Which home charging point?
Discussion
NDA said:
Ken Figenus said:
Do I really need a £700 smart charger or can I just connect car Type 2 into a commando 32A with RCD like this https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/LDB32slash3S... I know a Taycan has charging profiles you can set and timers onboard... So set for 00:30 start on Octopus and just let it go till desired charge level reached. Or just press 'direct charge' if you know you need to max it for next day - do I really need an app and all that gubbins to go wrong?
I bought an EV a few months ago and had a Commando socket rather than a dedicated/tethered charging point. It's 32amp and charges at around 31mph rather than 11mph from a domestic 3 pin socket.It's not quite as cheap as you think - the special RCD it needs (type B curve I think) as well as the earth spike start to make it quite costly.
But it works fine for my Tesla.
Were I to be doing it today (rather than 6 months ago) there are charging points which have the necessary RCD's (PEN protection etc) all built in, which make the installation as cheap as a Commando socket.
Compared to my previous ICE car I'm saving about £50 /week in fuel alone so in a few months it'll be paid for. Happy to pay for the convenience.
Quick note about the EO - it doesn’t have a locking mechanism for the gun while charging. This is because the actuator on the socket units is quite large and would make it much bigger.
But it should have a locking mechanism to be sold here, so there may be some pain coming their way soon. I believe three major charge point manufacturers in the UK have lodged a formal complaint on this.
But it should have a locking mechanism to be sold here, so there may be some pain coming their way soon. I believe three major charge point manufacturers in the UK have lodged a formal complaint on this.
NDA said:
I bought an EV a few months ago and had a Commando socket rather than a dedicated/tethered charging point. It's 32amp and charges at around 31mph rather than 11mph from a domestic 3 pin socket.
It's not quite as cheap as you think - the special RCD it needs (type B curve I think) as well as the earth spike start to make it quite costly.
But it works fine for my Tesla.
Were I to be doing it today (rather than 6 months ago) there are charging points which have the necessary RCD's (PEN protection etc) all built in, which make the installation as cheap as a Commando socket.
Agree on the cost of the 32A Commando socket not working out that cheap once its all done properly. I tried to save my dad a few quid by steering him down the commando socket route with a £199 Ohme cable from Octopus, however all said and done his install ended up costing around £650 anyway all told, so around the same price as lots of normal charge points. His install was a bit more complex than usual anyway but still, I don't think there's much money to be saved by going commando, so to speak!It's not quite as cheap as you think - the special RCD it needs (type B curve I think) as well as the earth spike start to make it quite costly.
But it works fine for my Tesla.
Were I to be doing it today (rather than 6 months ago) there are charging points which have the necessary RCD's (PEN protection etc) all built in, which make the installation as cheap as a Commando socket.
OldGermanHeaps said:
dapprman said:
Can't see any problem with a Pi behind the scenes, also could make upgrading easier if more processing power is required.
Do rather like the look of this, also on watching their official videos how Alexa still will do what it wants, not what you say (I'm glad they left that in).
I'm assuming the RCD would replace the noisy box BP Chargemaster install (to remove the need for an earth rod), Silence would be a big plus point for me as my fuse cupboard is inside the house.
Alas nothing on their website about how they link in to solar power - with Zappi there's the Eco mode.
The problem with pis are they use an sd card to run the os. This is fine for occasional use but for 24/7 use the sd cards wear out rapidly. I know this from a misguided attempt to use pis for digital signage devices for one of my customers, we had a trial at 30 sites and within 3 years most of the sd cards failed, the callouts and travel time wasted to replace them rendered the project unprofitable. Do rather like the look of this, also on watching their official videos how Alexa still will do what it wants, not what you say (I'm glad they left that in).
I'm assuming the RCD would replace the noisy box BP Chargemaster install (to remove the need for an earth rod), Silence would be a big plus point for me as my fuse cupboard is inside the house.
Alas nothing on their website about how they link in to solar power - with Zappi there's the Eco mode.
Daaaveee said:
Agree on the cost of the 32A Commando socket not working out that cheap once its all done properly. I tried to save my dad a few quid by steering him down the commando socket route with a £199 Ohme cable from Octopus, however all said and done his install ended up costing around £650 anyway all told, so around the same price as lots of normal charge points. His install was a bit more complex than usual anyway but still, I don't think there's much money to be saved by going commando, so to speak!
Yep, I suspect you're right. It's quite hard to get hard and fast costings on these things as the tech is evolving at quite a rate. I haven't bothered torturing myself by seeing if I paid more for a Commando than the latest tethered thing, but suspect it's now about equal.
Beefmeister said:
Quick note about the EO - it doesn’t have a locking mechanism for the gun while charging. This is because the actuator on the socket units is quite large and would make it much bigger.
