While awaiting delivery, I’m looking at different EVSE options for home charging. I would like a longer cable for flexibility and I feel like the 18’ cable on the TWC may be limiting. The UMC is potentially the best and most affordable option but will have to wait to take delivery to see if the 20’ cable will suffice. I’m also considering 3rd party chargers with longer cables. There are “smart” chargers (Juicebox, ChargePoint) and “dumb” (Grizzl-E) ones with cable lengths of 23-25’. Given the capabilities of monitoring and scheduling charging on the car itself or Tesla app, is there any benefit to getting a smart charger over a dumb charger? The smart features of these chargers seem mostly redundant.
Smart vs dumb charger
- Thread starter csong825
- Start date
While I only have direct experience with the HPWC and UMC, I've heard that some of the smart chargers don't play well with Tesla's. That is, if the Tesla gets connected and doesn't see proper signaling initially, or sees signals that say 'you can take 0 current', it may never re-evaluate the situation if some hours later the smart charger says "hey, if you want, you can take 32 amps now" once the Tesla is sleeping. This could clearly be fixed in SW on the tesla side, but I'm not sure if it has been done yet.
I think the best course of action is either a dumb charger or a plug-in Gen2 HPWC(w 24 foot cord) if you can find one, if you really want a dedicated home solution.
I think I'd just use the UMC until the HPWC gen4 comes out or they put another 6 feet on the gen3's cord. The gen3 was such a disaster, product-wise. I assume they didn't actually ask users what they wanted, or maybe they saw one class of user and decided that was the one they'd serve.
I think the best course of action is either a dumb charger or a plug-in Gen2 HPWC(w 24 foot cord) if you can find one, if you really want a dedicated home solution.
I think I'd just use the UMC until the HPWC gen4 comes out or they put another 6 feet on the gen3's cord. The gen3 was such a disaster, product-wise. I assume they didn't actually ask users what they wanted, or maybe they saw one class of user and decided that was the one they'd serve.
We had a JuiceBox from our leaf days. Great EVSE. But the all season cable was thick and heavy compared to the UMC cable. As well, having to use the adapter all the time kinda sucked as it made the cable stick way out of the car and have a narrow garage. I’ll post a couple pics later to give you an idea of the bulkiness of the unit and cable.
Cheers.
Cheers.
jrweiss98020
Tessa's Tesla
The "smart charger" is already in the car, so all you really need is electricity.
Re my earlier posts. Pictures as promised.
Pic number 1 is the Juicebox. Fully programmable wifi smart charging. Great unit. But check out the cable. Heavy, longer than it needs to be.
Pic number 2 is the TESLA UMC. No need to be programmable as the Tesla will do all that for you. Nice thin cable and a couple feet shorter. My recommendation would be that you spend the extra money and get the holder for the UMC and a cord organizer so you can properly protect the cable and head. Cheap cheap. Get the one where the cable passes behind the organizer.
Cheers
]
Pic number 1 is the Juicebox. Fully programmable wifi smart charging. Great unit. But check out the cable. Heavy, longer than it needs to be.
Pic number 2 is the TESLA UMC. No need to be programmable as the Tesla will do all that for you. Nice thin cable and a couple feet shorter. My recommendation would be that you spend the extra money and get the holder for the UMC and a cord organizer so you can properly protect the cable and head. Cheap cheap. Get the one where the cable passes behind the organizer.
Cheers
]
Thank you for your responses. I’m amazed by how helpful everyone is in this community! It certainly looks like the UMC will be the best option both from a cost and hardware standpoint as long as the cable is long enough. If not, I may just end up going for a dumb charger. The Grizzl-E is nice because it comes with a mount that is compatible with the Tesla adapter attached so I won’t have to take the adapter on and off each time.
I have a "dumb" ClipperCreek and it's worked well for the past 3 years. I rarely see complaints about chargers, but when I do they tend to be "smart" chargers. If you don't really need a "smart" charger, I would get a "dumb" one.
My son bought an EVSE for his EGolf. This one is available with several cord length choices up to 50 ft..
PRIMECOM | 30 ft & 50 ft Level 2 Electric Vehicle (EV) Chargers >=$240
Also available on Amazon but in his case the Amazon price was higher.
It is J1772 but you'll have that adaptor.
PRIMECOM | 30 ft & 50 ft Level 2 Electric Vehicle (EV) Chargers >=$240
Also available on Amazon but in his case the Amazon price was higher.
It is J1772 but you'll have that adaptor.
If you only plan on having Tesla EVs then the UMC is the best choice imho. There are no adapters to fiddle with and no pushing buttons on a controller. You just grab the charge wand, press the button on the wand to open the charge port, plug in, and walk away. You can stop/start charging from the Tesla app (or, if you have Watch for Tesla, from your Apple Watch if you have one).
One thing an aftermarket EVSE gives you is flexibility. You can leave it at home and leave your Tesla EVSE in the car. If you buy a non-Tesla EV you can still charge it. And you can buy one with a cord length that suits your needs.
If I park my Cybertruck in the driveway, I'd be able to plug it in even with the EVSE in the garage.
If I park my Cybertruck in the driveway, I'd be able to plug it in even with the EVSE in the garage.
TheRFMan
Member
One advantage of using a J1772 EVSE (with adapter) is that it is possible to buy a J1772 extension. They are useful if your EVSE is in the garage and you need to charge a car parked further down in the driveway (of if you get ICE'd at a public station, but that's for another thread)
That’s interesting. I always thought 25’ was the max recommended cord length for a level 2 charger.
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