[Seadoo180]

Hi all,

Hopefully picking up my new ID3 life on Saturday, currently have no home fast charger (i had an e-niro on lease on order for march but cancelled to take the ID3... I may well live to regret that decision!)

- What's the consensus on the best home charger? I'm leaning towards just going for a podpoint? (I don't have solar panels, might do in the future maybe but no imminent plans) I want to get one ordered ASAP now my deal is finalised for the car.

- 12v battery booster/charger, plan to get one as 12v batteries seem to be a weakpoint on most EVs, any recommendations of what to go for?

- I've got mats, bootliner and 3 pin cable ordered via dealer, not sure there's anything else I need (im new to the EV game)?

Cheers

 

[Kansalis]

I've had a PodPoint since Sept 2019 when I bought my e-Golf & never had any issues with it at all. It just works & has never failed to charge either of our 2 e-Golfs (the car has had a couple of problems but not the charger!). I went for the untethered, as I needed a longer cable. If you have a similar requirement don't buy a cable from them, they are expensive. I got mine from Amazon.

 

[dk6780]

You need to check whether you have the best energy supplier given that your usage is about to increase significantly and decide on the type of tariff that is most appropriate. There's lots of discussions elsewhere about the merits of off-peak tariffs like Go and dynamic tariffs like Agile.

Get hold of your DNO (details on your current electricity bill) and check the size of your incoming fuse and that your supply is not looped.

The choice of the "best" charge point depends on how "smart" you wish to charge and whether the timers on the car are sufficient - the ID3 currently has issues with some suppliers but these hopefully will be resolved.

The best branded battery chargers / conditioners are CTEK, but an equivalent budget type at less than half the price is regularly available at Lidl/Aldi. Or did you mean a portable jump starter?

 

[Seadoo180]

Great advice thanks, will check the size of the fuse, main things are schedule charging and also pre-heat using the grid when plugged in.

The best branded battery chargers / conditioners are CTEK, but an equivalent budget type at less than half the price is regularly available at Lidl/Aldi. Or did you mean a portable jump starter?

Well I guess whicheve is needed if the 12v dies and I can be self sufficien resurrecting it? (complete amateur at these things)

 

[Alessandro Volta of Como]

I have been very pleased with a NOCO Boost Plus GB40, not cheap but they sometimes come on a deal for about £60 from Amazon.

Halfords also do them. GB40 1000A NOCO Jump Starter | Halfords UK

 

[freddym]

I have been very pleased with a NOCO Boost Plus GB40, not cheap but they sometimes come on a deal for about £60 from Amazon.

Halfords also do them. GB40 1000A NOCO Jump Starter | Halfords UK

A smaller Noco GB20 would probably do the job too?

 

[HandyAndy]

ID.3 comes without the domestic 13A EVSE as standard. If you have wall-mounted EVSE already, & some other local podpoint/whatever just down the road as backup, fine, but it may be a good plan to have one as a portable backup, if nothing else. I think VW's price is £180 for their own one, not a bad price I'd say. It might be a 10A only, but some can be switched between 6A & 10A. Also you may be able to fine-tune the charging rate from inside the car's menus, others here will know if so.

6A is a good setting for use when away from home, as it puts least stress on any 13A sockets of doubtful parentage you may be using. Less likely to overheat & cause a problem.

6A also goes well with solar panels, as you can generall you can rely on 1.5kW from a 4 kW setup in summer providing it's not too cloudy & overcast.

Screwfix sell these, no idea what quality/specs on theirs. You're looking for Type 2 plugs at both ends, don't get a Type-1 by mistake!

I use a "granny" EVSE from evconnectors.com, rather more expensive than VW's, but you can get this one with swappable plugs so can use a Commando plug at 16A if you want. Can also do 13A mains at 13A, but that's pushing it tbh - high risk of molten socket! Been there, got the T-shirt. Avoid.

Warning: granny EVSEs can & do wear internally out over time, mine lasted 5 years, & I now know enough about it to make my new replacement one last almost indefinitely, with a serious almost re-build every 4 years. So wall-mounted EVSE recommended as being more robust for regular use.

 

[HandyAndy]

Re Battery-boosters, I've bought an Ultrai Car Battery Jump Starter, capacity 22000 mAh, rated 2000A (as if!). Got good reviews on youtube, came quickly & looks a good bit of kit tho' not tried it yet. £78.85, Similar-ish price to Halfords, but twice the battery capacity. Arrived charged to about 75%, and I'll keep it at that level, not 100%, to aim to get long life from it.

