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.
