Which EVSE to buy??

[miimura]

Any opinions on the Chargepoint chargers?

I feel the ChargePoint Home unit is a premium unit that looks nice and has its own metering that integrates with ChargePoint public charging, if you do that regularly. It does have an internal timer that does work with the e-Golf. There are some other possible integrations with Nest, etc. but I personally don't see the value. An EVSE is simply a safe way to connect an EV to the power grid. That's it.

 

[Cclcal]

Hello folks, I had a question.

My friend charges his Tesla via cable from car straight to 220V outlet at this home. He has no EVSE unit. Just had electrician install a 220V outlet and he was good to go.
I know Tesla has on-board charger but so do we in our Golf.

What's the reason behind buying a 500$+ EVSE when all we need is a cable like the Tesla uses?

Is there a company that makes the reverse Tesla adapter so i could just use his cable?

There must be some reason why the Golf cannot and the Tesla can. I just dont know why.

any one out there know?


thanks!

 

[forbin404]

Hello folks, I had a question.

My friend charges his Tesla via cable from car straight to 220V outlet at this home. He has no EVSE unit. Just had electrician install a 220V outlet and he was good to go.
I know Tesla has on-board charger but so do we in our Golf.

What's the reason behind buying a 500$+ EVSE when all we need is a cable like the Tesla uses?

Is there a company that makes the reverse Tesla adapter so i could just use his cable?

There must be some reason why the Golf cannot and the Tesla can. I just dont know why.

any one out there know?


thanks!

Easy answer
Because the Tesla costs $140,000 and can afford to put a built in 220 Charger.

 

[miimura]

Hello folks, I had a question.

My friend charges his Tesla via cable from car straight to 220V outlet at this home. He has no EVSE unit. Just had electrician install a 220V outlet and he was good to go.
I know Tesla has on-board charger but so do we in our Golf.

What's the reason behind buying a 500$+ EVSE when all we need is a cable like the Tesla uses?

Is there a company that makes the reverse Tesla adapter so i could just use his cable?

There must be some reason why the Golf cannot and the Tesla can. I just dont know why.

any one out there know?

Tesla's included cable is an EVSE. The "box" is very small and elegant. You can buy the same thing, but with the standard connector that can go in your e-Golf.

Jesla @ Quick Charge Power

 

[Cclcal]

Hello folks, I had a question.

My friend charges his Tesla via cable from car straight to 220V outlet at this home. He has no EVSE unit. Just had electrician install a 220V outlet and he was good to go.
I know Tesla has on-board charger but so do we in our Golf.

What's the reason behind buying a 500$+ EVSE when all we need is a cable like the Tesla uses?

Is there a company that makes the reverse Tesla adapter so i could just use his cable?

There must be some reason why the Golf cannot and the Tesla can. I just dont know why.

any one out there know?

Tesla's included cable is an EVSE. The "box" is very small and elegant. You can buy the same thing, but with the standard connector that can go in your e-Golf.

Jesla @ Quick Charge Power

understood. Now im learning more about it.

thanks!

1000$ is a little steep

 

[Cclcal]

Hello folks, I had a question.

My friend charges his Tesla via cable from car straight to 220V outlet at this home. He has no EVSE unit. Just had electrician install a 220V outlet and he was good to go.
I know Tesla has on-board charger but so do we in our Golf.

What's the reason behind buying a 500$+ EVSE when all we need is a cable like the Tesla uses?

Is there a company that makes the reverse Tesla adapter so i could just use his cable?

There must be some reason why the Golf cannot and the Tesla can. I just dont know why.

any one out there know?


thanks!

Easy answer
Because the Tesla costs $140,000 and can afford to put a built in 220 Charger.

Got it.
Makes perfect sense.

thanks

 

[JoulesThief]

Hello folks, I had a question.

My friend charges his Tesla via cable from car straight to 220V outlet at this home. He has no EVSE unit. Just had electrician install a 220V outlet and he was good to go.
I know Tesla has on-board charger but so do we in our Golf.

What's the reason behind buying a 500$+ EVSE when all we need is a cable like the Tesla uses?

Is there a company that makes the reverse Tesla adapter so i could just use his cable?

There must be some reason why the Golf cannot and the Tesla can. I just dont know why.

any one out there know?


thanks!

Easy answer
Because the Tesla costs $140,000 and can afford to put a built in 220 Charger.

You can get into a S 70 entry level for $70,000.

 

[Cclcal]

ive settled on the Juicebox40.

thanks for all the advice and info

 

[user 703]

About to buy an EVSE for an SEL. eMotor Werks is in walking distance and the Juice Box Pro 40 with Wifi looks pretty good to me. Any draw backs? Any issues with installing a NEMA 14-50 plug? Anybody with other advice (installation will be next to the fuse box)? Thanks.

 

[JoulesThief]

About to buy an EVSE for an SEL. eMotor Werks is in walking distance and the Juice Box Pro 40 with Wifi looks pretty good to me. Any draw backs? Any issues with installing a NEMA 14-50 plug? Anybody with other advice (installation will be next to the fuse box)? Thanks.

