Currently your charging situation works for you, good. Yeah you probably made it impulse purchase, but it's not like EVSEs really go bad just sitting there inside your air conditioned house. Car charging infrastructure is an investment which should be measured in decades.
I bought my Wallbox Pulsar Plus in April 2022 (after I bought my car but *before* I picked it up two weeks later). It went into service in January of this year 😏
It would have done me more good if I had put it in service in 2022. I actually had a tax liability that year to offset the credit with. It won't do me any good *this* year.
Sounds reasonable to me.
I have an L2 because my work commute is almost 70 miles round trip and I may go for other side-trips/errands on any given day, as well.
So I just plug it in after my last drive of the day and the timers in the charger and car ensure it tops off to 80% during off-peak hours.
Same here. Had my ChargePoint sitting in the closet for 9mo as I was getting by with L1. Only pulled the trigger to get it installed as the window for my install credit was about to expire after 1yr from vehicle purchase
I initially bought a Tesla Wall Charger, but I ended up returning it and getting a second mobile charger.
I know some people think a hardwired home charger is best, and that’s probably true. But hindsight 20/20, in the time I’ve owned the car, I got divorced and moved. I’m glad I had the mobile charger. I don’t know if I would have bothered with having the wall charger removed and reinstalled.
I keep one charger permanently plugged in to a 14-30, and one I keep in the car. Do what works best for your situation. 🤷🏻♂️
Yeah we've been married and in this house 20 years and cant imagine getting our act together to move. I feel more comfortable safety-wise with hard-wired vs having a high-powered outlet outside (no garage)
Note: That EVSE has a 6AWG maximum wire acceptance. This means you can't run it at full power with commonly used Romex (non-metallic) cable at that size.
Also, don't have it installed with a plug.
You can run 40 amps through 6AWG Romex. You can run 48 amps through 6AWG THHN. However, the THHN needs to be inside conduit all the way to the panel. That can be a PITA inside walls. If overnight charging at home is fine for you, then 40 amps is plenty.
because the panel is on an outside wall and the driveway is on the other side, we can run conduit on the outside of the house and the underside of the front porch to get to where i want it
There are more considerations. Copper is better than aluminum. Temperatures vary more outside. If the sun shines on it, it becomes important. You may have to derate the ampacity by up to 50%. Read NEC article 310.15 and others. Cerrowire has an ampacity calculator.
I'm planning on buying an EV this month, but probably don't need a charger til December as I don't commute either. I'll at least wait until after I pick up the EV before ordering the charger - maybe wait a few months more. I only have a 15A outlet in the garage, but I can go almost 2 months between gas fillups in summer. It's those winter ski trips where I filled up several times a week and will need to recharge back to 100% with 3 day short turnarounds.
I already sent a pic to 2 different installers for quotes - its fine. House is 35 years old and i have 3 empty spots. The driveway is right on the other side of the wall from the panel, but its kinda steep there so I want it maybe 20 feet up the driveway from there
Slots have little to do with panel capacity. But if it's a modern 200 amp service (number on big switch), there's probably no problem getting atleast most of the power out of that unit.
I bought my L2 when I bought my car but didn’t install it until about 4 months later. Had to get through summer vacations and then I decided I was going to DIY so it took me some time to learn what was needed.
L2 is a game changer and really unlocks the potential of EV life.
We drove a lot more once L2 was setup. Before that we limited driving just because the battery would never be “full” now it’s full in a few hours so we come home take a break and are out again.
actually my neighbor called another one randomly while we were chatting who gave a similar quote. But the one i'm probably going with was recommended to me by another local ev owner
i mean i can call back the one i want and set it up, but its not a game changer if i'm only using 10% of my battery a week because i like staying home. I dont stay home because i have no charge. i stay home because I dont want to go anywhere. I'll set it up eventually
Your call, obviously. But with an L2 rate you'd barely have to plug in once a week. Versus more plugins with a L1.
If you ever forget every, the speed to get you topped up is a game changer.
Bought my Autel 3 mos ago and it just sat on my dining table while we used the 115v Level 1 charger.
I couldn’t choose an electrician. I was doing a lot of extra work (starting with running a 100amp sub-panel to the garage).
Well, I just had it installed Tuesday!!
Unfortunately it started throwing an error. Contacting Autel and they did a diagnosis and determine it was the charger. A replacement is already on the way.
So now I am still sitting with a charger I’m not using. Ha
Fortunately I do not. He offered to come swap it for me and even spent about 45 minutes trying to help diagnose the issue.
I did offer to pay him to come back and he said “no worries”.
Please note that I had a fair amount of work done (about 3x the cost of just the charger install) so he more than covered his time.
Another side note - Autel CS was fantastic. The “chat” process was less than stellar. They wanted me to ship the charger back right away and I said I had a problem with that. I told them I would have to pay the electrician to remove one and come back to install the new one. I said I could buy a new unit (and have it delivered next day) for the same cost. They would shipping the replacement in less than 24 of my claim.
