Wait for Rivian Wall Charger with delivery, or pre-install another type?

[shimps1]

Pretty much as the title says. I have a R1S on order, set for delivery next year. However, I am wondering, should I install another type of charger before I get the Rivian one, or just install the one I ordered with the R1S? Are there any specific benefits to the Rivian one? Is $500 for a wall charger cheap? I really haven't done any research on them, just curious to hear from the more well read.

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[ORFynder]

I think $500 for the Rivian charger is a pretty good deal based on the specs. Not really any specific benefit. If u need a charger for for another EV, go grab one now. If not I would wait for the Rivian Charger

 

[NoCoRH83]

I'd check whether your electric company has any special rebates or programs. In CO, ours offers a free charger and installation if you agree to charge at specific off-peak times. You may decide such a program doesn't work for you but it could also save you some cash if it aligns with your needs.

 

[DTown3011]

I see no reason to do the Rivian charger unless you absolutely feel it’s necessary. My ChargePoint was basically fully subsidized by my electrical company here in Colorado.

 

[bhlackey]

Rivian shipped my charger a month before truck arrived. After you sign all the tics, there can be a 4-6 week wait to ship the vehicle prep etc. as soon as I signed, they shipped.

 

[jjswan33]

If you can get the Rivian charger for $500 I think it’s worth it, retail is $750.

I am also very happy with my Chargepoint charger, if you were paying full price then I’d say no reason to wait.

Also if you just want to be ready when the truck arrives. Have a Nema 14-50 outlet installed but ask to have the wiring be capable of supporting future 60A circuit. You will be able to charge day one with the Rivian’s included portable charger and it will be a quick install on the Rivian charger when that comes.

 

[iansriv]

Is there a way to "prep" the hard wire connections ahead of time so that I can install the final bits when the charger arrives?

 

[NashvilleR1S]

Is there a way to "prep" the hard wire connections ahead of time so that I can install the final bits when the charger arrives?

Yeah an electrician can run all the wiring to the location ahead of time, but in my experience, having an electrician come out twice is always more expensive.

 

[Cosmacelf]

$500 for the Rivian charger is a good price. I got it at $500 too. Cons against it is that it has a really bright green LED light, but if is in an enclosed garage, that doesn’t matter. Also some people have found it comes with a weird default setting that needs a WiFi connection for Rivian service to fix. Hopefully they have fixed that going forward by the time you get yours.

If I had to do over again, I would have cancelled the Rivian charger (even at $500) and bought the Tesla J1772 charger at $520. The Tesla charger has a slightly thinner more manageable cable (the Rivian one is bulky), and supports load sharing where you can have multiple Tesla chargers connected to a single breaker. It is also a third generation design … the Rivian charger is a first gen design … among other things it doesn’t have a good way of securing the inlet wires. The Tesla charger has the same 48A maximum charge specs.

 

[paariv]

Pretty much as the title says. I have a R1S on order, set for delivery next year. However, I am wondering, should I install another type of charger before I get the Rivian one, or just install the one I ordered with the R1S? Are there any specific benefits to the Rivian one? Is $500 for a wall charger cheap? I really haven't done any research on them, just curious to hear from the more well read.

My Rivian charger shipped as soon as I was matched with a VIN. Arrived in 2 days. Installation was a couple of hours of work. It’s now installed and I still have a few weeks to go before my R1S is expected to be delivered.

If your installation is simple, and you have an electrician that will reliably come out within a week or two of you getting matched to a vehicle, there’s no need to order another charger well in advance. Rivian is shipping them with plenty of lead time.

But if installation is an issue, might be worth tackling early.

 

[Birdowin]

What charge speed do you get with the Rivian charger? I'm getting about 13mph on a Nema 14-50 on a 50A circuit.

 

[Count Orlok]

What charge speed do you get with the Rivian charger? I'm getting about 13mph on a Nema 14-50 on a 50A circuit.

I'm getting 25 to 28 mph with my Rivian charger.

 

[MIG]

What charge speed do you get with the Rivian charger? I'm getting about 13mph on a Nema 14-50 on a 50A circuit.

Physics controls your charging rate. A 50Amp circuit will give you 80% of that at the charger (40Amps). At 240V that will give you 9.6kW output, so roughly 20 miles per hour of charge. If you're getting a full 40Amps then any charger will give you that charging rate. I have an Autel that works just great at about 60% of the price of Rivian's charger.

 

[Cosmacelf]

What charge speed do you get with the Rivian charger? I'm getting about 13mph on a Nema 14-50 on a 50A circuit.

That’s low if you are charging at 40A. You can view the kW charge rate in your app when charging. It should read 9 or 10 kW depending on how it rounds the number.

 

[evguy]

If I had to do over again, I would have cancelled the Rivian charger (even at $500) and bought the Tesla J1772 charger at $520. The Tesla charger has a slightly thinner more manageable cable (the Rivian one is bulky), and supports load sharing where you can have multiple Tesla chargers connected to a single breaker. It is also a third generation design … the Rivian charger is a first gen design … among other things it doesn’t have a good way of securing the inlet wires. The Tesla charger has the same 48A maximum charge specs.
[/QUOTE]
This, a thousand times this. The thinner and more manageable cable on a Tesla charger makes the Rivian charger feel obsolete.

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