Yes, to both questions. The charger is rated for 240v. Much of the world uses 240v 50 cycle current but, we in North America use 120v 60 cycle current. In Europe they are issued the same charger with a different male plug to work with their wall outlets. I purchased two different adapters from Amazon. One is for a NEMA 14-50R and the other is for my 30 Amp dryer outlet. It is not as quick as a Level 2 charger but, it is still better than 12 hours, when fully depleted. Figure on about a 6.5 hour recharging time. I call them my Level 1.5 chargers. If you need a link to these adapters, give me a shout. You do need to clearly mark them so, someone does not inadvertently plug a 120v appliance into the adapter and smokes the device.

 

Thanks for that info. Can you please show a picture of your adapter that adapts the Dryer Outlet to a standard outlet. Would like to build or buy one. My searches have not worked well.

 

Thank you for the insight. I really like how you call them Level 1.5 chargers .

I suppose we need a "true" Level 2 charger for 2-3 hour full charge. The Level 1 cable supplied is just a simple cable and even with 240V, the onboard car charger still cannot take full advantage of the 240V and max out the current. Am I correct?


Just want to make sure the cable supplied can be used on a 240V outlet since Lexus mentioned:

"The RX450h+ comes equipped with a Level 1 vehicle-charging cable for 120V outlets and all models are equipped with a J1772 (Type 1) socket for at-home and public charging. "

https://pressroom.lexus.com/electrif...lexus-rx-450h/


Would appreciate you can share the link for the right adapters to be used on NEMA 14-50R and 30AM dryer outlet with the so-called Level 1 cable that came with the car.

 

Here are links to several options:
You want to use something heavy duty, as this is 240v, both have 10 AWG wiring

Or, to make your own cable, cut off the the male 120v plug and use the 240v plug below

 

Thank you so much and I will check them out.

RX450h+ onboard charger is 6.6KW. Do I need to pick an adapter that can stand up to 27.5A current under a 240V outlet when using the Level 1 cable that comes with the car?

 

Just choose an adapter cable that is 10 AWG and that will easily handle it. Those in the links that I posted are 10 AWG and will work fine. The first thing that I did after I started charging my RX450h+ is that I came back periodically and felt the plug and the cable for any sensation of heat on anything involved. The result was zippo, nada, zilch. Everything was nice and room temperature. I should also mention that I am not an electrician but, I portray one on television. Okay, that was just a bit of levity. I did, however, run everything by a friend who is a licensed electrician and he put his seal of approval on the entire thing.

 

Some updates from my experiences;

My estimated EV range has climbed to 40 miles with HVAC off and 42 miles with HVAC off. Actual range had run between 42 and 55, depending on the type of driving, up until I drove it in EV on a cold day, where I saw 38 miles on the trip. Keep in mind that I rarely use EV mode above 55 mph.

I recently charged it to full on a cold morning, about 38 degF, and it stopped charging at 89.42% state of charge, according to the Dr Prius app. It usually charges to 90.6% so cold temperatures seem to affect the max charge capacity somewhat, though ive not attempted to duplicate it. The range estimate was still 40/42. Battery temperature was in the 47 degF range. Thet rose to 67 in 16 miles of driving and to 75 in another 16 miles.

Driving it at that temperature resulted in an actual range of 38 miles on a drive where I'd usually get around 45 miles, so the cold certainly has an impact.

So far, the most annoying things are the push button door release and the locking mechanism. At times, my knee hits the door release and, if stopped or moving slowly, opens the door, and if moving more quickly, causes an alarm sound and message. Also, pushing the unlock button gives no indication that the passenger door is unlocked, so I have to signal to my passenger that it's now unlocked. I know, first world problem... I just wish there were a click or beep available on the outside.

The other annoyance is that the steering wheel touch sensitive buttons often are not, in fact, touch sensitive for me, so that I have to push a button once to get it to work on the second push. I REALLY don't like the buttons...

 

@StefanoS : The above item is something I'm looking to leverage for "Level 1.5" charging, since my RX450h+ came only with the Level 1 charger having Lexus/Toyota G9060-47130 part number. Just to make sure I'm replicating exactly, is this the Level 1 charger you have ? I noticed others on the internet reporting the same part number for their US Prius, and then charging with 240 V drier outlet adapter as you have - but wanted to doubly check that the exact "Level 1/1.5" charger part number I have is the same that you have ?

