Home Charge Points Discussion and Suggestions [megathread]

[m3p_uk]

Dear All

In advance of my M3P arriving ( if it ever does ), I am thinking about chargers.

I was looking at the Sync EV, which seems to have all bases covered.

Sync EV Domestic Compact Car Charger 7.4kw WiFi Only - Black | Sync_EV (EVCP-7KW-S-1PH:32A BLACK-01)

O-Pen protection, no earth needed, inbuilt RCD protection etc.

Anyone have one of these ? Any opinions ? Or is it all too good to be true ?

R

Mehul

Seems quite expensive as you'll have to pay for someone to fit and you won't be able to get the grant either.

There's a decent comparison of the main ones here ChargedEV

 

[MBL80]

The manufacturer will fit and claim the grant etc

BG SyncEV - Homepage

www.syncev.co.uk

They have quoted me £589 fully fitted, after the grant etc, for my admittedly simple install.

 

[m3p_uk]

just remembered podpoint is also cheaper at £509

 

[skippyinspace]

Deep breath, Charger question for North East of Scotland, Im just at the test-drive stage at the moment for a M3SR+ (Say 1 May) and have done the first stage of the 28K Loan. So my focus has now moved onto chargers. Where on earth does one actually start, £1K+ for an Anderson charger or £1K for a non white car.

Rolec, Zappi, EO Mini other. Im with Octopus on Agile, So something that would work well with that would be good. Im in Peterhead

Any advice would be greatly appriciated

Thanks

IAn

 

[Dilly]

Deep breath, Charger question for North East of Scotland, Im just at the test-drive stage at the moment for a M3SR+ (Say 1 May) and have done the first stage of the 28K Loan. So my focus has now moved onto chargers. Where on earth does one actually start, £1K+ for an Anderson charger or £1K for a non white car.

Rolec, Zappi, EO Mini other. Im with Octopus on Agile, So something that would work well with that would be good. Im in Peterhead

Any advice would be greatly appriciated

Thanks

IAn

If you have solar and it’s sufficient to provide a couple of kilowatts plus house usage, the Zappi should suit. It works with Go or Agile too.
I would go with a tethered version, it’s less of a faff.

 

[skippyinspace]

If you have solar and it’s sufficient to provide a couple of kilowatts plus house usage, the Zappi should suit. It works with Go or Agile too.
I would go with a tethered version, it’s less of a faff.

Thanks but dont have Solar, Yes Tethered is the way Im going.

 

[Adopado]

Moderator comment - keeping all charger suggestions together so merged from "Anyone got a Sync EV Charger"

Dear All

In advance of my M3P arriving ( if it ever does ), I am thinking about chargers.

I was looking at the Sync EV, which seems to have all bases covered.

Sync EV Domestic Compact Car Charger 7.4kw WiFi Only - Black | Sync_EV (EVCP-7KW-S-1PH:32A BLACK-01)

O-Pen protection, no earth needed, inbuilt RCD protection etc.

Anyone have one of these ? Any opinions ? Or is it all too good to be true ?

R

Mehul

Seems like nobody has one here from the lack of response. At the end of the day they all do the same thing... they feed the mains voltage to your car. Installation is simpler if they already include the required safety features such as with this one.

 

[RedMod3]

Some advice please.

BP Pulse installed my free charger today and for the 4m run, then used 6mm twin/earth; the electrician who installed it stated that 10mm twin/earth is unnecessary, and he has installed 100s of chargers.

My electrician, who we have used for decades insists that 6mm cable is too thin and that 10mm twin/earth should be used; he has strong views on this.

So, my question is, when your installers come round, are they fitting 6mm or 10mm power cables?

Any comments and thanks

 

[OddJob83]

Just had my Andersen A2 installed and they used a 6mm SWA 6m run. The cable only needs to be 6mm if cable is tacked to the external wall and not buried to my understanding and 10mm if installed in a cavity. Similar to having a electric power shower they typically draw as much as 7kW and they tend to use 10mm as it is buried in the wall.

 

[Adopado]

Some advice please.

BP Pulse installed my free charger today and for the 4m run, then used 6mm twin/earth; the electrician who installed it stated that 10mm twin/earth is unnecessary, and he has installed 100s of chargers.

My electrician, who we have used for decades insists that 6mm cable is too thin and that 10mm twin/earth should be used; he has strong views on this.

So, my question is, when your installers come round, are they fitting 6mm or 10mm power cables?

Any comments and thanks

6mm is standard... but maybe there are factors we don’t know about..

 

[RedMod3]

Just had my Andersen A2 installed and they used a 6mm SWA 6m run. The cable only needs to be 6mm if cable is tacked to the external wall and not buried to my understanding and 10mm if installed in a cavity. Similar to having a electric power shower they typically draw as much as 7kW and they tend to use 10mm as it is buried in the wall.

Thanks, I'll go with 6mm twin/earth as it's a short 4m run and the cable is in a garage so won't be getting warm naturally.

 

[Puzuk]

We had our charging point fitted yesterday by Cannon Electrical, Hull. We're based in Lincolnshire. Terry fitted the Ohme box very neatly and came up with a better location than I did. We have a long run of cabling around the front of the house to get to the consumer unit, but this was put low down and clipped tidily.
Inside, the PEN switch was fitted below the consumer unit and (for an ugly box) looks good. No unnecessary cabling in sight.
Terry also went over the OLEV grant paperwork with me and offered any further support that might be needed when I start using the charger.

