Deal on Charging Station, should I go for it?

[ElectricCleetus]

Looks like Home Depot has the Schneider EVlink 30 Amp Generation 2.5 for $488 through the end of the year. Looks like Amazon has the same price.

Any experience with this charger? Should I go for it?

I need to call an electrician to run a 240V line. I'm thinking 240V 40A, with a socket, and then plug in the charger. Sound like a plan?

 

[Snowman]

I purchased that charger about a month ago and it works great. I don't use any of the delay charging features since our rates are constant regardless of time of day. It was easy to install myself and I hardwired it just to save on the additional parts required.

 

[tinilk]

I also ordered the EVlink a couple months ago. Looks nice and works fine. I hired an electrician to hardwire install it. $800 to run 8-gauge wire through the basement to a junction box by the garage, and up through conduit across the ceiling. And some rearranging in the circuit box to make room for another dual breaker.

The delay button is nice to have, easier than setting up value charge times. No off-peak rates here either, but I set the timer just so the battery won't sit fully charged overnight per Michael's suggestions in this thread. Might not make any difference in battery longevity but what the heck.

If I want to be nitpicky: the incessantly blinking LEDs that count down the timer, then count up how many hours it's been charging are quite bright. A bit too attention-getting through garage windows at night. And it makes a loud THWACK! when you plug it into the car...makes me jump every time. I don't know if the relays in other EVSEs are the same though.

 

[Snowman]

Glad to see there are other FFE's in MA, I thought I had the only one. I have yet to see another one on the road. I'm torn about messing with the battery charging. If the battery is going to be harmed by "excessive" charging than I want it to fail before the 8 years is up. If by "babying" it I extend the life by 6 months to a year, I've done myself no favors. I also have to admit I haven't done much research on the subject either.

I like the bright light! I have a a detached garage and where I placed the unit (by accident) I can see the lights from inside the house and know if it is charging or finished.

 

[Steve0512]

That is two sales posted within a week. I hope we are seeing the beginning of a price war.

 

[brogult]

I got one and installed it, hard wired, and it seems OK. It actually seems simple well designed with useful features (delay, remote cord hook). The actual build quality seems a bit cheap-ish, but good enough for the home garage. There isn't much to these so one wonders why we think $500 is a bargain. I'm guessing the cord and connector are a big part of the expense. The cord seems nice, heavy but flexible. The connector fits snugly in our FFE, which I think is good.

For a home charger with a simple install, it is as good as anything else. You really aren't supposed to put a cord on these, they say hardwired with AWG 8 wire, but I don't know why it would matter.

 

[tinilk]

Snowman, good point about the 8 year warranty. I hadn't thought about that. Yours makes the 4th FFE in MA that I know about! (including mine)

Brogul, yes the snug fit is another plus that I didn't mention. I've tried the "official" Leviton charger that Ford promotes and its plug is much looser.

 

[NightHawk]

I also bought the Schneider 240v/30a EVSE thru Home Depot 2 months ago during the summer $100 off sale ($499 + tax).
I mounted it in my garage right near where it plugs into my FFE and hired an electrician (the only one in my area I could find that had extensive experience installing wiring for electric car chargers) for the wiring from the circuit breaker box to the wall on the other side of my garage, plus installation of a new 240v/40a breaker. Took him and his assistant only one hour to do the whole job.

This model EVSE has good quality wire block connections and several popout spots available for the power wires to come inside. Its been working solid for me for the past 2 months, always powered on since its direct wired. Its easy enough to disconnect the wires inside if ever needed, so I didn't go for to the extra complications of adding a pigtail with power connector and socket. You just need to pickup a couple #8 wood screws for mounting the main unit to a wood stud and a couple more screws for mounting the cable holder.

 

[SpecVStrom]

Yes!
I think it is a fine choice.

I also bought this from homedepot.com in Aug of this year. I only got 10% off of $599, so I agree this is a good deal.
I installed mine myself, and it has been working error free for over 3 months.
When I run the battery down to below 20 miles remaining, it takes about 3 hours to fully recharge. My average recharge time is 2.5 hours for 60 mile average use. I use value charge and it works perfectly fine. I did change to the EVA rate here in northern California. I tracked my usage on PG&E's CSV file, did a little spreadsheet magic, and determined I would save about $30-$50 a month on EVA.
PS the note about the sound is true. This unit has a mechanical contactor. So, when it pulls in it makes a loud clack! Not so bad when you first connect, but when using my go time with a preset heat value, it does bang several times. Not fun if you are sleeping in a room near this thing.
Still, a good unit.

