Home Charger Reviews

Grizzle-E Smart Avalanche GRS-14-24-AB The Grizzl-E has been a good charger (40amp). I bought the 'smart' version to get the rebate from my power company. Overall this has been a good charger (once I worked out an issue I'll go over it below). The charger is in a 'protected' area of my...

www.polestar-forum.com

 

My ChargePoint Home Flex has been flawless, and has a very nice app that tracks the usage as well.

Meet Home Flex, the Level 2 Home EV Charger | ChargePoint

Bring home one of the fastest and highest-performing Level 2 EV home chargers on the market today with ChargePoint Home Flex.

www.chargepoint.com

 

You don’t need one. You might want one. You might be persuaded to have one. You don’t need one unless you drive more than 60 miles each day.

 

Anything except for a juice box the new juice box app is horrific

 

I'll have to disagree with lscadean on this one. I went a couple months without a home charger (or more accurately, without at 220/240 volt circuit to plug into). While it was fine, and I got by generally with overnight trickle charging and a weekly or semi-weekly stop at the fast charger, installing a high volt circuit for legit overnight complete charging was an absolute game changer. Never having to stop at a gas station is one of the joys of EV ownership, but without high voltage at home you just substitute a fast charger for the gas station. Still an annoyance. Waking every day, or nearly every day, with a complete charge has completely liberated me from "fuel" stops for 95% of my driving (all but longer road trips). That said, I do sometimes go a day or two without plugging it in if my schedule is limited driving (just daily commute of ~20 mlies RT).

For the record, I have a chargepoint cph50. Did almost no research other than checked the electric company's website to see what they subsidized. Add in the federal tax credit for installation costs and I think all in I was only out about $500 net. I allow the electric company to shut of my charger during high demand times (weekday evenings in the summer mostly). And they give me a quarterly credit of like $25 bucks (required including control of the thermostat).

 

I have the Grizzl-e charger in my garage and I can't say enough about how good and solid it's been. I got in on Amazon Amazon.com: Grizzl-E Level 2 Electric Vehicle (EV) Charger up to 40 Amp, UL Certified Indoor/Outdoor Electric Car Fast Wall Charging Station, NEMA 6-50 Plug, 24 feet Premium Cable, Classic Black : Automotive as I had a 50 amp plug already in my garage and it was just mount it on my wall and I was ready to charge.

 

I’ll put in a positive review of the Tesla J1772 Wall Connector. Unfortunately, Tesla pulled this from their store when they released the more flexible (and more expensive) Universal Wall Connector. I bought mine in May when it was available for $550. With the recent update to their Tesla App, it now reports charge sessions, allows setting a Charge Schedule, updates over your Wi-Fi, and supports multiple Gen 3 Wall Connectors to coordinate multiple EV charging simultaneously to limit total amperage drawn. The downside is it is intended for a hardwired installation, but that allows the maximum 48 Amps (11.5 kW) that the Polestar 2 will accept.

​

 

You don't really NEED one. All you need is a NEMA 14-50 outlet to plug into with your supplied charging cable. I've done this for 2 yrs and 4 mos. I did the same with my previous S90 T8.

 

I agree that a wall-mount charger doesn't offer any advantage over the supplied charger but I do plan to get one.
I would like to have a backup JIC charger as I live in a rural area without convenient public charging available.
I would keep the supplied charger in the frunk so that there would be a possibility of over-night charging at visited friends/relatives.
A Grizzl-e charger would cost almost nothing as I already have several 14-50 outlets in my garages and the government subsidy for EVSE's is generous in my province.

 

Wallbox Pulsar Plus has been great for me. Have found that I could have got by with the grandpa charger but on a few occasions the extra juice has come in handy. Love not having to go out for gas, or “gas.”

 

I saw these at my local Costco last week!

 

The reason I went with the Wall Connector over using the supplied EVSE (Volvo in my case) was due to my situation. I have a 35 mile round trip commute on a daily basis, with an occasional trip on a Saturday. I was Level 1 charging and it was taking pretty much from when I got home from work to when I left in the morning to get up to 100% SoC. Plus, my garage was wired through our first floor bathroom to utilize its GFCI instead of its own dedicated circuit, so I was uncomfortable running 12-14 kWh through the 35-year old GFCI.

