# Sharing with a vending machine?



## tj4fa (May 25, 2008)

Greenflight said:


> I'm moving into an apartment next year and I'm pretty sure I've arranged for an outlet to charge my truck outside. Only thing is, the outlet has a vending machine plugged into it as well. So my question is- assuming it's a 15A circuit, how much juice can I pull out of it without blowing the breaker?
> 
> In other words, how many amps does a vending machine pull?


You would have to look at the vending machine data plate to see what the ratings are on it. If it's a refrigerated vending machine...forget it.

Do you know what the specs are on your intended charger? You need to know this so you can make sure your circuit can handle it.

Whatever the case, I would recommend having a dedicated circuit specifically for your charger. Otherwise when something else "comes on" it will probably overload the circuit and pop the circuit breaker. Each time it does this it will make the breaker weaker and weaker.

The outlet should also be wired the shortest distance possible from the power panel and one wire gauge size larger than the circuit calls for.

The longer the wiring run from the power panel all the way to your EV though the building wire and your extension cord, the greater the voltage drop (and amperage rise) will be. 

For a 15A circuit, I would use 12AWG conductors wire rather than 14AWG.

For a 20A circuit, I would use a 10AWG wire rather than 12AWG conductor wire.

And I would calculate the circuit to be no greater than using 80% of the circuits rated power because the demand on the circuit will be used continuously for more than 3 hours at a time.

15A x 120V = 1800 watts x 80% = 1440 Watts puling from the charger.
20A x 120V = 2400 watts x 80% = 1920 Watts pulling from the charger.


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## TheSGC (Nov 15, 2007)

Vending machines usually take lots of power. At my college we have a few vending machines lined up next to each other, but they each have their own socket and do lots of humming.

You should try to get the land lord to install a 20 A plug for you, preferably at your parking spot. I would make it part of the lease agreement. It's not too much to ask, and I am betting that the land lord is having a hard time getting occupancy in this economy, so adding a plug is a simple good gesture.


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## tj4fa (May 25, 2008)

Well I went to your EValbum page and read some of the manual for your pack charger and it indicates it's a 20A charger.

It also indicates you need to charge your accessory battery with a seperate charger which I think your EVabum page mentioned.

Take a cruise through your charger owner's manual. Becuase of the other charger, you may need more power than you figured on.

http://www.mrsharkey.com/SCT/bc20.pdf


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## Greenflight (Sep 13, 2007)

I can tweak my current to whatever I want... The BC-20 is nice that way. I don't mind my car taking forever to charge if necessary. I'm at school so I'll be walking most of the time anyway. I've charged it before at 5 amps or less. The accessory charger barely draws anything as it usually trickles at 2-4A.

There's no way I'd ever get them to install a plug for me... It's a college apartment very close to campus so they have no trouble filling it up.

I guess this means I should A) get some more data on the vending machine, B) look for more outlets around the place, and C) find out more about the circuit that the aforementioned outlets are wired to. Thanks guys.

Worst case scenario I'll have to pick up a gasser.


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## tj4fa (May 25, 2008)

Greenflight said:


> I can tweak my current to whatever I want... The BC-20 is nice that way. I don't mind my car taking forever to charge if necessary. I'm at school so I'll be walking most of the time anyway. I've charged it before at 5 amps or less. The accessory charger barely draws anything as it usually trickles at 2-4A.
> 
> There's no way I'd ever get them to install a plug for me... It's a college apartment very close to campus so they have no trouble filling it up.
> 
> ...


You forgot D) Unplug the vending machine at night and plug your EV in


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