 

[ElectricCleetus]

Thanks, I did order this. By the time I decided, Amazon was sold out, so I ordered from Home Depot.

 

[NightHawk]

Thanks, I did order this. By the time I decided, Amazon was sold out, so I ordered from Home Depot.

Home Depot is a good option since you can have the unit shipped to you for free, but can return it to any Home Depot store for a refund within 90days if needed.

 

[joejoe2]

In noticed that some stations are 30 amps and others are 32, I thought the max that the car could handle was 30, so is there an advantage to a 32 amp unit.

Also I was wondering if a unit like a clipper creek LCS-25P with a 14-30 plug could be used on a standard dryer outlet, I would like that flexibility when I am on the road

 

[WattsUp]

In noticed that some stations are 30 amps and others are 32, I thought the max that the car could handle was 30, so is there an advantage to a 32 amp unit.

Also note that some stations list their circuit breaker rating not the actual current delivered. Meaning, the "30" or "32" in the documentation (and sometimes even in the name) might only be the circuit rating, not the current delivered.

For example, following the NEC, given a circuit rating of 30 amps, the maximum current a station would be allowed to deliver would only be 80% of that (so 24 amps for a "30 amp" station).

In short, check the station specifications carefully to know what you are getting.

 

[Washingtonian]

I considered this but ended up going with the 32 amp Copper Creek unit which was $603 shipped. With the 25' cord the extra 7' should allow me to charge a car in any garage bay or the driveway. I just installed it today - piece of cake.

 

[jeffand]

With Clipper Creek LCS-25P charger should be able to do a full recharge in 6 hours. This is perfectly good for over night recharging. The nice thing about this is you can make adapters for 30 amp electric dryer and ranges. These are simple to make. Just be sure to use 10 ga or 8 ga wire when making the adapter. It's compact design makes it very portable for road trips. The higher 30 and 32 amp chargers limit your plug choices to 50 amp plugs only.

 

[WattsUp]

With Clipper Creek LCS-25P charger should be able to do a full recharge in 6 hours.

Actually, a full charge with the LCS-25 takes just about 5 hours. That is, assuming a moderate climate, and therefore a normal level of temperature management (which might otherwise divert some power from charging, making things take longer).

You can do the math for the "ideal" charging scenario:

19 kWh battery capacity / 0.80 typical charging efficiency = 23.75 kWh total required energy

23.75 kWh total required energy / 4.8 kWh charging rate = 4.95 hours

One time, when I charged my FFE from near empty (e.g., 1 mile left) with my LCS, it took 5 hours, just as predicted.

And I agree, the LCS-25 is a great little EVSE. Compact and durable, mine has been flawless. Always charges my FFE without issue. I bought mine before ClipperCreek started offering plugged versions, but added my own plug and created my own adapters, which I described in detail in a previous forum post:

Check out my mobile Level 2 charging kit!

 

[TrojanEV]

Here's another deal on a Blink EVSE, that arrived in my inbox today. How does this compare to some of the other chargers?

Through December 31, 2014, we are offering the Blink HQ, our residential EV charging station, for only $499.95!

The Blink HQ offers great value and features, including:
The ability to deliver a full charge almost four times faster than the cord that came with your EV
18 foot cable with indoor/outdoor rating for flexible placement options
Delayed start time options to optimize charging rates
$100 bonus credit* on the Blink Network
To learn more about charging your EV faster at home or to order your Blink HQ today, visit BlinkHQ.com.

This offer is only available through the December 31, 2014 and quantities are limited, so buy your Blink HQ today!

Happy Holidays and Charge On!

Blink

http://shop.blinkhq.com/Blink-Electric-Charger-Includes-Charging/dp/B00IOT4RSA

The $100 blink credit might be useful to some. There aren't many blink charging stations around me though, and if there are, they charge $0.49 kWh. Compared to Chargepoint, which runs me about $0.22 kWh, this $100 credit is really only worth about $45 to me, or $20 compared to charging at home.

Thoughts? Anything that makes this particular charger better than the Schneider or similar Clipper Creek models?