[Paul_Moxhay]

Are you going to install a home charging unit at home and/or work?

If you are then make sure yoou do some research beforehand. The early EV owners were persuaded into buying a Home Charging Pod from British Gas at nearly £1000! This price was probably the going rate for an installed Home pod at that time but now much cheaper solutions are coming.

As a Nissan Leaf owner I do wholly recommend installing a home charging solution rather than relying on using the cable supplied by the manufacturer. Firstly, that cable is not really intended for everyday charging. Secondly, it will only charge at 10A maximum and whilst that may be adequate for most people most of the time I have found that having a faster charging solution means that you can get more miles more quickly when you need them.

Having said that, the Ampera will perform happily when the battery is not fully charged by virtue of the petrol range extender so it is much less important to be able to charge quickly.

perhaps the best solution for Ampera owners is a dedicated 13A socket. It must have its own RCD at the consumer unit. It is not a good idea to use sockets on a ring main for EV charging. The currents are high and continuous and whilst a ring main socket should be up to the job occasionally to do it regularly will be a risk.

What are you going to do?

 

[garetht]

I defiantly think that having a permanent plugged in charger has to be the way to go...

More because I'm to lazy to go int the boot and get all the kit out to charge the car every night / remember to pack it all away properly before going away getting to the destination and cursing loud and long because I don't have my charger.

I'm hoping that a host of aftermarket shops will spring up to give us all as wider(cheaper) range of second chargers as possible...

Cheers

g

 

[Paul_Moxhay]

I know Rolec are bringing one out soon that is more sensibly priced.

I wouldn't have an EV and not have a permanent home charging solution. If you have a garage and keep your car init then just a dedicated 13A socket and a second charge cable would work but I keep my car outside and so I don't want to have to keep getting the cable out of the car and putiing it back especially when windy, rainy and cold!

My POD-Point Home unit is 32A and has a J1772 plug so is suitable for both my Leaf and teh Ampera.

 

[Dave Mathers]

I went to charge my car at home yesterday and found the control box dead, no lights.Fuse ok.After giving the box a careful check I noticed that the membrane that covers the 6/10 amp switch had cracked and water had entered the box.My dealer was very good and replaced it immediately but I feel it might be worth keeping a close eye on this in future

 

[dpeilow]

Do you still have the dead one?

 

[Dave Mathers]

sorry no it was a replacement

 

[dpeilow]

Drat, would have been useful for a project I'm working on ;-)

 

[Brian Matthews]

Today, applied for a free 16amp charger from Polar/British Gas.
While I wait for suitability and possible installation will continue to use my 2nd switchable 6amp/12amp Ampera charger which has a longer lead from plug to box, making it easier to plug in, it is permanently hung in the garage ready for use.
The original one supplied with the car is stowed permanently in the boot for public charging.
I find having 2 units saves a lot of time and messing about.

 

[Paul_Moxhay]

While I wait for suitability and possible installation will continue to use my 2nd switchable 6amp/12amp Ampera charger which has a longer lead from plug to box, making it easier to plug in, it is permanently hung in the garage ready for use.

Just so others don't get confused... the Ampera EVSE is 6A/10A not 12A as you mentioned.

 

[Brian Matthews]

Thanks Paul. Where on earth did I get 12amps from

 

[Paul_Moxhay]

Thanks Paul. Where on earth did I get 12amps from

Don't know but we all do it!!!

 

[dpeilow]

Sure do

 

[SP_66]

http://www.britishgas.co.uk/products-an ... icles.html

 

[Paul_Moxhay]

Just how BG is making "home charging safer" I am at a loss. That implies that it isn't safe or might be less than safe!!! I didn't get my home charging unit from BG and I am 100% certain that it is every bit as safe as any BG installation.

I think that the way that BG has become preferred home charging partner for the main manufacturers is not good for the consumer/owner. They are marketing in negative terms and it stands the chance of turning people away from using anyone other than BG on the grounds that it might be less safe. I was hoping that there might be some alternatives offered by the manufacturers. Where there is limited choice it is never good for the consumer.

 

[RayG]

@SP_66

Beware of the tariff charges that you can see on the URL you quoted. I did some calculations which I believe were correct and if during those 4 hours 16:00-20:00 where the rate is higher you do some cooking for the evening meal then the tariff worked out quite expensive.

It is however quite difficult to compare tariffs v usage especially as they have changed the way they charge from 2 tier to standing charge plus 1 rate.