Anyone have this as their ONLY car?

[Don]

Given the unusual constraints that you face, you might want to look into a simpler solution - Just install a new pole with a separate meter and a breaker box out in the yard near where you want to park the car

I'm not sure how it works in Canada (or even at other locations around the US) but here we can get another pole and meter for just about any reason that makes good sense. Many folks have a separate meter for their boat docks, others do it when they install a new swimming pool, I know some who have a separate pole for a water well or a septic system which is a distance from the house and I'm sure if I needed to park an electric car some distance from my residence, it would be easy to get one for that too

The only downside is that there is a minimum charge for the electricity at that meter that you'll have to pay even if you're not using that much - Here I think it's about $15 per month, but an electric car should easily use more than that much every month, unless you're away on vacation or something most of the month

This would make installing a new Level 2 charger right where you need it much simpler - You'd just need a weatherproof unit and you could install that right on the same pole. Sounds like it might at least be worth looking into in your case

Don

 

[MLucas]

Don has some good ideas on this so I just wanted to second on that idea to get an outside installable EVSE. The Square D is an inside only EVSE but it sits inside my garage, that was not a requirement for my setup. You'll have to check with the manufacturer on how long of a cable you can run. You could run some cable underground to a weather tight box near your parking spot and install the EVSE inside that.

I'm sure you already have plenty of ideas on how to get this out to your parking spot.

Don't worry about buying the car and the EVSE at the same time. They are two different issues on purchasing. I overly thought about this, too. Then realized after it was all over with that it was a non-issue. If you want the car and you know it will work for you then you will find a solution for the EVSE, too.

When Utility Partners gives you a call, just tell them 'No, Thank You.' They will quote you a price like $1500 dollars before they show up to inspect your sight. But, you are right - once they get there that is when they start tacking on the costs. You'll come out better having a local electrician do the work or do the work yourself if you trust your electrical abilities. It's a real easy hook-up but for anyone else reading this it still is 240v and requires extreme caution.

 

[JoeS]

Don't worry about buying the car and the EVSE at the same time. They are two different issues on purchasing. I overly thought about this, too. Then realized after it was all over with that it was a non-issue. If you want the car and you know it will work for you then you will find a solution for the EVSE, too.

I second that. Even though I have Level 2, I use Level 1 for the majority of my charging. Who knows, the inexpensive EVSEUpgrade (to 13A at 120vac) may suffice for you without any need to rewire your home.

 

[Don]

I agree as well. The upgraded OEM charger is waterproof, so it's safe to use outdoors and with it's 13 amp output at either 120 or 240 volts, it might be all the EVSE he'd ever need - It would certainly be enough for the immediate future and he could then research something else later on if he felt it was needed

If he had a pole with a small weathertight breaker box big enough for just 3 breakers and a pair of L6-20 sockets, one connected to a 120 volt, 20 amp breaker and the other to a 240 volt circuit with a pair of 20 amp breakers he would be all set to charge the car and maybe the total cost would be in the $500 range - The 120/240 13 amp upgrade is about $300

Don

 

[MLucas]

Even though I have Level 2, I use Level 1 for the majority of my charging. Who knows, the inexpensive EVSEUpgrade (to 13A at 120vac) may suffice for you without any need to rewire your home.

OakvilleBlake - I never use my L1 charger, if you go with this plan and need a swap L1 EVSE - PM me and maybe we can work something out to have mine upgraded and then swap the upgrade L1 with your stock L1.

 

[oakvilleblake]

OakvilleBlake - I never use my L1 charger, if you go with this plan and need a swap L1 EVSE - PM me and maybe we can work something out to have mine upgraded and then swap the upgrade L1 with your stock L1.

[/quote]
To be honest you've lost me here. I'm not all that technically savvy and most of the last few posts are goobledigook to me. I mean, I understand there is an L1 upgrade option at 13A and 120V or something to that effect, and it sounds like you've just made me a generous and helpful offer, but to go from there to knowing what to ask a local electrician to do and where to get the materials and avoid some setup that will fry my new car or void a warranty or cause me to pay for a setup that might not work? To me it feels a bit risky. On the other hand, I'm not keener than anyone else would be to fork out $2,000-$4,000 for more elaborate system than I really need.

I suspect we would be ok with the regular L1 charger most of the time, but because we are trading in our current car on the purchase we don't have another option for those days when the mileage is higher. And since my wife's commute is 70km and we get quite a range of weather here (necessitating heater or a/c for most of the year), it would not take much in the way of evening errands or ferrying my daughter to jazz band practice or going to an evening concern in Hamilton etc to get us into a pickle where an L1 charge for a shorter overnight (say midnight to 8am) on a more depleted battery would leave us short for the next day...

