25a chargers? Cheaply?

[az erik]

I'm torn currently between ordering a Clipper Creek and pig tailing it to a outlet in the garage or spending about $200 more for a 30a EVSE. In reality what's an hour, besides about 1/4 of the range. As I've only had the car for less than a week and am now looking at my first "really long" L1 charge tonight or tomorrow I'm seriously debating the L2. Not so much that I ever foresee needing to speed charge with the current driving habbits (as I do still have both my Lexi's as well) but more along the lines of the L1 taking forever (20ish hours?) and the cooling system running throughout those 20 hours.

Poking around the Clipper Creek 25a(20a) looks to be the best deal going. 240v parts and install being less than $50 and the fed rebate makes the $400 ish a no brainer. But is there a real 25a or 30a charger out there (I wish CC had one) for slightly more than the Clipper Creek?

 

[unplugged]

If you are not in too much of a hurry, take a look at the chargers offered by EMW. They are bringing a low-cost charger to the market that has up to a 60 amp, 15kW capacity that is made for the future.

You will note on the website that they are holding off on further orders until they clear orders. I would imagine that your availability might not be until November or December. You will also note that you have to order the cables separately. This means that you might end up spending another $200 for the installed cables. The price of the assembled unit is $240, so your end price for a small, powerful portable unit will be less than $450. (Check out the shipping cost though. It might be another $50 by now. California shipping is by far the cheapest.)

http://www.emotorwerks.com/products/online-store/product/show/44-emw-juicebox-an-open-source-level-2-15kw-ev-charging-station

My cost was about $420 including shipping because I got in on the ground floor. But the unit is still the lowest cost 30 amp+ L2 unit you can find. And it is fairly small. I expect to get my charging box early next month. They have had their delays, and we don't know for sure that the unit will be as great as they say. So if you don't want to risk it, or wait for others to test it, this might not be for you.

 

[hcsharp]

I'm surprised ClipperCreek doesn't make an LCS 40 (charging up to 32A) or LCS 50 (up to 40A). This last one would work great on the ubiquitous NEMA 14-50 outlets/circuits and be a little more future-thinking than 20A.

 

[az erik]

I charged from 40% to 100% last night from 7pm to 8:30am. For a moment I thought I might not need a faster charger as I'd be charing this way 2 times a week or so.

I was hoping there would be a Clipper Creeks 25a or way to "mod up from ESVEupgrades or the likes. I'm wondering if the input cable is just too small for 25a operation. I'd love to get 5.5kWh without paying for a 30a unit that I can't use to it's full potential.

 

[jmueller065]

Note that the Bosch Power Xpress is configurable for current usage of 12, 18, 24, or 32 amps (granted it is a bit expensive though and requires a 240V connection).

The configuration is shown on page 12 of the installation guide.

This is the unit I've been using to charge up my FFE (set to 32 amps). So far most of my charge times have been around 90+ minutes for 50% battery (about my current daily usage).

 

[PowerstrokeNC]

I have the CC version and think it is great value for the money, coming off the included L1 charger, the L2 was so much quicker. Most of the time we are charged in a couple hours based on our usage.

However since we love the electric car we will be upgrading in the future (3-yrs) to whatever makes sense at that time and this made me think that going for a "lower" power L2 might limit me down the road if w end up with a car that has a large battery like a Tesla.

Charging a 65 or 85kwH batt will take a long time on the CC at 4.8kwH......

 

[marta]

If you are not in too much of a hurry, take a look at the chargers offered by EMW. They are bringing a low-cost charger to the market that has up to a 60 amp, 15kW capacity that is made for the future.

You will note on the website that they are holding off on further orders until they clear orders. I would imagine that your availability might not be until November or December. You will also note that you have to order the cables separately. This means that you might end up spending another $200 for the installed cables. The price of the assembled unit is $240, so your end price for a small, powerful portable unit will be less than $450. (Check out the shipping cost though. It might be another $50 by now. California shipping is by far the cheapest.)

http://www.emotorwerks.com/products/online-store/product/show/44-emw-juicebox-an-open-source-level-2-15kw-ev-charging-station

My cost was about $420 including shipping because I got in on the ground floor. But the unit is still the lowest cost 30 amp+ L2 unit you can find. And it is fairly small. I expect to get my charging box early next month. They have had their delays, and we don't know for sure that the unit will be as great as they say. So if you don't want to risk it, or wait for others to test it, this might not be for you.

If you enter this contest, you can win one of the EMW chargers: http://www.myevblog.com/electric-summer
Then you'd have one even cheaper than 'unplugged' got his for

 

[az erik]

I'm actually leaning more tword the EMW as I can set it for 30 amp for the same price. I have to make sure I can charge my FFE @ 240v though. I've yet to be able to.

 

[unplugged]

I have to make sure I can charge my FFE @ 240v though. I've yet to be able to.

That would be a very important consideration.

I need a fast portable charging unit because I go about 60 miles out to my folks house every so often. I don't want to spend 6 hours there every time I go. :roll:

I am supposed to finally receive my EMW unit the first week of November.

 

[EVA]

I have to make sure I can charge my FFE @ 240v though. I've yet to be able to.

That would be a very important consideration.

I need a fast portable charging unit because I go about 60 miles out to my folks house every so often. I don't want to spend 6 hours there every time I go. :roll:

I am supposed to finally receive my EMW unit the first week of November.

What Unplugged, you don't want to spend that much quality time with your parents Shame on you....