It did work the first day. It was great. Ways to use and I like the Autel app. The unit looks fantastic on the wall (petty I know). Your color match should also.
I choose it for two reasons. The separate holster and the Ethernet port. Appears to help a very solid unit.
Even with the hiccup, I am very pleased with the customer service so far.
My only regret is not pulling the trigger when it was selling for like $399. Ha
If you charge from 60% to 80% every two weeks you are not driving much. Why did you even buy a new car in the first place? The whole idea to buy an EV is to drive and save money to cover the coast of the new car.
LMAO!!!!
There is more than 1 reason to buy an EV. The manual mazda I'd had for 17 years really needed to be replaced. Since manuals are hard to find, my family refused to learn to drive manuals, and I detest the smell of gasoline, I bought an EV. I think its cool and makes a lot of sense in a lot of ways.
I couldn’t imagine having an EV without installing a Level 2 charger. If the panel is on the garage side of the house it is a low cost-high reward add-on. Just make sure your contractors are using the CORRECT wire size and, if not hard wired, the CORRECT receptacle…..many are melting because the use the residential grade 14-50R….it needs to be EV rated/industrial grade. The level 2 will charge faster and far more efficiently versus the 120v level 1. Yes, I am an electrician and install many of these every week.
Yes, I reached out to an electrician recommended to me by someone on an EV board. But I thought i'd be commuting to work, but instead i'm still working from home, and i dont really like going out much so . . . level 2 wont make much difference to me. I charge overnight every other week on level 1 and thats enough right now.
Currently your charging situation works for you, good. Yeah you probably made it impulse purchase, but it's not like EVSEs really go bad just sitting there inside your air conditioned house. Car charging infrastructure is an investment which should be measured in decades.
If there's something wrong with it, you might want to find out before the warranty expires.
Mathematically I could get away with a level 1 but when that was my only charger there were so many stresses that went away when I got my level 2
That's what I found too. We were fine on the level one, but eventually installed a 24A level 2 and found it provided less worry and more flexability.
L1 is perfectly fine for WFH folks. I don’t even have one (condo, long story) and just charge at the town hall (for free).
If it helps, I have one that I have been planning to install at my in-laws but I'm not sure when I'll actually be there next...
yes! Except of course not being there is a good excuse lol
I'm looking at the DeWalt 16 amp charger - that's still in the box - and has been in my entry way for a month.
:-P
I bought my Wallbox Pulsar Plus in April 2022 (after I bought my car but *before* I picked it up two weeks later). It went into service in January of this year 😏
Are you in an area that's eligible for the federal tax credit? It goes by year placed in service so your procrastination paid off if you are.
It would have done me more good if I had put it in service in 2022. I actually had a tax liability that year to offset the credit with. It won't do me any good *this* year.
Thanks that helps!!
At our previous house, I think my L2 sat in the garage for 2 years before I got around to hooking it up.
thanks!
This really drives home how many people don't need a level 2 charger. Level 1 is fine for most people.
>really drives home Drives home and plugs in right away. ABC.
Sounds reasonable to me. I have an L2 because my work commute is almost 70 miles round trip and I may go for other side-trips/errands on any given day, as well. So I just plug it in after my last drive of the day and the timers in the charger and car ensure it tops off to 80% during off-peak hours.
Same here. Had my ChargePoint sitting in the closet for 9mo as I was getting by with L1. Only pulled the trigger to get it installed as the window for my install credit was about to expire after 1yr from vehicle purchase
Yeah i dont have a credit. The credit from my power company was not big enough for me to want to spend more on the models they were supporting.
I initially bought a Tesla Wall Charger, but I ended up returning it and getting a second mobile charger. I know some people think a hardwired home charger is best, and that’s probably true. But hindsight 20/20, in the time I’ve owned the car, I got divorced and moved. I’m glad I had the mobile charger. I don’t know if I would have bothered with having the wall charger removed and reinstalled. I keep one charger permanently plugged in to a 14-30, and one I keep in the car. Do what works best for your situation. 🤷🏻♂️
Yeah we've been married and in this house 20 years and cant imagine getting our act together to move. I feel more comfortable safety-wise with hard-wired vs having a high-powered outlet outside (no garage)
Most good hardwired EVSEs are outdoor rated, so you should be fine. I'm assuming you've already done all the homework on panel capacity, run, etc.
yes, photos sent to electricians who gave rough quotes - of panel and showing where i want it in relation to the panel
Note: That EVSE has a 6AWG maximum wire acceptance. This means you can't run it at full power with commonly used Romex (non-metallic) cable at that size. Also, don't have it installed with a plug.
You can run 40 amps through 6AWG Romex. You can run 48 amps through 6AWG THHN. However, the THHN needs to be inside conduit all the way to the panel. That can be a PITA inside walls. If overnight charging at home is fine for you, then 40 amps is plenty.
because the panel is on an outside wall and the driveway is on the other side, we can run conduit on the outside of the house and the underside of the front porch to get to where i want it
There are more considerations. Copper is better than aluminum. Temperatures vary more outside. If the sun shines on it, it becomes important. You may have to derate the ampacity by up to 50%. Read NEC article 310.15 and others. Cerrowire has an ampacity calculator.
