Summary of EVSE options

hill said:

Easy peasy?

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Not only. Actually easy peasy lemon squeezy!

~$600 on ebay seems easier peasier than $1000 from AV direct.

Yes, last night I bought an AV unit for $611 plus $30 shipping on Ebay - new in the box.

If I could have bought a Schneider unit from Home Depot, I would have but they didn't have any.

I want to have this on hand so my electrician can install this at the same time he is upgrading my electrical supply and panel from 100 Amps to 200 Amps. ( I need another 40 amps for the solar system I'm getting plus 40 Amps for the AV unit).

Easy peasy.

OR, for people wanting a 'backup' to the Blink, you can wait on Jwallace's $20 or so Nissan EVSE upgrade.

Ordered Schneider from Home Depot last friday Sep 23rd. HD said backorder but it shipped that night.

New brand now available at Home Depot, check it out.

http://www.homedepot.com/Tools-Hard...NT_ID&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053&langId=-1

EVDRIVER said:

Don't forget the EV Charge America EVSE! Great product, fast shipping, reliable and easy to use. They take credit cards so you can charge back when your unit never arrives. Hurry there is a wait list!

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Just saw this outrageously irresponsible post, EVDRIVER.

Please delete or edit with a link with a description of the true state of affairs for EV Charge America, which to me sounds like someone might be headed to jail for fraud.

Sure, everyone should do due diligence before buying an EVSE, but having made your sarcastic joke it would be so easy and helpful for you to point them in the right direction as well.

rclams said:

Please delete or edit with a link with a description of the true state of affairs for EV Charge America, which to me sounds like someone might be headed to jail for fraud.

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I've added a "joke" note.

smkettner said:

New brand now available at Home Depot, check it out.

http://www.homedepot.com/Tools-Hard...NT_ID&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053&langId=-1

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Yes, and it still seems the Schnieder that many of us bought for $729 pre HD raising the price to $799 is still one of the best deals they offer, the 2 other L2 EVSE's are only good for 16AMPs (3.3KW current generation Leaf), and cost almost as much (well, the Leviton is actually much more at $999, while the Legrand L2 unit @ $749 is ok, but for $50 more, you get the 6.6KW capable Schnieder..)

I guess if you ONLY have a 20A 240V circuit, then these 2 are attractive, way less than running a new service, so they do have a place. If you are running a new circuit anyway, and have the capability / can run a 40A 8AWG wiring, the Schnieder is the best deal to "future proof" you garage for the current and the next generation of EVs

It does seem that Home Depot is throwing a lot "against the wall" and seeing what sticks, I wouldn't be surprised to see these show up in the electrical department at HD stores soon

I still think 16a would be plenty fine at home for most people even after the 6.6kW is available in 2013.
If I ever install one for a tenant it will be 16a due to power expansion limitations.
Right now I would choose Legrand over Leviton as it has a holster and easier cable management. Lower price helps too.

Here is the Legrand website, the unit has an LCD display (it looks like), and the L1 unit has an adjustable power level it also seems, there is also a youtube video as well (which shows the L2 unit plugged into a Volt)

http://www.legrand.us/passandseymour/electric-vehicle-chargers/product-details/level-1-portable.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

While 16A / 3.3KW is fast enough for most people, for the same or less money you can get the Schnieder, and be 6.6KW capable, and for a homeowner, who has the power availble, why limit yourself to 3.3KW charging capability in the future.

GE Wattstation now available at Home Depot.com $999

http://www.homedepot.com/Tools-Hard...NT_ID&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053&langId=-1

Shows out of stock but so did my Schneider and it shipped next day.

Any idea on the Schneider since it is "indoor only" if there would be a problem having the plug outside on occasion (possibly in the rain) as long as the unit itself was mounted inside the garage?

EVSE indoors, but some "hose" (cable FROM the EVSE)
and the J1772 "nozzle" outside ... should be no problem.

LTLFTcomposite said:

Any idea on the Schneider since it is "indoor only" if there would be a problem having the plug outside on occasion (possibly in the rain) as long as the unit itself was mounted inside the garage?

