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formerly known as dealing with machine companies, now EV charging

 

TJ,
Which charger did you go with? I installed a Siemens Versacharge this summer. I chose this over the Juice Box which was also on my list. I was able to find a used one on Ebay for about 50% of its cost when new.
One feature that attracted me to it was when installed with the supplied 6-50 plug instead of hard wiring, I can lift the charger off it's quick release wall bracket and throw it in the trunk and drive on down the road to a campground and plug it right into the common RV hookup. I haven't actually done this yet, but I like knowing I could. I was also future proofing to some extent, because my 1st gen Nissan Leaf cannot take 50 amps, but hopefully my next one will be able to.

Here in Minnesota, my utility provider Xcel has an off peak EV charging program. This requires a dedicated meter, which was easy because my garage is 6 feet from a pole in the alley. I installed the meter box and mast etc, new 100 amp panel and receptacle. Inspector came and signed off. Then Xcel came and installed the meter and turned it on. Now from 9pm-9am I charge for $.04/kwh instead of the normal rate of around $.13/kwh. I can charge anytime, I just pay full price if it's during the day. It's so fast compared to the 110v charger the car comes with that I used exclusively for over a year. It will take a year or so to pay for itself, but then it's just gravy. It's also probably a good selling feature when I decide I'm done taking care of a 100+ year old house. Hopefully I get to put my Rivian pickup in there before that time comes...

Jason

Jason Holtz
J. Holtz Furniture

3307 Snelling Ave. South
Minneapolis, MN 55406
612 432-2765

--
Jason
J. Holtz Furniture
3307 Snelling Ave. South
Minneapolis, MN 55406
 

¿ªÔÆÌåÓý

Jason, I¡¯m not far from you ¨C just across the river, so same Xcel provider.

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We bought a Chrysler Pacifica plug-in hybrid, so all I need to do is replace 33 miles of driving, not 300 in a full electric. Right now I¡¯m using the ¡°level 1¡± 120v 12A charger the car came with but I¡¯m feeding it from 240v via a non-UL-listed adapter I made, so I¡¯m charging at 12A/240v instead of 12A/120v. That takes charging time down from 14 hours to 5 from full empty, which makes it a lot more likely that I have a full battery if we take multiple trips spaced around the day.

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I¡¯m planning ahead for real level 2, and more than one hookup since I think it¡¯s likely we will have more than one electric car in the future. Right now my Pacifica can only accept 27A, but future full-electric cars will surely want much more than that. The highest power level 2 chargers deliver 50A, so I¡¯m looking at a conduit run with two sets of #4 wire to handle that.? I was looking at the Juice Box and the ChargePoint chargers. Neither get perfect reviews.

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I am considering the dual meter Xcel plan you mention. It doesn¡¯t make sense now, but with potentially more than one electric car in the future, it probably will.

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My shop is in my home, and I¡¯m about 300¡¯ back from the pole via 0000 aluminum wire feeding my 200A service. When I¡¯m cranking heavily on my CNC router I¡¯m pulling maybe 65A 240v between the dust collector, vacuum table, and router spindle. With that, I get some voltage sag. It will be really interesting to see how that all works if I¡¯m also simultaneously charging 100A/240v on a pair of electric cars. I wonder if it would be worth it to pull new wire to the pole for the second service.

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From: "[email protected]" <[email protected]> on behalf of Jason Holtz <jholtzy@...>
Reply-To: "[email protected]" <[email protected]>
Date: Thursday, December 31, 2020 at 9:11 AM
To: "[email protected]" <[email protected]>
Subject: [FOG] formerly known as dealing with machine companies, now EV charging

?

TJ,

Which charger did you go with? I installed a Siemens Versacharge this summer. I chose this over the Juice Box which was also on my list. I was able to find a used one on Ebay for about 50% of its cost when new.

One feature that attracted me to it was when installed with the supplied 6-50 plug instead of hard wiring, I can lift the charger off it's quick release wall bracket and throw it in the trunk and drive on down the road to a campground and plug it right into the common RV hookup. I haven't actually done this yet, but I like knowing I could. I was also future proofing to some extent, because my 1st gen Nissan Leaf cannot take 50 amps, but hopefully my next one will be able to.

?

Here in Minnesota, my utility provider Xcel has an off peak EV charging program. This requires a dedicated meter, which was easy because my garage is 6 feet from a pole in the alley. I installed the meter box and mast etc, new 100 amp panel and receptacle. Inspector came and signed off. Then Xcel came and installed the meter and turned it on. Now from 9pm-9am I charge for $.04/kwh instead of the normal rate of around $.13/kwh. I can charge anytime, I just pay full price if it's during the day. It's so fast compared to the 110v charger the car comes with that I used exclusively for over a year. It will take a year or so to pay for itself, but then it's just gravy. It's also probably a good selling feature when I decide I'm done taking care of a 100+ year old house. Hopefully I get to put my Rivian pickup in there before that time comes...

?

Jason


Jason Holtz
J. Holtz Furniture

3307 Snelling Ave. South

Minneapolis, MN 55406
612 432-2765


--
Jason
J. Holtz Furniture
3307 Snelling Ave. South
Minneapolis, MN 55406

 

TJ, I don't know what brand "the most popular level 2 charger" is, but I have a JuiceBox and I've had two other brands, and none of them have lugs.? The 50A Juicebox comes with a #6 pigtail (bare or with plug).? ??

The 80% rule applies to circuit breakers, not conductors.? ?A 60A breaker with #6 wire is kosher and 50A continuous load is kosher (and realistically, I seriously doubt any charger actually pulls the rated amount continuously)

Imran, fyi 60¡ã wire probably isn't even manufactured anymore.? ?I can't remember the last time I requested a type.? Just this morning I bought wire at my local electrical supply and I just said "three spools of wire..." and I get 90¡ã THWN-THHN-2 (90¡ã rated)? I'm sure it's all they stock.? I'm pretty sure wire at Home Depot etc. like is the same.

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