Portable Level 2 EV charger recommendations?

[WattsUp]

Although I have a short commute and routinely charge (for free) at work, I do sometimes charge at home (using the Level 1 charger Ford provides), typically on the weekend. It would be nice to charge more quickly when at home, in addition to "on the road" while at family of friends' homes with an available 240V socket (perhaps for a clothes dryer).

Does anyone have any recommendation for a good and reasonably-priced portable Level 2 charger for use with the FFE?

Two I have found interesting so far are the Clipper Creek LCS-25, on sale this month for direct $595, and the SPX EL-50600, which amazon.com has for $949 + free shipping. Granted, the SPX is more expensive, but the normal price of the CC is $795.

The SPX is also capable of charging at 12, 16, 24, and 32 amps, making it more "adaptable" to different situations, which could justify the price (however, it is unclear to me if the 32 option might require a cabling upgrade, at additional expense). The CC is fixed at 25 amps, but is also a pretty nice price (for any Level 2 charger).

I would also like a find a charger that can be easily modified to use a custom power input "pigtail", leading to a generic NEMA L6-20P twist-lock plug. That way, I can create short custom L6-20R adapter cables that terminate in various common plugs (NEMA 10-30, 14-30, etc.). You can buy such things online from evseadapters.com, but it is probably cheaper to make your own. This arrangement also makes it possible to use a standard L6-20 extension cable when the 240V socket is located away from the car.

Has anyone done something like this with a portable charger for their FFE?

 

[Draudecif]

http://roulezelectrique.com/boutique-borne-240v/

I don't know if you understand french but can translate with google. Anyway there are technical terms and the same in any language. The price is good. The dif between the two is the connector. One has and the other no.

 

[WattsUp]

Thanks Draudecif.

That Canadian unit looks like a re-branded Clipper Creek unit! With the CAN-US exchange, the base price would seem to be slightly lower (around US$585), but with the fees and shipping, the final cost may not be worth it over just buying the CC unit in the US.

It is nice, though, that they offer the unit with an attached NEMA 6-30 plug (which seems to increase the price by about US$50). Achieving the same as a DIY project would probably be somewhat cheaper. Besides, I would like to create/buy a small set of "adapters" for different common NEMA plugs... not just one hard-wired choice.

 

[obwoodie]

My neighbor has a 2013 Leaf and they offered an upgrade of his portable 110 charger to 240 v level 2. It cost $300. Maybe Leaf will upgrade the FFE portable charger.

 

[Plasmadust]

ClipperCreek LCS-25P is a portable level 2.

 

[Josephus]

We are probably going to do the CC at the end of the year while federal incentives are still active. Only need level 2 once or twice a month, for those days you need to make more than one longer trip. For the price you just can't beat it.

Personally I feel like the brain of the EVSE should be hard built into the car and adust for any voltage amp fed to it. Then all anybody would need is a thick enough wire cord. Boom, plug and play. Hopefully future generations will see the "dummy proof" wisdom of this.

 

[hcsharp]

We are probably going to do the CC at the end of the year while federal incentives are still active. Only need level 2 once or twice a month, for those days you need to make more than one longer trip. For the price you just can't beat it.

If you monitored your electric usage you would discover that level 2 charging is more efficient so it's a good idea to use it all the time.

Personally I feel like the brain of the EVSE should be hard built into the car and adust for any voltage amp fed to it. Then all anybody would need is a thick enough wire cord. Boom, plug and play. Hopefully future generations will see the "dummy proof" wisdom of this.

Let me ask you a question: No matter how thick your cable, how would the car know the size of the wires in the wall or the size of the breaker in the panel?

The car already adjusts for the voltage and amperage available to it. You can't put any more of the EVSE brain in the car. It already does everything it can. The car decides how many amps to pull from the circuit it's plugged into, not the EVSE. The EVSE only advises the car how many amps are available, which the car can't otherwise know. The car takes this advice and combines it with other information such as the state of charge, cell voltage, temperatures, and much more to make a decision as to how many amps to draw. Hopefully the car is smart enough and won't pull more than the EVSE says is available.

