[Unstoppable]

Hi all

I am a total newbie to the EV cars. Just got my Hyndai Ioniq EV delivered yesterday. I had a podpoint charger installed through a government grant at home years ago which I have never used before and assumed it will just work with the car. It turns out the connecter is not compatible but the car. Now I am totally confused about what my options are to keep my car charged. Can someone please advise?

I cannot help but say that I feel a little panicked as the car is now down to the last 20% but I think it's just due to lack of information so any advice will help. I am a bit overwhelmed having read the topics on this forum and it seems a bit of a minefield to me so some sort of starter info will be great.

Many thanks.

 

[80698]

First of all, take a look on Zap Map to find out what public charging options are nearby, and then get yourself topped up over there to keep you going for now. Alternatively, if you got the 3-Pin 'granny' cable with the car you can plug this in to a regular socket to charge slowly, but make sure you check it is not overheating after it's been on for a while.

For public charging, ideally look for Osprey, or Instavolt nearby. These are both rapid charger operators, and easy to use by simply tapping a contactless credit card. Other options generally require a membership card or smartphone app so best avoided for a first attempt while you get used to it all, if possible.

I assume you have one with a tethered cable? A type 1 cable? As per the old Nissan LEAF. If this is the case, you can either have the cable replaced with the now universal type 2 version, or you can get an adaptor instead. That is the less than ideal option though.

 

[Hitstirrer]

It sounds like your old wall charger has a tethered type 1 plug and your Ioniq needs a type 2. That is relatively easy to change over and many companies sell a new cable to simply connect up inside the wall box when the old one is removed. It is almost a DIY job but best to get a local sparky in for half an hour to make sure it is done correctly. This is one such offer. But shop around.

32Amp Type 2 (62196-2) 5metre Tethered Lead <br /> - Powerpac

Meanwhile, as has been mentioned, either use the granny charger into a home 13 amp socket or go to one of the numerous Rapids that will be within a few miles of your home and fill there. After all there are thousands of drivers who cannot charge at home in the first place and this is their permanent charging method.

 

[NGee]

The Ioniq is a type-2 connector, it may well be that your tethered cable is type 1. I suggest you take a photo and post it here so that determination can be made. It's not the end of the world to replace with a type 2, and a electrician should be able to assist.

But that won't help today.

I think the Ioniq comes with the "granny" three-pin charger, so break that out and get charging. But as has been said, check the plug and socket for heat regularly!

Once this is going have a look for a local charging option on Zap Map while you relax and calm down

 

[HandyAndy]

Whereabouts are you ? Have a look on plugshare, there may be a local friendly homeowner nearby with a Type-2 you could "borrow" for a few hours. Mine's been on there 5 years, yet to be taken up on the offer though!

 

[Unstoppable]

Hi @80698 thanks for information. Yes I have got the 3 pin charger with the car. Although there is no rain predicted today where I am but we all know the British weather so I just wanted to check if these things are water proof as my car is uncovered driveway with a weatherproof outdoor socket.

There is an osprey point nearby actually - is it okay to use fast charging as I keep reading that it should not be used often? May be I am misunderstanding this whole thing about fast charging.

And about the charger at home. Sorry how do I check if it is a tethered cable? I have googled the connector shape and it seems like a "type 1" connector. How do I go about having the cable replaced and any rough idea how much the parts and labour should cost?

Sorry for so many basic questions!

Thanks

 

[80698]

By tethered I mean it simply has a cable attached to the charger, rather than a socket you use your own cable on.

Yes, you can charge at that rapid charger without worrying about harming the battery. Ideally you want to charge using slower AC at home all the way to 100 say once a month, but otherwise you're fine. An Ioniq especially is very happy to handle it and very few Ioniqs, even the very oldest, highest mileage ones are still showing very healthy batteries after a good amount of rapid charging.

Granny chargers are waterproof with exception to the 3-pin plug itself. As long as that is covered there's no problem there. The only thing to worry about is heat. Do you know how old your outdoor socket is? If it's especially old I'd probably avoid it as it's more likely to not be up to the task and overheat. You definitely need to keep checking it especially the first few uses if you do go for that option rather than rapid charging until your home chargepoint is fitted with the newer type 2 connection.

 

[chris-b]

Hi Unstoppable - congratulations on taking the plunge.

Re the 3-pin cable and rain - the end that goes in the car is pefectly fine getting wet, and as you have the luxury of a weatherproof 3-pin socket, that end will be OK too - so get charging!

