[GregBrew]

I'm picking up my 2020 LT in a couple of weeks and I'm waiting for the quote from the electrician to wire a 240 outlet.
I'm thinking of a Mustart 40 amp charger.
Does anyone have any experience with these?
Is it worth getting a 40 amp if the Bolt handles 32?

Wire for a 50A circuit, and run all four wires: HOT, HOT, NEUTRAL and GROUND. 50A will give a little future-proofing, and the incremental cost of more/bigger wire and conduit will not be a deal-buster. You can only draw 40A from a 50A circuit for a constant load, according to NEC guidelines. EVSEs typically don't need NEUTRAL, but run it anyway to allow for future flexibility for the circuit. You can't extract 120V from a 240V circuit without a NEUTRAL.

 

[drdiesel1]

My 7 year old Clipper Creek died yesterday. I just ordered another CC.
They make a good product. Lets see how long this one lasts.

 

[Duke Woolworth]

I am getting ready to install a level 2 home charger in my garage, so that I can charge my new 2020 Bolt EV Premier overnight.
I was thinking of ordering a Clipper Creek HCS - 40, as soon as I confirm with the electrician that the line from the house to the garage can handle 40 Amps. However, I see that Electrify America sells a home charging unit for $449 ( the HCS - 40 is $565 )

Does anyone have any experience with either of these 2 units ? Anyone know why the Clipper Creek unit is so much more expensive ? Thanks to all. Jim

I don't know how much current the Bolt's 14/3 cable can handle. We get along fine with a 240V 20A circuit in our garage. No charger needed, and full battery in the morning. Only needed an adapter for the factory cable to the garage outlet, in this case for a welder.

 

[ga2500ev]

I don't know how much current the Bolt's 14/3 cable can handle. We get along fine with a 240V 20A circuit in our garage. No charger needed, and full battery in the morning. Only needed an adapter for the factory cable to the garage outlet, in this case for a welder.

The amperage of the OEM EVSE doesn't change when using a 240V adapter. It's still 12 amps. 14/3 cable has no problem with that amperage.

ga2500ev

 

[RichCapeCod]

My 7 year old Clipper Creek died yesterday. I just ordered another CC.
They make a good product. Lets see how long this one lasts.

I am fully aware that Clipper Creek owes you nothing on a seven year old unit. Just wondered if you've considered asking them about the unit with an eye toward repair?

Rich

 

[roseberry]

I don't know how much current the Bolt's 14/3 cable can handle. We get along fine with a 240V 20A circuit in our garage. No charger needed, and full battery in the morning. Only needed an adapter for the factory cable to the garage outlet, in this case for a welder.

What I think you're referring to as the "Bolt's 14/3 cable" is called an EVSE, in this case the EVSE that came new with the car. Like most EVSEs, it supplies a single current level, in this case 12 amps. As I understand it, the actual charger is in the vehicle when you're using Level 1 or 2 or in other words, ordinary AC power and that charger in the Bolt is limited to 32 amps and 240v. Many folks like you get along fine with 12 amps but if you drive more, or want to limit charging to certain hours, you need to speed things up and you can do that up to the 32 amp limit of the onboard charger.

 

[drdiesel1]

I am fully aware that Clipper Creek owes you nothing on a seven year old unit. Just wondered if you've considered asking them about the unit with an eye toward repair?

Rich

No I have not. I need my car and have no time to waste getting my charger back.
I guess I could contract them about a repair after I install my new one. Thanks!

 

[RichCapeCod]

No I have not. I need my car and have no time to waste getting my charger back.
I guess I could contract them about a repair after I install my new one. Thanks!

I believe them to be a good company. You just might wind up with a nice, refurbished, back-up level 2 charger from them.

Just a thought,

Rich

 

[GregBrew]

The amperage of the OEM EVSE doesn't change when using a 240V adapter. It's still 12 amps. 14/3 cable has no problem with that amperage.

ga2500ev

Just a point of clarification: The OEM EVSE defaults to 8A on 120V. You can temporarily change that to 12A at 120V in the Infotainment settings. At 240V, the OEM EVSE only charges at 12A.

 

[Sean Nelson]

Just a point of clarification: The OEM EVSE defaults to 8A on 120V.

To clarify the clarification: it's not the EVSE that defaults to 8A, it's the car. The EVSE always advertises that 12A is available whether it's plugged into 120V or 240V, but at 120V the car won't draw more than 8A unless you specifically tell it to.

 

[ga2500ev]

Just a point of clarification: The OEM EVSE defaults to 8A on 120V. You can temporarily change that to 12A at 120V in the Infotainment settings. At 240V, the OEM EVSE only charges at 12A.

