Bosch Power Max™ 30A - Seeking Reviews

[Randy]

Apologies for the dumb question, but today on the phone the Bosch guy said that I need the 30A Powermax unit, rather than the 16, to charge a 2013 Leaf. This is contrary to what I thought. Can one of you guys clarify?

Also, for those considering a purchase, he said the 30A/18' unit is on back order and won't ship until Aug. 28th at the earliest.

Does your new LEAF have the upgraded Level 2 charging feature? If so, that would be one reason you might want to consider the higher capability EVSE. But if you didn't pay for the upgraded charger onboard, then a 16 amp EVSE would do you for now...

 

[EVDRIVER]

Apologies for the dumb question, but today on the phone the Bosch guy said that I need the 30A Powermax unit, rather than the 16, to charge a 2013 Leaf. This is contrary to what I thought. Can one of you guys clarify?

Also, for those considering a purchase, he said the 30A/18' unit is on back order and won't ship until Aug. 28th at the earliest.

Does your new LEAF have the upgraded Level 2 charging feature? If so, that would be one reason you might want to consider the higher capability EVSE. But if you didn't pay for the upgraded charger onboard, then a 16 amp EVSE would do you for now...

Funny they say needs since even a 16A unit will charge any 2013 LEAF.

 

[davewill]

Apologies for the dumb question, but today on the phone the Bosch guy said that I need the 30A Powermax unit, rather than the 16, to charge a 2013 Leaf. This is contrary to what I thought. Can one of you guys clarify? ...

If you have the 6kW charger in your 2013, you "need" the 30a to charge at the fastest rate. However, the 16a will charge your car just fine, at the same rate all the earlier LEAFs have been charging all along. Plenty fast for home charging a LEAF. If your car has the 3.3kW charger, then the 16a will charge it as fast as a 30a.

 

[Boourns]

As I suspected. Thanks, all.

I am trying to decide between a Powermax and the EVSE upgrade. I'll have to add a 240V outlet in my garage regardless.

 

[Randy]

As I suspected. Thanks, all.

I am trying to decide between a Powermax and the EVSE upgrade. I'll have to add a 240V outlet in my garage regardless.

Well, does your 2013 LEAF have the capability to charge at the faster rate? IMHO if you paid for the upgraded on-board charger, you should buy an EVSE that will charge at the fastest rate. People with 2011 LEAFs are paying a lot of money and putting a lot of time into DIY projects to be able to charge faster when they need it, so if you have to do is pay for a slightly better EVSE, it's a no-brainer....

So, what does your car have?

 

[Boourns]

Haven't purchased yet, but it will be either an SV or SL, so it will have the 6.6.

 

[rwalker]

Finally got tracking number for order placed in late June. I would not trust these people at all, any time frame they give is useless. I have been hearing 1 week for the last 7 weeks.

Roy

 

[BestPal]

+1 Bosch unit works great and looks good in the garage! Loving it! Had my unit installed last night. Works like it should. 30A is a blessing when you need some juice fast. Thank you Bosch!! On a side note, installation instructions show round ring terminals for connecting your wiring to the unit but standard 8 gauge round terminals that you can get from home improvement stores will not fit into square slots of the terminals in the back of the unit. So I found some rectangular terminals and it worked perfectly fine.

 

[flagshipdynamics]

Thanks for the info Bestpal. Mine was just delivered and I'm working on it this weekend. I saw the round terminals and thought that couldn't be right. I assumed it would just allow you to unscrew and screw the wires like a breaker does.

I really like the look and sleekness of the unit. I'll update once it's up and running..

 

[BestPal]

...
So $1255 for the install. It's an outdoor install with a 25' run from the box through an existing conduit (ie no fishing) exiting the house at the driveway through an existing cable opening.

Still trickle charging for now.

$1255 for a 25' of 8/3 wire and connecting 3 wires to the panel breaker and 3 wires to the unit?
I'd look them straight in the eye and say "Are you out of your goddamn mind?"

Hire the best electrician in your town for $80/hour. In your case with existing conduit and openings it's probably a one or two hour job.
25' of 3/8 wire will cost you $75 at Lows or Home Depot.
I keep reading about this stupidly insane installation quotes - that just freaking bugs me!

This Bosch unit is rated for indoor/outdoor installation - so nothing special is required on your outside wall either - just the three stinking screws with anchors to hold it in place. Agh.. if you're near San Diego - PM me, I'll do it for you for a case of beer. $1255 freaking retarded.

 

[derkraut]

...
So $1255 for the install. It's an outdoor install with a 25' run from the box through an existing conduit (ie no fishing) exiting the house at the driveway through an existing cable opening.

Still trickle charging for now.

$1255 for a 25' of 8/3 wire and connecting 3 wires to the panel breaker and 3 wires to the unit?
I'd look them straight in the eye and say "Are you out of your goddamn mind?"

Hire the best electrician in your town for $80/hour. In your case with existing conduit and openings it's probably a one or two hour job.
25' of 3/8 wire will cost you $75 at Lows or Home Depot.
I keep reading about this stupidly insane installation quotes - that just freaking bugs me!

This Bosch unit is rated for indoor/outdoor installation - so nothing special is required on your outside wall either - just the three stinking screws with anchors to hold it in place. Agh.. if you're near San Diego - PM me, I'll do it for you for a case of beer. $1255 freaking retarded.

