HCS-50 NEMA 14-50 Plug EV Charger

I was attracted to this product because of Clipper Creek's on-line reputation for customer service, the fact that it's made in the USA, and the fact that the company's Web site features a female electrician installing one of the units. (Nothing against men or male electricians, I just thought the photo evidenced a forward-thinking attitude.) I chose a plug-in unit, and had an electrician (male - that's all I could find) install an outlet in my garage. The unit arrived earlier than promised. It was well-packaged, came with all hardware, and features a printed manual with mounting instructions. The unit is reasonably light so it wasn't cumbersome to position. I was able to mount it myself easily and it works perfectly. It doesn't have "smart" features like WiFi and a phone app, but the car has that so I can still keep track of charging status. And, isn't life complicated enough already? You should be aware of the fact that the power cable for the wall outlet comes out the bottom and is large and stiff enough that you don't have much flexibility in distance or lateral spacing from the outlet for positioning the unit. If in doubt, don't have the outlet put in until you receive the unit and you or your electrician can verify where the outlet needs to be located. My outlet is roughly knee-high. See photo.

I chose this unit, in part, because I did not want a "Smart" (aka "Internet of Things") EVSE which could be hacked or might change how it operates if/when the manufacturer goes out of business or stops supporting it. Most "Internet of Things" devices have questionable-to-abysmal communication and privacy safeguards, and nearly all are permanently dependent on the continued operation and good will of their manufacturers. The charging cord is flexible, its J1772 connector feels stout and the included holster works well. The enclosure's integrated cord hanger is convenient to use which prevents the cord being left on the driveway where it could be run over by a car or lawnmower. My EVSE is outside and the status indicator LEDs are hard to see during daylight hours but they show clearly at night--which is when I usually charge the car--without being overly bright. The HCS-40's UL certification is a Good Thing. This EVSE comes with first class Technical Support. A few days after I had the EVSE installed by a very good licensed electrician, it indicated an intermittent ground fault which turned out to be false. (This has occurred once in the 2 weeks since the EVSE was installed.) On my first contact ClipperCreek's Tech Support nailed the cause of the errant indication and provided clear explanations for why it happened, what it meant and how it affects the device's operation. When I confirmed their diagnosis on my second contact, ClipperCreek offered several zero- to low-cost options for preventing the false indication. It might be helpful for EVSE buyers to know that some small home appliances (e.g. from VitaMix and Keurig) can generate sufficient electrical noise in a home's wiring to incorrectly trigger a ground fault indication. This can depend on where such appliances connect into the electrical panel relative to the EVSE and other variables. I do not know if other EVSE's incorrectly indicate ground faults in similar circumstances. Update: The unit has been in service for about 6 weeks now and operates as expected. It is fed from a subpanel in my house, so as of now there appears to be no code-compliant way to prevent the ground fault indications, short of replacing our VitaMix with a less noisy appliance. We get a ground fault indication once every 3-5 times we use the VitaMix. The fault clears after 17 minutes so this brief interruption does not significantly affect the charging process of our Leaf.

Simple durable construction. Works good. Installed inside my garage. I have a second EV charging station at my office from another manufacturer and the extra internet information is nice but is problematic at times due to lost WiFi connection. This unit just works. The packaging is very good and unit arrived in perfect condition. Easy installation and very straight forward. I didn't think I would be able to take advantage of the 25' cord at first but I am glad that I have it now. The extra length cord allows me to charge my car if parked outside if needed. The only complaint I would have is the delivery time. I would almost knock off a star because of the delivery time and extra cost but the unit is a good product. The shipping dates were correctly stated on the order and it took the entire time for delivery. Ordered on Oct 7th and delivered on Oct 18th. If in a hurry like I was do not expect it to arrive early on the estimated shipping date. Not an amazon prime item and shipping was $36 bucks extra. Ordered a competitors model and arrived in one day from local Home depot, no shipping charge. I would purchase again and would recommend the unit.

Did lots of research but decided on this one. No fuss charging, no settings to mess with, it just works. Car takes care of what it needs. Bought the 40amp and had it professionally installed. Needed additional breakerbox work. Do realize they always require additional amps for safety. The 40amp version needs a 50Amp breaker. I had to supply 80 amps to my breaker due to there being an electric oven that uses a 30amp breaker as well. I also choose the nema outlet so in case I need to replace it I can just unplug it. I may decide to use the dual version one day in case I get an additional electric car. I am very happy with it, it charger my 75kw battery in less than 7 hours. For those who never had EV car, you generally are advised not to charge beyond 80%, and you probably don’t drive it till it’s empty, so maybe till 10%. So that gives you an effective range of about 70% of the total range. In my case that’s only about 5 hours of charging. The EV car normally has settings where you can set it up on when to charge, for example past midnight, to save money by charging only during non peak hours. The cable gets warm during charg8ng but not hot. Mostly it lays on the cold garage floor. I’m in California so we’ll see how hot it gets after the winter is over. This is a good brand I’ve seen used at car dealers. I’d stay away from chargers with all the fancy options, they tend to be flakey. I’ve always believed to get the one single tool for the job instead of getting something that promises to do all.

