48A L2 Charger Comparison

[louc757]

I ordered a 2023 MME GTPE on Sep 1. I am looking to purchase a L2 charger while I am waiting for it to be delivered. My requirements are:

1. 48A Charger
2. Control the amperage through the app
3. Wifi enabled
4. The app has cost tracking

I was looking for a thread to compare the different chargers, but couldn't find one. I searched the threads here, looked at reviews, watched VLOGs, and came up with this. I am leaning towards the Emporia and Autel right now. There are lots of reviews on Juicebox, Chargepoint, and Wallbox, but not a lot for Autel and Emporia.

Autel Maxicharger Price $599 CSA Certified

• Amperage controlled through the app
• WiFi and Bluetooth (BT)
• Max gauge 6 AWG wire
• Cost tracking in app
• 3 year warranty

Emporia EV Charging Station Price $499 UL Listed

• Amperage controlled through the app
• WiFi
• Max gauge 6 AWG wire
• Cost tracking in app
• 3 year warranty

Chargepoint Flex Charger Price $749 UL Listed

• Cannot adjust amperage through the app (latest version this has been taken away)
• WiFi
• Max gauge 6 AWG wire
• Cost tracking in app
• 3 year warranty

Wallbox 48A Charger Price $699 UL Certified

• Amperage controlled through the app
• WiFi and Bluetooth (BT)
• Max gauge 6 AWG wire
• Cost tracking in app
• 3 year warranty

Juicebox 48A Price $739 UL Listed

• Amperage controlled through the app
• App has very poor reviews
• WiFi
• Max gauge wire?
• NO cost tracking in app
• 3 year warranty

So right now I am interested in the Emporia or Autel. For those with these EVSEs, do you have any problems with them, and would you buy it again? Thanks in advance!

Sponsored

 

[BillPitman]

I ordered a 2023 MME GTPE on Sep 1. I am looking to purchase a L2 charger while I am waiting for it to be delivered. My requirements are:

1. 48A Charger
2. Control the amperage through the app
3. Wifi enabled
4. The app has cost tracking

I was looking for a thread to compare the different chargers, but couldn't find one. I searched the threads here, looked at reviews, watched VLOGs, and came up with this. I am leaning towards the Emporia and Autel right now. There are lots of reviews on Juicebox, Chargepoint, and Wallbox, but not a lot for Autel and Emporia.

Autel Maxicharger Price $599 CSA Certified

• Amperage controlled through the app
• WiFi and Bluetooth (BT)
• Max gauge 6 AWG wire
• Cost tracking in app
• 3 year warranty

Emporia EV Charging Station Price $499 UL Listed

• Amperage controlled through the app
• WiFi
• Max gauge 6 AWG wire
• Cost tracking in app
• 3 year warranty

Chargepoint Flex Charger Price $749 UL Listed

• Cannot adjust amperage through the app (latest version this has been taken away)
• WiFi
• Max gauge 6 AWG wire
• Cost tracking in app
• 3 year warranty

Wallbox 48A Charger Price $699 UL Certified

• Amperage controlled through the app
• WiFi and Bluetooth (BT)
• Max gauge wire?
• Cost tracking in app
• 3 year warranty

Juicebox 48A Price $739 UL Listed

• Amperage controlled through the app
• App has very poor reviews
• WiFi
• Max gauge wire?
• NO cost tracking in app
• 3 year warranty

So right now I am interested in the Emporia or Autel. For those with these EVSEs, do you have any problems with them, and would you buy it again? Thanks in advance!

I have the Autel and it works great
Note, max amps is 40 amps, I have mine set to 32 amps.
The app works great, and you can input your electric rate .
I believe the working temp is up to 160 degrees F
Bill P

 

[louc757]

I have the Autel and it works great
Note, max amps is 40 amps, I have mine set to 32 amps.
The app works great, and you can input your electric rate .
I believe the working temp is up to 160 degrees F
Bill P

Thanks! My installation will be hardwired. On Autel's website, they are showing a 50A Smart charger, but I would limit it to 48A as I'm installing it on a 60A breaker.

 

[bshaw]

Can you share your reason for wanting to change the amperage via the app?
I’ve had mine for 18 months, never once encountered a situation where I felt like changing amperage was necessary.
If you have another EV that can only take a lower charge amperage, you don’t have to control that manually. It’s built into the J1772 spec that any charger will only deliver the amperage request by the vehicle.

 

[SnBGC]

The wallbox takes up to 6 gauge wire.
It's app is very easy to use and changing amps is super easy.
They can also be combined for circuit sharing which is a pretty nice feature.
They do NOT work well when exposed to direct sunlight. If indoors then you are golden.
If outdoors the make sure it has shade.

Edit: Our company installs EV charging equipment. We have tested almost a dozen different brands so we have a pretty good sampling of the benefits and limits of each offering.