I figured that if I was going to go through the effort of running 240 for Level 2, I might as future-proof my installation so I ran flexible conduit and THNN wiring designed for continuous use. My daily charge is finished in approximately 4h30m. The Tesla app tracks the time and kWh delivered:

​

​

Before Tesla introduced the J1772 Wall Connector, I was split between the Emporia 48 Amp EVSE and the GRIZZL-E with the NEMA 14-50 plug. Even though the GRIZZL-E was cheaper, after factoring in the Hubbell 14-50 receptacle at $100, the Tesla came out at a lower cost, plus had integrated cable management. The Emporia was under $400, but the fixed installation was complicated by how it mounted to the wall after the power leads were attached. The Tesla solution was way easier to DIY.

Most people will use an Electrician for their EVSE installation in which case the ease of installation will hopefully be reflected in the bill in reduced labor.

My final reason for a fixed EVSE was convenience. It is one less thing to pack and unpack when it’s needed. I get home, plug in, and head in to our home. If we do travel, I don’t need to worry, “did I remember to bring the EVSE?”

 

Another new P2 owner who relies almost entirely on the supplied charger on a 240 40amp circuit. I did have to buy a NEMA adapter as our 6-30P outlet is for an electrical kiln, and a 14-50R extension cord for reach. BTW it popped the circuit if I set the car to draw 30amps but is doing fine at 25amps, which gives ~9mph.

 

You don’t need one. Just a 14-50 dryer style outlet wired for 50 amp. The charger cable that comes with the car and internal s/w does everything a charger does.

 

BTW most modern homes have such a circuit for an electric dryer and a second for the oven. If you don't have an electric dryer, and that plug is not in the garage, an electrician can convert that for a garage 14-50 outlet pretty quick.

 

Just keep in mind, NEMA 14-50 plugs and receptacles are not designed for continuous plugging and unplugging, and the quality of the receptacles vary greatly. Yes, you can use one, but you should only really do so if you leave the charging cable plugged into the receptacle all the time.

 

Just keep in mind, NEMA 14-50 plugs and receptacles are not designed for continuous plugging and unplugging, and the quality of the receptacles vary greatly. Yes, you can use one, but you should only really do so if you leave the charging cable plugged into the receptacle all the time.

Early days, utilizing a NEMA 14-50 receptacle made sense, especially if you knew you would move eventually. Very easy to unplug and leave a nice EV charging receptacle for the new homeowner. Recently we have learned many receptacles are not really up to the task of the continuous load, connections are often not made correctly (not torqued to spec), resistance (heat) becomes an issue. Nowadays best practice is to hardwire the wall connector even if it is running 40a (9.6 kW) or less. NEC requires 48a (11 kW) or greater be hardwired on a 60a circuit; all continuous loads require circuit be 20% greater than the working amperage.

So sure you can use your EVSE from Polestar or whomever, just ensure the NEMA 14-50 is not loose, getting hot (along with EVSE), and don't unplug/plug-in regularly. I recommend using a hardwired wall connector installed to meet/exceed NEC by a licensed/bonded electrician who understands installing EV wall connectors.

 

Good advice.
Could be clearer though by replacing "wall connector" with "EVSE" or "charger"

 

I went with an Emporia, and couldn't be happier. Gets 48A charging, 24tf cord, and has all of the features (including app) that the bigger names have at $100 or more cheaper.

https://www.amazon.com/Charger-Enabled-Electric-Hardwired-Charging/dp/B09ZNN3JB7/


I keep the charging unit that came with the car in my frunk in case I'm somewhere and desperately need a charge. They weren't meant to be constantly reinserted into outlets, so unless you're planning on sticking it in an leaving it there, you might consider something more durable.

 

I went with an Emporia, and couldn't be happier. Gets 48A charging, 24tf cord, and has all of the features (including app) that the bigger names have at $100 or more cheaper.

