Topic: Home chargers - what do you have and comments

[rrocket]

^^ These are really cheaper at $549 basic, or $599 "smart". Interesting that they have an open-sourced approach with no proprietary app - will have to look into that.

Of all the chargers I physically looked at, these seemed the best, most robustly built. Bombproof.

And the president of the company even took my personal phone call to answer a question.

If/when I buy a charger, these guys will get my money.

Read a bunch of comments online, everyone is very happy with them. Will probably go with that and make the best of the subsidies!

Cool beans!

Be sure to do the show and shine once installed.

[Blueprint]

^^ These are really cheaper at $549 basic, or $599 "smart". Interesting that they have an open-sourced approach with no proprietary app - will have to look into that.

Of all the chargers I physically looked at, these seemed the best, most robustly built. Bombproof.

And the president of the company even took my personal phone call to answer a question.

If/when I buy a charger, these guys will get my money.

Read a bunch of comments online, everyone is very happy with them. Will probably go with that and make the best of the subsidies!

Cool beans!

Be sure to do the show and shine once installed.

Now hoping the Mrs will have a crush on the CX-90 once we see it next week - the demos are coming in.

[rrocket]

Oh..while we're on the topic of charging, I went to a charger yesterday and shockingly neither plug would work on my car.

What cars are these for??

[Blueprint]

These are DC Level 2 "fast chargers". The CCS Combo is the typical SAE-regulated standard that almost all EV's use.

ChaDeMo is a similar DC Level 2 "fast charger", but that uses the Japanese standard. This is only compatible with the Leaf, iMiEV and 1st-gen Outlander PHEV. It is being phased out. The new Outlander has the CCS Combo, the 2nd - and maybe last - generation Leaf soldiers on with it.

[Blueprint]

These are DC Level 2 "fast chargers". The CCS Combo is the typical SAE-regulated standard that almost all EV's use.

ChaDeMo is a similar DC Level 2 "fast charger", but that uses the Japanese standard. This is only compatible with the Leaf, iMiEV and 1st-gen Outlander PHEV. It is being phased out. The new Outlander has the CCS Combo, the 2nd - and maybe last - generation Leaf soldiers on with it.

CCS Combo takes its name from the fact that the top part is the std J1772 SAE plug, while the bottom part is added on. It creates a single portal on the car, while the Japanese std requires two.

CCS combo with the cap on the bottom DC part:



Nissan Leaf arrangement (Chademo DC on the left, SAE AC on the right):

[rrocket]

Another thing that needs improving....

One plug style.

[Blueprint]

Another thing that needs improving....

One plug style.

CCS Combo is just that. Chademo will die with the Leaf (Ariya has CCS Combo) and rumour is that Tesla will give up on its proprietary design to join the SAE family (and get the gvt considerations/subisides that go with it). So one plug is on the way.

[me_2]

Another thing that needs improving....

One plug style.

CCS Combo is just that. Chademo will die with the Leaf (Ariya has CCS Combo) and rumour is that Tesla will give up on its proprietary design to join the SAE family (and get the gvt considerations/subisides that go with it). So one plug is on the way.

Imho, the Tesla plug (AC & DC combined) is vastly superior to the CCS-1 combo, this is unfortunate they open their NACS here in NA only until recently to others, it would have been so much easier for all partys.

Their European supercharger are using now CCS-2 and progressively open it to others, all you need is the Tesla app & cc linked to use it.
They recently open few of US Supercharger to others, in this case using a built-in adapter lock/unlock from specific SC station.
Charging a non-Tesla at a Tesla Supercharger!

[TheHire]

Reason for this thread: with the CX-90 PHEV arriving next month, I will take advantage of $750 in subsidies ($600 province, $150 town) to have another unit installed inside the garage. This will require a smart charge splitter so both units can be on the same circuit (the device only allows one unit to pull juice). No real need for a smart unit inside as pressers will use the outdoor unit, but many units have this feature today. Very little cable required also, as I will locate it near the outdoor one on an inside wall.

Looking forward to comments and experiences with other brands. The Quebec-designed EV Duty is the most popular domestic EVSE here; it's ugly, but it will be indoors so not as much an issue as for my initial install.

I really like the Grizzl-E

https://grizzl-e.com/product-category/canada/?gclid=CjwKCAjwjMiiBhA4EiwAZe6jQ0hcpTvuZCbF_Z5HY63fv3_my1XFdmW2DHm2PLMMRmY7nGIeCKIlDhoCKDwQAvD_BwE

Canadian company.

I have five or six of these. One at my place, one at my folks', and a few at my commercial buildings. They're simple but good and reliable.

[ktm525]

Another thing that needs improving....

One plug style.

CCS Combo is just that. Chademo will die with the Leaf (Ariya has CCS Combo) and rumour is that Tesla will give up on its proprietary design to join the SAE family (and get the gvt considerations/subisides that go with it). So one plug is on the way.

