What are you using for a charging station?

[TopCat]

I wanted to see what everyone is using and what the feedback is on the various stations. The Leaf has had some issues, and I wanted to see if some appear to be better fits. The Leaviton is not readily availble everywhere...so, what do you have and how do you like it?

 

[ecofarmer]

Actually, the Leviton charger is available for FFE customers according to https://www.plugintoford.com/. I found the site useful for detailing how to get the charger - you or dealer call Best Buy Geek Squad at 1-888-219-6747 to set up a site survey. Also, the charger comes with a 10-year limited warranty and dedicated support, which are key features for me.

 

[felkster]

I had an electrician install a 220v outlet in my garage, then I bought a GE Wattstation at Lowes and plugged it in.

I love the Wattstation's design. The charger is a bit loud when charging starts (a loud whack noise when the relay activates), but other than that it looks nice, is super quiet, and took about 5 minutes to install.

 

[Trielectric]

I purchased the Leviton 7.7KW EVB32-5ML charger supply switch online. Works great.

 

[Charged Up]

I ordered the Schneider from Home Depot. Used the Discover Card shopping link to get 10% off. Which puts the price at $720 after the 10%.

Schneider is a 7.2kw supply which is sufficient for the FFE's 6.6 kw charger.

Leviton unit looks nice but I don't see paying more than double for the same charging capability.

Schneider unit is made by Square D, and I've had no problems with their products.

You can easily make the Schneider a plug-in if you so desire. Buy a cord and a plug and diy or pay the electrician to install the plug on a cord for you.

Most people are finding that if they pay the electrician to install a suitable receptacle, the cost is much lower than if they pay to have the charger installed.


http://store.leviton.com/Evr-Green-Charging-cord-connected-connector-EVB32-5ML/dp/B007Q0YYV8

http://www.homedepot.com/buy/electric-vehicle-charging-station-248150.html

 

[redEV]

... The Leaf has had some issues ...

To clarify, the main EVSE unit that gave the LEAF problems was the GE Wattstation; Nissan and GE are working on the issue and GE says it was the on board charger on the LEAF that has a problem (remember, even with the FFE the 'charger' is in the car, the EVSE unit just makes the power available for the EV) but interestingly enough, no other EVSE's seem to have an issue with the LEAF that haven't been attributed to other problems with line loads, etc. The GE Wattstation is a great looking unit but was significantly more expensive than the Schneider at the time I bought mine as well as too large to fit where I needed it mounted so went with the Schneider w/o any issues. Having a 10 year warranty would be a nice option for the one offered through Best Buy and Ford although the only part that may fail in that length of time could be the 'nozzle' (the J1772 connector) as its the only 'moving' part as well as expensive to replace. I wonder what the 'take' rate is for the unit offered through Ford versus another?

 

[Evocus]

I'm using the Schneider EVSE unit and it works very well except for some strangeness when I use Value Charging. Can't tell if it's a Ford issue or a compatibility issue with the Schneider.

When I'm setup to Value Charge beginning at midnight and simply plug in the EVSE, what I see happening is this:

1. Plug in. Charger begins delivering current (according to the blinking LED on EVSE).
2. FFE starts to charge or use current for something (according to the charge port blinking LED).
3. FFE decides to stop charging and all LEDs go off. I assume it's waiting till charge time. EVSE stops delivering current after some timeout period.
5. Faults may or may not be reported by the FFE throughout the waiting period till midnight, after which the car charges normally. It's not clear why the FFE says there's a fault, because it's not supposed to be charging until midnight.
4. MFM (myfordmobile) properly reports that the unit is at Home, Plugged In, and Waiting till midnight. Note that just scanning the car with MFM will cause the relays to click and the charge cycle described above to initiate again. Another minor bug is that MFM does not properly log that the charge was "Value Charge".

I'm concerned about all the starts and stops, so my workaround is to tell the EVSE to wait until after midnight to supply power using it's delay feature. The FFE is statisfied with this and reports it's waiting till midnight as before. The only message I get now is right after midnight when charging hasn't yet begun (becuase I only can delay in hour increments, charging will start sometime in the midnight to 1AM timeframe). This works much better.

Perhaps Ford has an issue here they need to fix.

 

[whitgallman]

See the post "I installed my own charging station last week"

ALSO
http://insideevs.com/early-ford-focus-electric-owner-is-out-of-gas-and-loving-it/

 

[Don A]

Eaton per signature installed outside.

 

[obwoodie]

I bought a Leviton EVB40-5PT in-line from Home Depot for $1099 and free shipping. It is a 40 amp,9.6 KW, 240 volt charging station with 25 foot charging cord. Although the Focus EV charges at 6.7KW, I bought "up" in case I need it for the future. This was the cheapest charger I found that charged fast and was available immediately.

I love driving my Focus EV. I was initially hesitant to buy a car with limited range but have learned where all the charging stations are located and have never had an emergency. All you need is a very little planning for driving. If I have lots of charge with few places I need to to go, I hot rod the car.

 

[WattsUp]

Although I mostly try to charge at work (we have Level 2 units from ChargePoint), I sometimes charge at home using my "portable Level 2 charging kit", which I posted about previously here:
http://www.myfocuselectric.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=1004

My kit contains a ClipperCreek LCS-25 Level 2 EVSE which supplies 4.8kW and allows my FFE to charge from empty in 5 hours. The LCS-25 is small and rugged (about the size of the car's Level 1 charger). It draws only 20 amps, making it safely "pluggable" almost anywhere (virtually all household 240V outlets are on 20-30 amp circuits). I have had zero "interfacing" problems using the LCS-25 with the FFE. My only complaint is that the J1772 handle is more "sniff" than usual to insert/remove, but this seems to be loosening up.