I've also bought a BM2 battery monitor. Paranoid? Me ???

 

[555djx]

I've had a PodPoint since Sept 2019 when I bought my e-Golf & never had any issues with it at all. It just works & has never failed to charge either of our 2 e-Golfs (the car has had a couple of problems but not the charger!). I went for the untethered, as I needed a longer cable. If you have a similar requirement don't buy a cable from them, they are expensive. I got mine from Amazon.

We’ve had an untethered PodPoint for a year now, no problems whatsoever.

We needed a 10m cable, ordered from here.

 

[BornAgainEcoWarrior]

We’ve had an untethered PodPoint for a year now, no problems whatsoever.

We needed a 10m cable, ordered from here.

I also have Pod-Point with no issues.
Fundamentally 7kW wall chargers all do more or less same job. Smart is a bit of a misnomer they're generally fairly dumb. The zappi is different but only worth the extra with solar panels.

I guess I would go with fast installation time and customer service, but cosmetics and price might be higher on your list.
For price be sure to figure out if they will charge you extra for things like the charger being a long way from the supply. Some bundle first 5 m others will do 10 m from the incoming supply.
Installers may be quite busy you could end up with a long wait, patience wasn't my thing, pod were quick.
Cosmetics (personally the EO mini is less ugly than the Pod-Point but all personal preference).

 

[Dave D]

I've had a pod point for over 3 years now for my Ionic PHEV with zero problems. The app is a bit basic, but you can keep a check on your running costs.

 

[pdk42]

Regarding wall-box installation, a few points:

- The electrical installation regs require specific things be done for EVSEs (as "chargers" should be called since the charger itself is in the car, the wall-box is the supply equipment only - EVSE = EV Supply Eqpt). In particular, you need to ensure that the supply is protected against PEN (earth) failure and also against DC currents coming from the car. The PEN issue can mean that you'll need an earth rod installing, unless the EVSE itself can provide PEN failure protection - some do, some don't. Similarly, the DC current issue needs a specific RCBO installing, unless the EVSE itself can provide it - again, some do, some don't. The Zappi was for a while about the only one that did both but I think there are others that have those capabilities now. In any case, you will need the thing installing by an certified electrician who will advise on all this. All EVSEs need DNO approval too (the DNO is the organisation that provides the local elec supply to your house). Again, the installer will arrange this.

- EVSEs can be dumb (no control over charge start/stop apart from perhaps buttons etc on the unit), or smart (network connected and usually with an app to control what it does). The OLEV grant can only be obtained for smart chargers. As whenever you add complexity, smart chargers can cause issues (e.g. a year ago the servers went down on one popular smart network and no-one could charge!!). Until you get software 2.0, the ID.3 doesn't support delayed/scheduled charging, so if you want to use off-peak elec overnight, you'll need a smart charger (but 2.0 is basically here now, so probably not a big issue).

- Tethered vs untethered is an oft-asked question. IMHO, go for a tethered. Chances are you'll leave the cable always connected anyhow so there's little point in untethered and then there's always the possibility that someone might steal your cable too. Don't skimp on cable length either unless you are absolutely sure you will have enough if you change your car later and the charging point is in a different position.

- On brands - there is a small but known incompatibility between theZappi and the ID.3. Not sure if there's a fix yet. Rolec is generally derided by most EV owners because of many stories of their contactors failing/melting etc. They are not the prettiest for sure.

- Finally - some of these things are ugly - so make sure you like the cosmetics too. The Andersen is the nicest - but it's pricey.

Enjoy!

 

[HandyAndy]

Dumb Rolecs can be upgraded to latest PEN-loss and DC-leakage protection, I've done this myself as I think it's safer than it was. Cost appx £250 for parts. (The original ROLEC RCBOs gives trouble, should deffo be replaced). My thread about this upgrade here:
Rolec Dumb Charger upgraded with DC Leakage Protection...
Tethered .vs. untethered is an open choice. I went untethered as I get to take the Type 2 lead with me to supermarkets/holidays etc. ID.3 comes with Type-2 cable, 5m long I think, so if that's long enough (my untethered is 10m), it will work fine with untethered EVSE. Tethered cables tend not to exceed 8m long, some are only 5. 10m is great on my driveway if 2 cars there etc. My EVSE lives inside gge, cable routes outside under gge door, so cable never left in the open to get nicked. Padlocks/shackles can be added but not pretty.

