What Level 2 Charger did you buy/install?

[jeff_h]

I've seen mention in other threads about the different L2 chargers and the preferences of users, etc.  I thought maybe it would be good to have a tally of how many installed which brand, and didn't see a poll posted on it.  Of course there are more brands than are listed, though these appear to be the most common based on what I see mentioned here and from looking at Amazon, Lowes, and Home Depot.

 

Also I think there are many users who come and read topics but do not post... so they can have their input here retain the coveted 'lurker' status... :)

Edited October 2, 2015 at 11:14 PM by meyersnole

[Russael]

Missed the Leviton 240V 16 amp (3.8kw) charger.  That's what I went with.  Car has a 3.3KW charger onboard and I didn't want to add a huge load to the grid, especially during summertime.  I also do not intend to get rid of this car for a very, verrrrrrrrry long time. :)

 

Ordered from Amazon with the install kit and did the work myself.

[jeff_h]

Missed the Leviton 240V 16 amp (3.8kw) charger.  That's what I went with.

 

Oops, sorry... added it...

[joeblow231]

Missed the Leviton 240V 16 amp (3.8kw) charger.  That's what I went with.  Car has a 3.3KW charger onboard and I didn't want to add a huge load to the grid, especially during summertime.  I also do not intend to get rid of this car for a very, verrrrrrrrry long time. :)

 

Ordered from Amazon with the install kit and did the work myself.

Getting a higher amp charger wouldn't have put a bigger load on the grid because you would still be limited by the circuitry of the car. You would just have the capacity to handle a car with a bigger charger in the future. That's why people are getting the big chargers, planning for future cars.

[Russael]

True - but therein also lies a point - even if I got a car that had a bigger charger, I'm still limited to 3.8kw by the charging station.

 

Homes that have 240 volt 100 amp service like mine have a capacity of 24,000 watts, or 24kw.  I'm not too keen on sucking 30% my entire electrical capacity to charge my car (if I had the 32A charger).  My A/C is also on a 30 amp circuit, so there's another 30% of my entire capacity.  Start turning on another ammenities in the house (computers, TV, etc) and I may wind up having to upgrade my service to 150 amp or higher, and I don't see the power company coming out to upgrade all the pole transformers to compensate.

Edited April 13, 2013 at 02:06 AM by Russael

[FusionEnergi]

I called Leviton and they told me that the charger limits the kw internally based on what the cars onboard charger requests. They said that it will not use all 7.7kw if your currently car can only handle 3. Think of  your house lamp, you could put a 100 watt bulb in it and draw more or you can put a 40 in it and use less. The 32amp charger is like one of those 3way bulbs, except it selects for you the proper setting!  

[Russael]

I know and understand that.  No matter how large the charger is, it'll only output what the car can accept, but what of the reverse?  I have a charger that can offer 3.8kw... what happens if I plug a car that has a 6.6kw charger in to it?  If anything, i should still be limited to 3.8kw.  The charger should tell the car, "I can offer you up to 3.8kw" during the charge negotiation phase.  That's why I went with the charger I did.  I wouldn't expect it to not work due to the communication between the charger and vehicle.  I wouldn't expect a meltdown say by screwing in a 150 watt lightbulb in to a socket meant for a maximum of 60.

 

The Tesla Model S with it's supercharger can actually consume as much energy as 4 houses at their *maximum*.  480 volt at 200 amps, or 96kw.  I'm very glad they supplement that kind of draw with solar panels at those stations.  If you get the car with dual chargers, their wall charger can go up to 90 amps at 240 volt (20kw)... The Roadster charger now it's a maximum of 70 amps on a 90 amp breaker.  But again, no residential home that has 100 amp service would ever be able to support something like that without significant upgrades.

 

Does anybody have smart meters at their homes?  If so, do you have peak/off peak rates?  Presently for me, I'm still on an analog meter with a flat rate of about 12 cents per kw/h.  I'd prefer to charge as soon as I get home, in case I have to leave again.  Electricity, even at a peak rate that some have said around 22 cents (or was it 18?) is still FAR cheaper than gasoline.

