Sorry, another Level 2/electrical,charger question....

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Rick2112

Rick2112

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I have an older house with an unused dryer plug (NEMA 10-30) that I would like to use to charge the Clarity, hoping to keep charger/electrical work costs low.

I am looking at a Zencar or Maxgreen charger which are able to use the NEMA 10-30 plug. Does anyone have any experience or opinions about these brands?

They indicate that these chargers are 240V, 16A. The breaker in my electrical box shows 30A. Will it be safe to use these chargers with that electrical supply for the Clarity ?

I am not a daily commute driver, so I do not need 2.5hr/100% recharge capacity, but I would like something faster that the 120v provided stock with the Clarity. Will the 16A chargers provide faster charging? Can anyone estimate the charging rate I would get with either of these 16A chargers?

As always, many thanks for the help. Obviously, I am new to the Clarity, and on top of that, I don't know much about electrical stuff.

Regards,

Rick
 
The maximum charge rate for the Clarity is 32 amps which will fully charge the battery in a little less than 2.5 hours. A 16 amp charger should be able to fully charge the battery in under 5 hours vs 12 hours for the 120 volt charger. The 30 A outlet with a 30 Amp breaker is great for a 16 amp charger. Sorry, I don't have any experience with the two chargers you are looking at.
 
We got one from Ebay with 10-30P dryer plug for under $200. Brand is Duosida. It’s been working well for us. Full charge from empty takes 4.5 hours. We used HondaLink app to schedule charging to start at 2:00 am. By morning, car is ready with battery fully charged.


Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs
 
bpratt said:
The maximum charge rate for the Clarity is 32 amps which will fully charge the battery in a little less than 2.5 hours. A 16 amp charger should be able to fully charge the battery in under 5 hours vs 12 hours for the 120 volt charger. The 30 A outlet with a 30 Amp breaker is great for a 16 amp charger. Sorry, I don't have any experience with the two chargers you are looking at.
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Thank you for the information. For an electrical neophyte like me, this explanation is perfect!
 
I bought the zencar on Amazon and it has been fine without issue. I use it to charge our Prius prime and it finish charging 8kW in 2.2 hours or so, so charging the clarity will take about 5 hours with it.
 
We also got a splitter called Dryer Buddy which allows both dryer and charger connected to same outlet, but only one can be used at a time.


Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs
 
Just for future reference, to calculate the charge rate of an EVSE multiple the voltage by the current. So for the 240V, 16A device described, the max theoretical charge rate is 240V*16A = 3840 Watts or 3.84 kW.
 
I'm looking at buying a Level 2 charger but I'm confused by the difference in price for the Zencar one on Amazon and, let's say, a ChargePoint one. The ChargePoint is more than double the price! Is it just the amperage that's the difference?
 
rickyrsx said:
I'm looking at buying a Level 2 charger but I'm confused by the difference in price for the Zencar one on Amazon and, let's say, a ChargePoint one. The ChargePoint is more than double the price! Is it just the amperage that's the difference?
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The one from zencar only support 16A so it isn't really a level 2 charger. The one from charge point goes up to 30A I think? So it will cut your charging time in half of what you will need with the 1 from zencar.

And it got all the bells and whistles too
 
The ChargePoint is a true Level 2 EVSE at 32 Amps. It is WiFi connected and has a very good app to track cost and kWs. It’s heavy duty, warranted, comes with excellent tech support, and looks sleek and high tech (looks great). You get what you pay for.
7BC4F1BA-4A5A-4FA2-B06E-EECA6D1D072D.webp
 
I bought the zencar charger through amazon (plugged in to 30 amp dryer outlet) and am very happy with it. It charges the clarity 2.5 times faster than 120v. I couldn't justify paying a few hundred extra dollars for a faster charge (24 amp) and some bells and whistles.
 
rickyrsx said:
I'm looking at buying a Level 2 charger but I'm confused by the difference in price for the Zencar one on Amazon and, let's say, a ChargePoint one. The ChargePoint is more than double the price! Is it just the amperage that's the difference?
Click to expand...

the amperage makes a big difference in price:

16amp: $200-$300, ~$250
24amp: $300-$500, ~$400
32amp: $500-$1000, ~$650
40amp: $1000-$2000

Higher amperage requires thicker/heavier cable and heavy-duty circuitry to handle the load, thus cost increases significantly.
 
Odobo said:
The one from zencar only support 16A so it isn't really a level 2 charger.
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I believe the distinction between Level 1 and 2 EVSe is that L1 is 120V whereas L2 is 208-240V AC. So the Zencar is still a level 2 EVSE, just not as high amperage (and hence slower charge rate).
 
qtpie said:
the amperage makes a big difference in price:

16amp: $200-$300, ~$250
24amp: $300-$500, ~$400
32amp: $500-$1000, ~$650
40amp: $1000-$2000

Higher amperage requires thicker/heavier cable and heavy-duty circuitry to handle the load, thus cost increases significantly.
Click to expand...

I use a Jekayla Level 2 charger. It does not communicate with your phone, but it will fully charge my car in 2 hour 5 minutes, it always works and it is $399. For the first few weeks, it is a little more effort to plug in and remove but it gets much easier with time. It also has a KWh meter built in.

https://www.amazon.com/Jekayla-Port...1t5KUMdfOL&preST=_SX300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch&th=1
 
Tacoma Soccer Dad said:
I bought the zencar charger through amazon (plugged in to 30 amp dryer outlet) and am very happy with it. It charges the clarity 2.5 times faster than 120v. I couldn't justify paying a few hundred extra dollars for a faster charge (24 amp) and some bells and whistles.
Click to expand...
I completely understand your point and that's why I asked what the difference is between the Zencar and a ChargePoint. Do the features justify the cost or is it a matter of reliability and warranty? Do cheap things break down faster than expensive ones? Is the reason why the Zencar is cheaper because they use cheaper components?
 
Some thought for your consideration:
1. You get what you pay for generally speaking.
2. How risk adverse are you in putting a cheaply made high voltage electrical device in your house with your loved ones?
3. How much is it worth to you to do business with a reputable company who has been in business a long time and will be around for a long time?
4. How much is it worth to you to have great customer and technical service, and a long warranty?
Your call.
 
bpratt said:
I use a Jekayla Level 2 charger. It does not communicate with your phone, but it will fully charge my car in 2 hour 5 minutes, it always works and it is $399. For the first few weeks, it is a little more effort to plug in and remove but it gets much easier with time. It also has a KWh meter built in.

https://www.amazon.com/Jekayla-Portable-Electric-Vehicle-Charging/dp/B071K874MG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1531845401&sr=8-2&keywords=240+volt+car+charger+station+40+amp&dpID=41t5KUMdfOL&preST=_SX300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch&th=1
Click to expand...
Another happy Jekayla user here...
 
I received the Zencar charger (240V 16A) from Amazon, and oddly enough, what arrived was labeled Dousida (a brand mentioned by another poster). The outside box and documentation said Zencar, but it seems that it is a Dousida.

No complaints though. It came in a nice carry case with cloth covers for the plug-in connector and the wall plug, bubble wrap and boxed new. Hooked it up in 1 minute and started charging, with no problems at all, indicator lights glowing brightly.

Thanks all again for the info.
 
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