Quotation was quick, thorough and was based on some photos and videos I sent over along with a phone call to discuss. Good comms throughout and Terry dealt with the DNO notification. I would recommend Cannon Electrical. I dropped on them through the Ohme website as they are one of their official installers.

I'm torn between the Ohme or the EO for looks. Did you go untethered and if so where are you sourcing your charging cable from, if not the Tesla one? I have the same issue by the sounds of it, Consumer unit around the front, charging point around the back necessitates a long cable run.

 

[Puzuk]

So (deep breath), here is my scenario. The wife doesn't want a tethered solution as the cable messes with her mojo and she wants it small and unobtrusive so untethered and likely to be an Ohme, Wallbox, EO charger now. The charging unit will need to be around the back of my house but the consumer unit is around the front so likely a long run around the side of the house to the charing unit.

Then I have the issue with the car as it outside my back gate in a carpark (on my land). Depending on where I park it I'll need a 10meter or 15meter charging cable.

Options & advice appreciated!

 

[browellm]

Budget plenty for the cable!

 

[Puzuk]

Budget plenty for the cable!

Yeah

just looking around and £270 for 15m, £130 for 10m...

 

[MrBadger]

The wife doesn't want a tethered solution as the cable messes with her mojo

Next time it rains, put a wet dirt splattered flowerpot in the boot of her car. That will show if she prioritises the boot of her car or the aesthetics of the charge point. If she makes you take the pot out of the car you can be sure that she will never go near the charge cable of an EV. Charge cables get wet, splattered with dirt and possibly covered in crap from animals/birds etc Ask yourself if you want to coil that up and put it in your boot on a cold wet morning. You want to make plugging and unplugging a charge cable as easy as you can - you will do it very frequently - its not like going to the petrol station every few weeks. Our 7m cable probably takes 5 seconds or so to uncoil and plug in, and double that to loop back up again.

Take a look at an Anderson unit. It may be a good compromise, albeit at a cost.

Also, for a long run, get as thick as cable as you can. You will get less voltage drop and a more efficient charge.

 

[Puzuk]

Next time it rains, put a wet dirt splattered flowerpot in the boot of her car. That will show if she prioritises the boot of her car or the aesthetics of the charge point. If she makes you take the pot out of the car you can be sure that she will never go near the charge cable of an EV. Charge cables get wet, splattered with dirt and possibly covered in crap from animals/birds etc Ask yourself if you want to coil that up and put it in your boot on a cold wet morning. You want to make plugging and unplugging a charge cable as easy as you can - you will do it very frequently - its not like going to the petrol station every few weeks. Our 7m cable probably takes 5 seconds or so to uncoil and plug in, and double that to loop back up again.

Take a look at an Anderson unit. It may be a good compromise, albeit at a cost.

HA! Now that did make me laugh... I guess even with a long cable and an Ohme, it still comes in several hundred less than an Anderson (which I would love). Do tethered units come with that length of cable though!?

I'd most likely dump the cable in the shed or in a lock box once finished etc.

 

[daveyb]

So (deep breath), here is my scenario. The wife doesn't want a tethered solution as the cable messes with her mojo and she wants it small and unobtrusive so untethered and likely to be an Ohme, Wallbox, EO charger now. The charging unit will need to be around the back of my house but the consumer unit is around the front so likely a long run around the side of the house to the charing unit.

Then I have the issue with the car as it outside my back gate in a carpark (on my land). Depending on where I park it I'll need a 10meter or 15meter charging cable.

Options & advice appreciated!

A lot of EV chargers have an option for a plinth. Perhaps run the armoured right to your carpark, and mount the charger closer to the car. Could make your wife happier if its further from the house.

If getting a cable to the correct location is an issue, perhaps something like trenchless moling would work. (e.g Trenchless Moling - HDD Utilities)

 

[Adopado]

I'd most likely dump the cable in the shed or in a lock box once finished etc.

good idea ... somewhere you can sling it without too much ceremony! As mentioned above coiling a long cable in the wet is a messy job ... not just for the car (for those putting it in the boot) but your hands and clothes. I would think most tethered units can be specified with a custom length cable. Voltage drop isn't an issue at that length ... mine has about 50 meters of SWA and then 6.5 meters of standard Zappi tethered cable.

[I'm at the other extreme ... fortunately where I charge is a non-visible rather rough and ready area, and I don't even coil the tethered cable. I have an extra holster/holder screwed on the wooden garage and plug the free end there when not in use with the cable left fully extended. No coiling=clean hands. In the language of those fancy TV architects I'm going for "honesty and integrity" for my EV charging! .. it looks like what it is; a cable that's for charging a car!]

 

[Dilly]

We have two téthérée chargers, one in the garage one outdoors. brother-in-law has one untethered outside. We’ve used each other’s and agree that untethered is a PIA. Tethered takes two shakes to hitch up.
Our outside one sits under a large clematis and generally stays dirt free. To be fair the charge port is level with the charger and only three feet away So cable is never on the ground anyway.