[WhiteDevil]

I've been considering picking up a level 2 charger, and came upon these on Amazon. They're considerably cheaper than other L2 chargers, suspiciously so. Does anyone have any experience with them, or thoughts about their quality?

 

[caronjeff]

Well looking at all the reviews, many of which are 5 star, why not?

 

[lezouave]

I've been using that Duosida evse since Dec 5 with no problems.

 

[tarbe]

I have been waffling on the L2 question as well. My commute is 26 miles round trip, so will only (likely) need the benefit of the L2 on weekends where I can split my use morning/afternoon. I am speculating...my Volt is still being prepped by Carvana.

I was looking at these chargers and was wondering, will 16 amps allow the Volt on-board charger to do its thing at max rate?


EDIT: Looks like the answer is yes...16A is all the Volt can use?

Tim

 

[tarbe]

I've been using that Duosida evse since Dec 5 with no problems.

Can you tell us what your observed charge rate is?

Just curious how long to get a full charge from "empty" with this charger?

 

[lezouave]

I observed that it charges at the maximum the car can take, approx 3.5 hours for a full charge from zero. Same as a commercial charge station.

And yes, 16 amps is the limit. I installed a 20 amp 240v circuit for the charger.

 

[mr_raider]

Only issue is the 6-20 plug, which seems to be rare in new houses. If you have one, go ahead and use it, but I wouldn't install a plug like that from scratch. Most people put in a 14-50 or 6-50.

 

[rmay635703]

EVSE is still a novelty and priced as such.

Once they become a mass market item
The China price for a 20amp variety should fall below $100

Too bad we are still in the early adopter stage.

 

[freshcut]

I picked one of these up from a member here on the site. Works beautifully and can be used as a L1 EVSE with only a plug adapter. It's worked flawlessly since October.

https://www.bsaelectronics.com/

Not associated with the seller other than a happy buyer.

On a side note, he does list it with alternative plugs that suit more popular outlets if you don't have the 6-20.

 

[hellsop]

EVSE is still a novelty and priced as such.

Once they become a mass market item
The China price for a 20amp variety should fall below $100

Too bad we are still in the early adopter stage.

Nah, not novelty; industrial equipment. It's on par with commercial power-handling stuff, which admittedly has some small-run expenses built in. And many EVSEs are built to that level of engineering: the 1" diameter cords will remain flexible and safe for decades of multiple pluggings every day under many weather conditions, they use hardy relays to control power, etc. Some of the other EVSEs are more "consumer goods" that aren't, but since the competition is Leviton, there's little incentive to be more than somewhat cheaper.

 

[Chris TX]

I picked one of these up from a member here on the site. Works beautifully and can be used as a L1 EVSE with only a plug adapter. It's worked flawlessly since October.

https://www.bsaelectronics.com/

Not associated with the seller other than a happy buyer.

On a side note, he does list it with alternative plugs that suit more popular outlets if you don't have the 6-20.

This does not work with all L1 EVSEs. If it's a 2011-14 EVSE, that adapter will release the magic smoke.

If it's a 2013-14 EVSE, it can be modified to do L1 and L2. If it's a 2015+ EVSE, it can use the L2 Adapters (see my sig links)

 

[edk-austin]

I don't think we'll ever see an L2 EVSE at less than $100 MSRP. L1 with 16AWG maybe. These things do have to pass (are supposed to pass) specific UL tests.

 

[Chris TX]

I don't think we'll ever see an L2 EVSE at less than $100 MSRP. L1 with 16AWG maybe. These things do have to pass (are supposed to pass) specific UL tests.

Agreed. The parts alone should cost over $100, wholesale if you use the proper GFCI components and MOVs.

 

[bjrosen]

I wouldn't cheap out on an EVSE, a good one isn't that expensive. A ClipperCreek is less than $600, my electrician charged me $375 to run a 50A line and hook up the CC so all it it was < $1K, the Volt was stickered at $39K, even after the tax credit, state rebate, and trade in it still cost $25K so 1K on top of that is nothing. The EVSE is going to be there for at least 10 years, maybe much longer, so if you amortize it over that time it's $100 a year. Get an L2 that can support 7.2KW or better because your next car will need that.

 

[canehdian]

Well looking at all the reviews, many of which are 5 star, why not?

This is a bad stance to take on amazon lately (at least on items sold by third parties) - I've noticed more and more crap products getting a massive amount of 5* reviews - they're being given away free in exchange for 5*.
You have to be far more critical these days.

 

[bentbiker]

This does not work with all L1 EVSEs. If it's a 2011-14 EVSE, that adapter will release the magic smoke.

If it's a 2013-14 EVSE, it can be modified to do L1 and L2. If it's a 2015+ EVSE, it can use the L2 Adapters (see my sig links)

Chris, I think you've changed the topic . . . Freshcut is talking about buying the Duosida L2 EVSE from BSAelectronics (VegasBrad) and an adapter for use as an L1 . . . nothing to do with the Volt OEM L1 EVSE.

 

[lezouave]

I wouldn't cheap out on an EVSE, a good one isn't that expensive. A ClipperCreek is less than $600, my electrician charged me $375 to run a 50A line and hook up the CC so all it it was < $1K, the Volt was stickered at $39K, even after the tax credit, state rebate, and trade in it still cost $25K so 1K on top of that is nothing. The EVSE is going to be there for at least 10 years, maybe much longer, so if you amortize it over that time it's $100 a year. Get an L2 that can support 7.2KW or better because your next car will need that.

That's a matter of perspective. The OP is talking about a portable evse, not an installation, and he's buying a used car not new. Also, your case is unique to your scenario. In my case case I spent a bit more to run a 240v 20amp line from my building to the garage— I bought what I need now. When I buy another electric car in 3 to 5 years it will be trivial to upgrade that line, and change out the outlet.

As far as the adapter goes, a Gen 1 Volt will pull 12 amps at 120v, so as long as the adapter is heavy enough gauge it won't be a problem. Of course these adapters are basically an improvised device, and not UL inspected- so at the minimum one who buys one has to understand what they are buying.

 

[freshcut]

I'm not referring to the OEM EVSE which I do understand needs internal modification to be able to do both. The Duosida that is offered at bsaelectronics is capable of L1 AND L2 with only a plug swap or adapter.

 

[dannycamps]

I have one but unfortunately it no longer works. There were two main problems I had with it. The first problem was that my 240v receptacle is located outside of my garage so the unit was exposed to the elements (I left it plugged in at all times). Being IP55-rated, it does withstand some weather but there were situations when I plugged the car in, the EVSE would immediately fault which forced me to unplug from my car, unplug from the wall, plug back into the wall and finally back into the car.

Second and more importantly, I ran into a scenario where the unit would no longer charge my car at all. With some diagnosing, I found there to be a break in the cable that runs from the EVSE housing to the charging port on the car. If I flexed the cable a certain way, it would initiate a charge otherwise the car would not see it. The charging cable is somewhat rigid and I think bending it over time (e.g. when I wrapped the cord up) caused the internal break to happen.

I probably will not replace it with the same type but that's just my two cents.

-DJ

 

[ChiVolt]

This is a bad stance to take on amazon lately (at least on items sold by third parties) - I've noticed more and more crap products getting a massive amount of 5* reviews - they're being given away free in exchange for 5*.
You have to be far more critical these days.

Several people on this message board have been pleased with that model.

FakeSpot seems to think the reviews are solid as well: http://fakespot.com/product/new-duo...evel-2-16-and-electric-car-charger-j1772-evse