New i3s owner in Leeds, UK with National grid issues

[electriclightweight]

Snap(ish)!
I've recently bought my first i3, a 2019 in Imperial Blue, as a second car to replace a petrol Corsa as a shopping trolly.
I rang Wisely yesterday to book its next biennial service in July and now waiting for Emma to email me back with details.
May I ask whereabouts you're based? I'm near Warrington and might consider asking Wisely to do a post-purchase inspection on the same date as you in Feb if you're close by.

View attachment 1923

Love the Imperial blue

Unfortunately I'm up in Leeds, Yorkshire so a fair way from yourself

 

[TedStriker]

Yes - that will be what is slowing things down in terms of remedial work. IIRC the general rule with a "looped" supply is that the main fuse rating will be relatively low (because in effect the supply to 2 houses is shared on one incoming cable).

There are quite a few charge points available now which include current monitoring, which are capable of scaling back the car's charge rate when the total power consumption for the property exceeds a given threshold, but I'm not sure if the DNO will accept that as an adequate precaution on a looped supply.

I guess the charger could be fitted on a 20A circuit, I have an Easee One and that is fully configurable in terms of circuit capacity. I actually run mine on a 20A circuit at 16A max and that gives me around 23kWh of charging capacity during my 6 hours of 7p electricity on IOG. That's best part of a hundred miles for one overnight charge.

But don't write off the granny charger - even at 10A you can put 13.8kWh into the car during the cheap overnight time, which is around 55 miles of range. Plus with IOG you will almost always get cheap charging outside the guaranteed hours. I think you'll be fine. Worst case scenario you come home with an empty batery and need it full by the next day you can bump charge at daytime rates.

 

[mojo]

Indeed - as I recall, Easee chargers are very intelligent in terms of load management, allowing you to have several of their EVSEs on one circuit. In that situation they can each be configured to load-share so that the total load across all of the EVSEs doesn't exceed the defined capacity. I would probably have bought an Easee product myself if a damaged EO unit had not turned up at £40, and I wasn't able to resist the challenge to repair it.

IMO you're right - I suspect that most i3 users would probably find a 10A (@240V) charger adequate under almost all circumstances. The only exception is likely to be for unexpected long journeys at short notice (and, for an aging population, forgetting to plug your car in when you need to!).

 

[TedStriker]

Indeed - as I recall, Easee chargers are very intelligent in terms of load management, allowing you to have several of their EVSEs on one circuit. In that situation they can each be configured to load-share so that the total load across all of the EVSEs doesn't exceed the defined capacity. I would probably have bought an Easee product myself if a damaged EO unit had not turned up at £40, and I wasn't able to resist the challenge to repair it.

IMO you're right - I suspect that most i3 users would probably find a 10A (@240V) charger adequate under almost all circumstances. The only exception is likely to be for unexpected long journeys at short notice (and, for an aging population, forgetting to plug your car in when you need to!).

The 'unexpected long journeys at short notice' is why I love having the REx, although I'd realy like a 120AH too.

 

[Gonville]

If you're on Octopus you can use Intelligent Octopus Go (if you have a smart meter). Any charger will work as it's the car that is compatible. Even if you don't use the 'intelligent' bit, you get guaranteed 6 hours of 7p per unit electricity every night from 11:30 to 05:30. And that goes for the whole house too.

The BMW and MINI are removed from the list of supported devices until further notice. I believe.

 

[Gonville]

The OVO chap that came out to fit the smart meter originally did say next doors power is supplied from our connection if that what the term 'looped' means?

I am on the Facebook i3 pages but I've been on car forums for years and much prefer this format to be honest. I will have a look on there though now you've mentioned it, thanks!

Yes It means you will have a cable coming into your main fuse area and another one going out to the neighbour. There has been a picture on here before. Almost certainly if you want a charger that needs 32a then you will need to be unlooped. This means probably they will need to connect your neighbour to their own direct supply to the street which normally means digging upo their drive. This has been on the Facebook group a few times. Sometimes the neighbour agrees sometimes not. It’s easier if you are at the end of the loop. You can see that if only line supply cable comes in. Then it’s easier to have your drive dug up (maybe not).

As others have mentioned there are chargers that reduce the load with a current clamp monitor on the main input lead to the house. Podpoint do this so it backs off the charge if it reaches the set combined limit for the house. Typically 60a.

 

[Gonville]

Here is a picture of a mid loop - same as yours I believe? There are 2 black cables coming in at the bottom - one in from the street - the other out to your neighbour.

 

[Gonville]

Unfortunately if you are at the ‘end’ of a loop there is just one black cable as coming from your neighbour. However it could be just a normal supply (no shared loop) so isn’t definitive.

 

[Gonville]

Our house has an old fusebox with 60AMp main fuse. (like 1940s? ) 1820s house rewired 1976 ish.
A spur to the extension has a more modern 50 year old fusebox with a 60?amp fuse.. Both worked perfectly for 30 odd years until the main fuse in the house blew - old age as nothing else wrong.
The Mark 1 Smart Meter no longer works to send data..but I do that manually..(and they wonder why people don't want one)
We charge our I3 with granny charger with no issues .. 100 miles a week usually,
I changed the garage socket from the 40 year old one - which warmed up a lot on full charge ! - to a modern one rated for EV charging - no warming at all.
No issues at all,,, so far.

Make sure the socket for the 13a is replaced with a ‘BS1363-2 EV’ marked on the rear. Is tested for continuous loads and inductive load as well. (I am not electrically certified). Saves what is shown below. Happened many many times as the 13a socket as standard is not rated for continuous use.

They are inexpensive (less than a £10) and could save some hassle.

 

[madasa fish]

Make sure the socket for the 13a is replaced with a ‘BS1363-2 EV’ marked on the rear. Is tested for continuous loads and inductive load as well. (I am not electrically certified). Saves what is shown below. Happened many many times as the 13a socket as standard is not rated for continuous use.

They are inexpensive (less than a £10) and could save some hassle.

Thanks,
Yes it is so marked