More choices for Charging your i3 while on the road

[LivingBetterThurEV]

Besides the normal Level 1, 2 and 3 chargers for the BMW i3 using the S1772 plug - other manufacturers configure their EV product to use commonly available 240 electrical NEMA plugs. For example, while on the road, the Tesla model S provides the owner with a portable adapter and box for 6-50 stove and electric dryer style outlets for charging.

Question: What is BMW going to do for the i3 owners to allow more charger options?
What is BMW going to "Certify" that supports vehicle warranty ?
Does MyBMWi3 forum members have suggestions on what they carry for more charging options?

Note: Plugshare displays available charging locations around the country, but some are common 240 volt RV plugs (14-50, 6-50, etc.)

Thanks...

 

[mindmachine]

Besides the normal Level 1, 2 and 3 chargers for the BMW i3 using the S1772 plug - other manufacturers configure their EV product to use commonly available 240 electrical NEMA plugs. For example, while on the road, the Tesla model S provides the owner with a portable adapter and box for 6-50 stove and electric dryer style outlets for charging.

Question: What is BMW going to do for the i3 owners to allow more charger options?
What is BMW going to "Certify" that supports vehicle warranty ?
Does MyBMWi3 forum members have suggestions on what they carry for more charging options?

Note: Plugshare displays available charging locations around the country, but some are common 240 volt RV plugs (14-50, 6-50, etc.)

Thanks...

Answers: nothing........! Certify what supports vehicle warranty?????? what the heck you talking about for Ch.... s...! And finally nothing (other than the 120 volt evse that comes with the car.

 

[Blue20]

What about something like this...

http://www.clippercreek.com/store/product/hcs-40p-30a-240v-charging-25-cord-nema-14-50-plug/

 

[Zzzoom3]

Besides the normal Level 1, 2 and 3 chargers for the BMW i3 using the S1772 plug - other manufacturers configure their EV product to use commonly available 240 electrical NEMA plugs. For example, while on the road, the Tesla model S provides the owner with a portable adapter and box for 6-50 stove and electric dryer style outlets for charging.

Question: What is BMW going to do for the i3 owners to allow more charger options?
What is BMW going to "Certify" that supports vehicle warranty ?
Does MyBMWi3 forum members have suggestions on what they carry for more charging options?

Note: Plugshare displays available charging locations around the country, but some are common 240 volt RV plugs (14-50, 6-50, etc.)

Thanks...

Answers: nothing........! Certify what supports vehicle warranty?????? what the heck you talking about for Ch.... s...! And finally nothing (other than the 120 volt evse that comes with the car.

The guy makes 1 post and you are flaming him! .. Gosh give the guy a break.

There aren't a lot of other options and not any that are "certified" to my knowledge. Not likely something BMW will do. If you want to have more charging options while away from home, you should look at the JESLA. Just Google it. It comes with both a 240V (NEMA 14-50) and 120V (NEMA 5-15) adapter, with optional 10-30, 14-30, and 5-20 adapters.

This mobile flexibility will come at a steep price of $999, however!

 

[LivingBetterThurEV]

Thanks for the positive responses..
I was highlighting the fact Tesla supplies their owners with many included connector choices and wondering what was the best options for BMW i3 owners. Maybe nothing will turn into something in the future.

My “Certified” question/concern was that I did not want to void the warranty by fabricating something un-approved by BMW. I was looking for good suggestions, best prices, what you guys are doing as far as accessing other types of 240vac outlets.

I find a lot of the home charging stations (hardwire or plugin style) sold at Home Depot / Lowes - where plugin style seem to use the NEMA 6-50 connector.

The one that offers the most value for the lowest price comes from
http://openevse-store.myshopify.com/products/openevse-30a-charge-station-combo

Cost $255 as a kit and another $120 or so for a cable depending on length.
Does someone have experience with building this one.

Thanks for the good suggestions:
JESLSA - url seems to be http://www.quickchargepower.com and this costs $999

The http://www.clippercreek.com Clipper Creek products for on the road cost around $550

Bottomline: I’m trying to determine what is the best thing to keep in the front trunk for on the road charging. I know places that have a stove / dryer outlet close to where the car could park. Or maybe just a long extension cord to be forced to use the 5-15 plug.

Also - with only a 6.6kW charger built-in - is there any advantage to using 50amp 240 verses 30 amp?

 

[KiloWatts]

In the US I'd stick with Clipper Creek or Aerovironment.

Clipper Creek produces the guts of the occasional use cordset you get with the car and Delphi uses the same plastic molds as Clipper Creek. The HCS unit is a workhorse for level 2.

Aerovironment also makes solid units. The Turbo Cord is interesting as a portable high capacity unit.

With UL/NRTL approval, both manufacturers implement the SAE J1772 standard well so you unlikely to run into trouble.

While the self installed EVSE can be easily handled, provided you know what your doing, I think your asking for trouble with the make you own EVSE. Hey it's a 40 - 50 grand car, saving $200 on the make your own EVSE might be penny wise pound foolish. Wonder what the insurance company thinks about when a mis-tightened connector heats up at 30 amps on a non-UL listed EVSE.

 

[ultraturtle]

The one that offers the most value for the lowest price comes from
http://openevse-store.myshopify.com/products/openevse-30a-charge-station-combo

Cost $255 as a kit and another $120 or so for a cable depending on length.
Does someone have experience with building this one.

Assuming you order the kit with completed circuit boards, it is very easy to build - took less a day once I got all of the parts together. You can customize everything, to include cable length and pushbutton selectable amp draw. I built mine two years ago because it was the only means of charging at the lowest possible rate (120 volt, 6 amp), making it more practical to incorporate solar panels into my portable charging system. Works great. Reliable, compact, inexpensive, versatile, ugly.

 

[Zzzoom3]

Works great. Reliable, compact, inexpensive, versatile, ugly.

What does it look like. Can you post a photo?

 

[jadnashuanh]

That unit started as a Kickstarter program. YOu can buy it built, or in various stages of prefabbed, and you put it together, sort of like the old HeathKit stuff. It works, and if you buy it built, it meets all certifications necessary for installation and use, as it does IF you put it together properly. Just go to that link, and you can read about it.

They recently announced a DC fast charger, but it requires prime power not generally available in residential situations.

As to whether it's best to buy a EVSE that has a higher output than the 30/32A the current i3 can utilize, it certainly doesn't hurt (except in your pocketbook to buy it), but it also requires more input current, and not all homes will have that available. The EVSE 'announces' how much power it has, and the vehicle you plug it into then tells the EVSE how much it really wants, so having more is not an issue. And, no, the car will not charge faster than its onboard charging system, just like you can plug in a 50W light fixture into a socket that could supply 15A (1800W)...it only uses what it wants to. The difference is, the car is smart enough to recognize from the EVSE how much it can provide, and then adjusts itself so it won't be trying to pull more than that from it and maybe causing it to pop the fuse or breaker feeding it (sort of like a dimmer circuit to limit how much power it draws).