240V outlet and charger question

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seethatdotca

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Nov 22, 2021
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In my garage, I have a 240v Nema 6-50R outlet, hooked up to a 40amp breaker which was used by the previous owner for a welder. I'm kind of confused as to what charger to get?

The Schumacher SC1455 has 16 amps and it's fairly cheap. If I change my outlet to a 6-20P, would this charger be recommended and how long would it take to charge at 16 amps?

There are other chargers that are more expensive, I assume it's because they can charge at 32 amps. What would be the difference in charging time between the two?

Thank you, I still have lots to learn about EVs.
 
The charging rate is based on Voltage and Amperage (Wattage).

The travel cord is 12A at 120V, so 1440 Watts (120*12) max. A 16A EVSE at 240V would give 3600 Watts max.

Without knowing what battery you have, you can expect a little under 3 miles of range per 1000W every hour of charging. That 16A charger will give you about 10 miles of range for every hour you charge.

The onboard charger in the car seems to top out around 29A, so with a 30 or 32A EVSE, you're still only going to get 29A * 240V (~7000W). That will give you about 20 miles for every hour of charging.

Before you spend money on a 16A, be aware that a lot of the 12A travel cords actually work on 240V. I know the original one did and I know the newer replacement I got from Ford does as well.

It's still limited to 12A, so it give you ~2900W instead of 3600. I only mention it because 10 miles of range an hour may not be worth paying for when you can get 8 miles with the cost of a dryer plug and a screw terminal receptacle.

Depending on how often you need to charge and how many miles you drive, you may never need a 30A charger. If you do, there are many to choose from ranging from bare bones stuff (Clipper Creek), intelligent connected ones that can track your usage, schedule charging (Juicebox), and cloud connected ones that can adjust charging times to match seasonal changes to the off peak hours of your utility plan, allow your utility to bill EV charging at its own separate rate, and track costs along with at large public charger use (ChargePoint).
 
Thank you for the info, I really appreciate it.

I already have the 240v outlet in my garage so I'm trying to figure out which charger to get for the right price. I don't do a lot of driving, I don't need a super fast charger. I have the 2017 model. The Schumacher model I mentioned is only $300 CDN. Would something else be better?

Do you have a link to the 12a charger so I can compare please?

Thank you.
 
The 12A unit I'm referring to is the cord that packs away in the car and has a regular wall plug. They are included with all the plug-in vehicles.

Converting them was covered here: http://www.myfocuselectric.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4206

Though that specific model has been recalled and replaced with another that is made by Clipper Creek and should be good at 240V without any modifications: http://www.myfocuselectric.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=4483&start=10#p31478

I'd personally do something like this: http://www.myfocuselectric.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=4206&start=40#p28856
 
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