Compatibility with SPX CHargers

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Dsinned

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 6, 2012
Messages
1,213
Location
San Jose, CA
FIrst post . . . I'm seriously considering buying or leasing one of these marvels. I already have an SPX Power Express (Level 2 EVSE, 240V, 24A, single phase AC output) in my garage used to charge a Chevy VOLT. This charger is not listed by Toyota as known to have "basic" compatibility with the RAV4 EV's onboard charger. Does anybody KNOW if I should be concerned?
 
The leviton 40 amp charger is just faster. The RAV4 EV battery is about 4 times larger then the Chevy Volt therefore it needs more time to charge using your 24 amp unit. If you have a 50 amp circuit ( that’s 8 gauge wired ) and about $2,000 for the leviton charger, the RAV4 EV can be fully recharged at a discount rate between midnight and 6 in the morning. If you use the extended range charge ( about 110 miles range if you have a light accelerator foot ) and the battery is fully discharged, you’ll need 6 hours to recharge a RAV4 EV or 12 hours with your charger.
 
That's correct, however if the SPX Power Express is 100% compatible, I may actually upgrade it from 24A to 32A to speed up my overnight charging should I get the RAV4 EV. I already have a 40A circuit I can use for that purpose. Doing this would allow me to do occasional "extended charging" in ~7.5 hours, ideally from midnight to 7:30am, thereby mostly using PG&E's "off-peak" rates at my residence in Northern CA. Typically, I would only do the RAV4 EV's recommended recharge, which can be completed in about 6.25 hours.

I have a call into SPX to try and determine if their product does in fact support the RAV4 EV, whether I upgrade it to 32A or not. This is what I do not yet know!
 
I tried to charge our rav4 EV on the SPX chargers at work back in September and I got the warning light. Took it to dealer. Dealer had to call corp and corp had to call Tesla. I found out a lot of info and I also now have a good in with Toyota corp. I have also talked to the people at SPX and they have said the 2012 Rav4 EV does not work with their charger and it is up to Toyota to do anything about it.
 
Damchi said:
I have also talked to the people at SPX and they have said the 2012 Rav4 EV does not work with their charger and it is up to Toyota to do anything about it.

I was afraid of that . . . bummer!!!

Just what we need . . . . sounds like the beginnings of a "pissing contest". :roll:

Odds are that Toyota will not do anything either because if they fix the problem on their end, they will piss off Leviton in the process. I guess I should just wait and see what happens. Both companies have something to lose before ANYTHING is done about it. The really frustrating thing is that somebody is not really supporting the SAE J1772 standard properly, and it is probably a S/W glitch and therefore should be relatively easy to fix.

If you wouldn't mind can you PM me with your insider contacts and/or keep me up dated if you hear anything more about this.

THANKS for the feedback and FWIW, I would of bought my new RAV4 EV anyway. It is just too good of a car to let something like this get in the way. ;)
 
As an alternative, I am now looking into installing a Leviton EVB32-8ML Evr-Green 320 7.7 Kilowatt Charging Station with 18-Foot Cable. It's a "plug-in" model, rated for 240V 32A (7.7KW), which is 80% of the maximum allowed by the RAV4 EV. Amazon.com has them for under $1100 (free shipping). There is a Leviton outlet wiring kit you can buy separately for about $90 also available at Amazon.

It should be 100% compatible with the RAV4 EV, because it is made by Leviton, but is NOT the specific model(s) recommended by Toyota.

Does anyone have THIS particular charger (or Leviton EVB32-5ML, w/25' cord) that can confirm its compatibility?
 
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