AmazingE ESVE?

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erco

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 6, 2017
Messages
110
Location
Los Angeles, CA
I caved to the popup ads on this site and ordered the "AmazingE" portable ESVE from Amazon. Its "3.8KW of goodness" is a fine match for the 3.6 kW OBC in my 2014 Leaf S, and my garage already has a 240V 30A dryer outlet, so it seems like a no-brainer for this car anyway. I didn't find any mention of the "AmazingE" here, but there are good reviews at Amazon (duh) and http://300mpg.org/2017/09/02/amazing-e-evse-review-and-opening . I'm new to all this, but my early take is that all these ESVEs are mostly high-current extension cords, with just enough smarts to confirm the handshake protocol with the OBC. And switching relays and GFI, and UL certification of course.

Funny, Amazon's price was $214 when I bought, but now it's jumped to $303. Did I do that? :) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XSLYDLH/

I got quite a bargain, since Amazon sells just a replacement cable and connector for $180: https://www.amazon.com/Charging-Station-Replacement-Charge-J1772/dp/B01CPST3W0/

I'm pretty handy and was/am tempted to modify my stock Nissan brick per http://www.instructables.com/id/313CONVERTING-A-2013-LEAF-LEVEL-1-12AMP-CHARGER-TO/ I found this 2014 discussion interesting: http://www.plugincars.com/why-electric-car-chargers-so-expensive-129543.html

I'm wide open to opinions & comments.

http://amazing-e.com/
 
Bought one for a friend, good unit, guts made by Clipper Creek, UL listed....Was great price at low $200's....
 
Paid $380 for a Zencar 32A portable EVSE, have no complaints about it. I like that you can order it with whatever amperage settings you prefer and also that it will work on both 120V and 240V supplies. I also have a dryer outlet (NEMA 14-30R) and charge my SV at 5.76 kW rate (240V@24A).

Even if you have only a 3.3 kW OBC, the flexibility of being able to, for instance, charge via a 14-50R (3.3 kW max rate), 14-30R (3.3 kW max rate), TT-30R (2.88 kW), or 5-15R (1.44 kW) is so nice to have.

I have a single adapter cable that let's me use any one of those, more details on that here:

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=24302&hilit=adapter&start=10#p500259
 
I also have the Zencar and really like it, but if cost is very important and UL listing is paramount, then for the low $200s that this AmazingE normally sells for, is a pretty decent deal. At closer to $300 the seller at Amazon is really ripping people off :x I mean to take a EVSE that normally sells ~$200 and now mark it up to >$300.....well do the math!
My main complaint about the AmazingE would be, like the CC that it's designed from, it's ONLY a L2 EVSE, no flexibility like many of the other portable EVSEs to be able to use 120v in a pinch. I guess if your OK with only L2 and the fact that it only charges at 16a(can't manually select amperage so no ability to use on a 240v 15a circuit) then for close to $200 it's a good deal. Otherwise if your OK without your EVSE being UL listed for closer to $200(mid $100s if your OK ordering direct from China) there are other options available :)
 
jjeff said:
I also have the Zencar and really like it, but if cost is very important and UL listing is paramount, then for the low $200s that this AmazingE normally sells for, is a pretty decent deal. At closer to $300 the seller at Amazon is really ripping people off :x I mean to take a EVSE that normally sells ~$200 and now mark it up to >$300.....well do the math!

Yep, that's weird. I looked at it for two weeks on Amazon.com, always listed for $214. The day after I ordered, the price jumped up to $303. Either I got lucky or I triggered the increase! Noteworthy that the AmazingE website doesn't direct sell, they steer buyers to Amazon, who has the monopoly AFAIK.

jjeff said:
My main complaint about the AmazingE would be, like the CC that it's designed from, it's ONLY a L2 EVSE, no flexibility like many of the other portable EVSEs to be able to use 120v in a pinch. I guess if your OK with only L2 and the fact that it only charges at 16a (can't manually select amperage so no ability to use on a 240v 15a circuit) then for close to $200 it's a good deal.

No worries, I plan to use this as my permanent home charger. I emailed the company and they say that's fine, there's an 18 month warranty.
And this is a local (Los Angeles) car only, no need to carry the charger with me, searching for other 220V outlets. Plenty of free L2 chargers all over LA.
 
My AmazingE was delivered today. All in all a nice unit, have to move an outlet before I can try it. Surprisingly, its UL-certified cables are slightly smaller diameter OD and more flexible than those on the stock Nissan level 1 (120V) EVSE, which is built like a brick outhouse. In the discussion at http://www.plugincars.com/why-electric-car-chargers-so-expensive-129543.html, it's pointed out that 120V OEM units which get "upgraded" to 240V aren't UL certified. The modder says "they would pass if we went to the expense to certify them". I have no doubts that the external cables are up to the task, based on comparison to the AmazingE.
 
Interesting, I just looked on CamelCamelCamel.com(price tracker for Amazon) and it says the AmazingE EVSE has been $369 for the last 6 months :roll: I know thats bull because I remember seeing it close to $200 just a week or so ago and noting it's good price........
https://camelcamelcamel.com/Portable-Electric-Vehicle-Equipment-Connector/product/B06XSLYDLH
Sounds like you ordered yours at just the right time :cool:
 
So, erco,... you're the responsible party! I was just about to pull the trigger on one myself yesterday when I saw the price had jumped. I had been eye-balling it for the past week when it was $214.00, and when I went to order it yesterday, bam!... $305.00! Now I'm waiting to see if it comes back down, as I think that's too much money for this EVSE.
 
