Max current on L1?

[Tomasz]

HI, anybody knows what would be maximum current i3 would draw from 110V outlet?
I have a 20A line available at work and I could get myself a Clipper Creek ACS-20 station, but the question is - will it work any faster than factory cable?

 

[jelloslug]

HI, anybody knows what would be maximum current i3 would draw from 110V outlet?
I have a 20A line available at work and I could get myself a Clipper Creek ACS-20 station, but the question is - will it work any faster than factory cable?

Yes it will. The ACS-20 will output around 1.9 kW compared to 1.4 kW for the unit included with the car.

 

[Tomasz]

Thanks!

 

[jadnashuanh]

There are inherent inefficiencies when charging at L1 verses L2 in the conversion process. The unit you indicated is hardwired. If you need to hardwire it, why not go with a L2 unit? The labor is the same. Depending on how far you have to go to get to work, bumping form 1.4Kw to 1.9Kw may still not fully charge the vehicle while there, but a typical L2 unit would.

FWIW, the units only make available 80% of the fused supply, so a 20A unit provides a max of 16A (based on USA codes). The EVSE that comes with the car is designed to plug into a 15/20A circuit, and since it comes with a 15A plug, can only provide a max of 12A.

I like my Clipper Creek L2 unit, but there are some other plug-in 120/240vac units that are more flexible if you want to buy a portable one. The only L2 CC unit that's L2 that plugs in is designed for 230vac/50Hz. It might work on USA power, but the power supply may get hot that drives the internal electronics - you'd want to call them if you wished to use it on a USA circuit.

 

[Tomasz]

There are inherent inefficiencies when charging at L1 verses L2 in the conversion process. The unit you indicated is hardwired. If you need to hardwire it, why not go with a L2 unit? The labor is the same.

For the simple reason that I have L1 20A line already in place and no chance to upgrade it to L2 (for various reasons other than labor). And why would I need to hardwire it? Just because it's delivered without power cord doesn't mean I can't use one with plug on the other end.

 

[AviatorMan]

There are inherent inefficiencies when charging at L1 verses L2 in the conversion process. The unit you indicated is hardwired. If you need to hardwire it, why not go with a L2 unit? The labor is the same.

For the simple reason that I have L1 20A line already in place and no chance to upgrade it to L2 (for various reasons other than labor). And why would I need to hardwire it? Just because it's delivered without power cord doesn't mean I can't use one with plug on the other end.

And the actual inherent inefficiencies have been shown to be quite minor. L1 is great is your driving pattern works with it. It certainly does for me.

 

[jadnashuanh]

The unit may or may not still meet UL requirements - IOW, if it wasn't tested as a plug-in device, technically, use should not pass code. While you may not care, your place of business should. Check with Clipper Creek.

If that plug is the only one on that circuit, switching the end to a two-pole 20A breaker and swapping the plug for a 20A 240vac one would double your power available.

 

[Tomasz]

The unit may or may not still meet UL requirements - IOW, if it wasn't tested as a plug-in device, technically, use should not pass code. While you may not care, your place of business should. Check with Clipper Creek.

If that plug is the only one on that circuit, switching the end to a two-pole 20A breaker and swapping the plug for a 20A 240vac one would double your power available.

The outlet is the only one on the circuit breaker but as I've said above - hell freezes over before I get the permission to do anything to that circuit. All I can do is plug something using 5-20 plug and be happy that I got that much. Hence my original question if the car will draw 16A once instructed to do. Because if not there is no point in spending money on new EVSE (CC or any other brand).

 

[jadnashuanh]

Generally, the EVSE announces how much power it has available, and the car then decides how much it wants to take up to that limit. The i3 MIGHT be programmed to limit it to 12A on level 1, but I think that would be short-sighted. If you select a reduced amount, it (if I remember correctly) limits the output based on the menu settings if you select reduced power, otherwise, uses the full amount available. This was included since the EVSE might not be the only thing on that circuit so that you didn't always keep popping the CB.