Just hire an electrical contractor, and pull the permit to make sure it's done right, get it inspected, and call it good.

 

[DucRider]

...installation will be next to the fuse box

If you truly have a "fuse box", it's likely to be an expensive installation :?

 

[JoulesThief]

...installation will be next to the fuse box

If you truly have a "fuse box", it's likely to be an expensive installation :?

Been a long time since I did a tube and wire job.

 

[bizzle]

About to buy an EVSE for an SEL. eMotor Werks is in walking distance and the Juice Box Pro 40 with Wifi looks pretty good to me. Any draw backs? Any issues with installing a NEMA 14-50 plug? Anybody with other advice (installation will be next to the fuse box)? Thanks.

The only things I've read are that the JuiceBox doesn't have the same pinout as OpenEVSE and may use some cheaper Chinese contactors inside and the components aren't individually UL rated (neither of the solutions are UL rated but OpenEVSE uses components that are individually rated and follows a number of safety precautions that JuiceBox might not strictly adhere to--that's just what I've read, you have to verify it for yourself if those things matter).

OpenEVSE is much more hackable if that's something you're interested in. The JuiceBox has a nice app for your smartphone if that's your thing.
Some people would argue that scheduled timing and monitoring are best left in the car and so you shouldn't pay extra for them. Personally, I like to tweak out on all the numbers and enjoy the monitoring. That said, carnet and the car's UI give me everything I need so far. I don't know how that will change when the trial expires.

There's something to be said for a company being within walking distance.
There aren't any issues with installing a 14-50 outlet, just be aware that they aren't made for constant plugging/unplugging. Eventually the contacts inside the outlet will wear and create a possible hazard.

 

[user 703]

...installation will be next to the fuse box

If you truly have a "fuse box", it's likely to be an expensive installation :?

Fine. Circuit breaker panel. Thanks to those (hi Bizzle) who offer constructive comments and don't go off on a late night trow away term.

Will probably buy a 30/40 Amp Clipper or Siemens EVSE. My interest is in using the car to get from A to B, less so in figuring out every detail on how the car charged to allow me to get from A to B.

 

[JoulesThief]

[
There aren't any issues with installing a 14-50 outlet, just be aware that they aren't made for constant plugging/unplugging. Eventually the contacts inside the outlet will wear and create a possible hazard.

Do you own an RV, or have you ever even been and hooked up to an RV park? 14-50's are plugged in and unplugged daily. Some RV'ers actually flip the circuit breaker off before plugging in or unplugging. Actually most do.

 

[nsayer]

[
There aren't any issues with installing a 14-50 outlet, just be aware that they aren't made for constant plugging/unplugging. Eventually the contacts inside the outlet will wear and create a possible hazard.

Do you own an RV, or have you ever even been and hooked up to an RV park? 14-50's are plugged in and unplugged daily. Some RV'ers actually flip the circuit breaker off before plugging in or unplugging. Actually most do.

That's true, but RVs aren't continuous duty devices like EVSEs are. And the hazard JoulesThief is talking about is real. If you're running 32A through a resistance of just 1/10 of an ohm, that's a loss of 90 watts, and all of that will turn into a point heat source and be a real danger of starting a fire. And your breaker won't stop it.

That said, even I don't unplug my EVSE much, and I'm a guy who's constantly rebuilding his.

Just frequently inspect everything - touch the plug (the insulated part, obviously) after it's been charging your car for 10 minutes. Warm is ok, but if it's hotter than the hot water from your tap, KILL THE BREAKER AT ONCE.

 

[nsayer]

I've been rather heavily involved in OpenEVSE - to the point that I've created my own variant of it (I rather cheekily call it OpenEVSE II), and I've met the Juicebox guys - even bought components from them.

I'm not in love with the juicebox design. The open-frame relay they're using isn't UL registered (so far as I am aware), and I don't believe they have a ground continuity monitor (again, to my knowledge). By contrast, an EVSE derived almost directly from OpenEVSE recently got full UL approval.

EVSEs are no joke. When things go wrong, they sometimes go spectacularly wrong. My own advice is to either stick with UL approved (or whatever is the equivalent for your country) EVSEs or become an expert on exactly how your EVSE works and inspect it frequently for early signs of problems. I like to build my EVSEs with transparent polycarbonate lids so you can see inside while they're operating, but that's just me.

 

[bizzle]

That's true, but RVs aren't continuous duty devices like EVSEs are. And the hazard JoulesThief is talking about is real.

I'm talking about the hazards; JoulesThief was suggesting there was not one.

 

[nsayer]

That's true, but RVs aren't continuous duty devices like EVSEs are. And the hazard JoulesThief is talking about is real.

I'm talking about the hazards; JoulesThief was suggesting there was not one.

Oh. Got it backwards. Sorry.

 

[bizzle]

No problem. More importantly, what are these modifications you've been doing?
I'm about to buy a couple kits while they're on sale. I am tempted to put a wifi module in one of them or something that I can measure usage so I can pay people after I use their juice (two different things for different reasons, not necessarily and either/or situation).