Still, you've given me lots to think about...

blake

 

[oakvilleblake]

So can someone help with a plain language explanation of what an upgraded 13A L1 charger is and how I would have that done, bearing in mind all I have in the garage now is a single 110V conventional plug with rather old wiring snaking around hidden/finished wall/ceiling to existing electrical panel at the opposite end of the house. Could that plug take the extra load? If I have to install new run/conduit from panel what's the advantage over an L2 charger?

blake

 

[Don]

Blake,

The details are here : http://www.evseupgrade.com

As delivered, the OEM EVSE recharges at 120 volts at only 8 amps - About 17 or 18 hours for a full recharge if the battery is down to the last couple bars. I'm pretty sure they did this because you can plug that into most any household outlet . . . . even an older one. 8 amps is a pretty small load - Most outlets are rated for either 15 or 20 amps. If you're going to recharge at 13 amps, you should have a 'dedicated' outlet . . . . meaning there is nothing else on the circuit breaker except the single outlet for your charger. Most household circuits have 3 or 4 outlets to each breaker, so if you were recharging and the refrigerator kicked on, you might trip the circuit breaker

The upraded unit recharges at either Level 1, 120 volts at 13 amps, OR Level 2, 240 volts at 13 amps, depending on whether you plug it into a 120 volt outlet or a 240 volt outlet. This can reduce your 18 hour recharge to as little as 5 or 6 hours . . . . if you have a 240 volt outlet, or 10 to 12 hours if you're using a 120 volt outlet

If you could get a new power pole installed near where you park with a separate meter just for the car, you could have both a Level 1 (120 volt) and a Level 2 (240 volt) outlet installed on that pole which would allow you to recharge at either 120 @13 or 240 @13 (the latter being twice as fast as the former) and that might be all the charger you would ever need

MLucas offered to allow you to use his EVSE while you send yours off to be upgraded, since he doesn't use it. You'd send him back his when you got yours back after the upgrade. Finding some way to recharge for the week or ten days your charger is making the trip to California and back is usually the biggest problem when you want to upgrade

Don

 

[oakvilleblake]

Thank-you Don. This is really helpful, and interesting. So if I've understood correctly what this amounts to is an option to upgrade the stock L1 charger cable to be able to take 240V plug (to max of 13A) that will allow for charges almost as fast as a dedicated L2 charger unit but at a fraction of the cost because the eaton charger is not required, and any liscenced electrician can install a 240V plug for me. Is that correct? Not only that, but the revised cable is 25 feet long, which would allow me to connect my I at some distance from the garage, which is exactly what I want. What features do I lose, if any, by not having the dedicated Eaton charger?

blake

 

[jray3]

Thank-you Don. This is really helpful, and interesting. So What features do I lose, if any, by not having the dedicated Eaton charger?

blake

Having a backup unit and the convenience of not repacking your EVSE twice per day are the only real losses I see, since the difference in rate of charge will be small.

 

[oakvilleblake]

Having a backup unit and the convenience of not repacking your EVSE twice per day are the only real losses I see, since the difference in rate of charge will be small.

sorry to be slow on the uptake but I don't understand what you mean about backup unit or repacking the EVSE. It's just a different cable, isn't it?

 

[jray3]

No prob- opportunity/outdoors charging here in soggy Seattle is quite feasible, but involves mussing one's hand with a muddy cable, and trundling it up into a bag for the boot. (soorry for the accent, my Canadian in-laws just left!)...
Having a backup EVSE at home (or in the boot) is useful in case your portable unit gets damaged or stolen. At least two of us have discovered that the super-versatile SPX EVSE does have a weak spot for water intrusion.

 

[oakvilleblake]

gotcha - thanks for clarifying!

 

[oakvilleblake]

OakvilleBlake - I never use my L1 charger, if you go with this plan and need a swap L1 EVSE - PM me and maybe we can work something out to have mine upgraded and then swap the upgrade L1 with your stock L1.

hi MLucas - this is a lovely offer. Just had the electrician in and he says no problem to install a dryer vent in our garage for about $250 in parts + labour). We're looking to perhaps put an offer/deposit on the car later this week (but since we have a road trip planned for august perhaps not picking up the car until September, as we are trading in our only car on the purchase). So how could we make this work. Can we discuss offline or outside the forum? I can be reached at oakvilleblake[at]me.com

 

[peterdambier]

Joining the "It's my only car" club. After 5 month going electric and not using the ICE once we have sold her for good.

Going on a longer voyage needs a little bit of planning and phoning, does that power socket really exist? Can I use it?

But it is fun and it looks like we are actually beginning to save money. Our electricity bill does not rise as high as our collected gas bills have been. Inspections are a lot cheaper too.

 

[Zelenec]

New member! Sold Citroen C8 and bought C-Zero (EU version of I-miev) in 9/2012. So far, no need for ICE car. When I need to drive more then 70 km away, I just took my work with me (notebook) and stop for charging in any of many EV-friendly restaurants, public charging stations or plug-sharing members for few hours. It's simple for flexible people. My EV blog (use any online translate tools)