Took the plunge, bought a 2014 Leaf, now need a L2 EVSE...

[BassAtl]

Yes, baustin, I might try to sort that out this weekend. Thrasher Electric here only charges $29 to come inspect the panel, so I figure it's worth someone having a look before I get into it.

I just came across this Level 2 charger from GE at Home Depot (model EVDSWGH-CP01). $449 for a 7.2kW unit seems pretty good. Reviews are mostly 5-star.

I need to keep in mind that this unit will generally only be used during the early morning hours, between 2 and 7 am, when none of the other appliances in the home are being used, other than the heat pump. Even if both of my heat pumps are running, then this unit plus that load would not exceed my 150 amp service.

 

[BassAtl]

Quick question:

There are 2 EVSE's for sale on my local Craigslist.

1. GE Wattstation 30A/7.2kW - $500 asking
2. Eaton L230 30A/7.2kW - $400 asking, said he'd accept $350

The GE is a wall mount, plug-in unit. I offered $350, but haven't heard back.

The Eaton is a hardwire unit.

Any reason I should NOT pursue one of these used units? Both are "stated" to have been in service for 1 year or less. The Eaton seller stated he no longer needs it and they just use the 110v cable, after moving recently and not installing the Eaton.

I appreciate any feedback you might be able to offer on either of these units.

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

I don't have experience with any of those but if you come across a Schneider EVlink for the right price you may want to grab it. Ours has been rock solid for going on 4 years. It's a 30A unit that sometimes goes on sale on homedepot.com.

 

[baustin]

For a used unit, $350 is not bad, if it is complete and less than a year old. I purchased one of the $449 GE units from Home Depot, and I have been quite happy with it. You have to put the hole in the case for installation, so it can either be hard-wired or you can install a plug-in cord. Mine is mounted to the pole behind the panel hard-wired.

 

[ishiyakazuo]

Yes, baustin, I might try to sort that out this weekend. Thrasher Electric here only charges $29 to come inspect the panel, so I figure it's worth someone having a look before I get into it.

I just came across this Level 2 charger from GE at Home Depot (model EVDSWGH-CP01). $449 for a 7.2kW unit seems pretty good. Reviews are mostly 5-star.

I need to keep in mind that this unit will generally only be used during the early morning hours, between 2 and 7 am, when none of the other appliances in the home are being used, other than the heat pump. Even if both of my heat pumps are running, then this unit plus that load would not exceed my 150 amp service.

I'm using that GE unit. It's very basic, but you can downrate it to whatever wiring you have it connected up to, so that's nice. It's only got one LED on it, but it does display quite a bit with just the one LED.

 

[BassAtl]

I picked up the used Eaton unit today. It's a 1-year old unit, but was only used for a few months out of that year. The seller had moved and never reinstalled it. It appears to be in good shape and I felt like $350 was a good price.

I intend to put a plug on the unit and install a receptacle on the wall for it.

 

[GlennD]

I picked up the used Eaton unit today. It's a 1-year old unit, but was only used for a few months out of that year. The seller had moved and never reinstalled it. It appears to be in good shape and I felt like $350 was a good price.

I intend to put a plug on the unit and install a receptacle on the wall for it.

The advantage of a plug it that NEC stops at the outlet.

Many many years ago I had an inspector take in the wiring on my service bench. For sure he would have hit me for using romex. He followed the wiring up to until it ended in an AC plug. While he did not like the romax he could not do anything about it since it plugged in.

 

[BassAtl]

My electrician came by this morning to inspect my panel. Good news....to add a 40 amp breaker to my sub-panel for this EVSE will not require a service upgrade (I have 150amp service). Bad news....he wanted to about $450 to install the receptacle for me, using my wire and receptacle....too much for my blood.

Everything is easily accessible and pretty straight forward. I'm comfortable working on this limited scope in my panel box, so a weekend project has emerged for this coming weekend.

He did point out that the previous homeowner had installed a non-compliant breaker (wrong type) in one of my panels, which I will correct while I'm at it. So, it was very worthwhile to have him take a look and this particular company only charges $29 for a trip charge.

 

[TonyWilliams]

For plug in charge cables, nothing beats the JESLA 40 amp (9.6kW) J1772 / Type 1 premium portable charging cable. It works at up to full power on every known J1772 equipped vehicle in the world.

JESLA was designed specifically with the unique 40 amp Tesla onboard charger that is in a Mercedes B-Class ED, Toyota RAV4 EV, and of course Tesla cars, but it also works equally fantastic with cars like the BMW i3, Fiat 500e, Chevy Volt, Kia Soul EV or Nissan LEAF. It is ultra flexible, light weight (only 8 pounds total!), and portable, PLUS it adjusts from 100 to 250 volts and 12 to 40 amps, automatically. You don't have to know anything about electricity and no installation required;

Just Plug-N-Charge(tm)!!!

http://shop.quickchargepower.com/JESLA-is-THE-40-amp-J1772-portable-charging-solution-JESLA.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

JELSA ships with NEMA 14-50 and NEMA 5-15 plugs, a padlock, plus a carrying bag. Additionally, you may want to buy the correct plug for your dryer (handy for visiting friends or relatives at their house) or for motel air conditioners:

