Cavalryscout18
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*Skip down to the solution if you want to bypass the backstory. And let me know if there is a better or easier way to do it.
As the deliveries of the R1Ts have finally kicked off, I started thinking about how I would charge two EVs at home at once with minimal fuss and without having to install a second dedicated charging station. I imagine a good number of us buying the Rivian will have more than one EV at home so my solution should be relevant for others. First a little background: I currently have a Tesla Model 3; my model has a max charge rate of 32 Amps so the standard charger that came with it works perfect. When the Tesla was being delivered, I had an electrician install a NEMA 14-50 plug in my garage and that is what I use now to charge at 32 amps.
Getting the Rivian will force you to make a few choices about how to charge it. If you go with their included portable charger, which has a 32 Amp max, you can add around 16 miles per hour. If you opt for the Rivian wall charger ($750 now), which has a 48 Amp max, you can get 25 miles per hour; or you can buy a third-party charger such as JuiceBox to charger your Rivian. However, if you are like me and have a Tesla, either of those three choices would mean I need to install a second dedicated charger, which can get tricky as my breaker box was almost maxed out with the Tesla. Adding a separate EV charger at 32 or 48 amps would probably require me to upgrade my box, which sounds very expensive. Lucky for me, the solution is much simpler, see below.
Solution: when my NEMA 14-50 plug was installed, the electrician added a 50 amp circuit breaker. Thus, I can attach a charger with a max charge rate of 40 amps to that plug. The key in the solution is that there is a charger from Grizzl-E with a max charge rate of 40 amps that is specifically designed to plug into one NEMA 14-50 plug but that has two separate charging cables which can be connected to two cars at once. The charger can then manage the charging of the two vehicles at once or, how I will do it, you can use the carsā built in charging schedules to stagger the charge times so that each car is charging at the max during its allotted time. For instance, I know that my Model 3 will charge much quicker so I will have it start charging first at 9pm (my low rates kick in). Then, 4 hours later at 1am, I will have the Rivian turn on. At 40 amps (or 10 kWh), the Rivian will add about 20 miles per hour (5 less MPH than the 48 amps from Rivian but some sacrifices had to be made). By the times I am ready to leave my house at 8am, it can add up to 140 miles of range, which is plenty more than my daily. Problem solved. Now with just one NEMA 14-50 plug and this charger from Grizzl-E, both of my cars can charger overnight with no extra equipment needed. The plug is a little expensive ($900) but compared to all of the electrical work I avoid, I would gladly pay that. See below for link. As mentioned above, let me know if there is a better solution for Tesla/Rivian households. I know that Wallbox has chargers that can be connected so you could in theory connect two chargers and have them communicate together as they charge two cars as well. But those seemed like they would not fit into one NEMA 14-50 plug as you have two separate chargers. Might need an electrician for that.
Grizzl-E Duo Level 2 Plug in EV Charger, up to 40 Amp, Two 24 feet Premium Cables (14-50 Plug)
As the deliveries of the R1Ts have finally kicked off, I started thinking about how I would charge two EVs at home at once with minimal fuss and without having to install a second dedicated charging station. I imagine a good number of us buying the Rivian will have more than one EV at home so my solution should be relevant for others. First a little background: I currently have a Tesla Model 3; my model has a max charge rate of 32 Amps so the standard charger that came with it works perfect. When the Tesla was being delivered, I had an electrician install a NEMA 14-50 plug in my garage and that is what I use now to charge at 32 amps.
Getting the Rivian will force you to make a few choices about how to charge it. If you go with their included portable charger, which has a 32 Amp max, you can add around 16 miles per hour. If you opt for the Rivian wall charger ($750 now), which has a 48 Amp max, you can get 25 miles per hour; or you can buy a third-party charger such as JuiceBox to charger your Rivian. However, if you are like me and have a Tesla, either of those three choices would mean I need to install a second dedicated charger, which can get tricky as my breaker box was almost maxed out with the Tesla. Adding a separate EV charger at 32 or 48 amps would probably require me to upgrade my box, which sounds very expensive. Lucky for me, the solution is much simpler, see below.
Solution: when my NEMA 14-50 plug was installed, the electrician added a 50 amp circuit breaker. Thus, I can attach a charger with a max charge rate of 40 amps to that plug. The key in the solution is that there is a charger from Grizzl-E with a max charge rate of 40 amps that is specifically designed to plug into one NEMA 14-50 plug but that has two separate charging cables which can be connected to two cars at once. The charger can then manage the charging of the two vehicles at once or, how I will do it, you can use the carsā built in charging schedules to stagger the charge times so that each car is charging at the max during its allotted time. For instance, I know that my Model 3 will charge much quicker so I will have it start charging first at 9pm (my low rates kick in). Then, 4 hours later at 1am, I will have the Rivian turn on. At 40 amps (or 10 kWh), the Rivian will add about 20 miles per hour (5 less MPH than the 48 amps from Rivian but some sacrifices had to be made). By the times I am ready to leave my house at 8am, it can add up to 140 miles of range, which is plenty more than my daily. Problem solved. Now with just one NEMA 14-50 plug and this charger from Grizzl-E, both of my cars can charger overnight with no extra equipment needed. The plug is a little expensive ($900) but compared to all of the electrical work I avoid, I would gladly pay that. See below for link. As mentioned above, let me know if there is a better solution for Tesla/Rivian households. I know that Wallbox has chargers that can be connected so you could in theory connect two chargers and have them communicate together as they charge two cars as well. But those seemed like they would not fit into one NEMA 14-50 plug as you have two separate chargers. Might need an electrician for that.
Grizzl-E Duo Level 2 Plug in EV Charger, up to 40 Amp, Two 24 feet Premium Cables (14-50 Plug)
Sponsored
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