That's not correct. The Bolt defaults to 8A on 120V, not the EVSE. The EVSE always offers 12A at both 120V and 240V.

ga2500ev

 

[ga2500ev]

That's not correct. The Bolt defaults to 8A on 120V, not the EVSE. The EVSE always offers 12A at both 120V and 240V.

Sorry Sean, I posted a reply before reading to response.

ga2500ev

 

[GregBrew]

To clarify the clarification: it's not the EVSE that defaults to 8A, it's the car. The EVSE always advertises that 12A is available whether it's plugged into 120V or 240V, but at 120V the car won't draw more than 8A unless you specifically tell it to.

I stand corrected. Unfortunately, the interface won't allow me to edit my post to reflect the correction.

 

[drdiesel1]

I stand corrected. Unfortunately, the interface won't allow me to edit my post to reflect the correction.

Just do us all a huge favor Remember this!

 

[JamesH]

I use the old Nissan Leaf charger (can be found cheap on ebay). If you are handy it is pretty easy to upgrade to a level 2 unit (there are videos and step by step tutorials online). I have this plugged into a 30 amp outlet and have had no issues over five years and three cars (2013 Leaf, 2014 Volt, 2020 Bolt).
Also, I enjoy the utility of taking it with me on overnight trips to friends/family and being able to fully charge overnight. Takes about 2 minutes to remove for travel.
If/when I purchase a new one, it will be a Clipper Creek (which is where I purchased the handy holster).

 

[GregBrew]

I use the old Nissan Leaf charger (can be found cheap on ebay). If you are handy it is pretty easy to upgrade to a level 2 unit (there are videos and step by step tutorials online). I have this plugged into a 30 amp outlet and have had no issues over five years and three cars (2013 Leaf, 2014 Volt, 2020 Bolt).
Also, I enjoy the utility of taking it with me on overnight trips to friends/family and being able to fully charge overnight. Takes about 2 minutes to remove for travel.
If/when I purchase a new one, it will be a Clipper Creek (which is where I purchased the handy holster).

View attachment 29339 View attachment 29340

I also have one of those units, and had it modified for 240V by a third party in about 2003. I simply didn't want to deal with reverse-engineering it myself, as at that time, there was zero info about it available. It's good for 16A at 240V, or 3.8kW.

It, a 100' #12AWG extension cord and a bunch of plug adapters, permanently resides in my sub-trunk.

 

[ARob]

I joined Costco so I could get their Siemens VersiCharge LVL 2 Universal Electric Vehicle Charger for $400. Installation at my house here in Eugene, OR cost $1220. I got an $500 rebate from our electrical utility. I just got from the Feds a tax break of $366 on the charger and of course the $1750 for the car itself. I figured the car and charger thus cost a total of $26195, a fact for anyone out there who is still looking into the cost of an electric vehicle. Purchase was in fall of 2019.

I've been using VersiCharge for 2+ years. So far, ok... biggest complaint is scheduled charging often causes the EVSE to fault, so I use immediate charge mode.

 

[KrazyEd]

I bought a Nissan Leaf charger back when I got my 2012 Volt. Overkill at the time, but, I knew I would be driving EVs for a while so decided to " future proof "
as much as possible. With first generation EVs having such short range and lack of infrastructure, I put a 14-50 end on it so that I could take it on the road
if necessary and use camp grounds. This worked well when I bought my 2014 Focus Electric from Santa Ana and had to drive it back to Vegas. Ended up
driving my Civic Hybrid down there with an 8.5 KW Generator in the trunk. Only needed it once in Baker. I have a friend here in Vegas who runs BSA Electronics
and has several products that he makes or sells. His pet is the " Dryer Buddy ". If you presently have an outlet for your dryer this will plug in and you can use
both Dryer and EVSE with one outlet. It will only allow one unite a a time to be operational. He also makes / sells various EVSEs so you can tell him what
you have and he can tell you what is best.

BSA Electronics

Custom built Level 2 Electric Vehicle Charging Station's for less than half of comparable units from large corporations! Rainproof, portable, customizable!

www.bsaelectronics.com

 

[Rainystateguy]

Message deleted by author

 

[Tom&SarahInYpsi]

I have a no frills 40amp Juice Box. I have the plug in and it’s been flawless for 4.5 years. No need to get all the WiFi stuff, your bolt application will talk to your phone.

Just to clarify one of your points, tmsimmons56, I believe the Bolt (just acquired a 2020 Bolt Prem, myself) will only provide the information you indicate if the owner is paying for the related OnStar service package. Someone out there who knows better should feel free to correct my misunderstanding, as I am a new owner!