Enphase Energy
M. Lurie
This is one of the best chargers you can buy. It's set up to be plugged in an outlet or hardwired. Due to my county's electric code, having a hardwired unit is critical. The only downside of this unit is it's a 32 amp charger while the new EVs coming out can support 50 amps. I didn't see the value in doubling the price of a charger for the extra amps. I would happily buy Clipper Creek again.
Eric J. Lieberman
Based on the type of unit, that it is, a hardwired unit. I felt that it was best to have it professionally installed for safety's sake.
Customer
I put the HCS-40 on my portable solar trailer so cars can charge anywhere. Super simple install and works perfectly.
MFT_FL
I purchased the plugin version first and then realized that I really needed the hardwired model instead. Return and exchange was easy (although I had to pay return shipping, which was fair). Had my electrician install it. Very simple. We love it. Instead of taking 10-12 hours to charge, it now takes less than 2 hours. MUCH more convenient. Highly recommend this charger.
CLG
I appreciated that my electrician has experience with installing ClipperCreek chargers and had nothing but praise for them. It has been working flawlessly for 3 weeks so far. Since the charger is located close to the garage door under the electrical panel, I installed vinyl-coated bicycle hooks in the ceiling and threaded the 25 foot cable through them to above the location of my vehicle's charging port, using a velcro strip to hang the "nozzle" on a bungee cord - works great. Just need to be sure the bend radius on the cable is not too small at any point.
George
I just bought (leased) a Honda Clarity Electric and figured I would use a combination of commercial charging stations and 120v household current on our driveway. But when I checked with our local utility (Sacramento Municipal Utility District) I discovered SMUD would either 1) give me a check for $599 to cover charging for several years to come or 2) give me an HCS-40P from Clipper Creek.
The HCS-40P is not rated for outdoor use because of the 240v plug, so I bought the HCS-40, which is hard wired in a junction box, directly from Clipper Creek and will use the SMUD rebate to pay for it. It helps, I guess, that Clipper Creek is only about 30 miles from Sacramento.
I downloaded the online manual while I was waiting for the charger and bought all the supplies to install it at Home Depot for about $120. Most of the money was spent on 150 feet of 8 gauge THHN stranded wire (a 50-foot run from the electric panel to the front of our driveway with three individual conductors).
The documentation was very clear and anyone who's even moderately handy can install the charger themselves. If you're uncomfortable inside an electric panel, you can run the conduit and wire up to the panel and then let a pro install the 40 amp twin breaker.
The level 2 charger has made it possible to charge my Clarity in about three hours vs. 19 hours using household current. The fact that it was free is just icing on the cake.
Ocalakid
Very impressed with the simple insulation by my electrician
Looks smart on the garage wall and appears to quickly charge my car.
Rigatoni
This is the third ClipperCreek charger that we've installed. Top notch quality and made in the USA!
dasunst3r
There are no smarts in this thing, but it has a 25' cord (maximum allowed) and up to 7.2 KW in power delivery capability. Plus, it is made in the USA! Their support is top-notch! I emailed them at what must be 3 in the morning their time for advice on altering my installation so that the nice, solid "CLUNK" sound it makes when the contactor operates (normal behavior) doesn't travel to my guest bedroom above my garage, and they CALLED with a thorough answer within less than six hours!
If you are going to install it yourself, make sure you know the permitting requirements and read up on Article 625 of the National Electric Code, 2014 edition. Most notably, plan to pick up a "disconnect" from Home Depot.
Jason
Super simple installation; great instructions; feels like a quality proct all around. Installed it two days ago and so far so good! No need to buy a fancy Wifi charger as the car often includes most of those functions anyways (scheduled charging, status updates, etc.).
Also, there is currently a federal tax credit for installing a (hard wired) EV charging station in your home. I believe you get 30% back up to $1,000.
Mike
Seems great so far! Charging my 2014 Volt no issues, I replaced my 16amp Bosch with this. Looking toward the future for bigger battery cars. Simple install long power line and nice long charge cord.
JosephJE
When I purchased my Nissan Leaf about six months ago, I read a lot about home charging stations before buying this Clipper Creek HCS-40.
I don't have a garage. The unit is mounted on an exterior wall at the end of my driveway. Installation was pretty simple. I used a stud detector to line the unit up with a stud. Two long lag bolts easily attached it to the wall (one at the top and one at the bottom). Those bolts were included in the package. Also included was a "holster" that I mounted above the unit to hold the connector handle.
I have a healthy respect for electricity, so I had a professional electrician finish the installation. The unit's connection cable was more than long enough for him to go through the exterior wall and fish it to my breaker box on the inside wall.
This unit is simple. Lights on the outside panel tell you it has power and when it is charging. It also has two trouble lights to tell you if you have a fault, but I have never experienced a fault.
The unit has no built-in timer or scheduling gadget. I like that. My Leaf's computer allows me to schedule charging for off-peak hours, so I don't want any extraneous features that might present problems in future.
After six months of daily use in all kinds of weather, here are the the things I like: The unit is very well built and impervious to heat, rain, snow and ice. The handle clicks firmly into the holster which protects it. The nice long power cable gives me a lot of flexibility on where I park my car. Regardless of outside temperature, the robust cable is easy to loop back around the unit when I disconnect.
Any cons? Not in my book. I made the right choice. Five stars!
Niyati
I really enjoy having my charger. Make sure you understand you'll need to have it installed by an electrician. It was a bit pricy for me to have it installed because my garage is on the other side of the house from our fuse box so we had to have electrical wires laid all the way across the house. I highly recommend this charger. It was sent easily on time. My friend had recommended it to me as we have the same Volts.
James J. Theis
We love this charger. It was easy to install and it is perfect for our garage. The cable is surprisingly light. We charge our leaf in 3-4 hours from 25%... with the 120v charger it could take 18 hours. It makes some noise but only when charging.
Update: 2 years 9 months of daily x2 use. Our charger started to trip and show a fault light intermittently. It would still charge the car after a trip or two. One quick call to their customer service and they sent a brand new replacement. Very great support.
This unit will last at least 3 years and if it doesn't they will replace it. All you need is your serial number, they know when they shipped it to you.
We moved twice after purchase and they didn't question our new address.
They shipped the new unit and all we had to do is send the old unit back in the provided box.
I will only own ClipperCreek chargers. Very impressed.
Customer
I have had this unit for a month, with daily (and sometimes twice daily) charges, and it has worked flawlessly so far. It came with good installation instructions, and all the hardware needed to mount the unit to my garage wall. Therefore I can't comment on how this unit would perform outside in the elements. My Chevy Volt pulls about 14 amps while charging, so I'm only using less than half the capacity of this unit. Therefore the cord and connector stay cool to the touch. Not sure how it would perform on vehicles that pull more amps, but I suspect it would be fine. The front of the unit (in the area of the ClipperCreek logo) does get warm to the touch, though, but not in a way that concerns me. The cord is plenty long and substantial, but still very flexible (try not to laugh at that comment, lol). When plugging into my car, the unit makes a loud "thunk", but it's not in any way bothersome. It indicates to me that the unit has heavy-duty contactors inside. If you intend to mount this unit outside, it would be nice if it had a light in the connector (like the 120v unit that came with my car), but I wouldn't consider it a deal breaker. Get this one, you won't regret it.
JT75
Charging station works well. No problem with rain so far. Like the holster. Cable seems to be durable. Unit seems solid. No complaints. Great value.
