no heat pump is because the heat going in to the cab is pulled from the outside. You would be cooling the garage to heat the car... but the windows open in the car lets the heat back out and it won't generate much heat overall. It's akin to cooling your house by leaving the fridge door open.

[@SteveRowe]

Happy Late December Commercialization Festival, Alec! And Happy New Year!

[@Turcian]

I'm shocked you didn't install a heat pump in the garage 😱

[@nathanstoughton5641]

My guess is that it's probably too cold wherever he is.

[@jasonsmall5602]

@@nathanstoughton5641 Or it costs 10-20x more.

[@jsncrso]

He can't, he even explains why in the video...

[@dscrive]

well huh, more than heaters, welders, lathes, mills, planers, jointers etc. There are a lot of tools that a home shop can use that currently require dedicated wiring, but realistically, a lot of people only use one tool at a time that would require the 240. So, I see a bodged together multi-outlet adaptor that goes on the end of the car charger cable and is able to take the plug from various machines. This, is going to get interesting.

[@dvpierce248]

A 240v 50A "power strip" with an internal breaker? Sort of a portable sub-panel. I like it.

[@itoibo4208]

He mentions the government investing/focusing on home charging. The scary part of people charging at home is that they are unlikely to inspect and maintain it, especially if they have little or no money. This can lead to fires that could burn down entire apartment buildings, especially if people try to do a project like this heater. I hope we will all have electric cars and home charging, but when we do, it will become a need instead of a want, and the electric companies and government wll then raise the fees as high as they can, and that is the sad part. On costs, it is probably better for people with electric cars as long as electric is not the mainstream.

[@thekingoffailure9967]

@@itoibo4208 i’m also terrified of gas lines getting installed in homes because the chances of those getting maintained constantly are slim. If those leak they could cause a fire or even explosion or just suffocate people. terrifying!!

[@Ijjergom]

Meanwhile is Europe a 400v 3 phase is standard and you can just plug anything. Recently I was plugging 125A machine with just a plug.

[@itoibo4208]

@@thekingoffailure9967 yes. gas in a house is crazy lol

[@ralcool5932]

You'll notice the pilot pins in the recepical are deeper than the L1/L2. This ensures the wall box shuts off before you completly remove the handle. No arcing will occur.

[@madbradfreeman]

You and Jackie Chan know the best way to make an entertaining credits roll! Thanks, and Merry Christmas!

[@Jpopnasty]

Ok I’m 1 minute in but I have to blab my idea. A heater that uses a charging station so Van Lifers can plug into heat at night when traveling in the winter.

[@bosstowndynamics5488]

But at that point you've circled back to just having the heater integrated into the van. There's been people with older Teslas with grandfathered in free supercharging who would live in their cars and use the climate control effectively for free.

[@thekingoffailure9967]

Won’t somebody think of the van lifers 😮

[@playgroundchooser]

But the only way we keep them out of here in the winter is because they're cold! 😂

[@F9-China]

Damn he too started jailbreaking electronics? I thought ElectroBOOM was the only person to do that

[@stringsofair8039]

Can confirm, Menards sourced electric unit heaters are a good option to automatically maintain temperature in a garage. Don't skimp on doing the wiring correctly (breaker & wires sized for a resistive heating load & properly installed).

[@markkeilys]

You've given me just enough information to make me want to try converting a welder to use the tesla connector as it's power input. I'm wondering how dumb I could make the signaling detector.. my first thought was a micro controller and resistive divider setup, but could I smooth it using a capacitor and resistor and just accept anything beyond a voltage using an op-amp and few diodes as a voltage reference? it would be neat if the whole logic circuit could be powered by the signalling pins.... need to research more and figure it out now...

[@lyfandeth]

Happy holidays. And a special thanks for this delve.