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New to EVs and unsure which brand of home L2 charger to go with

CrazyOne

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I got a Rivian charger so that Rivian cannot blame the charger when something does not work. Most of them will work fine though.

Charger manufacturer will get some green credits afaik. So pick who ever you want to give money to.
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TexasBob

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I switched to a NEMA 14-50 plug and I just use the mobile charger that came with the truck. It works fine for me. You give up a little charging speed but it is really only relevant if you have a very tight TOU window on your electric rates. When I go on a road trip where I want to bring the mobile charger (not really much need if you are relying on DCFC) then I just unplug and throw it in the frunk. I used the same setup with my Model 3 after the pos Blink I installed died. We also have a 13 year old aerovironment unit that still works fine (we use it on our Model S due to location, works fine).

IMO, most people are better off with putting a 14-50 or two in the garage and sticking with the mobile chargers. For the price of the wall charger you can get 3 - 4 years of supercharger membership (much better deal).
 

mabowden

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JeromePowell

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I am a big fan of United Chargers (Canada) Grizzl-E, though I have seen a bunch of well-priced new-in-box Rivian Wall Chargers on FB Marketplace. Have noted some failure complaints with Rivian Wall Connectors.

Kinda hatin on Tesla right now, but they make very good Wall Connectors whether you choose the Universal a NACS (can always use an adapter) or J-1772.

FWIW, I think dumb chargers are the way to go. Keep it simple and let the EV and its app do any charge scheduling.

I would recommend Grizzl-E because they tend to be drama-free, very robust, and United Chargers stands behind its products. Just be sure to order before the tariffs start! Bonus, they are manufactured in Canada (North America until the name changes).
 

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Another vote for the Emporia. The charger works very well, though the app is less than stellar. I've needed to get in touch with their support on two occasions, both related to BT linking, not the operation of the charger, and found their support (US based, as is the company though the unit is manufactured in India) quite good.

We have a small cabin in the PA mountains, so I actually need two EVSEs. I ordered both the Grizzl-E and Emporia but ended up returning the Grizzl-E. It's actually well-made; my issue was the difficulty in hard-wiring the unit. It requires the use of ring connectors, which is fine, but the connectors are a non-standard size and not easily available.

If you decide to go with a simple 14-50 outlet setup, just keep in mind that the receptacle should be industrial grade, such as those made by Hubbel and Bryant (same company but two slightly different price points). In addition, the outlet needs to be connected via an appropriately sized GFCI breaker. These two items narrow the cost differential between the simple outlet setup and a less expensive EVSE considerably, which is why I went with the latter.
 

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2kwik4u

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I switched to a NEMA 14-50 plug and I just use the mobile charger that came with the truck. It works fine for me. You give up a little charging speed but it is really only relevant if you have a very tight TOU window on your electric rates. When I go on a road trip where I want to bring the mobile charger (not really much need if you are relying on DCFC) then I just unplug and throw it in the frunk. I used the same setup with my Model 3 after the pos Blink I installed died. We also have a 13 year old aerovironment unit that still works fine (we use it on our Model S due to location, works fine).

IMO, most people are better off with putting a 14-50 or two in the garage and sticking with the mobile chargers. For the price of the wall charger you can get 3 - 4 years of supercharger membership (much better deal).
Glad to see I'm not the only one that just uses the Rivian supplied mobile charger. I drive quite a bit (75-ish mi/day during the week), and it's more than adequate to charge back to 85% (because winter) overnight. I'm also fortunate to not have TimeOfUse billing to worry about, so I just plug in when I'm home, and honestly, forget about it until I go to leave. If we decide to take a long trip on Saturday, I bump it to 100% in the morning, and it can usually charge the truck up faster than I can get a wife and 2 kids out of the house.

I installed my own 14-50 outlet in the garage. Wired using 6/3 Romex, a 60A breaker, and a reputable outlet. Took a couple hours, but was honestly not that difficult. Have the capacity in the circuit to go EVSE with a constant 48A draw, just in case, but the 32A from the portable charger has been more than sufficient so far. I'll start towing the boat this summer, and will likely end up with "deep draws" on the battery, but I think the chances of doing that two days in a row will be pretty low.

I bought this cheap wall mount for the charger, and it works out well. Keeps the cord off the floor, and the outlet from supporting the weight of the charger.

Nevermind the hole in the wall. My first drywall cut almost perfectly centered the outlet over a vent pipe, so I had to move it left a shade to ensure it fit. I've since patched the hole :D
Rivian R1T R1S New to EVs and unsure which brand of home L2 charger to go with 1738330342304-ja
 

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I got the Rivian wall charger. It no longer connects to my wifi, which is annoying, but it works to charge my truck. My R1T was my first EV, and I knew nothing about them when I bought it, so I just bought the charger that went with it. It's been 2.5 years and it still works, despite the no internet connectivity which doesn't really matter as the truck tells me how it's charging.
 

