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Level 2 charger compatibility

Discussion in 'Gen 1 Prius Plug-in 2012-2015' started by mxben, Jan 17, 2013.

  1. mxben

    mxben Junior Member

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    I am looking at a level 2 charger and what my electrician is offering me is a Eaton L2 240v 30amp. I was searching on the web about this charger and found an article about ev charger compatibility problems. They said that even if the plug is standard on every charger, there is a lot of problems related to the communication between the car and the charger. The car may be plugged but is not charging. They recommand buying the charger from the company associated with the car manufacturer (toyota = leviton) and they say that this may also happen with public charging station. Does anybody ever have problems between the PIP and a particular brand of charger? Does anybody own an Eaton charger? Thanks!
     
  2. lensovet

    lensovet former BP Brigade 207

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    afaik most of the problems were with using, e.g., a Volt charger with a Prius. GM fixed that and the 2013 Volt charger will work with a Prius just fine.
    I've used multiple public charging stations and have yet to run across one that didn't work with my pip (apart from network issues – i.e. a ChargePoint station that isn't properly cut into the network and won't release the plug because it can't connect to the central server).
     
  3. dmaxwellh

    dmaxwellh New Member

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    I have a Clipper Creek CS-40 and it works perfectly. I purchased it "preowned" for about $500 and had it installed by an electrician for about $200.

    image.jpg
     
  4. GCPExit12

    GCPExit12 Member

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    I don't own an Eaton charger, but I fill up at a GreenEarth Network charging station at a local 7-eleven every Monday. It seems that every other time it throws an error code. I'm not sure if the installation was flawed or there is some communication issue between car and charger. I've never experienced such problems with Coulomb Technologies chargers on the Chargepoint network, Leviton chargers at the dealership, or Schneider EVLink (second generation) chargers at residential installations.
     
  5. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    BTW, what you're looking at is an EVSE, NOT a charger. The charger is inside your car.

    The L1 cable w/brick and J1772 connector aka charging cord set is also an EVSE, NOT a charger.
     
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  6. ny_rob

    ny_rob Senior Member

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    Have you considered the EVSE-Upgrade option?
    It lets you use the OEM Toyota EVSE cordset to charge at any 220-240v outlet.
     
  7. mxben

    mxben Junior Member

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    I'm glad to hear that most of you have plugged their car on many diffrent brands of evse without any problems. The reason i'm not considering an evse-upgrade is that I want to keep the oem L1 in the car so i can plug it everywhere there is a 11ov plug. It's ust easier to find 110 than 220 plugs. I know that, with only 3 hour for a full charge, a level 2 isn't really necessary on a PIP but the government here is paying half the price of the L2 evse including all the needed hardware and istallation fees when you buy or lease an ev or phev car. To cut the charging time of the PIP in half will be great and chances are good that my next car will have a larger battery and will need a L2. So I am now waiting news from my electrician who should give me a quote for a leviton evse so I can really compare. Thanks for all your answers!
     
  8. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    You can still plug into 120 volt outlets w/an upgraded L1 EVSE. Read the FAQ again.
     
  9. mxben

    mxben Junior Member

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    Ok! Now it sound more interesting! I'll take a better look at it. And it is reliable?
     
  10. CharlesH

    CharlesH CA HOV Decal #5 on former PiP

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    While the EVSE-upgrade comes with a 220-v plug, you can also buy an 120V adapter from him. The upgraded device itself is auto-sensing; it is just a matter of getting the right plug.
     
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  11. Paradox

    Paradox Prius Enthusiast / Moderator
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    I am using a GE Wattstation without any problems.
     
  12. ny_rob

    ny_rob Senior Member

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    I've been using my EVSE Upgrade modded cordset for a couple of months now- it's been 100% perfect.
    I keep the short 24" 110-120v adapter cable in the trunk in case I need to charge off a std 110v outlet, but I've only charged off 240v since I got the upgrade (other than to test the 110v adapter cable when I first received it).
    It's super convenient to charge at 240v- you get probably 75%+ charge in just an hour, the other 25% takes the other half hour.
     
  13. devprius

    devprius /dev/geek

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    I'm using the Nissan-branded Aerovironment EVSE-RS. No problems at all.
     
  14. Drake

    Drake Junior Member

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    mxben: Did you consider buying this charger? (Link in french)
    Boutique Borne 240V | Roulez Electrique

    The seller is from Quebec (Trois-Rivières) and many people ordered & received their provincial refund already so you should not have any problem with the refund. He's also giving a couple of great tips for the installation.
    La LCS-25: Une borne 240V très intéressante … la plus petite au monde! | Roulez Electrique

    The charger company is Sun Country Highway (They are actually Canadian distributors of the Clipper Creek chargers). These guys installed a lot of free chargers through Canada and did a cross-Canada trip (10,125 km) in a Tesla Roadster to prove that it's possible to go from one ocean to the other using only their free charging infrastructure.
    Sun Country Highway
    EV | Volt | Electric Vehicle Charging Station | ClipperCreek, CA

    In the end, I think that all charging point should work with any plug-in car since the car send a request for the proper current. That's why it's a standard. Any car should work with any J1772 charging point or public charging would be a nightmare.
     
  15. El Dobro

    El Dobro A Member

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    The ones I was looking at on the Home Depot site usually list which cars they'll work with.
     
  16. Hawaii 5-O

    Hawaii 5-O New Member

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  17. Hawaii 5-O

    Hawaii 5-O New Member

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    I purchased the Leviton L2 Hardwired direct from them, free shipping no tax. I haven't had any problems hooking up to any public or private stations. Only problem I've encountered is station in use due to increase of EV owners. I wasn't willing to pay the addition cost for the 30 amp since PIP can't take advantage anyway.
     
  18. Drake

    Drake Junior Member

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    For Canadians, the Sun Country Highway charger (LCS-25) is currently on sale at 595$ instead of 799$
    Chargers | Sun Country Highway
    Might worth a look. I didn't plan to buy a level 2 charger for myself but since it's on sale, I ordered one last week.

    This EVSE is actually a rebranded ClipperCreek EVSE. (Which is also on sale @ 595$ this month for US buyers)
    LCS-25, Level 2 Charging Station

    I plan to use mine with a NEMA-6 outlet (for welders) so I will be able to remove it easily when needed. (And welder outlet tend to cost less to install than the EVSE since electricians are used to install those)
     
  19. Rebound

    Rebound Senior Member

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    The Plug- in Prius only draws about 12 Amps. It will work with a 30+ Amp EVSE, but you'll pay more for the EVSE and its installation (the thicker cable from your breaker panes to the EVSE doubles in cost), and the 30A units have much thicker, heavier cables, which are less convenient. On the other hand, a higher amperage EVSE will be ready for a future, all-electric vehicle.
     
  20. Drake

    Drake Junior Member

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    You are right, the 25 Amp EVSE is indeed overkill but as you said, it's ready if I ever need more power in the future. (Next gen PiP maybe) Also, the Level 2 EVSE (Leviton 16 Amp) sold at Home Depot Canada cost 999$ (800$ for a Level 1) so at 595$, I prefer paying for the heavier cables and have more amps available than needed. And I'll still save money over the 1k$ 16 amps EVSE ;) You guys in the US have more choices and better prices for EVSE.