Amazon.com: EMPORIA EV Charger Level 2, 48 amp Indoor/Outdoor Electric Car Charger, NEMA 14-50 EV Charger Plug or Hardwired, UL/Energy Star WiFi Enabled EVSE Level 2 Charger, 24ft Cable - 240v Level 2 EV Charger : Automotive


I keep the charging unit that came with the car in my frunk in case I'm somewhere and desperately need a charge. They weren't meant to be constantly reinserted into outlets, so unless you're planning on sticking it in an leaving it there, you might consider something more durable.

My Polestar level 1 cable is plugged into the garage socket beside the door, cable fits under the garage door and is holstered on the wall outside. Permanently plugged in. When I need to charge I plug the holstered end into the car and switch on the socket switch inside the garage. It takes a minute. Just like a wall box does. While it takes longer than 7 hours to charge, the evening and early morning is sufficient to recharge it fully. No plugging and unplugging the three pin into the socket. Btw there are 12 sockets in the garage to choose from but the one near up and over door is convenient. I don’t get the kerfuffle over doing this.

 

Two weeks ago I received an email from ChargePoint asking if I wanted a NACS connector for my Home Flex unit I purchased earlier this year(direct from them). I was surprised they offered this connector no charge(no pun intended). Of course, I said yes. Sweet.

 

I've not received that yet - Do you know if it is a separate connector or a complete line that has to be installed?

 

I went with the Grizzl-e classic charger on an 50amp circuit after reading reviews on Wirecutter. My preference is to let the car manage the charging amp, etc rather than inverting in a ‘smart’ charger, but I don’t have variable utility rates etc.

 

Although a 240 Volt outlet charged the car just fine, I like my ChargePoint Home Flex EV. Nice phone app. Keeps track of all the numbers. Uses local electricity rates for comparison. Although I have rooftop solar. My Polestar doesn't cost me anything!

 

I went with the Autel Home Smart Electric Vehicle charger up to 50 amps, 240 V, indoor/outdoor Car Charging station with Level 2, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth enabled EVSE, 25 foot cable, hardwired. (This is how Amazon lists it)

Amazon.com

I love it. I set the schedule on the charger, set the battery on the car to not go over 90% and my car charges overnight flawlessly.

I highly recommend it.

 

I have a ChargePoint Home Flex and am quite happy with it. Tells me how much I pay each charge an total for the month .
also controlled by siri letting me know when it completes set amount of charge (generallly 90%) - cost wast a bit more but fit in with electric company's reqs and my needs (info etc.)

 

I've not received that yet - Do you know if it is a separate connector or a complete line that has to be installed?

It's a connector adaptor and a different adaptor for the faceplate where the connector attaches to be held when not in use.

 

From reading the manual, Polestar recommends:

• Not to use the supplied cable often
• To keep it plugged in when possible (and keeping the max 90% of total setting)

From other sources, to mantain the battery life span, to limit L3 charging and charge between 40-80%.

Therefore, it seems to me the optimal solution is to use L2 at home and to minimize L3 charging, specially between the 0-40% and 80%-100% ranges. L1 (supplied cable) is for emergencies and kept in trunk.

 

I haven't had any problems with the Autel charger I had installed. The only annoying thing about it was that it wanted to know my home address during setup, and I told it no, so every time I open the app it puts a pointer down in the middle of the Atlantic ocean as my charger location.

 

I had a ChargePoint Flex installed, hardwired. Works as expected, charges at roughly 10kW or 25+ mph. Portland General Electric rebated 90% of the cost and discounted installation as well, and gives a semi-annual rebate for letting them manage charge times. With their plan, charging between 9pm and 5pm costs around 7 cents per kWh. Makes for very low cost driving.

The CP app seems confused about its location, showing it in a nearby vineyard.

pg

 

Same here - Chargepoint flex 50A which charges at 40A so 9.6. App works fine, the thing is flawless and stupid easy. the Rebates from the electric company made it a no brainer.
The question about home chargers is more a US question. Home current is 110V which stinks for charging, boiling water, woodworking tools and anything else I can think of. So unless you have already a 240V 50A outlet near where you park your car you might want to install something. Might as well get a hardwired charger. The convenience is unbeatable.