+1. Thanks BestPal, for saying it like it is. It is refreshing to see someone post about these outlandish installation charges. It's been one of the biggest ripoffs a-going since the Leaf was introduced.

 

[mrench01]

Yay!!!! My unit finally arrived and the install date is 8:00am on Aug 28th! I guess Bosch took a bunch of orders before they were really ready to ship these units so there were a lot of delays. I am getting the Power Max 30A with the 18ft cord. Thanks to the local utility company here in Michigan, my only out of pocket expense was $47 in taxes for the physical hardware. I know the local utility DTE offered (the program ended) $2500 in covered expenses and a separate meter. I just managed to squeak into the program before it expired. Now I will be able to charge using Level 3 6.6K and get off-peak rates. This will make my LEAF's operating cost so much lower (not that it's not already!).

Can't wait! Well..... I guess technically I have been waiting for almost 2 months! LOL. I will try to get some photos to post of the installation. My unit will be outside on the corner of my house. My garage is a woodworking shop so I don't park the LEAF in there.

Mike R

 

[KJD]

Are these units still in short supply ?

 

[altoklez]

Thanks Bestpal - Unfortunately I'm on the other coast (DC/MD), so I'll have to drink that beer for you :lol:

Still pondering options, trickle charging, and running up to Nissan when I need a second charge in a day.

 

[JRelova]

Not having much luck getting through to them. Called several times but either have to go through their voicecall maze only to get to a dead-end or staying on hold.

I'll try one more time. :|

 

[mrench01]

Are you calling Bosch directly for information about the unit?

http://www.pluginnow.com/how-order" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I was told Bosch sells the Power Max units via two methods.

1) Directly from Bosch. In this case they work with approved installers in your area and take care of the installation from start to finish. This is the way I ordered my Power Max 30a with the 18' cord. Their website has you fill out a survey complete with taking photos of your electrical service panel and where it will be installed. Then Bosch assigns you a EVSE representative with who you communicate through the whole process.

2) From a Reseller. In this case you can buy the unit directly. It is up to the customer to arrange the installation of the unit. The Power Max can be hard wired, or installed to a 240a outlet with the plug-in option.

After speaking with my assigned Bosch EVSE advisor, Bosch is finally into full production of these units. They have a lot of back orders to fill and they are being done by the order received. My unit was ordered 2 months ago and will be installed tomorrow. Some Resellers may have them in-stock now because their purchase order was put in a while ago. Others may have the unit listed for sale, but don't have them in-stock just yet.

I can say that working directly with Bosch was the most painless. My Bosch rep was very responsive to any e-mails or phone calls. Mostly the delay for my unit was due to the back orders Bosch is filling. A lot of orders were put in when they released the unit some months back. I am hoping that tomorrow's install goes well and I will try to post up some photos when I can.

Mike R

 

[Jon86]

I don't have any experience with the Bosch unit, but I did talk to customer support at Bosch to ask where their units are made. As we might expect, they're sourced from China. I ended up going with a Schneider Electric home charger which is made in the U.S. I just saw is on sale online at Home Depot for $699. I paid $799 when I bought mine....still definitely worth it.

 

[mrench01]

OK, Triton Electric just finished installing my Bosch Power Max 30A Level 2 EVSE. Here are the photos.







I will post a review once I have used the station enough to get a good impression. It seems pretty sturdy considering it's plastic construction. The wall bracket is very secure. The J1772 cable just wraps around the housing. I think that I will try to find some type of cover for it unless I can convince my wife to sew one up. Took the electricians just under 2hrs to complete the work. Most of that was just BSing with me. So it was really about an hour of labor.

All in all the process wasn't too bad though it did take forever to get the unit it's self. The cost of the unit was $597 on my Bosch invoice. The installation was $1,764. I think the labor was inflated due to the incentive my local utility was offering directly to Bosch and the Installer. The conduit run is only 15ft. I certainly won't complain since the only out of pocket expense for me was about $47 in tax. Detroit Edison paid for the rest of the cost. Now I can charge on off-peak rates and times which will really save me some money. Our average utility rates are $0.13 Kw/hr and the off-peak is just under $0.07 Kw/hr.

The LEAF had no problems charging. Just plugged it in and it started right away. I am off for a drive. I have errands to run today and it will give me a chance to test out a full charge later today.

More info when I get it. Cheers!

Mike R

 

[mrench01]

Got home today after running errands. Plugged into the Bosch Power Max 30A and my LEAF said 3hrs to full on 6.6k. I started the stopwatch app on my iPhone and the car is done after only 2:20! This leads me to ask the same question as before, can the 2013 LEAF charge at 7.2k rates? With certain Level 2 stations I notice that my LEAF will finish to full charge well before the estimated time elapsed. Not that I'm complaining as I'll take faster. Just wondering.

More photos of my LEAFy munchin electrons.





Cheers!

Mike R

 

[mrench01]

The Bosch Power Max 30A is working great so far. The unit appears to be plenty weather proof as we have had several bad thunderstorms since it was installed. No issues, still charging Level 2 6.6k+ rate. They installed it on a 240v 40a feed from the separate meter. That may be why the LEAF is finishing to it's full charge well before the calculated finish time, but I don't know.

I am going to find a trailer tire cover to put over the Charge Station when it's not in use. That seems like a logical solution to it's long term use in an outdoor environment. I know Bosch's spec says it's weatherproof, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. More reports & reviews later as I get more use out of it. So far it's working great.

Mike R