Rolec EV Wallpod

[pharwood]

Thinking about getting a Rolec EV Wallpod installed to charge my Model 3.

Can anyone who already has one installed let me know if they make any noise while charging the car?

I have already asked Rolec this question and they said the unit is silent, but wanted feedback from real life users to make sure.

 

[Adopado]

Thinking about getting a Rolec EV Wallpod installed to charge my Model 3.

Can anyone who already has one installed let me know if they make any noise while charging the car?

I have already asked Rolec this question and they said the unit is silent, but wanted feedback from real life users to make sure.

I think you win the prize for unique question of the month! I don't know the answer ... but I can't imagine why any home charger would make any noise. The car itself will make a few (very low) noises sometimes ... Superchargers are a different story though!

 

[Jason71]

There is a noticeably loud Clunk or click when you connect it but after that I haven't noticed. anything else if someone else doesn't respond ill have a listen when I get home tomorrow but since it's basically just a big switch and does not have a transformer ( except for a mini one for the internal electronics presumably) so I can't see why it would

 

[Tattersky]

Thinking about getting a Rolec EV Wallpod installed to charge my Model 3.

Can anyone who already has one installed let me know if they make any noise while charging the car?

I have already asked Rolec this question and they said the unit is silent, but wanted feedback from real life users to make sure.

I have had a 32 amp Rolec for over five years now and I could not recommend them really. This has been my experience:

Years 1-2 - I had a 3.3 kWh Leaf and the charger worked fine. Made a gentle hum about as loud as a quiet conversation.
Year 3-4 - I changed to an i3 with 7 kWh charging. Lasted about a month before burning out. Rolec replaced some bits and it worked 90% of the time before tripping out. Not an issue as I rarely needed the full charge and at least the Rolec was silent now.
Year 5 - It worked with my M3 for about 4 months, tripping out about 70% of the time before going kaput a couple of months ago. I have been in touch with Rolec via Email and Web Page contact, both with no response.

Now I am charging with a 3 pin plug. A new charger is going to set me back £800-£1000.

Throughout the charger makes a bit of a clunk when starting and stopping a charge. Louder than speaking, but quieter than shouting.

 

[kevuwk]

Now I am charging with a 3 pin plug. A new charger is going to set me back £800-£1000.

I assume you aren't eligible for the grant. If not then you should be able to buy a new one at less than £500 and get any electrician to fit it using the existing wiring.

 

[Jason71]

I have had a 32 amp Rolec for over five years now and I could not recommend them really. This has been my experience:

Years 1-2 - I had a 3.3 kWh Leaf and the charger worked fine. Made a gentle hum about as loud as a quiet conversation.
Year 3-4 - I changed to an i3 with 7 kWh charging. Lasted about a month before burning out. Rolec replaced some bits and it worked 90% of the time before tripping out. Not an issue as I rarely needed the full charge and at least the Rolec was silent now.
Year 5 - It worked with my M3 for about 4 months, tripping out about 70% of the time before going kaput a couple of months ago. I have been in touch with Rolec via Email and Web Page contact, both with no response.

Now I am charging with a 3 pin plug. A new charger is going to set me back £800-£1000.

Throughout the charger makes a bit of a clunk when starting and stopping a charge. Louder than speaking, but quieter than shouting.

Rolec did have some well documented quality issues on their older models. Particularly with cheap trip switches. Allegedly they are much better now. I doubt a current model has much in common with your 5 year old one.
Not had any issues with mine so far but only had it a few months

 

[Keeper]

My Rolec experience so far FWIW - No noise whatsoever when charging. A clonk when it starts to charge and a clonk when it stops. Mine is fixed to the side of my house and therefore the clonk is noticeable compared to say, having it on a garage wall for instance but because I use the nightly off peak electricity tariff (00:30 - 04:30) it doesn't bother me. I've had the unit 6 months with no issues.

 

[MrBadger]

We regularly use a 32A Rolec Multimode (additional 13A 3-pin) - totally silent, except feint click when start/stop charge and completely different internals to the Rolecs of old.

