Home charging recommendations for Clarity Plug-In?

You will not incur any meaningful loss of charge over a few days left off and unplugged.
The only official mention from Honda that I know of says permanent battery damage may occur if left unplugged for 3 months. Honda has published no metric on passive battery drain that I know of.

Another poster, whose name I can’t dredge up, also measured that with the car parked and on, AC use took 20 min to deplete 1 mile of EV range on the display. So you can sit with the AC on for a while even when you can’t plug in.
Don’t you just love this car!?!
 
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JSL said:
if I don't drive the car for a couple of days and it isn't plugged in? Will the charge deplete some?
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The self dischare rate (technical term for how much charge the battery decreases doing nothing) is low. I’ve never checked carefully, but it’s on the order of 1% per day or so.

phevophile said:
I just use regular outlet for 7 mile each way commute. If your commute is near or above battery limit, you may want a faster charger.
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The car will fully charge overnight on a regular 120V outlet, so as long as you do less than 50 miles of driving a day you don’t really need a high power charger. The main advantage there is if you often mostly deplete the battery, spend an hour or two at home, then drive more.

In my case I only get any real value out of my 240V charger maybe once a month.
 
JSL said:
Thanks for the info. I figured you could, but haven't seen anything written about it. One more question, how long will the charge last? if I don't drive the car for a couple of days and it isn't plugged in? Will the charge deplete some?
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It will, but very slowly. Like leaving for a week at the airport you should come back to close to the same range. The 12 V is more likely to have issue there.
 
Not particularly pleased with the JuiceBox I bought. After three months the wi-fi fritzed out and the unit was replaced with one that didn't work either. That one was replaced and it worked for about three months and again this newest box is not holding a connection.

I'd like to believe that it's a problem with the wi-fi here at home - at least that would explain things, but every other device that's on the same network is rock-solid. So I'm pretty well convinced that it's the JuiceBox that's failing. I've sent several requests for help lately - and get little response besides the automatic one.

In hindsight, I should've gone with another EVSE.
 
bfd said:
Not particularly pleased with the JuiceBox I bought. After three months the wi-fi fritzed out and the unit was replaced with one that didn't work either. That one was replaced and it worked for about three months and again this newest box is not holding a connection.

I'd like to believe that it's a problem with the wi-fi here at home - at least that would explain things, but every other device that's on the same network is rock-solid. So I'm pretty well convinced that it's the JuiceBox that's failing. I've sent several requests for help lately - and get little response besides the automatic one.

In hindsight, I should've gone with another EVSE.
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I did a lot of research before I bought and noticed that there were more negative reviews and unfortunate experiences like yours listed for the JuiceBox than for other brands on several online sources.
I wanted WiFi and an app to track cost and kWs so I went worth the ChargePoint. It’s working flawlessly and I like the app that tracks my consumption and costs. I have found their customer service and tech support to be first class, even after hours. If it matters to you it’s also a sleek looking unit. It also schedules easier than the car app.
The only thing missing is that I can’t choose to charge to a certian SOC, but based on posts here that doesn’t bother me as the technical aspects of the battery management software indicate we can charge/discharge without worries. (There is sufficient buffer at “full” charge and “depleted” 2 bars left charge)
 
I'm getting two 240V lines in my garage for my Clarity and my wife's Nissan Leaf. This will cost me a lot, but I need faster charging and will pay off in the long run.
 
Rock solid Juicebox here since Jan 1st. (Knock on wood) Is located near my router so is connected reliably so far. Very heavy cable is my only beef, but should last.
 
Eric1978a said:
Do you guys leave your charger plugged into the outlet when the car is not connected?
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Our Bosch EVSE has an on/off switch. It draw about 5 watts when it's not charging the Clarity, so we turn it off when we unplug from the car. Those 240-volt plugs aren't easy to unplug/plug, so if we didn't have an on/off switch, we would leave the EVSE plugged in.
 
Eric1978a said:
Do you guys leave your charger plugged into the outlet when the car is not connected?
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Our electrician cautioned that the plug on our level 2 EVSE should not be used to repeatedly connect/disconnect the unit, as it will wear out the receptacle- better to shut it off at the breaker if you are concerned about its power draw while unplugged. Our unit (clipper creek 32A) only runs a small LED to indicate that it has power, but we do shut off the breaker when we are away from the house for a few days just in case.
 
