Are all EV cables equal????

[vdn]

Having a charger installed on Wednesday and I've gone for untethered, to give me options on length and future proof also.

Looking at cables, I'm after a 3 phase 10 metre type 2 to 2... and the prices vary hugely. Is there such a thing as a crap cable? - as I'm happy to buy quality, but I don't want to waste money. Amazon have some brands I've never heard of for good money: 'EzgoGo', 'Bokman' and 'Goneo'.

Has anyone had experience of / used the above brands and are they any good?

[gangzoom]

Yes, you need specific cables if you want to hit say 22KW AC charging. I don't know how the car/charger knows which cable can/cannot support > 7KW charging though.

[frisbee]

gangzoom said:

Yes, you need specific cables if you want to hit say 22KW AC charging. I don't know how the car/charger knows which cable can/cannot support > 7KW charging though.

My car and cable physically don't have the pins/sockets for the other phases. You can plug a 3 phase cable in but there would be nothing to actually connect to.

[TheRainMaker]

gangzoom said:

Yes, you need specific cables if you want to hit say 22KW AC charging. I don't know how the car/charger knows which cable can/cannot support > 7KW charging though.

The pins won't be connected on a single-phase cable; the car will know.

[P675]

I'd go for a reputable brand like Mennekes. Amazon seller isn't going to care if your cable connector melts into the car socket or something.

[GT6k]

Maybe a stupid question but is it a 3-phase charger and what is your cars 3 phase AC charging rate?

[vdn]

GT6k said:

Maybe a stupid question but is it a 3-phase charger and what is your cars 3 phase AC charging rate?

If it a stupid question, then consider me stupid because, I don't even know! The installer just said he'd install a charger that can operate at both 22kw and the normal 7kw and to get a 3 phase cable as the car will simply take what it needs and nothing more.

I've no idea about any of this stuff as I steered clear of electric / hybrid as long as I could. On the plus side, I'll admit I'm enjoying running on electric.

I did end up buying a cheap 10m cable off of amazon as the reviews all seemed very good. A Bokman, whoever they are.

[GT6k]

Without knowing the car and the charger it's not possible to make any recommendation.

[vdn]

GT6k said:

Without knowing the car and the charger it's not possible to make any recommendation.

Car is a Range Rover p550e / and the charger is a Zappi 'Multiphase' untethered charger.

[Mutts]

I've got the standard 5m cable that came with my i3, i then bought a 10m Type 2 to Type 2 cable so i can leave my car at top of the drive and still charge. Cost me £210 for the 10m though that was 4yrs ago. Its nearly twice the thickness of the OEM cable.

[Gone fishing]

vdn said:

GT6k said:

Maybe a stupid question but is it a 3-phase charger and what is your cars 3 phase AC charging rate?

If it a stupid question, then consider me stupid because, I don't even know! The installer just said he'd install a charger that can operate at both 22kw and the normal 7kw and to get a 3 phase cable as the car will simply take what it needs and nothing more.

I've no idea about any of this stuff as I steered clear of electric / hybrid as long as I could. On the plus side, I'll admit I'm enjoying running on electric.

I did end up buying a cheap 10m cable off of amazon as the reviews all seemed very good. A Bokman, whoever they are.

Based on this you need a 32amp 3 phase cable giving a max of 22kw

The car almost certainly won’t be able to take all that, but your alternate options are a single phase 32a cable which can deliver 7kw, or a 16a 3 phase which can deliver 11kw. The problem with the former is that if you do have 3 phase, you’re not making the most out of it, and the problem with the latter is if you don’t have 3 phase, you’ll only get 3.7 kw or so,

[ian_c_uk]

vdn said:

Car is a Range Rover p550e / and the charger is a Zappi 'Multiphase' untethered charger.

It would appear from a quick Google search, that the car will only take single phase / 7.2kw, so unless you are future proofing (and you have three phase behind the charger) then it would be a waste to purchase "three phase" as you won't be making use of it.

It may also be heavier and less easy to coil, so actually be a negative experience compared to a single phase cable.

[smallpaul]

I don't think what you're doing is bad in terms of future proofing....

But unless you spend optional extras on a Porsche Taycan or similar. Or purchase a specific model of Renualt zoe. Then you're never, ever going to see 22kw home charging. The most you'll see on a 3phase charger is 11kw. And even less power on a hybrid car.

[theboss]

smallpaul said:

I don't think what you're doing is bad in terms of future proofing....

But unless you spend optional extras on a Porsche Taycan or similar. Or purchase a specific model of Renualt zoe. Then you're never, ever going to see 22kw home charging. The most you'll see on a 3phase charger is 11kw. And even less power on a hybrid car.

Plenty of cars have 22kW either as standard or as an option. If you have the infrastructure and you want a car that can support it, it’s not that hard to find one. Some cars support charging rates somewhere inbetween. My bro had a Tesla Y which charged at around 18kW, and there’s plenty of those on the road.

[vdn]

Yes, to be fair the installer seems to be purely concerned with future proofing. He's saying that the charger can be set to standard 7kw via its' settings but will have the supply and option for 22kw if I ever need it down the road. No new charger install needed. I think the multiphase aspect of the Zappi means I can switch via the app or on the charger itself.

I don't know how many multiphase chargers there are on the market but he seems to like the Zappi. Not the prettiest thing TBH.