This feels like a pretty heavy duty charger. This is my third EVSE, with the first two being a cheaper brand that both failed within a few months of ownership. I hope the Clipper Creek lasts a long time. It's bare-bones and sturdy, and it's definitely built for outdoor use. It came with a side-mount holster which was a big plus. I actually already had this holster, so now I've got 2. I love the side holster, but I don't see them for sale by themselves anymore, which is unfortunate. When you plug the unit in there is a solid loud click when it energizes. There's only 4 lights, power/charging and vehicle/power fault. I wish it was a little thinner and wider. I get the feeling it's designed with pedestal mounts in mind rather than a wall mount. Mounting it is best done when you are installing the outlet. There are no options for placement. The power cord is so short and thick that you need to mount it right on top of the outlet. You can see I was able to bend mind to fit to the side of it, but there was no wiggle room. If you are doing your initial install, do NOT install the outlet before you order this charger - have them both installed at the same time. If you are installing with an existing outlet, be prepared to move your outlet. There are only two screw mounts and it makes you screw them in at an angle. A mounting plate with more screw holes would have been preferred. The lack of flexibility in mounting it was a little disappointing.

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!

This EVSE (electric car charger) has fairly basic functionality, but it wins out in industrial design. The unit has no controls or settings you can change; it is all controlled from the car being charged. Feed it with power from a 40A 240V circuit breaker, and you're ready to charge. What I really do like is the way that the cord storage is integrated into the case, the way the case mounts to the wall, and the separate plug storage holster that holds the plug compactly almost parallel to the wall. Mounted on the side of the house next to the driveway, it's nice to not have that be very obtrusive, or sticking out where it can be damaged. The main case mounts with a pair of lag-type screws (included), vertically aligned on a single stud. They are driven from the front, so there is no need to mess around with measurements or opening the case and risking damage to the weatherproofing. I had to drill pilot holes through my stucco wall, but otherwise the included screws don't even need any pre-drilling. I store the cord in three generous loops around the built-in channel on the top of the case, although I usually only need to pull off two of the loops to get to my car's charging port. I have the plug holster mounted one stud over, to the left of the main case, which works very well. This convenient arrangement makes it much easier to hang the cord and plug up when the car is done charging, and leave the driveway tidy. I was very deliberate about the install process, thinking about how I wanted things arranged before I started drilling, and it still took me less than two hours to get it installed and operational. All that said, I do wish that this unit had some sort of connectivity for monitoring and programmability for my electric company's Time of Use plan. It makes much more sense for that programming to be on the fixed EVSE side, rather than in the car (as in the Nissan Leaf) which may use other chargers in other locations.

I did a large amount of research for 3 weeks looking into Level 2 charger EVSE's for our LEAF and chose the ClipperCreek for several reasons: #1 The track record of ClipperCreek. They have been making EVSE equipment for a long time with a proven track record. #2 The ClipperCreek products meet not just the SAE 1772 and UL Listed requirements but also NEC 625. After my research I would never plug in a EVSE into my LEAF without knowing if it met the NEC 625 standard. #3 It is U.S. Made in California by hand and tested 3 times before it leaves the factory. It's not made in some unknown place in another country. #4 It comes standard with a 3 Year Warranty. No this is not a fancy EVSE with a retractable cord (which isn't an issue) or a wifi enabled, LED clad fashion statement. It is a no frills high quality EVSE with certifications to back it up. The LEAF communicates with it perfectly and the LEAF charging timer works with it too. (NEC 625 Compatible) There are no buttons to push on the unit which is nice, just plug it in and go on with your day. This EVSE is highly portable, light, durable, and fits behind the drivers seat on the floor or in the trunk easily. The NEMA 14-50 plug makes fairgrounds or campgrounds places to charge. My one and only slight issue is that the wall plug is very short. It is however, replaceable with a longer cord if you were to get in a bind mounting it. The 25ft charging cable is the right size for a 2 car garage. The short length does come in handy in the the aformentioned places and for transporting it in the car though. All together the best EVSE for the money. I am impressed.