Hadn’t thought about the parasitic power draw when it’s just sitting there. I’m going to have to put the Amp meter on it and see. But even 5W at $.10/kW is only $.30 a month for me. Curious to see what mine is.

I opted for direct wire to minimize installation cost (no receptacle to buy, EVSE was $50 less), and since there are practically no scenarios where I would be taking it with me.

My ChargePoint has 2 LEDS; one small WiFi indicator and one large multicolor ring around the handle holder. They and the WiFi can’t be drawing much (I hope) and I like the ability to remotely change scheduling and check on kW used. I also wouldn’t want to give up the large green glowing ring around the handle that with a glance tells me it’s ready and if slowly pulsing that it’s schedule is set. It’s very comforting when I pull in the garage.
 
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I am a new owner of a base model and I bought the ChargePoint, but the reason was that it was a design that would be hard to steal and it had to be weatherproof. I do not have a garage or carport, so the charger is going to be mounted on a post at the back of the driveway.

As to whether to get it or not, I wanted to get it now because my local utility (Austin Electric) has a 50% rebate on the charger and installation up to about $1200 (if the charger is Wifi) and this was my thinking. This car has to last me 8 to 10 years, but my Significant other may be in the market for a new car in the next 3 or 4 years, and in that time, it is very likely that she will get a full electric. I wanted to use the rebate now and save the money because rebates typically are only offered for limited duration (as is the case with the Texas $2500 rebate) so it made sense to get the charger now and have the utility subsidize the cost.

And that would be my advice. If the utility does any kind of subsidy or rebate, take it now and have the charger installed, because it is likely that the car after this one will be at the least, a plug in hybrid, and quite possibly a full electric. I also specified 6 gauge wire to the post and a 50 amp circuit so that if the SOs next is full electric I want to be ready for it. I recommend that anyone having an electrician doing the install do the same so that the circuit capacity is there. Do it right and only spend the money once.

So, that is my own thinking. It while chargers may get a bit less expensive, if any kind of heavy duty installation is going to be required, bit the bullet today so that you don't have to bite it in the future because the future will almost without doubt see a shift to PHEV and full electric.
 
And just to clarify.. The ChargePoint I got does not use a mounting bracket. The box screws into the wall or post. Because you have to open the box and have cables out of the way to to access the screws, it would make hard to snatch. The Juice Box simply hangs on a bracket making it easy to snatch.

I also went hard wired for much the same reason. A plug is easy to unplug. Hard wiring means that no one is likely to want to open the junction box and undo the connections. Because my mounting is outside, I just thought the Juice Box would be easy pickings.

Just some things to think about. I hate to say it but I live in a nice neighborhood, but we have a lot of porch pirate activity and I did not want to see my charger wind up on Ebay or Craigslist.
 
Had to install a charge point because we couldn't charge both of our Claritys (ies??) at the same time, it would trip the garage's breaker. Picked the charge point because they are the most prevalent type of public chargers near my home.
 
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Front Row said:
Had to install a charge point because we couldn't charge both of our Claritys (ies??) at the same time, it would trip the garage's breaker. Picked the charge point because they are the most prevalent type of public chargers near my home.
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You are so cool to have two Claritys (not Clarities)!

In a magazine years ago I saw the coolest license plate frame on a Ferrari: "My other car is also a Ferrari." I stole that idea for our two Insights (hint, hint).
 
The beauty of the EV range is that it's not difficult to get away with just a normal outlet unless you are travelling more than 50 miles a day without a plug in option between.

My commute is about 30 miles round trip, and even with errands to run it has always been enough. The only time I used gas was for a 4 hour road trip.
 
AaD said:
- better to shut it off at the breaker if you are concerned about its power draw while unplugged.
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Not a good idea - A circuit breaker is not designed to be used as a switch. There is an exception, if the breaker is marked as SWD (switch duty). These are usually found only in commercial applications.
 
I have a Clipper Creek HCS-40. Last Saturday it shut down after 6 minutes of charging. Could not get it to run for more than 6 minutes at a time. No error code in vehicle.

Called Clipper Creek Monday morning. They quickly decided it was a defective unit. They shipped out a replacement without even asking for a credit card. Received and installed the replacement just now. Working OK. This is great customer service for an American Made product.

A related note - I opened a ticket with Honda on Sunday. Finally received a response this afternoon from Honda "call Clipper Creek". Poor customer service from Honda.
 
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