Why is a charge cord so expensive?

5627 Views 16 Replies 14 Participants Last post by Rampage_Rick, Nov 28, 2016

dharper

Discussion Starter · Nov 27, 2016 (Edited)

I finally cleaned out the junk from the garage, and now I can finally park my Volt inside. Although I had no problem with the 120V/12Amp charge outside, it would be nice to have a proper L2 charger in the garage, as the main panel is right beside the Volts charge port. I live in BC where there is no incentives for single home EV chargers, so I have been searching hard for a charger that isn't so expensive. $700CAN seems to be as cheap as I can find for a complete unit. I have found some for $450-500CAN after US conversion, but they don't have a cord. If I look for the price of a cord, they run from $150-200CAN. Why they heck are charge cords so expensive? The cord itself shouldn't be worth more than around $2/ft, that would be about $50 for a 25 foot cord. I looked for the price of a J1772 connector to connect to a EV, with no cord, and I only found 1 at alibaba for $96. Add the two together and that is the $150. But why the heck is the connector so expensive?

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dharper

Discussion Starter · #4 · Nov 28, 2016 (Edited)

I thought about the adapter setup, but I would like to use the original as a spare in the car. I could buy a level 1 as a spare, but on ebay.ca they are around $300-350CAN. Half the cost(almost) of a level 2 charger. Plus it would be nice if my spare charger was level 2 capable, as there is a 240V outlet available at work, if I feel like going out of my way to use it. But I am a cheapskate, so I will probably take an adapter(I actually already have one. Used to make a standard 120v extension cord into a 240v extension cord), and take the whole thing with me to work, if I anticipate that I need the extra charge. And wait for and incentive in BC, or a smokin' deal on a level 2 charger.

Thanks for the input, but still, why are charge cords so expensive?

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dharper

Discussion Starter · #7 · Nov 28, 2016

I saw that Clipper Creek one(I must admit I forgot about that one when I started this thread), but how much is shipping? If there is cross border shipping it can be quite high. Especially with UPS, and their extremely high brokerage fees (around +30%)
Anyways the charger I saw that didn't include a cord was a ChargePoint Home Electric Vehicle Charger: 32 Amp on amazon.com for $499US. I should read things better. In the box next to that it included the cable for $551US. I didn't see that, and then was looking for a cord separately. Also it was $500US not $500CAN, like I originally posted.

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