HCS-50 Hardwired EV Charger

Did lots of research but decided on this one. No fuss charging, no settings to mess with, it just works. Car takes care of what it needs. Bought the 40amp and had it professionally installed. Needed additional breakerbox work. Do realize they always require additional amps for safety. The 40amp version needs a 50Amp breaker. I had to supply 80 amps to my breaker due to there being an electric oven that uses a 30amp breaker as well. I also choose the nema outlet so in case I need to replace it I can just unplug it. I may decide to use the dual version one day in case I get an additional electric car.I am very happy with it, it charger my 75kw battery in less than 7 hours. For those who never had EV car, you generally are advised not to charge beyond 80%, and you probably don’t drive it till it’s empty, so maybe till 10%. So that gives you an effective range of about 70% of the total range. In my case that’s only about 5 hours of charging. The EV car normally has settings where you can set it up on when to charge, for example past midnight, to save money by charging only during non peak hours.The cable gets warm during charg8ng but not hot. Mostly it lays on the cold garage floor. I’m in California so we’ll see how hot it gets after the winter is over. This is a good brand I’ve seen used at car dealers. I’d stay away from chargers with all the fancy options, they tend to be flakey. I’ve always believed to get the one single tool for the job instead of getting something that promises to do all.

This review is our initial impression of the ClipperCreek 40 Amps, Level 2, 240 Volts, HCS-50 EV Charger Hardwired. We recently completed major electrification of our house as part of the upgrade, including installing a charger for our 2021 VW ID4. We were perfectly okay with using a 110-volt house current most of the time, but we sometimes had to do two or three charging sessions to top off the vehicle to an 80% charge level depending on vehicle usage. This was an issue when, as any EV owner will tell you, batteries don’t like cold. Also, in the use case was in using the vehicle for road trips and doing a charge to 100% takes a very long time on standard house current, and sitting at the high-speed charger for 30 minutes gets boring after the first ten or so times you do it (if you can find one that works). So why the ClipperCreek:1. Supplied exactly the suitable current required for our ID42. Came in either a plugin or hardwired version3. Indoor or outdoor usage (the electrician greatly appreciated the armored conduit hardwire)4. Simple, simple, simplea. No app neededb. No Bluetooth or WIFIc. Install by an electrician took all of 15 minutesd. It is a straightforward interface - plug it into the vehicle with green lights and charges.Cons:1. Not an intelligent unit – no apps, no talking to it, or wireless connectivity – can’t automatically take advantage of reduced electrical rates, if available2. It might not be the prettiest unit3. Cable does get stiff when it gets coldIt is highly recommended if looking for what appears to be a bulletproof solution for charging your EV.

I chose this unit, in part, because I did not want a "Smart" (aka "Internet of Things") EVSE which could be hacked or might change how it operates if/when the manufacturer goes out of business or stops supporting it. Most "Internet of Things" devices have questionable-to-abysmal communication and privacy safeguards, and nearly all are permanently dependent on the continued operation and good will of their manufacturers.The charging cord is flexible, its J1772 connector feels stout and the included holster works well. The enclosure's integrated cord hanger is convenient to use which prevents the cord being left on the driveway where it could be run over by a car or lawnmower. My EVSE is outside and the status indicator LEDs are hard to see during daylight hours but they show clearly at night--which is when I usually charge the car--without being overly bright. The HCS-40's UL certification is a Good Thing.This EVSE comes with first class Technical Support. A few days after I had the EVSE installed by a very good licensed electrician, it indicated an intermittent ground fault which turned out to be false. (This has occurred once in the 2 weeks since the EVSE was installed.) On my first contact ClipperCreek's Tech Support nailed the cause of the errant indication and provided clear explanations for why it happened, what it meant and how it affects the device's operation. When I confirmed their diagnosis on my second contact, ClipperCreek offered several zero- to low-cost options for preventing the false indication.It might be helpful for EVSE buyers to know that some small home appliances (e.g. from VitaMix and Keurig) can generate sufficient electrical noise in a home's wiring to incorrectly trigger a ground fault indication. This can depend on where such appliances connect into the electrical panel relative to the EVSE and other variables. I do not know if other EVSE's incorrectly indicate ground faults in similar circumstances.Update: The unit has been in service for about 6 weeks now and operates as expected. It is fed from a subpanel in my house, so as of now there appears to be no code-compliant way to prevent the ground fault indications, short of replacing our VitaMix with a less noisy appliance. We get a ground fault indication once every 3-5 times we use the VitaMix. The fault clears after 17 minutes so this brief interruption does not significantly affect the charging process of our Leaf.