"Occasional Use" charger - how occasional?

I'm looking to purchase a pre-owned 2017 REX in the next month or so. My daily commute is 35 miles round trip, so I may be able to get away with just the occasional use charger and a 110v line in my garage. I should be able to top off at my office daily, but this may be costly.

My question is when I see the term "occasional use", I don't know exactly what that means. Is it recommended to only use this method of charging occasionally due to potential harm from daily use? COuld the charger "burnt out" from regular use? I know it's much slower than a 240v charger, but if I plug in nightly, the car should receive at least 10 hours of charging each night = 30 - 40 miles of range. This should be fine for my current needs, unless there is a reason aside from speed of charge for not using the OCU every night.

I don't know why they call it "occasional use" rather than "slow." No, it's fine to use it every day. It's built well, doesn't get very warm, and works at lower currents / voltages than level 2 chargers. Really, it's not much different than any other electrical device -- if it burns out, replace it.

I charge 8 hours a day at work on my "occasional use" charger, then fill in some gaps at home. When I need a quick boost every once in a while, I visit a pay charger for 30 minutes. I could install a level 2 charger at home, but because I'm sipping my employer's juice for free, I like my current arrangement.

"Current Arrangement!" Hah!

I have been charging about 99% of the time with my "occasional use" charger for over 3 years. No problems thus far.

I think they labeled it "Occasional Use" simply because it is a very slow charge using 110v. Cord should not be a problem using it long term. the socket is another story. Good idea to replace any cheap/old builder-grade plug-in receptacle with a new, heavy-duty hospital grade receptacle (available at the big-box home improvement stores). An old receptacle with worn connectors can overheat.

Thank you for all comment so far - very helpful! I thought this was the case, but I agree - naming it "occasional use" raises some unnecessary flags. Wish me luck in my search!

"Occasional" could be lost in translation.

For instance, my Audi wagon didn't come with a way to close the liftgate from the driver's seat, so I purchased and installed the Kufatec (German company) "Comfort Hatch Module."

What a weird name!

Then here comes the i3 with "Comfort Mode" used to indicate the car isn't in Eco mode (which everybody seems to understand).

So the same way "Comfort" stands in for something between "luxury" and "convenience" (I think?), maybe "Occasional" has a similar veiled, or at least misunderstood, meaning of "inconvenient" / "non-preferred"?

FWIW, I bought one of these to use as a portable weather/dust cap on my OUC (not screwed down):

www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07F119GBF/

My OUC has been sitting outdoors in the elements since May, and gets used every other work day to charge the car.....

The OUC... I believe they're built by Delphi. They're well-made units. I ran mine on a daily basis for 18 months.

It's commonly called a "charger" but to be technically correct, your OUC is a 110V EVSE (Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment). All EVSEs are, effectively, a smart power switch. The "charger" is internal to the car.

When you plug an EVSE into a vehicle, there is negotiation between both in terms of how much the car will draw and how much the EVSE will supply. Once that's determined, the EVSE supplies AC.

I believe the formula is (at 110V) 3 miles of range are delivered per hour of charging. If you're driving 35 miles roundtrip from a full battery, your OUC should need 9-10 hours to replenish.

Thank you all again!

In the USA, with the 120vac 'normal' supplies, if your battery was nearly depleted, overnight, you probably would not get a full charge by morning. It's a bit better where the 'normal' voltage is 220-240 or so. If your drain on the battery isn't too much, you should be able to get it to full in the morning. If you wanted to go out that evening, you may not. Also, if you use the departure time and have it precondition the cabin, I've seen mine draw over 20A (at 240vac) during the peak when it started with a full battery. That probably means that either it won't try to warm the batteries, or, you'd not leave with a full battery. So, it's one of those things...it can work for many people, but it may not. You won't hurt it unless you let the battery charge get way low and it's REALLY cold out and let things cool off before plugging in. The battery warming is about a 1Kw load, and depending on how cold it is and whether you have a heat pump or not, warming up the cabin can take quite a bit, too.

Occasional use means emergency. It stays in the frunk and sits there. That's it. There's no real use for it if you're using your car daily as a commuter. You probably won't be charging it from empty, but if you did, expect it to take 13-14 hours. Yes really. I did that while I was setting up my EVSE. Although some people, like one of the owners here posted, can get away with charging at Level 1 as their only charging method, that's not going to be practical for most applications. If it doesn't drive you crazy, each to their own.

Some people shy away from EV's b/c of the perceived inconvenience factor. If you take an EVSE into your budget and just charge daily on Level 2 at home, it's nothing you really need to think about. Just charge when you get out of your car and you have a full "tank" in the morning.

I wouldn't recommend an EV for anyone who doesn't have either Level 2 charging at home or reliable access at work. Of course there are people who buy Teslas with no intention of setting up Level 2 charging at home and rely on taking your public charging space. Yes, that's me venting about owners who use public charging stations when they only use 1/4 of their car's full range daily. Ugh. Okay, end of rant.

sipabit said:

Occasional use means emergency. It stays in the frunk and sits there. That's it. There's no real use for it if you're using your car daily as a commuter.

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So that's a load of nonsense. It's not a roadside flare or temporary donut spare tire. It's a charger, and it doesn't wear out or catch fire after 10 uses.

sipabit said:

You probably won't be charging it from empty, but if you did, expect it to take 13-14 hours. Yes really.

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On the US on 120v, you're short. Try 32 hours.

sipabit said:

If it doesn't drive you crazy, each to their own.

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That's more like it. It's not for everyone, but it works.

You know what I mean about the charger. That's just what it's referred to in the case that you have no other method of charging. Although some people use it as that, it's not meant to be the primary charging source.

I forgot to clarify the battery size. On my 60ah, it's about 13-14 hours if I remember correctly to full charge from zero on Level 1 using a 110 outlet.

Speaking of the OUC "living in the frunk," that's exactly where my 120v AC charger lives, even while charging. It takes me a minute to plug in, and about the same to unplug and coil it up. Yes, less convenient than having a Level 2 at the ready at home, but not to any significant degree. In the second picture, you can see my cords coming out of the gap between the hood and the windshield.

I do have the intention of replacing the stock 12A unit with an aftermarket 15A unit to get an extra 30% boost while at work (33% charge on a 94Ah battery over 8 hours, or about 40 miles of range) and to eventually install a Level 2 at home. but honestly, this situation is working fine.

There are at least three other EV owners in my parking lot that I've spotted doing the same, and I presume more in our main lot,. My employer is generous for allowing us to do this, and a handful of cars sipping juice at 120v certainly lightens the load vs. a bank of Level 2 charging stations (one of which we have in our main lot, for free, but is currently out of order).

sipabit said:

On my 60ah, it's about 13-14 hours if I remember correctly to full charge from zero on Level 1 using a 110 outlet.

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I think it's worse than that. 2014 i3's included a 12 A OUC which was replaced sometime during the 2015 model year with a 10 A OUC. Charging efficiency at 120 V 10 A is ~88%. Assuming the battery pack's full capacity to be 18.8 kWh, 18.8 kWh / 0.88 = 21.4 kWh of input energy would be required. 120 V 10 A = 1.2 kW of charging power. Assuming no charge power tapering, the time required to fill this 60 Ah battery pack would be 21.4 kWh / 1.2 kW = 17.8 h. With charge power tapering as the charge level nears full, the time required to charge a 60 Ah battery pack from empty to full would be over 18 hours, maybe closer to 19 hours.