 

[chris-b]

Tethered vs untethered - a visual:

 

[UniqueGeorge]

Some wallboxes have a socket on them, allowing you to plug / unplug a cable you provide. (Probably most flexible option)
Others (tethered ones) have a cable coming from them with a plug on the end so you only need to plug into the car. (Quite possibly most convenient option)
As has been noted if you have a type 1 tethered wallbox it shouldn't be a big job to have the cable swapped.

 

[idiotzoo]

Hi @80698 thanks for information. Yes I have got the 3 pin charger with the car. Although there is no rain predicted today where I am but we all know the British weather so I just wanted to check if these things are water proof as my car is uncovered driveway with a weatherproof outdoor socket.

There is an osprey point nearby actually - is it okay to use fast charging as I keep reading that it should not be used often? May be I am misunderstanding this whole thing about fast charging.

And about the charger at home. Sorry how do I check if it is a tethered cable? I have googled the connector shape and it seems like a "type 1" connector. How do I go about having the cable replaced and any rough idea how much the parts and labour should cost?

Sorry for so many basic questions!

Thanks

The granny chargers are generally rated for outdoor use, just don’t let it sit in water.

As for rapid charging, don’t worry about it. There’s a lot of lore about charging and battery maintenance. There are some best practices such as don’t leave the car sitting at 100% for and extended period, but mostly just use it and don’t worry too much. If you only ever rapid charge that might reduce the life of the battery somewhat, but it’s certainly not something to stress about.

 

[Silverage]

Slight tangent here, so please forgive me.

I received my ID.3 last week and my wall charger is due to be installed next Wednesday. I knew I may be cutting it fine so I had the dealer fully charge the car before he sent it out. After playing about with it too much over the last couple of days (new toy), I’m down to 60% which it reckons is 130 miles. I can probably eke that out till Wednesday (I have 60 miles of journeys to do in that time), but I’m wondering if I may as well invest in a granny charger just to top it up and have as a spare. I’ve had a quick look and they seem to start at £200. Does that sound right or am I missing something obvious?

There are no public rapid chargers near me. Quite a few 7kw ones, but I would use as much charge getting to one as back as I would gain with an hour’s charging.

 

[b789pilot]

I'd hazard that, despite all the folklore being bandied about and some of the more panicked worries about how to micro-manage your battery, that no matter what, the battery will outlive the car itsef.

Stop worrying. Plug in the granny charger for the time being. Go visit the local rapid if you need to quickly "fill up" and look into either getting the type 1 cable/plug replaced on your PodPoint or see if there's an adapter you can use.

 

[b789pilot]

Slight tangent here, so please forgive me.

I received my ID.3 last week and my wall charger is due to be installed next Wednesday. I knew I may be cutting it fine so I had the dealer fully charge the car before he sent it out. After playing about with it too much over the last couple of days (new toy), I’m down to 60% which it reckons is 130 miles. I can probably eke that out till Wednesday (I have 60 miles of journeys to do in that time), but I’m wondering if I may as well invest in a granny charger just to top it up and have as a spare. I’ve had a quick look and they seem to start at £200. Does that sound right or am I missing something obvious?

There are no public rapid chargers near me. Quite a few 7kw ones, but I would use as much charge getting to one as back as I would gain with an hour’s charging.

I used one of these for 6 weeks before I got my charger installed. Now I keep it as a back up and take it with me on longer journeys so I can top up when visiting family. £139.99

Masterplug 10A 2.3kW Mode 2 Type 2 Socket Electric Vehicle Charging Cable 5m - Screwfix

Order online at Screwfix.com. Portable Mode 2 charging cable. 13A UK plug socket to Type 2 EV charger. Ideal for charging from a standard plug socket. FREE next day delivery available, free collection in 1 minute.

www.screwfix.com

 

[HandyAndy]

Type 1 plugs going into the car have a trigger you press to release it after charging. Pressing the trigger also tells the car the plug's now out, so it will stop any charge that was happening.

Type 2 plugs have no trigger, they just slide in/out, and the car may/may not lock them in while charging's happening, usually a menu option somewhere to set this anti-theft feature. Sliding it out slowly while a charge is in place will disconnect the signal pin first, giving the car a few millisecs to stop the charge before the power pins disengage, so reducing any chance of arcing that might wear the connector out faster.