 

That is correct. Mine is also G9060-47130. This change to 240v will not give you the same charging time as a Level 2 charger but, I find that it works fine for both of our 450h+ models. Depending upon what point I plug them in, a full charge occurs in 4 1/2 to 6 1/2 hours. Since I normally charge them at night anyway, it's no big deal.

 

@StefanoS Would you happen to know how much the "Level 1.5" setup draws when its charging ? I have an older house, so I'm trying to keep everything measured (and wondering if I should buy a cable where you can set/constrain the current draw by the RX, say to 24 Amp or 80 % of rated 30 Amp capacity). Checking with you, since you had an electrician friend who checked your setup - in case you/they measured the current draw while charging off the dryer outlet ?

 

We did not measure the amperage draw however, I believe that the amperage draw on the Toyota/Lexus charger is 12 amps. That is why is takes longer to charge the battery at either 120v or 240v, than it would if you opt for a 240v level 2 charger. If you choose a Level 2 charger, I believe that the onboard electronics will only draw at a maximum of 28 amps. Keep in mind that slower charging of the battery means longer life, due to less heat created during the charging cycles. Using the factory charger is a bit of a "time" compromise but, I am not really in any hurry to charge either of my cars, since they are charged at night. If the Li Ion battery packs last longer due to slower charging then, so much the better.

 

Good point, I was aware of the battery physics. However, I also live in the Bay Area - where we have PGE as the utility that has horridly high electricity rates. I just switched to the Time of use rate, so that I can charge starting midnight, be done by 8 or 9 am (so, about 8 - 9 hours). So I needed the ability to start charging only at home automatically (at work, I need to start immediately on plug-in as its free) starting midnight, and be done by 8 - 9 am. Decided to try to since it allows both (independent in-charger scheduling within the charger app, not from the car) plus ability to charge at 12/13 or 16 Amps depending on how long one can allow. Will report back what happens and if others have any input, please chime in.

 

Some feedback on the charger I mentioned above - I needed a charger that can start charging only after midnight, even though I may plug in at anytime between 3 pm - 12 midnight - so essentially charge based on the wallclock time, to take advantage of the relatively lower electricity rates by a recently bankrupt utility with some of the highest rates in the US (the highest now in CA). By my looking, there aren't many or any other option than this charger that also plugs into the NEMA 10-30 dryer outlet I already have in the garage (so don't need to have electrician service my home). I couldn't break the bank for such a charger, so its price was a good one - as is the fact that I can control/set/monitor its charging current from the Smart Life app in my phone.

I'm currently using this charger and after some trial and error with using the Vevor-approved Smart Life app api interfacing with the charger without any documentation from its manufacturer (Vevor) about this delayed charge sync to wallclock time - I was successful yesterday in getting the charging to start automatically at 12:05 am even though I plugged in earlier. The software method is kludgy in how the app interfaces with the charger wrt to API (because the manufacturer doesn't document anything) - but at least it worked.

Funny thing is, when I queried Vevor about the proper way to do it while trying to figure this out - they sent me to downloads of some videos of phones with Mandarin-based text on them that I cannot read, however, I can tell that they did not answer my question.

Regardless, I have set a charging current of 8 Amps (the charger can't go any lower) at 240 Volts using the app, which may be sufficient for me to charge overnight by 8 or 9 AM. If necessary, I may raise the current to 10 or 12 Amps, will see.

And by the way, I bought the charger from Homedepot instead of Amazon, because they have a 90 day return policy - so if the charger fails within 90 days, I will return it to my local store. However, given the fact that it can schedule the charging for me, I might just keep it if doesn't fail in 90 days

 

What charging option (8, 16 or max) are you using with the Lexus charger connected to 240V?

 

Not sure if you are asking me, but for the Lexus charger, you can't set the current yourself - its set internally by the charger. @StefanoS reported 12 Amp as the default (whether at 240 V or 110 V) - which makes sense to me.

For the Vevor charger, I have set the charging current at 8 Amps at 240 V.

If you are asking about the Lexus in-car setting, I have left it at the Max, which is how it was set from the dealer.