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L2 Home EVSE Recommendations? 32A or 40A?

1572 Views 37 Replies 26 Participants Last post by  p7wang, 
I
Wondering if I should buy a lvl2 charging cable from ebay or amazon?
Should I just make sure it's UL listed? They all seem to come from china.
Brands include: Lectron,Mustart,Feyree,etc
32A or 40A?
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Davev
Search for Emporia charger on this site and Amazon. It will accept 32/40/48amp.
Has a good app to manage remotely/UL/$399
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928GTS
Which ever L2 charger you go with, get one that will deliver 50 amps so you can take advantage of the max 48 amp capability of the ID
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Huey52
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Search results for query: L2 recommendation

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F
A 50A charger needs a 60A circuit and needs to be hard wired. A 40A charger with a 50 A circuit can be plugged into the proper receptacle. There is not much difference in charging time between the two. Also, if the 40A charger fails, you can simply get a replacement and plug it in yourself. With a failed 50A charger you should call an electrician and arrange to have the new hard-wired unit installed. The only issue I see with a plug in unit is that one should not plug and unplug the charger often such as taking it with you on a trip. This is not good for the receptacle.
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DRCal68
A quick comparison of some home charging stations:
Quick EV Charger Comparison Guide (evchargingstations.com)
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jason330i
id4z said:
Wondering if I should buy a lvl2 charging cable from ebay or amazon?
Should I just make sure it's UL listed? They all seem to come from china.
Brands include: Lectron,Mustart,Feyree,etc
32A or 40A?
Click to expand...
Highly recommend going with one of the well known, trusted brands. And have a qualified electrician install it. Not worth the risk of going cheap or doing it wrong.

evchargingstations.com

EV Charging Stations With Tom Moloughney

The best of electric vehicle charging station reviews & news from EV expert Tom Moloughney- dedicated to bringing you the most comprehensive info out there.
evchargingstations.com evchargingstations.com
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D
928GTS said:
Which ever L2 charger you go with, get one that will deliver 50 amps so you can take advantage of the max 48 amp capability of the ID
Click to expand...
I bought a 32 amp model, but 90% of the time I use it set to 16 amps - The other 10% its on 24. Tried it once a year or so back on 32 just to make sure it worked, Lol

A 32 amp model can be installed on a 40 amp breaker using #8 wire, which is a ton cheaper than the 60 amp breaker and huge cable a hard wired 50 amp model requires. To each is own I guess
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Spin
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JuiceBox 40 named best EV charger for 2022

https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/best-ev-charger/?utm_campaign=Newsletters&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=205450406&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--qUun7GD0U6-_NRUvDZeKBiHQ7S6ZlayZffnfFHnVmsuzwfRpope6LO11zv4myieoY7iQ_U6NTJQ5o8EVL3S6B0LaOAw&utm_content=205450406&utm_source=hs_email
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MR. Ed of course
To the OP. It all depends on how quickly you need the car charged. An EVSE set at 40 Amps will charge the car to the desired level 20% faster than if set at 32 Amps. However, if you can have the car charged as desired before you need to use it using 32 Amps, then that's all you'll need. I have a portable EVSE that can be set to: 16 or 24 or 32 or 40 Amps. I sometimes charge after midnight (at $0.04/kWh) till 6 am. Depending on the starting SOC, I set the EVSE to finish at 80% (or occasionally 100%) at about 5:30 am. YMMV.:cool:
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SirBriggs
I recently installed an emporia charger and am very happy with it. Here is the singular reason I recommend this. You can vary the charge voltage from the app. I have a 60amp 240v circuit. When I need it I can dial it up to 48amps, when my wife is doing laundry (washer + gas dryer) I leave it dialed down to 32A.