...........................................VOLTS / AMPS.....kW
NEMA 5-15* ......Standard Outlet.. 120 V / 12 A...... 1.4 kW
NEMA 5-20 ...... Motel A/C .......... 120 V / 16A....... 1.9 kW
NEMA 10-30......Older Dryers........ 240 V / 24 A...... 5.8 kW
NEMA 14-30......Newer Dryers...... 240 V / 24 A...... 5.8 kW (out of stock)
NEMA 14-50*.....RV Parks ........... 240 V / 40 A...... 9.6 kW

*included plugs

 

[RRLeafEV]

Thanks to all for the great input on this thread! I am awaiting delivery of a new 2014 Nissan Leaf SL w/Premium Pkg (yes, it had never been titled) that I got a great deal on, so I was in the same boat--looking to buy a Level 2 EVSE (charger) for the new active/passive solar home I designed and will live in (free details, search "SunDrinker" on FB)--and the choices, quite frankly, are daunting.

From this thread and my previous research, I've come to the following conclusions:

• Future-proofing would best be done by adding a 240v 50A circuit to the panel, even if the charger I purchase now only required 30A.
• The brand of charger to purchase is significantly driven by personal preference. There is very little anecdotal evidence of failure with these units.
• There are both factory-built Bosch, GE, Schneider, AeroVironment, Siemens, plus many others, and for a bit less money, Heathkit-style (if you're old enough to remember that company) DIY kits such as the OpenEVSE or JuiceBox models. And don't forget the portables, such as EVSE Upgrade and Jesla.
• I'm leaning toward ECOtality/Blink WE-30CKre (some good deals used, but must be an older model?) or especially Blink HQ (currently on sale at $499.99 and comes with $100 worth of free Blink charging!), Bosch EL-51254 (w/25' cord), or Schneider EV230WS, or the SIC USA LLC (search eBay) LO-BC2 for $560 or their commercial LO-IC2 for $1,100.

If you have personal or anecdotal experience with any of those units, please chime in!

Also, as an aside, I am constantly running in and out of the garage when doing projects outdoors. With my broad shoulders, and especially with the location of the most charger installs inside garages where a person is generally forced to walk between a car and the "docked" J1772 charger handle, why doesn't some innovator have the docking receiver on the SIDE of the unit, so that it adds no depth (or something to catch with your arm and break) to the system?

 

[BassAtl]

I'm a newbie, but from my recent install....

I picked up a very good condition 32amp Eaton unit on craigslist for $350. I put a plug on it and installed the 220V outlet myself for approximately $100 in materials (bulk of that was 8 awg wire for a 35' run), receptacle, plug, and 40 amp breaker. So, about $450 all in. It charges at up to 7.2Kw, which is more than adequate for the Leaf.

BTW...the Eaton unit actually comes with a wall-mounted cord management system, and the head is mounted from the side at a slight angle, rather than perpendicular to the unit. Works great.

Here's my advice.....be sure your electrical panel can accept an additional 50 amp breaker (space in the panel box w/o having to add a sub-panel) and the corresponding load. I had an electrician inspect my panel box and he felt comfortable that adding a 40 amp breaker was not going to overtax the service (150amp for my house), especially since the vehicle is charging at night, when most other appliances are not in use. I have a heat pump that will be running nearly 24/7 during the summer months, but that's about it. If you are comfortable with all of that, then great. Along the same lines, though, you don't want to buy a charger that requires you to upgrade your electrical service (e.g. from 150 amp service to 200 amp service). That is a very expensive proposition, especially so here in Georgia, as a service upgrade requires a permit and is inspected as if it were new service. This means the house has to be brought up to current code and can cost thousands, not hundreds. For example, the wire from the meter to your panel box will need to be replaced, the panel itself might have to be replaced or a sub-panel added, and at least in this location, hard-wired fire alarms have to be present in all bedrooms and several other areas. I currently have 2 on each floor, which I consider adequate, but it does not meet the current code.

Point is, if I would have been told by the electrician that my Level 2 unit required a service upgrade, I would have opted for a much less powerful unit, just to avoid the cost of the service upgrade.

Hopefully, none of this will be a problem for you and you can put in whatever type of unit you want. I'm just advising you to make sure you don't buy a unit that requires a huge expenditure to install it, thus negating the benefit of the great deal on the car itself.....

Good luck with it!!!

 

[ishiyakazuo]

I've got 100A service and it wasn't a problem. It all comes down to your usage. (I also have a '12 LEAF, so only draws 3.3kW, so that helps.)

 

[thetwins]

New poster from the Rav4 EV forum -
I just wanted to chime in re. my experience with Jesla. I bought one about 1 1/2 years ago, and installed a 50 amp NEMA 14-50 outlet, to future-proof. I was extremely happy with my charging solution, until 2 weeks ago, when the Jesla stopped working. The Tesla charging part gave me the dreaded dull red light (vs the normal happy green light), and on the Tesla forums, it's apparently not uncommon for this to happen. I emailed Tony, even though it was out of warranty, and he very graciously said he'd take a look at it. 1 week later, my Jesla is fully functional, and all is good again! Thanks to Tony and the Jesla folks, who stand by their work, even out of warranty!
I'd recommend a Jesla, even though I'm a Rav4 owner.