valem said:
Thanks for your reply. I don't know why it cut off the link, this may work https://tinyurl.com/y8lkcxuw
I agree on the adjustable, I do have an SL with the 6.6kW charger, so without an adjustable I could be in trouble of not able to charge by tripping breakers "out in the wild" .
I had my eyes on the zencar, but it does not seem available. There's one used option on Amazon, and on zencar website there's only "Inquiry" button, no buy option... https://www.zencar.net/product/32a-evse-portable-adjustable-sae-j1772/
Where did you buy yours?
I looked into openEVSE too, but that's getting a bit costly, I was trying to stay under $400 for a portable option.
I purchased mine directly off the Zencar website, I emailed "Dream" and told her the options I wanted(cord length, plug, amperage settings) and she came back with a price. I paid with Paypal and it took a couple weeks to get here from China, Alozzy from Canada also ordered one and I believe was quite happy. Note when inquiring with Zencar they aren't really a retailer, more the mfg. and there is a bit of a language barrier so don't expect a polished retail environment. I mainly did it because I wanted specific things such as a 19a setting and the L6-30 plug and a longer than normal flexible in cold weather cord. If your OK with how your first tinyurl link is setup(which does now work
) it seems to be very similar to my Zencar and the price is good. Again what I really wanted was a 120v/240v portable EVSE and ability to adjust not only the 240v(also works on 208v, I've used mine down to 198v) charging current but also 120v. Some portables allow you to adjust 240v but only set 120v to 12a which really leaves a lot on the table if you have access to a good 20a outlet or even the rare 30a 120v outlet.
Note purchasing the various
outlet adapters can add up, which is why I made mine and price and less bulk was the reason I wanted the L6-30 plug on my EVSE. Finding the female variety of L6-30 is easy and cheap(they start ~$6) while female 14-50 plugs are closer to $20 each and very bulky. To make an outlet adapter you need the female variety of the type of plug on your EVSE and then the male variety of the outlet you want to plug into and finally some good minimum 10 gauge 3 wire cord. Most of my outlet adapters cost <$20 each to make, purchasing them can often times cost >$50 but they are a bit of a hassle to make, well just takes time.
<$400 was also what I was looking for which is one of the reasons I passed on the OpenEVSE, that and most OpenEVSEs aren't the
top in, bottom out, style I wanted. Most OpenEVSEs seem to be more a
side in, side out style. Juice box is a very quality EVSE but as you noted, more North of $500 and the new ones require a phone app and internet to be able to adjust the output amperage, something I wasn't sure I'd have access to in the wild.
Edit: I did see one reviewer state the cord(on your linked EVSE) would get quite stiff in the cold, that wouldn't work for me in MN and I didn't see any mention of cord length. I've used every foot of my 8M cord and was happy mine was that long. I could forward me the emails I got from Dream at Zencar if you wanted, I believe I still have them, just PM me your email address if interested.