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Tesla Universal Wall Connector is the way to go - if you want to give less margin to Elon, buy it from Best Buy or someplace rather than direct.

For many (most?) people a NEMA 14-50 outlet and mobile charger could be enough, but some things to watch out for:
  • 32A maximum, vs. 40A with the same wiring/breaker for a hardwired unit, or 48A with a 60A breaker and higher gauge (=more expensive) wire. That's a significant charging speed difference - roughly 15 miles/hr vs. 20 vs. 25 - but won't make a difference charging overnight.
  • It's harder to share an outlet if you wind up with two EVs, whereas wall connectors like Tesla allow power sharing with a second unit, or there's a Grizzl-e duo that charges two cars with power sharing from one unit.
  • As pointed out above, if you go the outlet route you should get a quality outlet - Hubbell is the gold standard (and costs more)
  • If you're going to be taking the mobile charger with you regularly on road trips (and you will want it on a road trip), it's not only an annoyance to plug/unplug and pack in the car, but can become a safety issue due to risk of wear and tear on the outlet, or even touching connectors by accident.
  • On the safety front, from what I've read, there have been more fires, near-fire overheated/melted components, etc. as a result of outlets, perhaps because DIYers are more likely to do outlets vs. hard-wire installs. Whatever install you do, make sure you know what you're doing, torque connections as required, etc. - or leave it to a pro (but make sure they've got the right experience).
 

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Perhaps obvious first option Rivian's but I'm seeing Tesla has a comparable one for cheaper. Also if I'm understanding correctly the Tesla connector is becoming the more default standard (included in R2 even) and that might make sense for future proofing.

Any reason to not go with Tesla for an R1S Gen2 other than needing to charge with the adaptor?
The NACS charge adapter is only used for Tesla Super Chargers. It will not work for level 2 charging. We installed the Tesla Universal charger which has the native NACS male fitting as well as the J1772 adapter built into the charger housing. It's provides a future proof level 2 charging solution.
 

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Tesla Universal Wall Connector is the way to go - if you want to give less margin to Elon, buy it from Best Buy or someplace rather than direct.

For many (most?) people a NEMA 14-50 outlet and mobile charger could be enough, but some things to watch out for:
  • 32A maximum, vs. 40A with the same wiring/breaker for a hardwired unit, or 48A with a 60A breaker and higher gauge (=more expensive) wire. That's a significant charging speed difference - roughly 15 miles/hr vs. 20 vs. 25 - but won't make a difference charging overnight.
  • It's harder to share an outlet if you wind up with two EVs, whereas wall connectors like Tesla allow power sharing with a second unit, or there's a Grizzl-e duo that charges two cars with power sharing from one unit.
  • As pointed out above, if you go the outlet route you should get a quality outlet - Hubbell is the gold standard (and costs more)
  • If you're going to be taking the mobile charger with you regularly on road trips (and you will want it on a road trip), it's not only an annoyance to plug/unplug and pack in the car, but can become a safety issue due to risk of wear and tear on the outlet, or even touching connectors by accident.
  • On the safety front, from what I've read, there have been more fires, near-fire overheated/melted components, etc. as a result of outlets, perhaps because DIYers are more likely to do outlets vs. hard-wire installs. Whatever install you do, make sure you know what you're doing, torque connections as required, etc. - or leave it to a pro (but make sure they've got the right experience).
Correct on all counts. Absolutely the best solution at a lower cost than other options
 

Ngkgb

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I have the ChargePoint and like it a lot. It allows you to vary the amps if you chose and shows the cost of each session based on your utility rates. The App works well too.
 

PeterSK

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I have the ChargePoint and like it a lot. It allows you to vary the amps if you chose and shows the cost of each session based on your utility rates. The App works well too.
A lot of local utilities will provide a discount or rebate or ongoing credits on a ChargePoint and a few other brands, if you let them have control of the charger so they can throttle it down during evening "rush hour" peak load times. Which shouldn't have much if any impact on overnight charging.
 

Ngkgb

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A lot of local utilities will provide a discount or rebate or ongoing credits on a ChargePoint and a few other brands, if you let them have control of the charger so they can throttle it down during evening "rush hour" peak load times. Which shouldn't have much if any impact on overnight charging.
Yeah. I keep getting requests from SCE for that but it’s like 50/year savings and I don’t want to deal with that during Summer months.
 
 





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