 

[SnBGC]

Can you share your reason for wanting to change the amperage via the app?
I’ve had mine for 18 months, never once encountered a situation where I felt like changing amperage was necessary.
If you have another EV that can only take a lower charge amperage, you don’t have to control that manually. It’s built into the J1772 spec that any charger will only deliver the amperage request by the vehicle.

It is very handy feature to have.
I like to charge at 32A because the car seems happier that way and there is plenty of time to reach my desired state of charge. But sometimes I get caught out and need to get to 100% right away so turning up the speed to 48A (50% faster) is helpful.

At home I have a CPHF 50A and an Aerovironment RS 32A. I don't like charging fast when 32A will do so I park the Ford at the 32A plug and my wife parks her Wrangler at the 50A plug. Her Jeep only takes 32A anyway so that is all it will draw so when both vehicles are charging at the same time then it's less taxing on my breaker panel. In the event that I need a quicker charge at home then I just park in her space (but that is really very rare).

At work is different. We currently have Wallbox Pulsar Plus and JuiceBox units. I can turn up the Wallbox to 48A if needed but normally run at 32A for same reasons as above. If I have to turn it up then it is a very quick and easy thing to do via the app.

 

[mkhuffman]

I have the Emporia as well as all the Emporia power monitoring modules inside my circuit breaker box. So I can not only monitor the power going into the EVSE, I can monitor how much electricity various circuits in my house use. I have had no problems since I installed it about 10 months ago.

 

[RickMachE]

Juicebox allows you to put an electric cost in, but I also know how to multiply kw x rate...

App is very good.

You can probably find the max gauge wire in the installation instructions.

Does your utility provide rebates or discounted chargers?

 

[louc757]

Can you share your reason for wanting to change the amperage via the app?
I’ve had mine for 18 months, never once encountered a situation where I felt like changing amperage was necessary.
If you have another EV that can only take a lower charge amperage, you don’t have to control that manually. It’s built into the J1772 spec that any charger will only deliver the amperage request by the vehicle.

A good friend has a Tesla. He has the Tesla 48A charger but said when charging the cable got really hot. So he turned it down to 40 amps. I don’t expect to be changing it often, but wanted an easy way to change it without going into the box to change settings.

 

[louc757]

Juicebox allows you to put an electric cost in, but I also know how to multiply kw x rate...

App is very good.

You can probably find the max gauge wire in the installation instructions.

Does your utility provide rebates or discounted chargers?

Thanks! I live in Kentucky, and we are a little behind in EV charging. There are no local or utility rebates or special offers for me.

 

[4sallypat]

I have the Emporia UL ($450) and electrician $300 to install.
Very good charger - shared between my wife and my Lightning.

Even in 110+ degree weather, it will still pump out 48A (11kW) consistently without any sags or dropouts.

Love mine.

Can't wait for Emporia to come out with their bi-directional home inverter system that can power my house from my Lightning.

 

[louc757]

The wallbox takes up to 6 gauge wire.
It's app is very easy to use and changing amps is super easy.
They can also be combined for circuit sharing which is a pretty nice feature.
They do NOT work well when exposed to direct sunlight. If indoors then you are golden.
If outdoors the make sure it has shade.

Edit: Our company installs EV charging equipment. We have tested almost a dozen different brands so we have a pretty good sampling of the benefits and limits of each offering.

It will be in my garage, so I’m good there. I’ve updated comparison for 6 AWG wire for the Wallbox.

 

[sukhoi_584th]

Can you share your reason for wanting to change the amperage via the app?
I’ve had mine for 18 months, never once encountered a situation where I felt like changing amperage was necessary.
If you have another EV that can only take a lower charge amperage, you don’t have to control that manually. It’s built into the J1772 spec that any charger will only deliver the amperage request by the vehicle.

It's very useful to control the amps via the app. With my 40 A Wallbox I normally keep it set at 32 A and only turn it up to 40 A when I'm trying to charge quickly to depart on a trip after coming home from work. Remember all the heat in the system due to resistance in the wires and connections goes up with I² while the charging time is linear with I (current). 40 A is about 60% more resistance heating throughout the system than 32 A yet only charges 25% greater, and 48 A is much worse of a ratio.

 

[Dadams]

Wallbox is my vote. Their customer service is awesome and thst is big for me.

My wallbox errored out a few times. I called their customer service and they forced an update(update wasn't working thru app either), they said if it happens again then send a video of leds on the inside during the fault. I sent them the video and they responded within a day and said they were sending me a new unit. When I cycled the power the fault would go away so I could still use the charger while I waited for the new one. I have not had any issues with the new one, except I had to call them to force the software update.

I did the electrical work myself so replacing the unit wasn't a problem for me. Mine is the garage too.

 

[Anthropod]

Emporia install went well for me. Can’t speak to performance yet. The car has been delayed.

Sponsored