Leaver said:
So, erco,... you're the responsible party! I was just about to pull the trigger on one myself yesterday when I saw the price had jumped. I had been eye-balling it for the past week when it was $214.00, and when I went to order it yesterday, bam!... $305.00! Now I'm waiting to see if it comes back down, as I think that's too much money for this EVSE.

Yeah, I suck. Isn't that weird?

I can't find it now, but earlier today I was reading a website which claimed that a 3.6kW OBC might need over 5kW input power from the grid... it made no sense. Still looking through my browser history to find it... but which computer or tablet was I on...?
 
LA's Air Quality Management District has an incentive program for home ESVE buyers, they pay $250 (up to $500 for low-income) for home EVSE purchase & installation. I emailed them last week, and just got a reply that they will be adding the AmazingE to the approved list. Wow!

http://www.aqmd.gov/home/programs/community/community-detail?title=ev-charging-incentive

Los Angeles has other incentives, including plenty of available L2 chargers around town. Southern California Edison (our power company) pays a $450 rebate to the first THREE owners of any qualifying electric car. I'm the third owner of my 2014 S, so I qualified.

https://www.scecleanfuel.com/

Ten more incentives and this car may just pay for itself!
 
I installed the 240 wiring & socket in the garage today and mounted AmazingE to the wall. It's a lot more work pulling 10 gage Romex than 14 gage! Passed the smoke test and I'm L2 charging at home. Feels good!
 
erco said:
I installed the 240 wiring & socket in the garage today and mounted AmazingE to the wall. It's a lot more work pulling 10 gage Romex than 14 gage! Passed the smoke test and I'm L2 charging at home. Feels good!
I'll be interested to hear how it all works out for you since I'm planning on doing exactly the same thing... and I also have a 2014 LEAF S with a 3.3 charger. So I'll be watching with interest.
 
Excellent. Hope the price drops to $214 again, I'm feeling guilty... Today it was actually up to $312!

It's working great, and actually appears to be charging faster than I have seen at free public chargers. My very un-scientific tests IIRC were that the battery SOC would increase a percent in about 3-1/2 minutes at public chargers. Today at home it was under 3 minutes per percent. Pretty good IMHO.
 
Price keeps increasing, now $318! Can't endorse it at that price. I emailed "Amazing E Girl" to ask about the price jump and whether it will drop again. Here is her well-crafted but not very helpful reply:

AmazingE Girl thanks you for buying, using, reviewing, and recommended her product! The pricing is ultimately controlled by the dastardly Amazon mega-computer mind and not AmazingE Girl or her sidekicks. AmazingE Girl and her sidekicks have been working hard to penetrate the inner workings of the Amazon mega-mind, but so far it just seems like the actions of an insane evil villain instead of the strategic machinations of a master-mind. Hopefully, the Amazon mega-computer mind will see fit to put the AmazingE EVSE on sale again soon or for Christmas!

AmazingE Girl
 
^^^ :lol:
What I've been saying for years, I think Amazon either has a dart board to set prices or someone in pricing chases the dragon and finally ends up with a price :?
Gald you got yours when you did and for the price you did, I always thought their price was too good to be true, but I didn't really need another EVSE so I passed.
 
Randy said:
Bought one for a friend, good unit, guts made by Clipper Creek, UL listed....Was great price at low $200's....

Interestingly Clipper Creek owns the Trade Mark "AmazingE". So AmazingE and Clipper Creek are in fact one in the same.
http://tsdr.uspto.gov/documentviewer?caseId=sn87172189&docId=RFA20160919080527#docIndex=13&page=1

By the way, Clipper Creek did screw up and didn't file a statement of use to the USPTO. So now the trade mark is listed as abandoned as of the other day. Oops :oops:

Blaming Amazon on their pricing algorithms seems a bit disingenuous in my opinion. Unless Clipper Creek have an exclusive with Amazon they could sell on Ebay or on their own web site for $218 if they wanted.
 
An interesting factoid about my transaction was that when I ordered the EVSE, it wasn't in stock, Amazon estimated a 2 or 3 week delay. It actually arrived in just over a week, not bad at all for free shipping. The current Amazon $318 listing offers same-day delivery. Almost as if the item sat dormant for a while at the old price, but when I ordered mine, I triggered the price increase and they fired up the production line to stockpile some units and grab some extra Christmas cash. Sometimes I say crazy things.
 
Most industrial voltage is 208V instead of your home's 240V. Thus most non private EVSE's run on 208V. Phil Childs has a box with a transformer to step up the voltage. I guess if you charge much pubically it helps. The car sets the current but not the voltage.

I have never used a public EVSE so I do not need that. With my limited mileage around town local charging fits me just fine. I guess Quick Charge Power has a L3 adapter for my car. My VW had L3 CCS but in the year I had the car it was unused.
 
GlennD said:
Most industrial voltage is 208V instead of your home's 240V. Thus most non private EVSE's run on 208V.

Fascinating, Captain! Did not know that. I just figured that anyplace giving away free power might choose to limit the charge rate on purpose, maybe to 3.x kW. To discourage people from squatting indefinitely on EV spaces, which happens on chargers near apartments here in LA. :evil:
 
jjeff said:
^^^ :lol:
What I've been saying for years, I think Amazon either has a dart board to set prices or someone in pricing chases the dragon and finally ends up with a price :?
Gald you got yours when you did and for the price you did, I always thought their price was too good to be true, but I didn't really need another EVSE so I passed.

Sometimes searching Amazon for some mundane item I'll run across things listing for 10x, 20x, even 100x the normal selling price. Weird. No idea what kind of games are going on there. :?
 
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