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Costco Charge Station Deal

Discussion in 'Prime Main Forum (2017-2022)' started by PT Guy, Oct 28, 2020.

  1. PT Guy

    PT Guy Senior Member

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    The Costco Wholesale Holiday Savings flier just came in the mail. They're offering a 32 amp Level 2 charge station for $350 between November 20 to 30 from costco.com. The brand name is Accell or AxFast, unknown to me, but I trust Costco's return policy. It has a NEMA 14-50 plug (240 volt) and a 26 foot cable to the car. Suitable for outside mounting. List price is $549, costco.com's regular price is $429. $349.99 looks like a good deal.
    https://www.costco.com/axfast-32amp-level-2-portable-electric-vehicle-charger.product.100540393.html
    AxFAST® 3202 32 Amp Level 2 Portable Electric Vehicle Charger (EVSE) - | Accell
     
    #1 PT Guy, Oct 28, 2020
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  2. mistermojorizin

    mistermojorizin Active Member

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    Does Costco offer installation services?
     
    #2 mistermojorizin, Oct 28, 2020
  3. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    It's a plug in model, not hard wired. The only installation it needs is attaching to a wall or post.

    I'm going to guess Costco doesn't offer installation for the required outlet.
     
    #3 Trollbait, Oct 28, 2020
  4. iplug

    iplug Senior Member

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    These guys are not well known in the market at this point, so biggest concern would be for reliability but Costco return policy helps.

    Specification wise this is a steal for $350. And it comes with a NEMA 14-50 plug as noted, which is usually extra. If we were in the market for one we would probably bite.
     
    #4 iplug, Oct 28, 2020
  5. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

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    #5 Salamander_King, Oct 29, 2020
  6. iplug

    iplug Senior Member

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    In fairness, if the Juicebox unit currently listed in the link was $599 before your incentives, the Costco deal would drop to a mere $101 after similar incentives. That's a big delta for WiFi and haven't seen other competitors with a deal close to this price without WiFi.
     
    #6 iplug, Oct 29, 2020
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  7. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

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    Yeah, for someone who needs a portable 32A L2 EVSE, this maybe a good choice. BTW, the incentive I got was very specific for EnelX Next Gen L2 EVSE, so it would not have applied to this unit to get it down to $101 as you stated. But, If the use is exclusively for Prius Prime only, then the $20 pigtail on OEM L1 EVSE is unbeatable cost performer without need or want for WiFi capability. And there are many sub $200 L2 EVSE from China albeit they are mostly at 16A max, if you can live with that. The link to the manufacture site prominently post the signage saying "designed in USA". I suspect it is designed in USA, but made in China.
     
    #7 Salamander_King, Oct 29, 2020
    Last edited: Oct 29, 2020
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  8. elfel

    elfel New Member

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    So here's my problem, my garage outlet is connected in series to many other garage outlets. When I first plugged in the charger it blew a fuse when someone opened their garage door. Is this charger any different than using a regular outlet? Is it plugged into the outlet? Thanks
     
    #8 elfel, Nov 21, 2020
  9. PT Guy

    PT Guy Senior Member

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    All your receptacles are connected in parallel. They are daisy-chained together...all on the same circuit. If it was fused, it must be an older house. Modern houses have circuit breakers. Fuses and circuit breakers do the same job of preventing the wiring from overheating and starting a fire.

    So...what else is plugged into that circuit? Freezer or refrigerator? Garage lights? It may be something other than the opener. In any case, that circuit is telling you that it's maxed out. Older houses likely have 15 amp circuits, actually planned to carry a max continuous load of 12 amps or 1440 amps (12 amps x 120 volts). When you find what else is plugged into that circuit you can read the name plates to get the amps or the watts. You'll know what you have. (Watts divided by volts = amps (we'll neglect power factor here.))

    Your circuit has 120 volt power. The Prime standard charge cable plugs into a 120 volt receptacle...but the circuit must have enough unused capacity to supply the 12 amps the charge cable draws. If the opener had a starting surge that pulled more than 3 amps, assuming you have a 15 amp circuit, the fuse did its job and blew.

    So...can you find a different circuit for either the opener or the charge cable? Or, have an electrician run an additional circuit from your fuse panel to the garage. If you have the electrician install a 240 volt circuit you can recharge your Prime in just over 2 hours.

    Definitions:
    Volts: the force of the electricity
    Amps: the rate of flow of electrons
    Watts: the measure of electrical power
     
    #9 PT Guy, Nov 21, 2020
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  10. Washingtonian

    Washingtonian Senior Member

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    It sounds like you are saying that you are using a public garage, like under an apartment building (somebody opened their garage door). And also, you are talking about the charger that came with the Prime, while this thread is talking about a level 2 charger that is meant to be used with a 240V outlet, not the normal 120V one. The charger that Costco is selling is not necessary for the Prius Prime, but makes sense if you plan to upgrade to an EV in the near future. BTW, welcome to the group.
     
    #10 Washingtonian, Nov 21, 2020
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