 

[Christiez]

No noise I can think of apart from the initial clunk as mentioned in a previous post.

In regards to reliability, I had mine installed in Sep last year and had been working fine up until a month or so ago. Had it repaired a few weeks back as the rcbo kept tripping, worked ok for a week or so and now doing same thing. Currently using 3 pin which is far from ideal!

 

[Sixer]

I have one on my house externally. It’s silent in use BUT that clunk is pretty loud when it stops/starts. It’s like someone drop closing a wheelie bin lid. It’s especially annoying when using scheduled charging when it will do the clunk noise a few times during the night. Quality otherwise is fine and it works.

 

[awaghorn]

We regularly use a 32A Rolec Multimode (additional 13A 3-pin) - totally silent, except feint click when start/stop charge and completely different internals to the Rolecs of old.

View attachment 518290

You don’t have a better resolution of that interior do you? I’ve an older 32a type 1 that I am swooping the cable on and having now seen the stories the rcbo. I’ve struggled to get a blanking plate for the bottom at reasonable cost so have got the 13a socket to go multi mode instead (as the holster needs to change and the one I got is a remote one) and it would be super helpful to confirm how it is wired in.
Thanks!

 

[AnthonyLR]

Rolec did have some well documented quality issues on their older models. Particularly with cheap trip switches. Allegedly they are much better now. I doubt a current model has much in common with your 5 year old one.
Not had any issues with mine so far but only had it a few months

That’s the thing about reputation. Easy to lose. Hard to regain.

 

[MrBadger]

You don’t have a better resolution of that interior do you?

That is high resolution - it's just blurred!

I've got a couple of others but not sure they will help - I felt I shouldn't have been there so had to rush them. The first one here may be better, but its still blurred.



Not sure if these will work - I kept getting security errors pasting them in







​

 

[awaghorn]

That is high resolution - it's just blurred!

Not sure if these will work - I kept getting security errors pasting them in
​

Alright fair point! Thanks these are helpful.

 

[Tattersky]

I assume you aren't eligible for the grant. If not then you should be able to buy a new one at less than £500 and get any electrician to fit it using the existing wiring.

Electricians want around £200 to fit even with existing wiring, which is a bit of a bummer. I could do it myself, but I do not fancy mucking about with that much power and a large metal object nearby

Rolec did have some well documented quality issues on their older models. Particularly with cheap trip switches. Allegedly they are much better now. I doubt a current model has much in common with your 5 year old one.
Not had any issues with mine so far but only had it a few months

I agree that Rolec is using better components now, but it is telling how much customer service you will get once it is out of warranty. I do not mind paying for a repair, but to ignore me is not fair.

 

[Hatchie]

Got one of the older dumb chargers, loud clunk is a pain as mine is on the outside of bedroom wall, worked ok for 4 years with my hybrid but did trip quite a lot, lasted a week before it died with the M3, rcbo burnt out ( was one of the blue ones) replaced with a new rcbo for £20 ( upgraded green rolec one) also replaced the cable while I was at it , been as good as gold since with not a single trip out ( 4months now)

 

[SirRob]

I've had no issues with mine other than occasionally hearing a bit of buzz from a contactor when very close to it (< 6 feet).

There's something to be said for a dumb charger.

 

[Tattersky]

Got one of the older dumb chargers, loud clunk is a pain as mine is on the outside of bedroom wall, worked ok for 4 years with my hybrid but did trip quite a lot, lasted a week before it died with the M3, rcbo burnt out ( was one of the blue ones) replaced with a new rcbo for £20 ( upgraded green rolec one) also replaced the cable while I was at it , been as good as gold since with not a single trip out ( 4months now)

Have you got the details of the new rcbo and where you got it from?
Ta!

 

[Hatchie]

Will dig it out and send it

 

[Hatchie]

Here you go it was cef.co.uk
Part ACEQ0150
32A Single Pole and Neutral 2 Module 6kA Type C 30mA RCBO