Btw, ClipperCreek seems to have made their $595 sale price permanent:
http://stores.intuitwebsites.com/ClipperCreekInc/-strse-6/Level-2-EVSE,-Level/Detail.bok

 

[DavidJohnson]

I'm pretty lucky because I haven't had to buy a charging station. My daily commute is only 15 miles total so I just plug the car into 110V twice a week overnite. However, I'm interested in hearing about everyone's experience because it'd be nice to have the option to quick charge sometimes. Especially, if we get another plug-in hybrid or similar in the near future like I plan. I saw where Bosch will come out with an affordable charger (about $500) in a month or two. Does anyone know if any of their Level II chargers are made in US or by an American company?

 

[WattsUp]

Oh yeah... the ClipperCreek is American-made, if that affects anybody's decision process.

 

[rcmager]

I installed the Clipper Creek LCS-25 that is working GREAT. It's outdoor rated and I have a metal holster attached to the side of the garage that the plug rests in. I got the whole thing for $715 delivered, spent $250 getting it permitted and installed.

 

[WattsUp]

I installed the Clipper Creek LCS-25 that is working GREAT. It's outdoor rated and I have a metal holster attached to the side of the garage that the plug rests in. I got the whole thing for $715 delivered, spent $250 getting it permitted and installed.

Did you notice any excessive "sniffness" inserting/removing the J1772 handle in your FFE's charging port? I did (see my comments earlier in the thread).

How old is your LCS-25? (Judging from your costs, you bought it before the $595 sale?) ClipperCreek told me they recently changed the handle from one supplier to another. So, if your handle has always been easy to use with your FFE's port, perhaps you got the earlier supplier's version?

 

[Jasper7821]

I installed the Clipper Creek LCS-25 that is working GREAT. It's outdoor rated and I have a metal holster attached to the side of the garage that the plug rests in. I got the whole thing for $715 delivered, spent $250 getting it permitted and installed.

Did you notice any excessive "sniffness" inserting/removing the J1772 handle in your FFE's charging port? I did (see my comments earlier in the thread).

How old is your LCS-25? (Judging from your costs, you bought it before the $595 sale?) ClipperCreek told me they recently changed the handle from one supplier to another. So, if your handle has always been easy to use with your FFE's port, perhaps you got the earlier supplier's version?

Just got back from vacation and the Clipper Creek LCS-25 was waiting for me. Now I just need to find an electrician to install it and hopefully get my Focus tomorrow. I'll let you know if its a tight fit

 

[Jasper7821]

Bought my Focus yesterday and bought a dryer plug and connected it to the charge station and plugged it into the dryer hookup so I could charge the car last night. Worked great and the J1772 handle was just a tad stiffer than the station the car came with but totally easy to insert and remove.

A Licensed Electrician came this morning and did the install (main breaker box on the other side of the garage wall) and the charge was $100.

So for $595 and $8.00 shipping and the install I have a Clipper Creek LCS-25 all done for $703. I think that's an awesome deal.

I was a little worried not being able to charge at 6.6kw from the $1,000 station with shipping but now that I know I can get a lot of extra miles by braking I'm totally fine charging at 5.5kw.

Man, I'm really loving this car. Everyone at work is jealous. I was spending over $2k a year in premium gas for my BMW and now I'm calculating less than $500 a year for electricity.
Plus my insurance is $200 a year less and the BMW tags are just over $500 a year and the Focus is only $37.
So I may not have a European luxury car anymore but I really love this Focus and love the savings and it looks pretty cool too. I'm one happy camper.
I almost put down the $4,500 deposit on the Tesla Model S 6 years ago because I wanted an electric car so bad and now I finally have one, and this white platinum paint is awesome.

 

[WattsUp]

I was a little worried not being able to charge at 6.6kw from the $1,000 station with shipping but now that I know I can get a lot of extra miles by braking I'm totally fine charging at 5.5kw.

5.5 kW? The LCS-25 is actually a 4.8 kW device. ClipperCreek advertises it as such on their website.

And this makes sense as the LCS-25 operates at 20 amps (despite the "25" in the name) on 240 volts. The wattage is easily computed:

240 volts * 20 amps = 4.8 kW

It also makes sense that it takes just about 5 hours to charge an empty FFE using the LCS-25:

19.5 kWh (charge) / 0.8 (typical charging efficiency) = 24.4 kWh (total required)

24.4 kWh / 4.8 kW = ~5 hours

Is this what you see too?

 

[WattsUp]

Worked great and the J1772 handle was just a tad stiffer than the station the car came with but totally easy to insert and remove.

Thanks. Interesting. I would say my LCS-25 was way more than a "tad" sniffer. I had someone else try it and he was scared that he might be damaging things he had to push/pull so hard.

 

[Jasper7821]

I was a little worried not being able to charge at 6.6kw from the $1,000 station with shipping but now that I know I can get a lot of extra miles by braking I'm totally fine charging at 5.5kw.

5.5 kW? The LCS-25 is actually a 4.8 kW device. ClipperCreek advertises it as such on their website.

And this makes sense as the LCS-25 operates at 20 amps (despite the "25" in the name) on 240 volts. The wattage is easily computed:

240 volts * 20 amps = 4.8 kW

It also makes sense that it takes just about 5 hours to charge an empty FFE using the LCS-25:

19.5 kWh (charge) * 0.8 (typical charging efficiency) = 24.4 kWh (total required)

24.4 kWh / 4.8 kW = ~5 hours

Is this what you see too?

Ok thanks, I thought somewhere it said it was 5.5
Oh we'll, I thought it would charge it faster but I'll live with it for the low price.