But it should have a locking mechanism to be sold here, so there may be some pain coming their way soon. I believe three major charge point manufacturers in the UK have lodged a formal complaint on this.
Glad I got the tethered one then! (At least, until some marauding bBut it should have a locking mechanism to be sold here, so there may be some pain coming their way soon. I believe three major charge point manufacturers in the UK have lodged a formal complaint on this.
d comes along and nicks the cable for scrap...)The EO app is absolutely appalling, though. I had one fitted a few weeks ago, but only used it for the first time yesterday when my EV was finally delivered. It's unintuitive, awkward to use, and everything you do with it seems to involve ages watching a progress bar.
Beefmeister said:
Quick note about the EO - it doesn’t have a locking mechanism for the gun while charging. This is because the actuator on the socket units is quite large and would make it much bigger.
But it should have a locking mechanism to be sold here, so there may be some pain coming their way soon. I believe three major charge point manufacturers in the UK have lodged a formal complaint on this.
Surely it’d still be locked at the car end anyway? But it should have a locking mechanism to be sold here, so there may be some pain coming their way soon. I believe three major charge point manufacturers in the UK have lodged a formal complaint on this.
Toaster Pilot said:
Surely it’d still be locked at the car end anyway?
It would, but an ahole could walk past and unplug it, which would be annoying if you needed it for a journey in the morning. It’s more a safety thing, for instance pulling the gun out a little, wiggling, all while charge is still flowing. With the locking mechanism you know that when that gun comes out it’s stopped charging.
Never understood why people obsess so much over people unplugging chargers - did it happen often when people had Type 1 cables with no lock?
The safety thing is rather moot - the control signal will break first if the connector is moved/partially unplugged which will shut off the power.
The safety thing is rather moot - the control signal will break first if the connector is moved/partially unplugged which will shut off the power.
Toaster Pilot said:
Never understood why people obsess so much over people unplugging chargers - did it happen often when people had Type 1 cables with no lock?
No because there were damn all EVs on the road when Type 1 existed, and certainly not the ubiquitous public charging at supermarkets, lamp posts, car parks, etc. with cars charging for scrotes to do their mischief.PF62 said:
No because there were damn all EVs on the road when Type 1 existed, and certainly not the ubiquitous public charging at supermarkets, lamp posts, car parks, etc. with cars charging for scrotes to do their mischief.
EO chargers aren’t going to be found in any of those locations though OldGermanHeaps said:
gmaz said:
I saw this YT video of the Hypervolt the other day, which is clearly a paid advert for them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sL9aFwzWSwA
I was surprised to see a Raspberry Pi inside it, as those are designed more for learning & software experiments rather than for outdoor "industrial" use.
Running the os from an sd card wont be very robust in the long run. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sL9aFwzWSwA
I was surprised to see a Raspberry Pi inside it, as those are designed more for learning & software experiments rather than for outdoor "industrial" use.
By wall box pulsar plus is finally being installed end of the month, car is arriving sooner than we thought (next week, eek) so will be charging at work until then.
In regards to the security of charging cables, electric cars were very rare and bit of a joke 10 years ago, now people can get very riled up by EVs. Hopefully that stays as "hydrogen is the future" and "it's mined by babies" misinformation instead of physical vandalism
Toaster Pilot said:
PF62 said:
No because there were damn all EVs on the road when Type 1 existed, and certainly not the ubiquitous public charging at supermarkets, lamp posts, car parks, etc. with cars charging for scrotes to do their mischief.
EO chargers aren’t going to be found in any of those locations though Beefmeister said:
Quick note about the EO - it doesn’t have a locking mechanism for the gun while charging. This is because the actuator on the socket units is quite large and would make it much bigger.
But it should have a locking mechanism to be sold here, so there may be some pain coming their way soon. I believe three major charge point manufacturers in the UK have lodged a formal complaint on this.
It does not need a locking mech and many chargers do not have this. But it should have a locking mechanism to be sold here, so there may be some pain coming their way soon. I believe three major charge point manufacturers in the UK have lodged a formal complaint on this.
The Mini charger has been on sale for at least 5 years. Other manufacturers with big, old style chargers may not like the fact that EO and a few others have far more compact designs but I think it's a stretch to say they are formally complaining about it. There's a lot of moaning and complaining about other chargers by most manufacturers but its nothing more. I hear it all the time from them.
Toaster Pilot said:
Pretty sure the Wallbox has a Pi in it too doesn’t it? Must say I was quite surprised by that too.
I guess it is a convenient way of providing a local web server, wifi interface, I/O ports etc. You can see why they have done it but I'd prefer a "ruggedized" microcontroller in a box that sits outside in the sun and rain and has high power electrics.
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