Charger Advice

I will be taking delivery of my new RAV4EV this coming weekend and the next major decision at hand is to decide on a changer.

At this point, my top 3 considerations are the following in no particular order:
1) Leviton Evr-Green 7.7Kw $1055 on Amazon
2) AeroVironment 7.2Kw $1049 on Amazon
3) Leviton/RAV4 EVB40-SPT 9.6Kw $1590 or greater installed directly from Leviton

[EDIT]Turns out the Leviton 40amp can be ordered directly for $1235 - http://toyota.leviton.com/solutions/rav4ev/select [/EDIT]

Obviously, the Leviton/RAV4 specific charger is a no brainer but at a significant premium. Possibly even a larger premium once all said and done as I believe it requires profession installation directly from Leviton.

So I'm convincing myself I can live with choice #1 or #2. Both 1 and 2 have 25' cords and are a wash in price. And they plug into a 240v service which I already have in my garage for my welder. #1 has a slightly higher charge rate. #2 has slightly better portability for the off chance I may take it with me.

So my question is, am I making a shortsighted choice going for a slower rate charger relative to the Leviton specific 40amp 9.6 Kw changer? For those of you that have perhaps lived with an EV vehicle for some time, do you find that the incrementally faster charge rate is critical? I'm talking myself towards the Leviton 7.7Kw #1 choice at the moment.

Is there other considerations I'm missing like user friendliness, charge head durability, charging cable stiffness, etc., that you recommend I should weigh as I'm making my choice? Or perhaps another standout unit out there that I should consider?

The Aerovironment units show up on eBay regularly for less than $600. I have one and it works well.

It seems there are several of us working this decision. You posted the choices very well.
I wonder if the ones showing up on Ebay are the 30A units or something smaller. I just discovered that there is another possible Fed credit for installing refueling equipment that might be usable and might impact this decision but I haven't sorted out the details yet. Has anyone used or have info on form IRS-8911?

That charger credit expired last year, I think.

Why not consider the Clipper Creek CS series? You can get that in any amp rating up to 80 (the Rav4 maximum it can use is 40 amps).

If you already have a 240 volt 50 amp plug in the garage, check out what I did with a throw away Clipper Creek. With a NEMA 6-50 plug and four 1/4 inch x 2.5 inch lag screws, you're in business:

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=248883#p248883

Home Depot Online has slightly better prices than Amazon.com, and also free shipping, with respect to the 7.7kW Leviton you mentioned, and I got my order in just a few days. If you get the EVB32 series model, I recommend the 25' cable version, for $100 more, as I think the extra cord length gives you more flexibility for the charging station mounting location.

Also, the enclosure is "lockable" but otherwise easily accessible if you need to make any modifications such as I did. I added a set of current transformers inside (just enough room) the enclosure, so I can monitor the charger's AC output power consumption using my Home Energy Monitoring system (link provided below). Although, this may certainly circumvent the manufacturer's warranty.

https://www.enerati.com/Electricity/ConfigDashboard.aspx?param1=NzM0&param2=NTU0&param3=ODAwMDAxMDAxMDAwNDAwMjkwMDAwMDAyMDAwMjAwMDA=

All good information. Thank you all.

TonyWilliams, you're a wealth of information for EVs in general. I've been absorbing a lot from your posts as of late and have come across your Clipper Creek thread. I might be dense, but their pricing structure was not immediately obvious from their website. If you can point me to one of the old units, I would have no qualms modifying a unit as you have done.

Thanks Dsinned, I will look at HD. The EVB32 is pretty close to the top of my list. I will likely end up with that unless i can find my way into a 40amp unit without much more outlay.

TeCKis300 said:

TonyWilliams, you're a wealth of information for EVs in general. I've been absorbing a lot from your posts as of late and have come across your Clipper Creek thread. I might be dense, but their pricing structure was not immediately obvious from their website. If you can point me to one of the old units, I would have no qualms modifying a unit as you have done..

