GE indoor/outdoor on Sale at HomeDeport

[fbitz777]

I am getting my FFE this Saturday...as of two days ago I knew NOTHING about it (and I do buy Fords) as I was shopping for a Smart eV or a LEAF with a future goal of a Tesla SUV.


Anyhow I know need a charger I guess and my dealer is recommending Leviton but I notice a discount at Home Depot for
the GE Indoor/Outdoor...looks sexy but is it a good price at $679 and a good product?. I usually get 5-10% discounts at Lowes and Home Depot so that would even bee sweeter. Seems like having a plug is better than a hardwired unit.


Again time is of the essence (although the dealer told me supplied 120V cord is good enough for now)


http://www.homedepot.com/p/GE-EV-charger-Indoor-Outdoor-Level-2-Watt-Station-Wall-Mount-with-Plug-EVWSWBC-CP01/203001939

 

[hybridbear]

I am getting my FFE this Saturday...as of two days ago I knew NOTHING about it as I was shopping for a Smart eV or a LEAF with a future goal of a Tesla SUV.


Anyhow I know need a charger I guess and my dealer is recommending Leviton but I notice a discount at Home Depot for
the GE Indoor/Outdoor...looks sexy but is it a good price at $679 and a good product?. I usually get 5-10% discounts at Lowes and Home Depot so that would even bee sweeter. Seems like having a plug is better than a hardwired unit.


Again time is of the essence (although the dealer told me supplied 120V cord is good enough for now)


http://www.homedepot.com/p/GE-EV-charger-Indoor-Outdoor-Level-2-Watt-Station-Wall-Mount-with-Plug-EVWSWBC-CP01/203001939

Congrats & welcome!

Any EVSE with the J1772 connector will work. The Focus Electric can charge at a maximum rate of 6.6 kW so you may want to get a charger than can do at least that much. Hardwired versus plug is personal preference. I'm not aware of any reasons that one is superior to the other in terms of performance. Plug ones are often cited as having superior portability, but that doesn't improve performance in any way.

 

[Abelgoddard]

Yeah, 120 is probably enough, but it really depends on your daily driving and how long you have access to an outlet.

At to spending $700 on the GE, I'd say not. I haven't got mine yet, but a friend recommends looking at a Juicebox. Open source, considerably cheaper. I'm planning to get my house wired before getting a box, which should be happening pretty soon.

 

[hybridbear]

Yeah, 120 is probably enough, but it really depends on your daily driving and how long you have access to an outlet.

At to spending $700 on the GE, I'd say not. I haven't got mine yet, but a friend recommends looking at a Juicebox. Open source, considerably cheaper. I'm planning to get my house wired before getting a box, which should be happening pretty soon.

I like that idea. If I were doing it myself I would definitely look at that. But since we live in an apartment and they'll do the install it was easiest for me to recommend either the Bosch Power Max or the Clipper Creek HCS-40. After reading issues on here about other Bosch EVSE units, not the Power Max, I recommended they get the Clipper Creek unit. It cost less than $50 more and includes a 3 year warranty instead of just the 1 year warranty that Bosch provides. Our EVSE is in transit and will be installed sometime next week we hope.

Since 7/3 when our FFE arrived we have been charging with the 120V cord. Sometimes the car can charge all night and it won't be enough to fill the HVB, but most nights we plug it in once we're done driving for the day and it finishes charging sometime before we need to leave the next day.

 

[fbitz777]

Yeah, 120 is probably enough, but it really depends on your daily driving and how long you have access to an outlet.

At to spending $700 on the GE, I'd say not. I haven't got mine yet, but a friend recommends looking at a Juicebox. Open source, considerably cheaper. I'm planning to get my house wired before getting a box, which should be happening pretty soon.

Not sure how juice box is much cheaper...I just priced a premium juice outdoor with bracket and input plug and 25' charging cable (12' is simply not enough) and arrive at $666 PLUS shipping (which is free at Home Depot)

I guess I could save $100 if I buy the juice kit.

Eventually I want to get something more like the GE-Durastation with RFID reader

http://www.ebay.com/itm/GE-Durastation-Electric-Vehicle-EV-Charging-Station-EVSE-J1772-Charger-RFID-/171348861668?pt=Electric_Vehicle_Parts&hash=item27e53022e4&vxp=mtr

 

[hybridbear]

Yeah, 120 is probably enough, but it really depends on your daily driving and how long you have access to an outlet.

At to spending $700 on the GE, I'd say not. I haven't got mine yet, but a friend recommends looking at a Juicebox. Open source, considerably cheaper. I'm planning to get my house wired before getting a box, which should be happening pretty soon.

Not sure how juice box is much cheaper...I just priced a premium juice outdoor with bracket and input plug and 25' charging cable (12' is simply not enough) and arrive at $666 PLUS shipping (which is free at Home Depot)

I guess I could save $100 if I buy the juice kit.

