New i3 owner from TX

[Nfinitecc]

Hi all, my name is Craig from Houston TX. Unfortunately for me I was involved in a serious auto accident on the 10th, my beloved Tahoe that I put over 160k miles on saved my life that day, but was sad to say...a goner. So, I went out looking for a new, reasonably priced car for my lady to drive, we are a three car household so I agreed to take her 16’ Tacoma and she could get something small and fun to run around town. After 2 days I was almost signing papers on a new Fiat Abarth 500, that car is a blast to drive, but the poor frontal crash test rating combined with the feeling it was just to small to be safe kept me looking. I ran across a BMW i3 at a local car dealer and was instantly interested, I couldn’t get over the unique interior and the materials used. It’s safe to say I was totally sold after one trip. I’m now the owner of a 16’ i3 REX with 7k on the clock. The dealer of course gave me delivery of a car with 5 miles of charge on the battery and a gas can for the REX. I was nervous but she made the 60 miles journey home no problem. I’m currently on the waiting list with my electrician to install a 240 service box in my garage so I can wire up a clipper creek. Anyway sorry to ramble but I’m absolutely blown away by this car and how much fun it is, I hope to add to the community if possible. See y’all around!

[theothertom]

Congrats and welcome.
Just curious, why did you choose Clipper Creek over other brands?

[Nfinitecc]

I chose the clipper creek for the UL certification, various reviews, and I felt good about the fact that clipper creek was selected to pair with Tesla charging stations. Just seemed like a solid choice.

[jadnashuanh]

Clipper Creek has been in the business for about as long as EVSEs have been needed by EVs. Rugged, no-frill devices, made in the USA (which is harder and harder to come by these days). If you want some frills, they may not be for you. Mine's over 4-years old, works as new, and I expect it to continue. ANd, no, I don't work for them or receive any benefit from saying that. At that time four years ago, there weren't all that many that were both made in the USA and had a UL approval.

[theothertom]

Thanks. I'm in the market for a 40 amp EVSE and have researched Clipper Creek and Juice Box pro Lite (the no frills version)
Both are made in the US. JB says they use both domestic and foreign parts, CC says domestic. I'm not sure how you can really tell these days.
I think both are UL approved ?
CC has a 25 foot long charge cord, JB's is 24.
The big deal to me is that JB is $499 and CC is $659. Both with free shipping.

Let me know if I've missed anything,

[jadnashuanh]

People have had good luck with both from what I've read. The JuiceBox didn't have UL approval initially.

[ted99]

I have been using one of the original JB EVSE's for the past 4+ years. It was a "kit" and non-UL rated. Daily use with two Plug-ins and ZERO problems.

[alohart]

I have been using one of the original JB EVSE's for the past 4+ years. It was a "kit" and non-UL rated. Daily use with two Plug-ins and ZERO problems.

Same here.

I ordered my kit with the optional small LCD, wireless remote, and programming cable. This JB was the final version with open-source software, so I have been able to reprogram what is shown on the LCD and the user interface for delayed charging start, the total charging time, the charging current, etc., all controlled by the wireless remote. With our JB far out of range of our WiFi router, I am not able to use the WiFi connectivity and smartphone app offered by later versions.

[TomMoloughney]

Thanks. I'm in the market for a 40 amp EVSE and have researched Clipper Creek and Juice Box pro Lite (the no frills version)
Both are made in the US. JB says they use both domestic and foreign parts, CC says domestic. I'm not sure how you can really tell these days.
I think both are UL approved ?
CC has a 25 foot long charge cord, JB's is 24.
The big deal to me is that JB is $499 and CC is $659. Both with free shipping.

Let me know if I've missed anything,

The price is the biggest difference as you mention. And since the ClipperCreek doesn't really have any distinct advantage, why spend the extra $$? If you want another reason, the JuiceBox is Energy Star rated and the CC isn't.

[alohart]

If you want another reason, the JuiceBox is Energy Star rated and the CC isn't.

I didn't realize that EVSE's were included in the Energy Star program. An Energy Star EVSE consumes ~40% less energy in standby mode in which EVSE's remain ~85% of the time.

Our old JuiceBox kit EVSE is on a switched circuit, so I turn it off whenever it isn't charging our i3. Having its source code, I know that its software executes in a loop continuously, so it almost certainly wouldn't qualify for Energy Star certification. I need to determine whether it would be possible for the CPU to sleep in standby mode and be awakened by a hardware interrupt when plugged into a charging port.