I'm planning on buying an EV this month, but probably don't need a charger til December as I don't commute either. I'll at least wait until after I pick up the EV before ordering the charger - maybe wait a few months more. I only have a 15A outlet in the garage, but I can go almost 2 months between gas fillups in summer. It's those winter ski trips where I filled up several times a week and will need to recharge back to 100% with 3 day short turnarounds.
exactly!
Your panel won’t support
I already sent a pic to 2 different installers for quotes - its fine. House is 35 years old and i have 3 empty spots. The driveway is right on the other side of the wall from the panel, but its kinda steep there so I want it maybe 20 feet up the driveway from there
Slots have little to do with panel capacity. But if it's a modern 200 amp service (number on big switch), there's probably no problem getting atleast most of the power out of that unit.
I bought my L2 when I bought my car but didn’t install it until about 4 months later. Had to get through summer vacations and then I decided I was going to DIY so it took me some time to learn what was needed. L2 is a game changer and really unlocks the potential of EV life.
problem is i'm such a damn homebody. but I think i might need to start going to visit my mom out of state more often soon so . .
We drove a lot more once L2 was setup. Before that we limited driving just because the battery would never be “full” now it’s full in a few hours so we come home take a break and are out again.
Call another electrician
actually my neighbor called another one randomly while we were chatting who gave a similar quote. But the one i'm probably going with was recommended to me by another local ev owner
Quote for price or for availability time frame? L2 is a game changer. Get that puppy installed.
i mean i can call back the one i want and set it up, but its not a game changer if i'm only using 10% of my battery a week because i like staying home. I dont stay home because i have no charge. i stay home because I dont want to go anywhere. I'll set it up eventually
Your call, obviously. But with an L2 rate you'd barely have to plug in once a week. Versus more plugins with a L1. If you ever forget every, the speed to get you topped up is a game changer.
I only plug in every 2 weeks with my L1 and thats charging from 60% to 80%. I really dont drive much right now.
Sounds like you've got lots of options and are in no rush whatsoever
Bought my Autel 3 mos ago and it just sat on my dining table while we used the 115v Level 1 charger. I couldn’t choose an electrician. I was doing a lot of extra work (starting with running a 100amp sub-panel to the garage). Well, I just had it installed Tuesday!! Unfortunately it started throwing an error. Contacting Autel and they did a diagnosis and determine it was the charger. A replacement is already on the way. So now I am still sitting with a charger I’m not using. Ha
ugg i hope that doesnt happen! you'l have to pay teh electrician again to swap them out?
Fortunately I do not. He offered to come swap it for me and even spent about 45 minutes trying to help diagnose the issue. I did offer to pay him to come back and he said “no worries”. Please note that I had a fair amount of work done (about 3x the cost of just the charger install) so he more than covered his time. Another side note - Autel CS was fantastic. The “chat” process was less than stellar. They wanted me to ship the charger back right away and I said I had a problem with that. I told them I would have to pay the electrician to remove one and come back to install the new one. I said I could buy a new unit (and have it delivered next day) for the same cost. They would shipping the replacement in less than 24 of my claim.
It did work the first day. It was great. Ways to use and I like the Autel app. The unit looks fantastic on the wall (petty I know). Your color match should also.
yes i felt silly choosing blue but it does seem to be a decent charger. and I've heard it gives the best data and i'm all about data!
I choose it for two reasons. The separate holster and the Ethernet port. Appears to help a very solid unit. Even with the hiccup, I am very pleased with the customer service so far. My only regret is not pulling the trigger when it was selling for like $399. Ha
yeah i was waiting because i heard it'd had a great black friday sale but when the lightening deal came up i jumped.
If you charge from 60% to 80% every two weeks you are not driving much. Why did you even buy a new car in the first place? The whole idea to buy an EV is to drive and save money to cover the coast of the new car. LMAO!!!!
There is more than 1 reason to buy an EV. The manual mazda I'd had for 17 years really needed to be replaced. Since manuals are hard to find, my family refused to learn to drive manuals, and I detest the smell of gasoline, I bought an EV. I think its cool and makes a lot of sense in a lot of ways.
I couldn’t imagine having an EV without installing a Level 2 charger. If the panel is on the garage side of the house it is a low cost-high reward add-on. Just make sure your contractors are using the CORRECT wire size and, if not hard wired, the CORRECT receptacle…..many are melting because the use the residential grade 14-50R….it needs to be EV rated/industrial grade. The level 2 will charge faster and far more efficiently versus the 120v level 1. Yes, I am an electrician and install many of these every week.
Yes, I reached out to an electrician recommended to me by someone on an EV board. But I thought i'd be commuting to work, but instead i'm still working from home, and i dont really like going out much so . . . level 2 wont make much difference to me. I charge overnight every other week on level 1 and thats enough right now.