Click to expand...

530-887-1674 or [email protected] for pricing.

You want the CS-50 model for 40 amp continuous duty.

There were hundreds of the BMW Mini-Es around California, so a little scrounging might find one. If you have basic electronics skill, I recommend the OpenEVSE do-it-yourself EVSE. I built my OpenEVSE for 75 amp service for a future Tesla Model S.

I do know a guy that has a whole bunch of Mini-E Clipper Creeks. I'll give him a jingle and see if he wants to unload some.

I would be very interested in modifying a Clipper Creek unit if I can find one.

Home Depot online is not showing the 30 Amp Leviton model, at least not for me.
They have the Schneider, Eaton and GE units which others have said are not great.

Here's the Leviton 7,7Kw or 32amp unit at Home Depot for $1099 - http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-203672354/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=leviton+charging+32&storeId=10051#.UN8d5G_oSwQ

Also if you join eaa clippercreek will give you a discounted price. 3month trial memberships are free.

Thanks for the link TeCKis300, for some reason it wasn't coming up.
I am now seeing that ASI Home through Amazon is selling for $1055. I wonder if after tax and shipping it is better than HD?

I also emailed Clipper Creek to get a quote from them.

I just bought it from Amazon (ASI Home) for $1,055 + shipping for $22.32. It's scheduled to arrive on Jan. 5th. Home Depot sounded like it would have taken 10 days, and was a little higher price.

I just discovered that I could order the Leviton 40amp unit directly from Leviton without doing any of the installation process mumbo jumbo.

From here - http://toyota.leviton.com/solutions/rav4ev/select

Available for $1235 + ~$22 ship + tax if applicable (which it is for CA).

At the $1235 price, it was a no brainer for me and I ordered. I'll update my original post to reflect this.

Leviton must have just added the option of buying the charging station by its self. When I got mine they would only sell it with the installation package. $1235 is a reasonable price.

Bill

Obviously, they must have realized how much business they lose by not offering a 40A charger by itself. The moral of the story is, never underestimate the power of consumers, and the laws of economics. What do people buy? They always buy, first, last and foremost the best PRICE!!! If a company don't offer a competitive price, their potential customers will almost aways buy from someone else!

TeCKis300 said:

I just discovered that I could order the Leviton 40amp unit directly from Leviton without doing any of the installation process mumbo jumbo.

From here - http://toyota.leviton.com/solutions/rav4ev/select

Available for $1235 + ~$22 ship + tax if applicable (which it is for CA).

At the $1235 price, it was a no brainer for me and I ordered. I'll update my original post to reflect this.

Click to expand...

That's new, and beats Cliiper Creek on price for 40 amps (CS-50 model).

I probably would have purchased, and even told them I would have, without all the mumbo jumbo and inflated prices. I also mentioned in an email that they weren't the only game in town on this product.

Now there are at least two 40 amp products on the market for the Rav4. If somebody in SoCal has the Leviton 40 amp, it would be awesome if you brought it to our next meetup. I'll bring my OpenEVSE (75 amp) and Clipper Creek CS-50 for show and tell.

Tony, you may very well have spurred them to sell it with your feedback.

When's the next meet and greet? I may attend if it fits within my schedule (and if I have the Leviton 40 in my lap by then).

How about the morning of Sat, Feb 2?

Well, the Leviton 32 amp charger I tried to order on Amazon is back ordered for 3 weeks (even though the website said they still had 2 in stock) ... so I canceled that order and ordered directly through Leviton for the higher level 40 amp charger.

You no longer have to jump through Leviton hoops, and can just order the charger directly. My local electrician will install for me. He's already put in the 50 amp circuit and wires, so just waiting on delivery of the charger. Leviton hasn't said an approximate delivery date ... hopefully within a week. My Rav arrives on or around Jan. 10th.

Hooray, ours may be on the same truck. I was given the same time window even though mine is coming from Sacremento
I also ordered the 40 amp Leviton this morning.