Eventually I want to get something more like the GE-Durastation with RFID reader

http://www.ebay.com/itm/GE-Durastation-Electric-Vehicle-EV-Charging-Station-EVSE-J1772-Charger-RFID-/171348861668?pt=Electric_Vehicle_Parts&hash=item27e53022e4&vxp=mtr

I agree. When I priced out a JuiceBox it was $577 before shipping versus $590 for the Clipper Creek unit before shipping. However, the JuiceBox does have the screen for that price which the CC unit doesn't.

 

[michael]

You can also do well on Ebay. I recently bought a brand-new-in-box Aerovironment with 25 foot cord for 500 with free shipping. There was one for $430 with a 15 foot cord that just ended.

 

[hybridbear]

You can also do well on Ebay. I recently bought a brand-new-in-box Aerovironment with 25 foot cord for 500 with free shipping. There was one for $430 with a 15 foot cord that just ended.

Do you lose out on the warranty then? My parents bought their Leviton charger from Amazon. We had some concerns that they wouldn't be able to get warranty service if needed. But now the warranty period has expired so it's a moot point.

 

[jmueller065]

Note that with the Juicebox you can put a WiFi adapter in it for network connectivity and charging status through their website.

 

[michael]

There's always some risk when buying from Ebay, but for the price I think it's worth it. If it had arrived DOA, there is Ebay buyer protection, and there's little enough to fail.

 

[fbitz777]

OK I got my GE charger yesterday from Home Depot and it works ok..was under 700 after taxes.



My only complain is that it is HUGE; not sure I would transport this ever or bring it along on a trip to a vacation house.

 

[EVA]

Yes the Wattstation is huge. Well, you would have done better at Amazon, but it's too late.
http://www.amazon.com/GE-WattStation-Wall-Mount-Charger/dp/B00FI6TJRQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1406361581&sr=8-2&keywords=ge+wattstation

The skins are actually really cool - at only $35 they are a good deal. The material is thick and easy to apply without bubbles.

No you won't take that station with you anywhere, it is too big.

After using a Clipper Creek charger for a week, I like my Wattstation more now. The cable on the GE is a lot smoother and more flexible. The place to hang up the plug is nicer also.

It is true, you can spend half your life figuring out the charging station. My electrician just bought the GE, he used it in a few other installations, and liked it. Don't think you or I went too far wrong.

 

[Fluke]

I have had a GE Wattstation for a couple of years. Actually, I've had 3, because the first one went bad, the warranty replacement one was bad, and the third one has been working fine. GE warranty service has been very good, but it is unfortunate to need to use it. My main gripes with the GE EVSE are the huge size for no apparent reason other than looks, the constant hum when charging and the loud contactor noise/clunk. Both units that worked have had the same noise issues. Because of the location in my garage, I can hear the contactor actuate from inside my house.

I've also got a Clipper Creek HCS-60 (48 amp charge rate, they also make a 30 amp unit) for another EV. If I were purchasing again for the FFE, I'd go with the Clipper Creek since the unit is significantly smaller, has no hum, and no loud clunk when the contactor actuates. The only drawback (which actually adds flexibility) is that I had to purchase a separate holster that Clipper Creek offers for my situation. The Clipper Creek is slightly cheaper than the GE also.

 

[jmueller065]

The GE must be really loud: All of my Level 2 EVSE's have clicks/clunks when the relay clicks on (LCS-25P, Bosch Power Express, Juicebox--the Juicebox is by far the loudest and also rated for 60A). I'm finding that the sound of the clunk does reflect the quality of the unit, much like you can tell how well a car is made by the noise of the door closing. A nice solid "thunk" when the EVSE kicks in does give the impression of a good unit.

 

[Fluke]

The GE must be really loud: All of my Level 2 EVSE's have clicks/clunks when the relay clicks on (LCS-25P, Bosch Power Express, Juicebox--the Juicebox is by far the loudest and also rated for 60A). I'm finding that the sound of the clunk does reflect the quality of the unit, much like you can tell how well a car is made by the noise of the door closing. A nice solid "thunk" when the EVSE kicks in does give the impression of a good unit.

I had that impression when I first got the GE. However I've had the GM "Voltec" charger for three years and it makes no noise whatsoever and has caused no problems. The Clipper Creek is a higher rated unit and makes no noises (knock on wood no problems yet). The only one that I've had problems with is the GE that makes plenty of noise.

 

[hybridbear]

My parents have a Leviton unit for their C-Max Energi and it makes a loud click when connected to the car. I was unsure if I considered the click to be a mark of a high quality unit or a lower quality unit. The Ford 120V EVSE also makes a clicking noise when plugged in. Hopefully our apartment will soon install the Clipper Creek unit they bought for us and then we'll have that as a reference point too.

 

[fbitz777]

Yes the Wattstation is huge. Well, you would have done better at Amazon, but it's too late.
http://www.amazon.com/GE-WattStation-Wall-Mount-Charger/dp/B00FI6TJRQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1406361581&sr=8-2&keywords=ge+wattstation

That one is for hardwired not the one with the plug which is still at $679 (Home Depot/Amazon) the cheapest I could find at.


I also just purchased on Ebay for $430

AeroVironment EV Charger: 15' cable, 30A, 7.2kW
(hardwired)