L2 or not to L2

[flar]

Since I'm having to wire up my garage with a new outlet to be able to reliably charge anyway, I spotted this on the Clipper Creek site - a March Madness sale on their L2 wall charger:

http://stores.intuitwebsites.com/ClipperCreekInc/-strse-6/Level-2-EVSE%2C-Level/Detail.bok

$600 is the lowest I've seen for any L2 capable charger.

On the other hand, do I really need L2 charging?  Hard to say until the summer months are here...

[Brammofan]

$600? Heck, that's cheaper than a toaster. (okay, a really nice toaster).

That is the lowest price I've seen on one of those chargers.

[implovator]

Thanks for posting this. I too am perfectly happy charging overnight with my L1 cordset. I think it's better for the batteries to charge a the lower rate anyhow. Regardless, there are times (weekends) when I want to charge L2. I'm torn.

Well...I do want to try to do a track day or four on the Empulse, so I pretty much have to get a L2 charger. So I just bit the bullet and ordered it. Now I need to figure out a generator to borrow/buy and then what kind of plug to put on the pigtail with the charger.

It'll probably be a while before I sort out the generator, so I'll just install it in the garage for the time being. I figure I'll have an electrician wire up the garage for 240V and go ahead and install a 240V outlet and new 120V outlet so I can actually keep both cordsets plugged up next to each other. I'll use the L2 on the weekends and then the L1 overnight. Sweet!

[ttxgpfan]

Anyone thought of it as future proofing?  Seems like anything over 12kW needs more than 8 hours to charge over night from empty.  Just a thought.

[protomech]

Even with J1772, 0.3C bulk charge should be pretty gentle on the batteries.

Depending on your daily driving needs, 110V can be okay even with a very large battery like the Nissan Leaf's 24 kWh pack.

The Leaf uses around 350 Wh/mile; 1.5 kW at the wall yields a charge rate around 4.5 miles/hour, which can recover 35-40 miles over a typical overnight charge. Most users would probably need the J1772 plug, depending on their typical daily driving distance.

A bike with a large battery will still only use 150-200 Wh/mile even at highway speeds; the same 1.5 kW charge rate yields around 7-10 miles/hour, which can recover 60-80 miles over a typical overnight charge. Some users would definitely need a faster charge to keep up with their daily rides, but probably fewer than would need it for a car.

Still, it's a nice convenience to come home for a short time and leave with a nearly full battery. 110V charging doesn't get me there; I got home from work + running errands around 7:30 PM (~30 miles and ~40% charge used), it's 10:40 PM and the bike is not quite topped off yet.

Edit: In a year of riding the Zero typically 25-70 miles per day, I've had:
* 2-3 occasions where the charging bike's SOC was too low for a trip
* 0 occasions where the bike was still charging when I left in the morning

[Virtually Yours]

I will be getting the L2! On the weekends when I'm running around I tend to come home for a bit, charge a little and back out I go. A L2 would charge me to full... I talked to Barry at Clipper Creek before I got the bike to see if I could put a plug on the end of the pig tail of that unit and install an outlet rather then make a permanent install because my intention is to also use this as a portable L2 if need be when I visit my peeps with a dryer outlet in there garage. Also http://evseupgrade.com/ has an adapter for charging on standard 120v outlets. EMI/RFI Shielded adapter with molded ends - standard NEMA 5-15P (Edison) plug to L6-20 receptacle. Although Barry couldn't answer whether or not the adapter would work with the clipper creek unit but if so then this would give me a portable L2/L1 option...