It also has good TOU features to control when the charger works and calculates your charging cost based on your utility.
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F
Two years ago I bought a Clippercreek 40 amp dumb charger and had it hardwire installed. It seemed like the best combination of economy, reliability, and speed to me. Since I paid an electrician to install it( and submitted his cost for a tax credit) I didn’t see the materials as the controlling factor. Nowhere that I travel to have I seen the proper outlet to plug-in with anything other than a level one. Mom wanted me to plug in at a plug for a standalone wall heater/AC. But I pointed out that she would have to leave the window open. Privately I was unsure about the fire risk. Eventually I might add a circuit for a 32 amp charger at the mobile home they have for guests (or broke relatives) since I am there often for their medical appointments.
anyhow I can usually find level 2s and NEVI is eventually coming.
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p7wang
Don said:
I bought a 32 amp model, but 90% of the time I use it set to 16 amps - The other 10% its on 24. Tried it once a year or so back on 32 just to make sure it worked, Lol

A 32 amp model can be installed on a 40 amp breaker using #8 wire, which is a ton cheaper than the 60 amp breaker and huge cable a hard wired 50 amp model requires. To each is own I guess
Click to expand...
This is very smart, charge only as fast as you need because faster charging means higher stress on your electrical system.

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A
SirBriggs said:
I recently installed an emporia charger and am very happy with it. Here is the singular reason I recommend this. You can vary the charge voltage from the app. I have a 60amp 240v circuit. When I need it I can dial it up to 48amps, when my wife is doing laundry (washer + gas dryer) I leave it dialed down to 32A.

It also has good TOU features to control when the charger works and calculates your charging cost based on your utility.
Click to expand...
What evse did you get? Never heard of one that allows to control the voltage. Is it a constant current unit? Not sure what is the benefit…
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D
alexpixel said:
What evse did you get? Never heard of one that allows to control the voltage. Is it a constant current unit? Not sure what is the benefit…
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I'm sure he meant current and not voltage - Many people don't understand the intricacies of electrical power and frequently confuse the units

A model which allows you to quickly and easily adjust charge current is always a good idea, as charging faster than necessary can be hard on many things, some of which are in the car and would be very expensive to repair or replace. Yes, the car will charge using 48 amps at 11Kw, but will it do so every time you charge for years to come and never have a problem? Likely not every car will do that - You may be lucky or you may not
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Manybees
Don said:
I'm sure he meant current and not voltage - Many people don't understand the intricacies of electrical power and frequently confuse the units
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Which in my opinion is exactly why apps should NOT allow users to make adjustments like this. Most users have no clue about what they’re doing wrt to electrical equipment and could inadvertently cause a fire if they adjust the amps higher than what the circuit is rated for.
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SirBriggs
alexpixel said:
What evse did you get? Never heard of one that allows to control the voltage. Is it a constant current unit? Not sure what is the benefit…
Click to expand...
EMPORIA EV Charger Level 2, 48 amp EMEVSEVAR
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A
Nice unit, highly rated and basically highest amperage you can have in a residence in the US. So, indeed it allows you to configure the current, but not the voltage which is 240V. I do use a 40A setting during the cold season, but usually 24 A during warm days, can go even as low as 16A. At higher power I can hear the fan, and AC cycling quite often, which is wasted electricity basically. Am sure you have a 60A breaker protecting its wiring. You need 60A to use it at the 48A setting.
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CentralMaineBob
alexpixel said:
What evse did you get? Never heard of one that allows to control the voltage. Is it a constant current unit? Not sure what is the benefit…
Click to expand...
The JuiceBox 40 can also be set at a range of amperage settings from 6 to 40 amps. This is accomplished through its smart phone app.
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Manybees said:
Which in my opinion is exactly why apps should NOT allow users to make adjustments like this. Most users have no clue about what they’re doing wrt to electrical equipment and could inadvertently cause a fire if they adjust the amps higher than what the circuit is rated for.
Click to expand...
But, every EVSE should be professionally installed on a circuit rated for the maximum that the EVSE can supply. There's no danger of any fire no matter what any novice user does, unless something wasn't installed properly
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