Edited April 13, 2013 at 01:47 PM by Russael

[Brad Schuck]

Leviton's and everybody else's chargers are nothing but switches. The car tells the 'switch' using a PWM signal how much and when to allow the charger to send power. Buying a larger charger, unless you have plans to purchase another larger capacity battery vehicle like the Leaf or Focus Electric is a waste of time and resources. The charge time for the 240V 40A unit is exactly the same as the 240V 16A unit. The power from any 220/240 household box with 15-20 amps is more than sufficient to power up the Energi's charger. Most people have 220 available in their garages or laundry rooms. This power is more than enough to run a 15amp charger. Why waste time, money and effort beefing up your electrical system (unless you want to) for no reason?

I investigated each type and size, called the manufacturers and got the same story each time. I went with the Leviton 16 because I thought for the money ,it was the best bang for the buck. If you need to run Romex to the area you need, find a friend who knows how or hire an electrician to  do it for a lot less than upgrading the box for power you will not use. The cost difference from #6 to #12 wire is staggering. Leviton has a special that includes the install kit for around $790. In, California, the state and power companies will rebate 30% of the cost up to $1000 so it sweetens the deal.My net cost is going to be around $600 and it will do everything the large units will do. Remember, the brains are in the Energi, not the charger. I am going to plot the actual power curve for the unit and post the actual kWh used from both a full charge as well as a half charge for both the 120V and the 240V units. Data is everything.

[Brad Schuck]

Missed the Leviton 240V 16 amp (3.8kw) charger.  That's what I went with.  Car has a 3.3KW charger onboard and I didn't want to add a huge load to the grid, especially during summertime.  I also do not intend to get rid of this car for a very, verrrrrrrrry long time. :)

 

Ordered from Amazon with the install kit and did the work myself.

To me it is the best choice for the Energi.

[Brad Schuck]

Missed the Leviton 240V 16 amp (3.8kw) charger.  That's what I went with.  Car has a 3.3KW charger onboard and I didn't want to add a huge load to the grid, especially during summertime.  I also do not intend to get rid of this car for a very, verrrrrrrrry long time. :)

 

Ordered from Amazon with the install kit and did the work myself.

I missed the Amazon price. Were they better than Leviton?

[jeff_h]

Leviton's and everybody else's chargers are nothing but switches. The car tells the 'switch' using a PWM signal how much and when to allow the charger to send power. Buying a larger charger, unless you have plans to purchase another larger capacity battery vehicle like the Leaf or Focus Electric is a waste of time and resources.

 

I had an electrician out this morning looking at my electrical panel, which conveniently is in the garage right where the car will be.  I haven't decided which L2 charger to buy just yet (which is why I started the poll and figured discussion would follow, normally does), and I would agree with you if the price difference in the chargers were about $500 vs $900 for the 16A vs 30A models -- but since it looks like the price difference will be about $100 between the two I'd rather get a 30A model and be ready for the next generation of EV that could make use of the power and charge the car in 30 minutes (for example only, just made that up), or similar performance improvements.  So for me it's trying to plan ahead for the future a bit since I'm gonna shell out that much money anyway. 

[Russael]

I missed the Amazon price. Were they better than Leviton?

They were the same as Leviton.  No difference at the time when I bought it.  The install kit was a little less expensive though.

[Brad Schuck]

I had an electrician out this morning looking at my electrical panel, which conveniently is in the garage right where the car will be.  I haven't decided which L2 charger to buy just yet (which is why I started the poll and figured discussion would follow, normally does), and I would agree with you if the price difference in the chargers were about $500 vs $900 for the 16A vs 30A models -- but since it looks like the price difference will be about $100 between the two I'd rather get a 30A model and be ready for the next generation of EV that could make use of the power and charge the car in 30 minutes (for example only, just made that up), or similar performance improvements.  So for me it's trying to plan ahead for the future a bit since I'm gonna shell out that much money anyway. 

That's a good plan. With me I plan on keeping the car about 3 or 4 years. I don't plan on living in California much longer so I went with the 16 amp unit so I could plug it in and go. I have done some testing with the 120V charge cable and found it draws about 1.2kW using a 100 foot extension cord (not the best idea). The voltage drop was about 14volts. With it plugged into the wall, I was surprised to find the current wasn't much lower. I was expecting around 7 amps but it's more like 9.5. I'm using a Kill-A-Watt EZ and they seem to be pretty accurate. The voltage from my wall is 118V so the power is still the same. This is charging from 16 to 21 miles on the indicator (can't tell a voltage charge level). The initial rate on a fully depleted battery will be much higher according to Leviton. The testing goes on. It's still better than supporting big oil and the middle east.