If all I've done is further confuse you, here's an example that might help. I designed a "smart" EVSE for a home with limited electrical capacity. They installed two 32A EVSEs for their two EVs. But their entire house only had 60A service (they were unable to upgrade this for reasons I won't bore you with). If both of their cars were charging at once, or even just one and they also were using their clothes dryer, the entire house would suddenly go dark! The smart EVSE in this case monitors the load drawn by the rest of the house including the other EVSE, and adjusts the pilot signal accordingly to let the car know just how many amps it can safely pull. The reason the EVSE can't be integrated into the car is because only the EVSE, and not the car, can know the maximum capacity available from the supply.

 

[michael]

Clipper creek looks good, and amazon offers one from a Electric Vehicle Institue that's even a little less expensive

Be careful about the 25 amp units. Many 220 outlets have only 20 Amp breakers. So the 3kw units are more generally useful even though slower to charge.

 

[WattsUp]

Many 220 outlets have only 20 Amp breakers.

Hmmm... but almost all household 220V (240V, really) outlets use NEMA 6-30, 10-30, or 14-30 sockets (for plugging in 30-amp appliances, such as clothes dryers). Why would people put 20-amp breakers on those circuits, and then advertise them via 30-amp connectors?

 

[JTCalif]

Cable + connector matters.
spx EL-50600: I have been using that for just over a year. The device works fine with our Focus, no problems ever, but lately the connector (where it meets the car) drew my attention: it feels warmer than I think it should. (I am an electrical engineer, and like such things cool.)
Connector is marked "model REV-1-30C / REMA" (rema-ev.com), suggesting 30A max.
but being cautious, I turned the little rotary switch in the spx down to its 16 A setting: cooler now, but must allow more time to "fill" car.
Charging the car at a public Charge Point, at its full power ("5.77 kW", about 24 A.) does not seem to add noticeable warmth.
I used a NEMA 6-50 connector for the 240 v. outlet + plug. Fine, except the cable led out better if I rotated the outlet 180 degrees from what seemed a normal orientation.

By the way, I had to use some judgment when interpreting the installation instructions for the spx device: it called for use of a couple of tools which are quite rare (odd drill size, + a small torque wrench); substituted OK. Found that running the 240 v. cable in through the side of case required a difficult bend; think that straight down through the top would have been easier.

 

[michael]

Many 220 outlets have only 20 Amp breakers.

Hmmm... but almost all household 220V (240V, really) outlets use NEMA 6-30, 10-30, or 14-30 sockets (for plugging in 30-amp appliances, such as clothes dryers). Why would people put 20-amp breakers on those circuits, and then advertise them via 30-amp connectors?

You're right about that. But in industrial settings, one often sees L6-15, L6-20, and 6-20 with 20 Amp breakers on 208 V circuits. The place I work has L6-15's and 6-20 outlets all over the place...I charge up using them and a 3 KW EVSE. The place has a few 6KW EVSE's, but not enough to go around so by bringing my own portable, I don't have to worry about access to charging power. If I had an 25 amp EVSE, I'd be out of luck.

 

[hcsharp]

I've got an L14-20 outlet in my basement and garage. They are both 240v 20A.

 

[michael]

I was in a motel last weekend and the room had one of those "below the window" air conditioners. It was plugged into a 6-20 outlet. So another reason to prefer a 20 amp portable...the possibility to park outside your room and charge up

 

[WattsUp]

I was in a motel last weekend and the room had one of those "below the window" air conditioners. It was plugged into a 6-20 outlet. So another reason to prefer a 20 amp portable...the possibility to park outside your room and charge up

Yes, but technically a 20-amp circuit is not supposed to be "continuously loaded" at the full 20 amps. The NEC guideline for continuous loads (3 hours or more) is 80% of the breaker capacity, or about 16 amps.

I'm not recommending it, but you can get away with one EV charge (i.e., for a few hours) without too much danger. I have at my sister's house, which has an A/C unit plugged into 240V/20A socket that I temporarily plug my ClipperCreek LCS-25 into, which draws 20 amps. But, it would be something to be aware of at some crappy motel with ancient wiring, or an older house. I would keep an eye on it... I wouldn't just plug in and then head out to dinner for hours.

There is quite a discussion in this thread about the NEC, amperage, breakers, continuous loads:
http://www.myfocuselectric.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=1004