Best Level Ii Chargers

[swl 13]

In http://clubsmartcar.com/index.php?showtopic=27710 "smart range experience" @marchanna noted that the public chargers in Woodstock charged at different rates with the ones at Woodstock hydro being faster than the one at the GM Dealer. I thought I'd open a separate topic to discuss chargers.

I'm just dealing with internet research at the moment and not hands on. No ED - yet

The chargers at Woodstock hydro are Sun Country Highway LS90s. The 90 means it can charge at 90Amps. That's nice but the smart onboard charging rate is 20A. Which means that even on an LS90 you are only going to use 20A (*208V=4,160VA=4.16KVA or approximately 4KWatt).

The Bosch KEBA is the charger that smart recommends. According to the installation manual It is a 30A device but it can be 'downgraded' to meet infrastructure requirements. i.e. if you only have a 10A breaker available you can configure it to deliver a maximum of 10A. The Bosch factory settings are for the 10A. So that means even if you have a big breaker you are only going to get 10Amp charging. If the installer forgets to configure it for 20A you are going to get slow charging. I wonder if this is what has happened at the GM dealership. Perhaps a limitation in the building wiring is keeping the delivery to less than 20A.

smart recommends their partner Bosch. The basic Keba is about $1300 and is rated at 30A - more than the smart can use but guaranteed to meet max charging rate of the onboard charger.

Sun Country Highway recommends their LCS25 for the smart. 25A breaker, rated for 20A continuous. Cost just now is only $600 (Regular $800).

I'm a "buy Canadian where appropriate" kind of guy so I'm leaning toward the LCS25. Cheaper, significant Canadian content (although the actual charging parts are subcontracted to California) - what's not to like?

So what are you folks using? What is your charge time like at home?

[hot4smart 4]

I looked at the Bosch charger, very expensive, there is the initial cost of the charger and then the installation cost can be quite high depending on your present electrical panel. I went with the SunCountry charger, the LCS25, you can order it online, they ship right to your door and it is on sale right now for $599. If you email them they will give you the name of an installer in your area that will put it in for you. Installation is easy and quick. The charger works great and easilycharges the car overnight, my car is also warm in the morning using the pre-heat setting in the car. SunCountry is also rolling out a lot of chargers across Canada now, their web site shows the locations and most are free to use at this time. I would recommend the SunCountry, compact unit, cord wraps around the unit to hang it and you can use the unit either inside or outdoors.

[ianjay 6]

The Sun Country seems to be the one Volt owners prefer. The Bosch units seem to last for a year and then go poof, just after the warranty expires. I'm still using what came with the car but expect to install something at our farm where we've just built a new garage (with robust new wiring and high quality receptacles). Check the warranty terms and see if it must be installed by an electrician.

[swl 13]

Warranty terms not withstanding, installation by an electrician is a must for me from the point of view of regulation. It is my understanding that if you touch the panel you need a permit, and inspection. It isn't rocket science but best done through the proper channels or there could be implications. To put a fine point on it though - Bosch seems to insist on their people doing the install at a significant cost. Sun Country can refer you to a qualified installer but are happy to ship to your door and let you hire your own electrician. Certainly in my case an hourly electrician is going to be a better bet than a flat rate installer. Short run in open ceiling, pierce the wall out to the garage, install. Sun Country has been pretty smart with the LCS25. They have built a charger that matches the majority of EVs in production today. The Bosch KEBA is a heftier device (roughly equivalent to the Sun Country CS40 that sells for $1800) but that heft is wasted on the current generation of EV. I like Sun Country's intelligent product design. Buy the charger for the current car - upgrade it if you buy a new car with faster on board charging. Sell the charger with the car.Hmmm. If a person is committed to having an ev for long term he might consider making the wiring 40/60/90 amp capable so that any future upgrade is just replacing the breaker and charger itself.

Edited October 30, 2013 by swl

[marchanna 115]

The problem with the charging station at the GM dealer is that it is likely on 208 volts which means it actually delivers less electricity - it's 3600 watts max, but wattage is dependent on voltage x amperage. At my house I consistently have 246+ volts so I can get a full charge from dead flat in 5 hours (I've run it down to 0% on a few occasions and driven up to 5kms on 0). I think the LC25 is a decent unit from what I've heard, but it's only resold in Canada, it's made by Clipper Creek in California. There is a couple of new Bosch units that sell for less.I built my own charger using the OpenEVSE control board; and this can be done easily for about $300 and it gives you a 7200 watt unit. This can be assembled and installed by a certified electrician and will meet all the same regulatory codes.The charging station can't void your warranty because all the safety is built into the car, the charging station is just an electrical gateway - it's just an electronically controlled switch.