Some EVs (Ioniq certainly) can lock the Type-2 cable into the car itself until you unlock it, so should be reasonably safe from theft. I don't know if ID.3 has that option.

Some owners (me,...) like to snip-away the 3 small plastic lugs at EVSE end of untethered cable. It's not unknown for a defective EVSE (public ones especially) to refuse to let go of the cable; owners then have to chase the helpline, drive off w/o their cable and don't always get tham back! Expensive. I prefer to be able to extract it if I really must in an emergency, and not leave it behind. I'll rely on the car hanging on to it in normal use.

 

[5erge]

Dumb Rolecs can be upgraded to latest PEN-loss and DC-leakage protection, I've done this myself as I think it's safer than it was. Cost appx £250 for parts. (The original ROLEC RCBOs gives trouble, should deffo be replaced). My thread about this upgrade here:
Rolec Dumb Charger upgraded with DC Leakage Protection...

Hey Andy,

I've had my Rolec (since July 2018) and used it to charge my GTE without any issues. It has always charged and has never let me down. I assumed the it will be the same for my ID.3 (when I pick it up) but your post alarmed me slightly. Do you know what issue does the RCBO has? I'm just hoping that my unit from 2018 has already been upgraded.

Des

 

[vsmith1]

Hi all,

Hopefully picking up my new ID3 life on Saturday, currently have no home fast charger (i had an e-niro on lease on order for march but cancelled to take the ID3... I may well live to regret that decision!)

- What's the consensus on the best home charger? I'm leaning towards just going for a podpoint? (I don't have solar panels, might do in the future maybe but no imminent plans) I want to get one ordered ASAP now my deal is finalised for the car.

- 12v battery booster/charger, plan to get one as 12v batteries seem to be a weakpoint on most EVs, any recommendations of what to go for?

- I've got mats, bootliner and 3 pin cable ordered via dealer, not sure there's anything else I need (im new to the EV game)?

Cheers

I have an EO Mini as my home charger. It was an untethered model, so I have an extra Type 2 charging cable to go with it, extra cost, but saves getting the VW-supplied one out of the car.

You will find many Fast AC chargers around and use your included Type 2 cable to charge. Pod-Point have a number at Tesco. My local Sainsbury's has them too. You will need the Pod-Point app. So make sure that you have the useful set of apps on your phone, and a charging cable for the car. As the ID.3 has USB 3 sockets either a suitable cable or a USB3 to USB converter.

I bought a GOBO GB40 just in case, but can also use it on my (diesel) camper van. The 12v drain issue is reportedly fixed in the major software update.

I also got rubber mats, boot liner and rear hatch lip clear protective shield. I have been waiting for the from seat mats to arrive, just found out that they have come in. I am also waiting on the transport hitch so I can use a bicycle rack.

Make sure that you get your phone linked up in the We Connect ID app, so you can pre-heat the vehicle, check on charging, location etc. This too should improve after the major update.

Build confidence by using a variety of public chargers, both Fast AC (eg pod_point) and Rapid DC (eg InstaVolt, Osprey).

 

[HandyAndy]

I've had my Rolec (since July 2018) and used it to charge my GTE without any issues. It has always charged and has never let me down. I assumed the it will be the same for my ID.3 (when I pick it up) but your post alarmed me slightly. Do you know what issue does the RCBO has? I'm just hoping that my unit from 2018 has already been upgraded.

Des, your GTE will have charged at about 3kW. Dunno if you have a 16 or 32A Rolec, definitely the 32A ones use v cheap and nastily constructed RCBOs in the originals. You can see it through the top window. See this post, and following appends. The RCBOs with blue text badly need replacing asap; I use Garo which is recommended by others (& used by Virdian, a v reputable quality mfr of EVSEs), other brands are no doubt equally good but I'm not a sparky so can't recommend names. If your EVSE is 32A, then your ID.3 will be charging at that rate I expect, so will really stress the original Rolec RCBO & burn it out in v short order.

Newer Rolecs have an RCBO, still Rolec branded, but with green text. So far we've seen one failure of these. Personally I don't trust Rolec to purchase decent RCBOs. Their contactors etc seem fine to me so far.

One thing: EVs charging should have RCBOs, RDCs etc rated 40A. Reason is these derate their current limit as they warm up in normal operation, so a nominal 32A may decrease to 31A above 30C, enough to trip my Ioniq 20 mins into a charge!
Rolec Charger - Dangerous???