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Rivian charger vs. other charging devices

E.S.

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... Would love to hear people's experience with things like the JuiceBox, WallBox, Chargepoint or Electrify America ...
As someone who drives a Bolt and infrequently road trips in it, I've used plenty of Charge Point and Electrify America chargers along the way. I found that CP's chargers were less frequent (compared to the number EA has), but (and this is more true for me concerning Northern states) EA chargers were more problematic regarding handing shaking and getting all of the chargers used to charge at a lower rate than described (I'm aware EA has issues with some of their chargers). I haven't used Juice/Wallbox. Mind you, this is when I travel.

At home I have my own solar set up and the only thing I am thinking of doing is changing out the battery storage (I currently have a LG battery for storage). I want to switch it out for something larger and from a different brand with room to grow for a 2nd battery for when I get my R1T and I want to make sure I'm solid during hurricane season.
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lefkonj

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My experience so far is my ChargePoint Home Flex looks great on my floor :) I can't get an electrician to respond to my inquires and come and install. Construction is super backed up here. Amazingly, the L1 charger the car came with is working just fine
It took over 3 months to get the electrician here to install the circuit, they are super busy.
 

ajdelange

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What about the other charges on the market? Would love to hear people's experience with things like the JuiceBox, WallBox, Chargepoint or Electrify America.
I can only testify as to the the Tesla Gen2 and Gen3 HPWC and the Wallbox Pulsar. All are pretty easy to intall (except the screws that secure the cover om the Tesla Gen 3 which must be aligned very precisely for the threads to catch). All will charge my MX (from a Yeti battery pack - there is no power in the building yet) but as I have no Rivian as yet I can't speak as to how they will work with the Rivians.
 

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My experience so far is my ChargePoint Home Flex looks great on my floor :) I can't get an electrician to respond to my inquires and come and install. Construction is super backed up here. Amazingly, the L1 charger the car came with is working just fine
Thanks, this comment was helpful. I'm building a new house and was debating hardwire versus a plug-in NEMA 14-50 receptacle. I would hate to be dependent on an electrician if something were to go wrong with the Rivian hardwire charger at home and the Rivian needs some charging. Seems like if I went with something like a ChargePoint Flex, and something were to go wrong, I could just unplug it and use the Rivian travel plug while waiting for a replacement.

Looks like I'll lean toward the plug-in path. I don't really need 48A charging at home if I plug in everyday. I really wish Rivian would offer a plug in version though. The charger looks a lot better on the wall than every other charger out there (at least in my eyes) and might have better integrated features?
 

Scott

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Thanks, this comment was helpful. I'm building a new house and was debating hardwire versus a plug-in NEMA 14-50 receptacle. I would hate to be dependent on an electrician if something were to go wrong with the Rivian hardwire charger at home and the Rivian needs some charging. Seems like if I went with something like a ChargePoint Flex, and something were to go wrong, I could just unplug it and use the Rivian travel plug while waiting for a replacement.

Looks like I'll lean toward the plug-in path. I don't really need 48A charging at home if I plug in everyday. I really wish Rivian would offer a plug in version though. The charger looks a lot better on the wall than every other charger out there (at least in my eyes) and might have better integrated features?
You should check with your state / local government and your power company. Mine has exactly 4 models for which they will give you a $500 time of installation rebate plus a quarterly $25 rebate on your power bill. They also require hardwiring for those rebates. Personally I was going to go with hardwired anyway as I want the highest power draw possible. I bought a charger that lets you schedule charging and can deliver 50 amps to the car. I want to use the full capability of the charger.​
 

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monzarottie

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You should check with your state / local government and your power company. Mine has exactly 4 models for which they will give you a $500 time of installation rebate plus a quarterly $25 rebate on your power bill. They also require hardwiring for those rebates. Personally I was going to go with hardwired anyway as I want the highest power draw possible. I bought a charger that lets you schedule charging and can deliver 50 amps to the car. I want to use the full capability of the charger.​
Our eclectic utility offers similar incentives. From what I understand though, Rivian‘s max is 48amps.
 

Scott

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Our eclectic utility offers similar incentives. From what I understand though, Rivian‘s max is 48amps.
Yeah, honestly 48 vs 50 amps is no real difference. And you likely need a higher end installation / wiring to support 50 vs 48. My (fairly uninformed) understanding is a 60 amp circuit supports the 48, and you need to go up to a 70 amp circuit for the 50. That adds cost for very little extra added range per hour.
 

ajdelange

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Yeah, honestly 48 vs 50 amps is no real difference. And you likely need a higher end installation / wiring to support 50 vs 48. My (fairly uninformed) understanding is a 60 amp circuit supports the 48, and you need to go up to a 70 amp circuit for the 50. That adds cost for very little extra added range per hour.
The EVSE is nothing more than a contactor and some stuff to energize it. Contactors do have electrical ratings just as ny other piece of electrical equipment. More important with EVSE is that the EVSE tells the car how much current it can draw which is, of course, not more than the contactor and wiring in the EVSE can support.

The Rivian and WallBox and Gen 3 Tesla EVSE are all limited to 48A meaning that they require a 60 A circuit. You can install them on a 70A or 80A circuit if you want to but they cannot be commissioned for more than a 60A circuit and will not allow the vehicle to draw more than 48A.

The Gen2 Tesla HPWC could be installed on an 100A circuit and could deliver up to 80A because they used to build cars that took that much. They don't currently.

If, on that happy day early, I hope, next year, my R1T arrives I decide to charge it from the Tesla EVSE that is on a 100A circuit the truck will be told it can take up to 80A but it will never ask for more than 48 because that's the limit of its charger.
 

Trekkie

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This sexy beast: https://wattzilla.com/products/duo.htm

Twin 40A chargers (80A Total) in a stainless steel enclosure. It's not inexpensive, but if you have two EVs this will brown out the neighborhood making sure they are charged.

Edit: read that wrong, can be as high as twin 80A chargers. Don't think you need that but load balanced 80A between two vehicles would be awesome.
 

ajdelange

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That is really just two 80A EVSE in a single box. It requires a separate 100A branch circuit for each side. If you had two Rivians, one plugged into each side, each would be able to take 48 A from it. It does not load balance.
 

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evsunny

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It's good to go with this charger. I am happy with its specs.
 

Lmirafuente

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Here's a question I still need to research.

Should one wait for the V2H device from Rivian, in the hopes it can also act as a charger, or will it require two separate units, one for charging and one for providing power to the home?
 

DucRider

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Here's a question I still need to research.

Should one wait for the V2H device from Rivian, in the hopes it can also act as a charger, or will it require two separate units, one for charging and one for providing power to the home?
V2H devices shown so far are bi-directional DC chargers.
 

ajdelange

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Please note that this is an option. The link posted yesterday was to the basic Duo which is, as I indicated yesterday, 2 EVSE in a box and, as it says plainly on the linked page, requires 2 separate 100 A circuits. Be sure you understand what you are buying. Or better yet call the guy up and ask for clarification. He's a real character and you will enjoy the chat. He's very reasonable about any customizations you may want.
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