Featured Community Question

Mine came with my car (Tesla Universal Mobile Connector).

 

• JuiceBox 40 Pro - actually two, the remote control and metrics. They announced a turbo-cord style portable but withdrew the off 'poor quality.' So instead of a refund, I got a second one, a rebuilt.
• KHONS Adjustable 12-32A EVSE 120-240VAC - it is a portable L1 and L2 level EVSE that works with NEMA 14-50 plugs.

Bob Wilson

 

at the time, most L2's were over a thousand dollars. 'open evse' offered a kit for five hundred bucks.
i wasn't qualified to build it, but a local pip owner, priuschat member and all around electronics guru built two and sold me one with no labor cost.
he has moved on to tesla, our loss.

 

When I bought the L2 EVSE, I had a PiP and it needed all the help it could get to keep the EV percentage up. Toyota recommended Leviton and I got a deal on one. That was 6 years ago and I still use it with the Volt.

 

Reviews were very favorable for the eMotorWerks JuiceBox 40. I bought the very basic model, with some accessories, on sale and then talked them down in price some more, since it was just days before they were about to get the UL approval.

 

Bought a Clippercreek HCS-40P. It's max charging speed of 7.2 kW is overkill for my Volt, which caps at 3.6 kW. But it'll be nice for when I upgrade to a BEV such as a Chevy Bolt, Nissan Leaf, or Tesla Model 3. Liked that it was built in the US, and it came with lots of recommendations from other Volt owners due to its reliability and durability. Two years later and its still running strong.

Oversized it now so that I wouldn't have to buy a 2nd EVSE or run a bigger wire and breaker later on. Was also pleasantly surprised when I found out my installation qualified for the 30% Federal tax credit for installing a home charging station. I just wanted the faster charging so I could drive on electric as much as possible.

 

JuiceBox's (eMotorWerks) investment in their product is what drew me. I started shopping back in 2016 and witnessed the improvements to reach a wider audience, offer new features, and get that coveted UL listing.

We ended up buying 2 and having lines & meters for each setup. Both cars can recharge quickly and there is speed & capacity already for the future.

 

Even former Prius owners hang around suggesting we’re the Lake Woebegone community.

Bob Wilson

 

Reading other folks experience on forums on reliability/problems. ClipperCreek, going on 4 years now, zero issues.

 

I’m still using the stock level 1 chargers for both the Prius prime and my smart. Would love a level 2 but would need one with dual output or it would get stolen off of my smart constantly.


iPad ?

 

There's a local guy that builds OpenEVSE chargers for solid prices. Build quality looks good too.

I use level 1 because I do 99% of my charging at work, but when I get a real EV I will go Level 2.

To be honest I think there is still a lot of progress to be made in terms of standards, DC fast charging, etc and I'm apprehensive to invest at this point.

 

The standard for AC charging is already set, and you won't be DC charging at home.

SAE J1772 is the standard in North America, and I think its signalling protocols are used in much of the world. Tesla uses it, and their cars come with an adapter for charging from J1772 stations.

 

ehhhh, it's standard now. so were blackberries,

I'll buy one eventually I'm sure. here's hoping they come down in cost a bit. the price is a tough pill to swallow when the 120v charger works just fine.

 

Blackberries aren't the standard. The protocols used for connecting to a cellular network were the standard. Phone companies didn't have to build new networks for the iPhone.

HD DVDs aren't going to make a come back, and no one is going to start putting out something else to compete with bluray.

The standards for AC charging aren't going to change simply because the electric supply to a residence simply can't handle charging a plug in at rates faster than the standard covers. The limiting factor is actually the car's charger. Then the industry is using the one standard in most markets. IIRC, China is the sole exception.

Many of the third party DC chargers have plugs for both CHAdeMO and CCS. The faster DC chargers that are development are building upon current DC charging standards. The ultra fast one VW is working with is based upon CCS.

 

Perfect analogy since the Blackberry phones have almost disappeared.
But they still make about a billion dollars a year on enterprise services and equipment/services that run the cellular data networks.
Various car models will also come and go, but the infrastructure will change only slowly.

IMO, pretty much every EV will come with the J1772 charging port for a long long time.
Every car will continue to come with at least an L1 110v cable so people can charge at home, at a minimum.
The home upgrade is an L2 which will be 2x to ~6x faster depending on your car.


Mike

 

19.2 kW from L2 running on a standard 240-volt connection at 80 amps means that standard will stand the test of time.

 

Bought the 60 amp Juice box parts for $117 back in 2014, added my own J-Handle.
Used it for my PIP, then the Volt, and still use it (at 32amps) for the Bolt.








Put the guts in a new case (white box in the background) and pole mounted the J-Handle for daily use on the Bolt...

 

Just use L1 EVSE came with my car. I don't feel the need for L2 at this time.