Like phones? 

[Blueprint]

Another thing that needs improving....

One plug style.

CCS Combo is just that. Chademo will die with the Leaf (Ariya has CCS Combo) and rumour is that Tesla will give up on its proprietary design to join the SAE family (and get the gvt considerations/subisides that go with it). So one plug is on the way.

Like phones? 

Funny you should mention phones. Never had charging issues with the Androids, yet my work iPhones always develop charging issues because of the plug design, and they also die faster. Apple should switch to USB-C and shelf its proprietary design. USB = SAE, Apple = Tesla.

[Blueprint]

"Funny" coincidence, with me starting this thread. Haven't used my EVSE since December (G80 Electrified) and yesterday a friend of my wife drops by with her RAV4 Prime SE, a crusty montrealer's vehicle with scratches, dents, a dirty interior and a lit maintenance reminder (it's her boyfriend's car). Plugged the thing in and ... nothing. The ChargePoint's lights were normal, going from green to blue when connected to the vehicle. The RAV4 would only say the charge portal door was open. The mobile app shows an active session, but no juice data at all. Rebooted the ChargePoint through the app, still no juice.

So, is it the EVSE or the Toyota? I had a neighbour drop by with his Kia EV6 GT-Line (matte paint, black alloys  ), and once again no charging happening. So my EVSE has an issue. Through the app I can see a firmware update done last April, so it's up to date. Being networked, ChargePoint can probably log on to the thing to see what is at fault. It dates back to fall of 2017. I'll keep you posted.

[OliverD]

Another thing that needs improving....

One plug style.

CCS Combo is just that. Chademo will die with the Leaf (Ariya has CCS Combo) and rumour is that Tesla will give up on its proprietary design to join the SAE family (and get the gvt considerations/subisides that go with it). So one plug is on the way.

Like phones? 

Funny you should mention phones. Never had charging issues with the Androids, yet my work iPhones always develop charging issues because of the plug design, and they also die faster. Apple should switch to USB-C and shelf its proprietary design. USB = SAE, Apple = Tesla.

Rumor is that Apple is switching to USB-C with the iPhone 15. Can't say my phones have ever had charging issues caused by anything other than some dirt getting into the Lightning port but that can happen to any phone.

[Blueprint]

Long chats (2) with ChargePoint support yesterday. They first needed to access my account, but could not find it. When they called back, they found it in their American database, not the Canadian one - I'd pin that one on circa 2017 when they probably had a solo database and the product was not common up here. Through my account, they accessed my unit ... and everything seems fine. They told me to check if my Bluetooth is paired (phone to EVSE) and if that doesn't change anything to call them back so they can remotely "reset the factory details".

Bluetooth pairing is done during initial setup, and I could not find any info on how to access the pairing menu outside of the initial setup. I did change phones 3 times since 2017 (iPhones have a short shelf life  ), so unpaired, but never had any issues as the WiFi pairing stays put.

Will phone them again later today and go through the full reset 

[Allen]

gas stations are so much easier 

[Seafoam]

^^ agreed

[me_2]

Dumb Traditional EVSE are simple too, plug & recharge but I can understand desire for more fancy features with a "smart" one.

[Blueprint]

ChargePoint remotely connected to my EVSE and all seemed fine for them. So I had my neighbour come back with the EV6 and sure enough it worked this time - sometimes with electronics just the diagnostics routine is enough to "refresh" operations. But then he wiggled the plug and the Kia started repeating "Charging started" non-stop through its front outdoor speaker 

Before going to the trouble of a full factory reset, I waited until I got the CX-90 presser to play around with it. I noticed a slower connexion through the app, with a "weak internet" message, but sure enough the unit did a full no-glitch charge on the first try. Maybe I'll just spray some contact cleaner in the nozzle - it has never been done. The app is a bit wonky at the beginning of the charge, takes awhile to show up, but the EVSE itself appears fine. We'll see as the week progress.

[Guy]

I have an Elmec since 2015. At the time I was charged less than $500. total by an electrician to install the 40 amps, Nema 6-50 plug at both my house and my cottage.

The president of the company came to my house once since the plug on the charger was defective, he replaced it. Not sure he would still do that today.

[Blueprint]

I have an Elmec since 2015. At the time I was charged less than $500. total by an electrician to install the 40 amps, Nema 6-50 plug at both my house and my cottage.

The president of the company came to my house once since the plug on the charger was defective, he replaced it. Not sure he would still do that today.

Elmec is EV Duty, right? I will phone my electrician to see what's the cost to add one of these "smart boxes" to wire up a 2nd EVSE, indoor this time, to the same circuit. I could go with a basic unit as the ChargePoint will handle press vehicles (the ones I need the data for).