[dwheat17]

Hello,

I have seen conflicting information on the Clarity and a Level 2 charger. I am not sure I need one per my previous post, but if I do I am confused.

If I have a 240 outlet installed in my garage is that all I need or do I need to purchase a “charging station”?

I read somewhere that the Clarity has the charging component built into the car so all you need to do is supply it with electricity for level 2 charging.

 

[Claire Greene]

Short answer to your question is you need to buy something, a "charging station" or just a 220/240 "cord" to connect your 240 wall receptacle to your car. Most owners purchase an EVSE or what you must be referring as "charging station" to connect to a 240 wall receptacle. Just to be clear, when I say 240 "cord" I don't mean a 240 plug with a lenght of wire and J17443 connector. What I am calling "cord" are what comes with pure electric cars like the Leaf, Bolt,to charge their bigger batteries. It's similar to what came with our Clarity to charge our cars except their charging "cords" are made to handle 240v and ours is a 120v gizmo.

 

[longfam18]

If you are already wired for 220 then you can get away with a simple setup to charge your car. This is what I bought:
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B018A6QK7C/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


My garage already had an outlet that matched the "NEMA 6-20p" outlet in this picture, so I just ordered it, plugged it in, and it worked. It is very basic. Some people on this board have recommended the JuiceBox charging station and I have heard others enjoy their ChargePoint home charging station, but basically all those do is: wire into your existing 20 amp wiring; connect to wifi and track your usage and efficiency; and send you stats and stuff. Maybe they do more? They charge a little faster because they are true 20 amp, I think, whereas the cord I linked above is more like 16 amp. They also might need permits from your city or county if they require any significant electrical work to modify what you currently have.



The cord I bought takes about 3.5 hours to charge my Clarity to full, which I gather is because it's only 16 amps. 3 hours is still better than 20 hours and I don't need all the extra features so I'm happy with what I bought.