[flar]

And if you couldn't decide,  you still have time.  Their March Madness sale just turned into an April Already sale...

http://stores.intuitwebsites.com/ClipperCreekInc/StoreFront.bok

[Jeff]

I will be getting the L2! On the weekends when I'm running around I tend to come home for a bit, charge a little and back out I go. A L2 would charge me to full... I talked to Barry at Clipper Creek before I got the bike to see if I could put a plug on the end of the pig tail of that unit and install an outlet rather then make a permanent install because my intention is to also use this as a portable L2 if need be when I visit my peeps with a dryer outlet in there garage. Also http://evseupgrade.com/ has an adapter for charging on standard 120v outlets. EMI/RFI Shielded adapter with molded ends - standard NEMA 5-15P (Edison) plug to L6-20 receptacle. Although Barry couldn't answer whether or not the adapter would work with the clipper creek unit but if so then this would give me a portable L2/L1 option...

Awesome!  Out of curiosity, is this actually the case with this charger? 

If the L2 can be one I carry around with me rather than permanently wall-mounted, I'll get it in a heartbeat.

[frodus]

Might be harder to find a dryer outlet while you're out than a normal Edison 5-15/5-20 receptacle.

Not sure if the L2 portable charging station will work with 120V.... if it's made to do 208-240V, so it may work incorrectly, or not at all.

[Virtually Yours]

Might be harder to find a dryer outlet while you're out than a normal Edison 5-15/5-20 receptacle.

Not sure if the L2 portable charging station will work with 120V.... if it's made to do 208-240V, so it may work incorrectly, or not at all.

Well it's all about options...

I will be getting the L2! On the weekends when I'm running around I tend to come home for a bit, charge a little and back out I go. A L2 would charge me to full... I talked to Barry at Clipper Creek before I got the bike to see if I could put a plug on the end of the pig tail of that unit and install an outlet rather then make a permanent install because my intention is to also use this as a portable L2 if need be when I visit my peeps with a dryer outlet in there garage. Also http://evseupgrade.com/ has an adapter for charging on standard 120v outlets. EMI/RFI Shielded adapter with molded ends - standard NEMA 5-15P (Edison) plug to L6-20 receptacle. Although Barry couldn't answer whether or not the adapter would work with the clipper creek unit but if so then this would give me a portable L2/L1 option...

Awesome!  Out of curiosity, is this actually the case with this charger? 

I asked Barry @ Clipper Creek but we seemed to have a communication problem. He didn't understand what I was trying to do so I didn't bother but I would imagine that if the L2 from Clipper Creek didn't work with the L2/L1 adapter that the folks @ evseupgrade.com would be able to make it happen.

[Shinysideup]

Did anyone get this adapter question resolved?

I'm thinking about doing some touring and I see that a lot of outlets on the Plugshare map are dryer outlets in trailer parks.

So it would be sweet if I could carry just the Clipper Creek LCS-25 (still $595) 240V charger, but be able to use it at 120V by employing the adapter cord, when necessary.

If no answer here, I'll call Clipper Creek this next week and post my answer.

[Shinysideup]

Just called Will at Clippercreek about the LCS-25 charger. It will run only on 208-240 volts. Anything less, the circuitry will not respond. Nothing will happen, no matter how long I wait.

So... looks like for travel, I will need to carry two chargers to cover 120 and 240V.

We must make our own pigtail with adapters for the LCS-25 because federal code, he said, dictates that all Level 2 chargers be designed for permanent installation.

Another reason to push for side cases for the Empulse! (My dealer called last week and was told it was a priority. They are still (!) working on getting a support frame designed and tested. No ETA.

[protomech]

It's quite expensive, but an upgraded Panasonic EVSE will allow you to plug into virtually any 120V/240V plug with a custom pigtail adapter.
http://evseupgrade.com/?main_page=product_info&cPath=6&products_id=5

[Shinysideup]

Thanks protomech. And ouch!

I remember when installing a dryer that there were multiple 240V plug configurations available. (Almost as stupid as computer standards!) As I travel, won't I probably have to have custom-pigtails made up to adapt to the differing outlets?

[protomech]

Yeah, you'd need a pigtail or other adapter for each type of outlet you plan to plug into, outside of L6-30 of course.