No one seems to be installing 16 AMP Charger

1) there are other L2 evse threads, you can search pip threads as well, same evse.

2) no and no

3) $395. is decent these days unless you go chinese on alibaba, but you won't get clipper creek.

4) correct. the charger is actually inside the car, and is 12 amps max. L2 (240v) will cut time in half.

5) all the best!

 

I also just recently bought the LCS-20. Got from amazon direct with free shipping. My only comment would be to not use a 14-30 receptacle since you only have 12/3 wire. By convention the 14-30 receptacle tells others that the circuit is rated for 30 amps. Since you have 12/3 wire and a 20amp breaker your circuit is limited to 20 amps. At some point in the future some one else could connect a 30amp device to the circuit and it could pull more amperage than the wire is rated for. I’d put in a 20 amp rated receptacle and use an adapter to the 14-30 plug.

 

If you put in a 30-amp receptacle and you are protecting the circuit with a 20-amp breaker, you still can plug anything you want into the receptacle but the breaker will trip if it draws over 20 amps. The receptacle itself would not be a problem.

Here's the interesting part: even if you plugged in a 40-amp L2 EVSE, it will not draw more current than the charging circuit in your car is calling for. So, you could plug your Prime into a 40-amp EVSE wired to a 20 amp circuit with no problem. But when your friend plugs his Tesla into the same EVSE, the 20-amp circuit breaker would trip and shut of the power to the EVSE.

You are right about the code and safety limitations imposed by the 12/3 wiring, but it is being protected from being overloaded by the 20-amp circuit breaker.

While some of the cockamamie schemes which have been discussed here to convert a 240-volt outlet to accept the 120-volt plug on the Prime's factory-provided portable EVSE are downright dangerous (because someone could unwittingly plug in a 120-volt appliance), using a receptacle with a higher amperage rating is only "false advertising." It's the circuit breaker which provides the over-current protection.

 

If you something cheaper than Clipper Creek, get this:
16 Amp Electric Vehicle Charging Station| AmazingE
It has service and tech support from Clipper Creek. If you buy from Amazon, it says sold by Clipper Creek.

 

It doesn't make a lot of economic sense, IMO, to specifically run a new 20 amp service for the purpose of charging an EV. Might as well go with at least 40A, if not 50. A charger/EV that takes less current can step down, but one that wants more can't exceed what that circuit is rated for. And with a 50A circuit, you could draw 40A reliably at some point in the future. It won't cost that much more and you wouldn't have to pay a second time for a retrofit.

 

You're absolutely correct. If you're running wire, the cost is mostly in the labor and not it the per-foot cost of the material. For the small incremental cost, you're much better off to plan for future needs.

 

Perhaps just my point of view, but having been on this earth 7+ decades I have learned that buying a product with a maximum value it can handle, and then running it always at that ragged edge of what the specs say it can do is a recipe for trouble and early failure.

I have a Prime that only needs 16 amp, but I built a 40 amp capacity EVSE and installed it with a 50 amp breaker set, 6-50P plug, #6 gauge wiring with not only an eye for the future, but knowing the more current you put through a breaker results in more heat & accelerates its eventual failure.

Big wire stays cool and provides minimal resistance and voltage drop. I want my EVSE with 50 amp relays that won't degrade quickly with only 16 amps going through the contacts. Trust me I do understand saving money, but buying a 16 amp max EVSE that you plan to run at 16 amps every time you turn it on, using minimum gauge wire and breakers that are just above what you plan to draw is asking for issues. The 80% "rule" for breakers is based on safety, not whether the part will last as long as you hoped.

So my unsolicited advice is to go for parts where you spend most of their time in the sweet spot in the middle of their spec range, not at the fringe and I predict you will most likely have a trouble free installation for years. Just sayin'.

 

looks great, congrats!

 

Our neighbors have an AeroVironment EVSE mounted on a pole outside unsheltered (Amazon seems to sell it as a Webasto EVSE). So far it's held up to 5 years of problem-free charging of their PHEV. Our Tesla was able to pull 30A out of it when we plugged it in as something of a capacity test. I don't know that it's any cheaper than the Clipper Creek though.

We use a 40A Leviton EVSE (on a 100A-capable circuit in case we decided to go the HPWC route), but it's mounted indoors.

 

We had 100 amp service before we installed the EVSE. I'd argue that if you have the financial ability (and especially if there are tax credits like in our case), upgrading the panel to 200A and installing a high amperage EVSE (or at least the wiring to handle such since wiring is a small cost compared to install labor) is a reasonable investment to future-proof your house. We actually wanted 400A because we were, at the time, thinking what-if we purchased another Tesla and needed two 100A HPWCs (this is not the case anymore).