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Absolutely no problem what so ever.

First, thanks to everyone who contributed to this forum, it's being a fantastic resource for me.

I was kinda sorta considering Leaf, and then suddenly found myself adopting an orphan from Criswell Nissan in Germantown, Maryland. L1 charger is doing ok so far, except breaker flips if I plug in Christmas lights while Leaf is charging. So question for me is Schneider or Legrand, who to hire, and what charge from electrician is reasonable. I never went through Nissan's home evaluation.

My main circuit breaker says 200 - it means I have 200A service, right? I have an unused 30A "double" breaker. Is it safe to assume that Schneider will just connect there, or are there any calculations beyond that to decide if service can take additional load?

Vlad said:

First, thanks to everyone who contributed to this forum, it's being a fantastic resource for me.

I was kinda sorta considering Leaf, and then suddenly found myself adopting an orphan from Criswell Nissan in Germantown, Maryland. L1 charger is doing ok so far, except breaker flips if I plug in Christmas lights while Leaf is charging. So question for me is Schneider or Legrand, who to hire, and what charge from electrician is reasonable. I never went through Nissan's home evaluation.

My main circuit breaker says 200 - it means I have 200A service, right? I have an unused 30A "double" breaker. Is it safe to assume that Schneider will just connect there, or are there any calculations beyond that to decide if service can take additional load?

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I am facing the same situation until my Schneider unit arrives in a couple days. Our Christmas lights are on a timer to go off at midnight so I set the charge timer on the Leaf to start at 1AM.

The Leaf will only draw 16 amps on 240 volt so the 30 amp breaker will be enough and there is nothing unsafe about it but technically the breaker should be changed to 40 amp for when some future car comes along with the higher powered charger.

Schneider requires 40a breaker #8 wire, Legrand 20a breaker #12 wire. Both will charge current LEAF at same max rate of 16a.
The real choice is the straight cable or the coiled cord. Coiled cord seems convenient unless you need to walk past. For this reason I prefer the Schneider for the cable that lays neatly on the floor to walk past.

Vlad said:

My main circuit breaker says 200 - it means I have 200A service, right? I have an unused 30A "double" breaker. Is it safe to assume that Schneider will just connect there, or are there any calculations beyond that to decide if service can take additional load?

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What's the unused 30a circuit? Is there an outlet somewhere that you can access, or was it wired to an appliance or something?

LTLFTcomposite said:

The Leaf will only draw 16 amps on 240 volt so the 30 amp breaker will be enough and there is nothing unsafe about it but technically the breaker should be changed to 40 amp for when some future car comes along with the higher powered charger.

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You can't just change the breaker - it's the wire size that matters. For 40a you need #8 wire while 30a only requires #10. Any legit electrician would just ignore your unused 30a breaker and run #8 wire to a new 40a breaker, unless that 30a breaker had to be removed to make room, but I really doubt that.

Now if that old 30a circuit is wired to your garage already then you might make use of it, but you really should get a 20a rated EVSE like the Legrand or an SPX or upgrade your Nissan unit. Of course you could wire a 40a rated EVSE to the outlet, but you'd probably have to do it yourself; good luck getting an electrician to do it.

Again, thanks to all who replied!

fooljoe said:

What's the unused 30a circuit? Is there an outlet somewhere that you can access, or was it wired to an appliance or something?

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There is no outlet. Nothing is connected to the breaker, it's always off.

LTLFTcomposite said:

You can't just change the breaker - it's the wire size that matters. For 40a you need #8 wire while 30a only requires #10. Any legit electrician would just ignore your unused 30a breaker and run #8 wire to a new 40a breaker, unless that 30a breaker had to be removed to make room, but I really doubt that.

Now if that old 30a circuit is wired to your garage already then you might make use of it, but you really should get a 20a rated EVSE like the Legrand or an SPX or upgrade your Nissan unit. Of course you could wire a 40a rated EVSE to the outlet, but you'd probably have to do it yourself; good luck getting an electrician to do it.

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There is no room in the panel. So breaker would have to be replaced for Schneider...