I'm guessing I'll just leave it on the 7kw option for this current car and then use a single phase 7kw cable also.

[Gone fishing]

vdn said:

Yes, to be fair the installer seems to be purely concerned with future proofing. He's saying that the charger can be set to standard 7kw via its' settings but will have the supply and option for 22kw if I ever need it down the road. No new charger install needed. I think the multiphase aspect of the Zappi means I can switch via the app or on the charger itself.

I don't know how many multiphase chargers there are on the market but he seems to like the Zappi. Not the prettiest thing TBH.

I'm guessing I'll just leave it on the 7kw option for this current car and then use a single phase 7kw cable also.

I don’t know why anyone would switch the charger settings. You’d just install the charger capable of delivering the most it can, and everything works itself out automatically based on the limiting item, be that the car or cable etc. If for some reason you wanted to charge the car more slowly, the car will typically have a rate you can lower, but there’s little need to ever want to do that.

[theboss]

Gone fishing said:

vdn said:

Yes, to be fair the installer seems to be purely concerned with future proofing. He's saying that the charger can be set to standard 7kw via its' settings but will have the supply and option for 22kw if I ever need it down the road. No new charger install needed. I think the multiphase aspect of the Zappi means I can switch via the app or on the charger itself.

I don't know how many multiphase chargers there are on the market but he seems to like the Zappi. Not the prettiest thing TBH.

I'm guessing I'll just leave it on the 7kw option for this current car and then use a single phase 7kw cable also.

I don t know why anyone would switch the charger settings. You d just install the charger capable of delivering the most it can, and everything works itself out automatically based on the limiting item, be that the car or cable etc. If for some reason you wanted to charge the car more slowly, the car will typically have a rate you can lower, but there s little need to ever want to do that.

It's quite simple, myEnergi had two Zappi product variants, single and three phase, like most manufacturers.

They have combined these into a single product which can be wired either way.

They gain simpler manufacturing processes and standardisation whilst the upside for customers is the versatility, you can wire a Zappi on a single-phase supply knowing that if you plan to upgrade to 3-phase in the future the same charger can benefit from that capacity uplift rather than having to replace it.

[Gone fishing]

theboss said:

Gone fishing said:

vdn said:

Yes, to be fair the installer seems to be purely concerned with future proofing. He's saying that the charger can be set to standard 7kw via its' settings but will have the supply and option for 22kw if I ever need it down the road. No new charger install needed. I think the multiphase aspect of the Zappi means I can switch via the app or on the charger itself.

I don't know how many multiphase chargers there are on the market but he seems to like the Zappi. Not the prettiest thing TBH.

I'm guessing I'll just leave it on the 7kw option for this current car and then use a single phase 7kw cable also.

I don t know why anyone would switch the charger settings. You d just install the charger capable of delivering the most it can, and everything works itself out automatically based on the limiting item, be that the car or cable etc. If for some reason you wanted to charge the car more slowly, the car will typically have a rate you can lower, but there s little need to ever want to do that.

It's quite simple, myEnergi had two Zappi product variants, single and three phase, like most manufacturers.

They have combined these into a single product which can be wired either way.

They gain simpler manufacturing processes and standardisation whilst the upside for customers is the versatility, you can wire a Zappi on a single-phase supply knowing that if you plan to upgrade to 3-phase in the future the same charger can benefit from that capacity uplift rather than having to replace it.

That’s not what was being said.

Why would you have the supply and charger installed capable of 22kw and then only set it to deliver 7kw on software? That’s what was being suggested. You’d co figure it for 22kw and it would provide as much as the car (or cable) can take up to the 22kw limit.

[theboss]

Gone fishing said:

theboss said:

Gone fishing said:

vdn said:

Yes, to be fair the installer seems to be purely concerned with future proofing. He's saying that the charger can be set to standard 7kw via its' settings but will have the supply and option for 22kw if I ever need it down the road. No new charger install needed. I think the multiphase aspect of the Zappi means I can switch via the app or on the charger itself.

I don't know how many multiphase chargers there are on the market but he seems to like the Zappi. Not the prettiest thing TBH.

I'm guessing I'll just leave it on the 7kw option for this current car and then use a single phase 7kw cable also.

I don t know why anyone would switch the charger settings. You d just install the charger capable of delivering the most it can, and everything works itself out automatically based on the limiting item, be that the car or cable etc. If for some reason you wanted to charge the car more slowly, the car will typically have a rate you can lower, but there s little need to ever want to do that.

It's quite simple, myEnergi had two Zappi product variants, single and three phase, like most manufacturers.

They have combined these into a single product which can be wired either way.

They gain simpler manufacturing processes and standardisation whilst the upside for customers is the versatility, you can wire a Zappi on a single-phase supply knowing that if you plan to upgrade to 3-phase in the future the same charger can benefit from that capacity uplift rather than having to replace it.

That s not what was being said.

Why would you have the supply and charger installed capable of 22kw and then only set it to deliver 7kw on software? That s what was being suggested. You d co figure it for 22kw and it would provide as much as the car (or cable) can take up to the 22kw limit.

Yes you're absolutely right. I'm not sure why you would do that either. It's not like the OP's car won't charge at 7kW when the zappi is setup for 22kW.

On the subject of cable I just buy 32A x 3 phase as it will cater for any AC charging configuration for any vehicle, the only downsides being added size/weight and a slightly higher cost.