HCS-40 Hardwired EV Charger

I was attracted to this product because of Clipper Creek's on-line reputation for customer service, the fact that it's made in the USA, and the fact that the company's Web site features a female electrician installing one of the units. (Nothing against men or male electricians, I just thought the photo evidenced a forward-thinking attitude.) I chose a plug-in unit, and had an electrician (male - that's all I could find) install an outlet in my garage. The unit arrived earlier than promised. It was well-packaged, came with all hardware, and features a printed manual with mounting instructions. The unit is reasonably light so it wasn't cumbersome to position. I was able to mount it myself easily and it works perfectly. It doesn't have "smart" features like WiFi and a phone app, but the car has that so I can still keep track of charging status. And, isn't life complicated enough already? You should be aware of the fact that the power cable for the wall outlet comes out the bottom and is large and stiff enough that you don't have much flexibility in distance or lateral spacing from the outlet for positioning the unit. If in doubt, don't have the outlet put in until you receive the unit and you or your electrician can verify where the outlet needs to be located. My outlet is roughly knee-high. See photo.

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.

Simple durable construction. Works good. Installed inside my garage. I have a second EV charging station at my office from another manufacturer and the extra internet information is nice but is problematic at times due to lost WiFi connection. This unit just works. The packaging is very good and unit arrived in perfect condition. Easy installation and very straight forward. I didn't think I would be able to take advantage of the 25' cord at first but I am glad that I have it now. The extra length cord allows me to charge my car if parked outside if needed. The only complaint I would have is the delivery time. I would almost knock off a star because of the delivery time and extra cost but the unit is a good product. The shipping dates were correctly stated on the order and it took the entire time for delivery. Ordered on Oct 7th and delivered on Oct 18th. If in a hurry like I was do not expect it to arrive early on the estimated shipping date. Not an amazon prime item and shipping was $36 bucks extra. Ordered a competitors model and arrived in one day from local Home depot, no shipping charge. I would purchase again and would recommend the unit.

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.