OpenEVSE Build and Review

Excellent video! I'm ordering a kit shortly it's great to have an overview of how the kit goes together! Thank you!

Just found out about this kit, thanks for the video, helped me decide whether or not to buy assembled .

I guess they didn’t offer the molded NEMA 14-XX plug back then. That’s the one that’s missing the neutral so you can use it with a 14-30, 14-50, or 14-60 outlet without changing the plug. You can buy a universal plug from most hardware stores with multiple neutral blades that can be swapped or repositioned to fit 14-30, 14-50, and 14-60… but that kind won’t be sealed against liquids or spiders and such. Correct me if I’m wrong, but the OpenEVSE does not even use neutral so you might as well leave that prong out. Anyway, my criticisms would’ve included price since you could literally buy multiple pre-built EVSEs for that. Heck, you can buy one for the cost of the J1772 Type 1 Plug/Cord alone… with the exact same Dostar plug! Maybe they should’ve designed OpenEVSE to fit one of those enclosures for a quick board-swap. ;) Another criticism is that they sell the J1772 plug with and without the cable but they do not sell the cable without the plug. Just what are you supposed to do with the plug?! They act like you don’t have to buy their assembled cable because they provide assembly instructions for crimping and assembling the plug. Their guide even has separate links for the plug and cable but the plug link is broken and the cable links incorrectly links to the plug. Of course, they also neglect to give you enough info in the guide to look it up the cable yourself. I ended up getting a used plug and cable for $50 to use with a $30 ClipperCreek control board and $20 enclosure since it was about the only way to stay under the $180-$200 price for the cheapest portable Level 2 EVSEs. Even then, I’m pushing the same price as a used AmazingE unit with the exact same control board, especially after including cable glands and wall plugs and such. I want to support OpenEVSE but it seems more expensive than a pre-built unit. Perhaps someone will add cool functionality, like mobile notifications when your car is done charging or triggering your car’s alarm when unplugged like the Volt portable EVSE can do (not sure how that works).

Thanks

Hi Boffin! I'm in the midst of building this kit -- the instructions are pretty confusing as they are for an earlier model, but I'm muddling along. Really appreciated your video, great preview and inspiration. I see that you connected yours to your bench AC (not 240v, I'm guessing) for testing, using some clip leads and any old power cord. I can't quite see how you have that hooked up, but I'd love to do likewise when it's mostly assembled. How would I attach a box intended for 240v to a 120v power cord? I'm very comfortable with small dc voltages (arduino addict here) but AC scares me. Wd love to light up my box and test it before the electrician arrives to hook it up to the 60A breaker!

I was a little disappointed to find that only the hardware is open source, the software consists of compiled hex files. I had hoped I could make my own charging station using an Arduino, and maybe I can still figure it out, but it would have been nice if they had put a simple ino file on their website which you could edit to your specific needs.