Yes the car-end of plug&socket are waterproof, but that hasn't stopped Amperas getting damp in behind the whole thing, and shorting it out! So I always clip a stiff polythene bag onto the cable to make a tent & try to keep rain off as much as possible. And if the little slide-on covers get wet as they dangle in the rain, do dry them out with a hanky before putting them back after a charge! It has to be a bad idea to trap moisture in exactly the spot where you least want it!

 

[Silverage]

I used one of these for 6 weeks before I got my charger installed. Now I keep it as a back up and take it with me on longer journeys so I can top up when visiting family. £139.99

Masterplug 10A 2.3kW Mode 2 Type 2 Socket Electric Vehicle Charging Cable 5m - Screwfix

Order online at Screwfix.com. Portable Mode 2 charging cable. 13A UK plug socket to Type 2 EV charger. Ideal for charging from a standard plug socket. FREE next day delivery available, free collection in 1 minute.

www.screwfix.com

That is EXACTLY what I was looking for - thanks very much. £200+ was a bit hard to justify, but I can live with £140. I think I’ve got about that much coming back as a road tax refund after selling my ICE car.

 

[GordonP]

I received my ID.3 last week and my wall charger is due to be installed next Wednesday. I knew I may be cutting it fine so I had the dealer fully charge the car before he sent it out. After playing about with it too much over the last couple of days (new toy), I’m down to 60% which it reckons is 130 miles. I can probably eke that out till Wednesday (I have 60 miles of journeys to do in that time), but I’m wondering if I may as well invest in a granny charger just to top it up and have as a spare. I’ve had a quick look and they seem to start at £200. Does that sound right or am I missing something obvious?

There are no public rapid chargers near me. Quite a few 7kw ones, but I would use as much charge getting to one as back as I would gain with an hour’s charging.

I think you live somewhere near Lincoln, as I do, and I would be happy to lend you my granny charger for a week until your wallbox is fitted. Just send me a private message if you think this would be of use.

 

[Silverage]

I think you live somewhere near Lincoln, as I do, and I would be happy to lend you my granny charger for a week until your wallbox is fitted. Just send me a private message if you think this would be of use.

That’s very generous of you Gordon. I may take you up on that. I’ve just tried to buy the charger from Screwfix as suggested above - they haven’t got the 5m version at all, the 10m version is only available for delivery and then it’s 3-5 days.

 

[HandyAndy]

That screwfix one will always offer 10A to the car. Continuous use of 10A through a 13A socket has been known to overheat & burn out the socket unless it's a really good quality one with good wiring in. Done this twice myself. So now I always try rigourously to only charge at 6A with a granny. ID.3 Charging screen has a "Reduced Charging Current" button, select that and the low-power, Type-2 domestic AC charging will go at 6A. I recommend using that unless you need a faster charge.
About 40 hours to fill a 58 kWh ID.3 at 6A! That button doesn't affect charging at a Rapid, of course, even though the picture shows the EV parked beside something looking very Rapid-like to me!

 

[DSLRed]

Hi @80698 thanks for information. Yes I have got the 3 pin charger with the car. Although there is no rain predicted today where I am but we all know the British weather so I just wanted to check if these things are water proof as my car is uncovered driveway with a weatherproof outdoor socket.

There is an osprey point nearby actually - is it okay to use fast charging as I keep reading that it should not be used often? May be I am misunderstanding this whole thing about fast charging.

And about the charger at home. Sorry how do I check if it is a tethered cable? I have googled the connector shape and it seems like a "type 1" connector. How do I go about having the cable replaced and any rough idea how much the parts and labour should cost?

Sorry for so many basic questions!

Thanks

I would take yourself off to the local Osprey if you need to get it charged up relatively quickly. It is absolutely fine - if they were not for using then they wouldn't be there. Top it up to 80% and then, if you need more, finish it off with the granny charger as the rate of charge will slow down on the rapid after 80% to protect the battery, so the last 20% would take a lot longer and you'll be sat there wasting your time.

Long shot, but if you live in the West Yorkshire area, there are lots of ENGIE rapid chargers dotted around car parks in the county which are free. Otherwise the Osprey or Instavolt are your best rapid options if you don't envisage using rapids often as they accept contactless payment so there is no messing around downloading apps you may never use again.

Worthwhile getting the Podpoint app though as there are lots of them around, such as in Aldi carpark and they are generally free to use.