The Freebie EV Charger — Lessons Learned by a Green Samaritan

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By Janis Petzel

Long ago, for a review giveaway far, far away, the Autel Company offered a free EV charger from their company to CleanTechnica. CleanTechnica in turn offered it to the first subscriber willing to write a review about the equipment. To my surprise, and possibly to Autel’s chagrin, I was the lucky recipient. Eventually, I will review the charger, but until it is hooked up, the review will have to wait. And wait. Getting the charger installed has been a lesson in frustration and failures to connect in a more human way. But there is a happy ending in sight.

The Autel charger is a sleek, attractive Level 2 charger, which I would be happy to have in my garage to charge my 2019 Nissan Leaf. (No judgement, please — I live on an island in the boonies of Maine. The Leaf was the only EV we could easily get our hands on and maintain back then. It has been just fine for our needs, but I know opinions differ among CleanTechnica readers about the Leaf.) Right now, we charge the Leaf via a regular 110 wall plug and portable charging cord. A dedicated charger would be a step up.

But being the community-oriented Greenie that I am, I had hoped to share the windfall of the free Autel charger with my fellow islanders, to encourage more people to consider EVs as a viable option for themselves.

Our island community has a small town center with parking connecting the Island Market grocery story, the post office, and the Second Baptist Church, all with access to electricity. Nearby, there is an 8-bed assisted living facility which is a major employer in town, and the town offices. I thought surely one of these places would jump at the chance for a free charger.

One by one, I offered the EV charger to these organizations (except the post office). It took time to figure out what info they needed besides the specs for the unit. The church declined it (even when I offered to pay for the electrician) because they were afraid of being overwhelmed by requests to use it and they couldn’t figure out how to manage the cost of the electricity. They are on a tight budget. Their congregation consists mainly of retired people and diminishes with every obituary.

The town manager was afraid of EV fires if the charger was too close to the building, which houses several gas or diesel-powered emergency fire and ambulance vehicles, even though the head of Public Safety drives a plug-in hybrid, and even though the town supports an active Energy Committee. They also didn’t want to pay for a pedestal at the back of the parking lot.

The assisted living facility couldn’t see any farther into the future than “no one here drives an EV.” They did, however, want the EV charger for their Silent Auction fund-raiser, but I declined that option. I wanted the charger to be out in the community, not in a wealthy person’s home (that’s who bids at the auctions).

The Island Market grocery store was interested, but the owners were so swamped with work that it was difficult to pin them down.

So, I gave up offering it to others. It would go in my garage, IF I could get an electrician. The one guy that had someone answering his phone was booked out nine months. The guy who worked on my daughter’s house an hour away agreed to send someone, then stopped responding to texts.

I was stymied. So, I gave the Island Market one more try. Sky Purdy, the owner with his wife Marianne, had a free minute to talk to me. He was thrilled to have the charger but had to wait until the next day to accept it because he had to unload a truckful of frozen food.

Lessons learned? Don’t assume free will be the ticket to EV adoption. Also, never give up.

So, thank you Autel for donating your EV charger for review. As soon as Sky and Marianne get the charger installed, they will let me plug in to test it out. Stay tuned for a review.

If you’re in the market for an EV charger, you can check out Autel’s products here:

Brand Guarantee: Free Shipping and 3-Year Warranty

Charge Faster: Up to 40A, creating 9.6kW of power for increased charging speed. Adjustable from 6 to 40 Amps for customized charging.
Charge Smarter: Set schedules easily, monitor sessions, and access details. Enhance your daily experience and simplify your life. Works with Alexa.
Flexible Installation: Enjoy Flexible Installation with Extended 2.63ft Cable and Outdoor Peace with NEMA 4X Weather Resistance.