Anyone have experience with Zencar EVSE? Amazon has the Zencar Level 2 EV Charger(100-240V,16A,25ft+3ft) Portable EVSE for $199. Seems worth it if the quality is there. Seems to get good reviews. Are there other EVSEs people recommend? I don’t want to spend much on level 2 charging because I actually get by fine with overnight charging. Also I don’t mind too much using gas because for me my gas and electric costs are comparable.
I have that one but 30 foot, with cord holder and J1772 recepticle. $229 on Amazon. No issues. Use it several times each week. This is what stays in my trunk. I have the stock one connected in my garage. When I need a quick charge at home I use ZenCar on 240. All times from depleted charge to full charge. Stock - 12.5 hours ZenCar - 8.5 hours ZenCar on 240 volt - 4 hours Sent from my SM-N960U using Inside EVs mobile app
I have a Duosida 16 amp level 2 charger from Amazon. It costs $197.88. It has worked perfectly for the last 8 months. The only minor downside is that the connector fits into the car a little snug.
Great info. Thank you both. The ZenCar and the Duosida look the same. Is it the same item marketed under different names?
Another consideration might be safety - are these UL listed and compliant with safety standards? I don't know - they may be - just worth considering, as expressed in this article: https://chargedevs.com/features/amazon-evse-safety/ Sent using Inside EVs mobile app
Good point. It was naive of me to assume the ones on Amazon would have the expected safety certifications. I will put that at the top of my research list.
The Duosida charger worked great for us for a few months before we upgraded to 32amp charger. It’s a great inexpensive charger for under $200 that can get a full charge in 4 hours. Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs
Fully installed cost 40A EVSE: $600 Big Caveat: *Not waterproof*--> Indoor only. Small Caveat: Tight fit. Loosens with time. So my car is parked in an unheated garage where my breaker panel happens to be located. And in my case, the breaker panel is same side of garage as car's charge plug. With some help from these forums, I decided to try the following: 1) Have an electrician install a NEMA 14-50 outlet near the breaker panel for lowest cost. I ended up paying $228 for the plug install. I made sure not to mention my plans to use with electric car. If you look, NEMA 14-50 is very much a standard campground attachment for RV or 5th wheel. 2) I bought a "Jekayla Level 2 40 Amp Portable Electric Vehicle Charger Plug-in EV Charger EV Charging Station for Home, RV Park and Travel, NEMA 14-50 Plug, 9.6 KW, 25 Feet Cable" from Amazon for $369 (with Prime delivery). Review after about a month of using daily: - While the thing is portable, I'm basically planning to use it like it was permanent install. EDIT: Right in its description, it says cannot be used for outdoor use! So only for indoor!! - When I first got it, it was really a tight fit with the car. Daily use has loosened things and it seems to be OK now; although not quite as comfortable fit as the one that came with the car. Removal of EVSE sometimes requires slight rocking motion. - I like that I have a 40amp (includes longer cable) in case that is useful down the road (with a different car). But I also know this will maximize the ~32amps the Clarity will negotiate. So the Clarity and EVSE automatically step this down to the highest amps it can use. My charging times have been good. Rated for 2.5 hours for a full charge, but often I don't need a full charge so full happens faster. Bottom line, with a faster charger it means it's worth it to plug in, even between trips on a busy weekend. i.e. with this setup, a 45 minute charge is significant. And even when I'm running lots fo errands, there are usually breaks in-between. You simply cannot do anything akin to quick charge with level 1 so there's no reason to plug in for "breaks" between trips that are relatively short. So yes, highly recommend some sort of level 2 charger. The solution I used ended up costing $600 (out of pocket) total. There's no rebates where I live for EVSE or EVSE install. -Dan PS: I was originally planning to go ClipperCreek hardwired install. The total cost got very high. Two electricians quoted me $600 just for install, not counting the EVSE cost at near $700. So I was looking for more reasonable total cost. KentuckyKen and others told me to avoid mentioning my use with electric car-- and he was spot on. The first quote for the NEMA plug knew why I wanted it, and was equally high. Once I omitted the electric car in my ask, the price came down. I guess the portable-ness may have some advantage down the road, but no immediate plans to use as portable-- mine is completely stationary and all indoor. I would opt for a more expensive and durable "Designed for outdoor" unit if that was my need. For road trips, I'll bring the original level 1 charger included with the car. i.e. if I over-night somewhere I can plugin to 110v.