[shaggy314]

Right now the new model of Leviton 7.6 with an installation kit for $849, so the same price as the 3.3 and a kit, so for $20 you get the higher charger:

 

http://www.homedepot.com/p/t/204088633?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=Leviton+car+charger&storeId=10051&N=25ecodZ5yc1vZ12ldZ12lc&R=204088633

[jeff_h]

http://www.homedepot.com/p/t/204088633?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=Leviton+car+charger&storeId=10051&N=25ecodZ5yc1vZ12ldZ12lc&R=204088633

 

This is the one I decided on and ordered last night...

[rprobst]

I don't see Clipper Creek on your poll:

 

http://www.clippercreek.com/products.html

[jeff_h]

I don't see Clipper Creek on your poll: http://www.clippercreek.com/products.html

 

Sorry about that, thanks for the link, added the 25 Amp, let me know if there are other Level 2 chargers from CC that should be listed, thanks.

[Brad Schuck]

According to Home Depot, the 16A L2 Leviton charger has been discontinued. The 30A unit is $75 more but seems to be the better deal. I cancelled my 16 and went with the 30. Thanks to those that posted the link.

[murphy]

According to Home Depot, the 16A L2 Leviton charger has been discontinued. The 30A unit is $75 more but seems to be the better deal. I cancelled my 16 and went with the 30. Thanks to those that posted the link.

It may have been discontinued by Home Depot but it hasn't been discontinued by Leviton.

 

http://www.leviton.com/OA_HTML/SectionDisplay.jsp?section=37741&minisite=10251

[rtshinn]

I got the SPX Level 2 charger for the Chevy Volt, on E-bay for $395. Works like a champ on the C-Max Energi!

Edited April 15, 2013 at 08:17 PM by rtshinn

[Earthdog]

I bought the Clipper Creek unit from Metro Plug-in www.metroplugin.com Greg has ben excellent to work with and the product is perfect. I am charging from 0% in less than 2.5 hours.

 

 

The odd thing to me is when charging on 110 (at home) the car only gets to 21 miles, at the office on the LCS-25 it always shows AND GOES 25 miles. Just thought that was odd as if its getting more of a charge on the LCS-25. Also the LCS-25 charging is with eGo Times that turn on the AC before I leave the office.

[Scooter80]

I bought the Clipper Creek unit from Metro Plug-in www.metroplugin.com Greg has ben excellent to work with and the product is perfect. I am charging from 0% in less than 2.5 hours.

 

[img=http://www.metroplugin.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/LCS-25_v4.jpg]

 

The odd thing to me is when charging on 110 (at home) the car only gets to 21 miles, at the office on the LCS-25 it always shows AND GOES 25 miles. Just thought that was odd as if its getting more of a charge on the LCS-25. Also the LCS-25 charging is with eGo Times that turn on the AC before I leave the office.

 

Cool little charger!

 

I think you answered why it gives you more range from work. "Preconditioning" with go times will help immensely. The car will figure that into your miles calculation.

[GBRYD]

I bought the GE Residential Electric Vehicle (EV) 30-Amp Level 2 Indoor/Outdoor Watt Station with Plug Model # EVWSWBC-CP0. Very nice. The light doubles as a night light. Good looking unit.

[GBRYD]

[jeff_h]

Here is the Leviton 30 Amp charger that I had installed in the garage.  I had electrician come and survey the place (no charge) and he looked at the current breaker panel (on right) and said sorry no more space/capacity there without rearranging a whole bunch of stuff, if possible at all.  Turns out it was not possible, so he moved a few circuits into a new sub-panel that he added (left) along with the 40A breaker for the L2 charger.    Box on lower right to the right of the L2 charger is an interface box for the Verizon FIOS.

 

The only criticism of this model is that since the breaker panel was in the corner of the garage, so is the charger - so the 18' cord does work but would have been better to have a 20' cord or maybe more, as some of the models had 20, 24, or 25 feet cords -- coulda shoulda woulda taken a 18' string and done some sampling before ordering, but oh well, maybe this can be a tip for others to do before they order in case it might be a concern for your particular layout.