Third-party mobile chargers now under $200!

[GoGoGadgetMachE]

Perhaps everyone else knows this, but the last time I looked for a spare mobile charger from any brand to put in the gf's garage, they were like $300+.

Just saw this on Big River:

Amazon.com: Morec 16A EV Charger Level 1-2 NEMA6-20P with Adapterfor NEMA 5-15, 100V-240V, Portable EVSE SAE J1772 Plug 8m (26 feet), Home Electric Vehicle Charging Station Compatible with All EV Cars: Automotive

$189.99!

Here's one for $199.99:

Amazon.com: Megear Level 1-2 EV Charger(100-240V,16A) Portable EVSE Home Electric Vehicle Charging Station(NEMA6-20 with Adapter for NEMA5-15): Automotive

I had no idea they had gotten to under $200.

Useful to know for sure.

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[JamieGeek]

Note that they are both only 16amps. The included charger in the car is better than that.

 

[macchiaz-o]

Besides the power rating, they are also able to make them less expensive by not trying to have them UL listed.

 

[GoGoGadgetMachE]

Note that they are both only 16amps. The included charger in the car is better than that.

can you do more than 15A on a standard household 120V circuit though? that's kind of the use case I'm thinking of here... something that you can have and just leave somewhere without having to worry about an electrical change at the site, and not having to leave your main mobile charger there?

both of the ones I chose are 120V capable - there are others that are 240V only that are also under $200 at this point...

that said yes the limited charging current is a good callout ultimately.

Besides the power rating, they are also able to make them less expensive by not trying to have them UL listed.

I didn't look one way or the other for that - just never think about it. It's also a reasonable callout.

 

[TheSeg]

Besides the power rating, they are also able to make them less expensive by not trying to have them UL listed.

A word of warning: These chargers may invalidate your eligibility for grants based on installing chargers.

I can only speak for the local power company's $800 grant, but they explicitly state the appliance must be UL listed and ask for photos of the unit, make/model, and serial number. If I got any of these chargers, I wouldn't get the grant money.

 

[ab13]

Amazing E charges are safety listed, although more expensive. They used to have a deal with a very low price. Wonder if they will offer any deals in the future.

https://amazing-e.com/

 

[GoGoGadgetMachE]

A word of warning: These chargers may invalidate your eligibility for grants based on installing chargers.

I can only speak for the local power company's $800 grant, but they explicitly state the appliance must be UL listed and ask for photos of the unit, make/model, and serial number. If I got any of these chargers, I wouldn't get the grant money.

for my thinking about this - something you'd have as a spare or at a remote location - I'd never even think about that, meaning it would not occur to me to bring it up. That's a fair I guess, but I'd think if you're going down that $800 grant territory, you're not worried about spending $600 on a charger?

 

[GoGoGadgetMachE]

Amazing E charges are safety listed, although more expensive. They used to have a deal with a very low price. Wonder if they will offer any deals in the future.

https://amazing-e.com/

yeah I see $329+ there at this point and once you go above about $300 there's a LOT more choices.

I was thinking on the low end that breaking the $200 barrier felt important.

 

[ab13]

yeah I see $329+ there at this point and once you go above about $300 there's a LOT more choices.

I was thinking on the low end that breaking the $200 barrier felt important.

They had the 16A one at $219 when it came out for the introduction price. Maybe next holiday time they'll have a special.

 

[JamieGeek]

yeah I see $329+ there at this point and once you go above about $300 there's a LOT more choices.

I was thinking on the low end that breaking the $200 barrier felt important.

Ah but AmazingE are made by ClipperCreek: One of the best and longest running EVSE manufacturers out there.

 

[solarmoo900]

something that you can have and just leave somewhere without having to worry about an electrical change at the site, and not having to leave your main mobile charger there?

Can you explain this a bit more? I'm a newb to all of this but have been looking for a charging setup for my parents house (they don't want to install a charger but have normal plugs in the garage) so would this be faster than the cord included with the car?

 

[JamieGeek]

Can you explain this a bit more? I'm a newb to all of this but have been looking for a charging setup for my parents house (they don't want to install a charger but have normal plugs in the garage) so would this be faster than the cord included with the car?

If they don't want to install a charger then just use the one in the car.

The idea is to install one at your house so you're not always taking the charger out of the car and then putting it back in as there will be one time where you leave it at home and need it.

So you get a charger for home and leave that plugged in (if it has a plug and isn't hardwired) and leave the one in the car.

If you wanted to you could pick up one to plug into your parent's house as well and just leave it there (not plugged in) then plug it in when you need it. Of course if your parents house has a normal 120V plug you won't get much out of it (like 3 miles an hour charging or some such slow charging speed). If they have a 240V dryer plug you're good to go.

 

[GoGoGadgetMachE]

Can you explain this a bit more? I'm a newb to all of this but have been looking for a charging setup for my parents house (they don't want to install a charger but have normal plugs in the garage) so would this be faster than the cord included with the car?

this is the use case I'm talking about - you get buy a 120V charger and just leave it here without giving up the charger in the car. Having to move a charger to and from the car doesn't sound like a big deal until "oops I need it and I left it at my parent's house because I was in a hurry" or whatever.

If they don't want to install a charger then just use the one in the car.

The idea is to install one at your house so you're not always taking the charger out of the car and then putting it back in as there will be one time where you leave it at home and need it.

So you get a charger for home and leave that plugged in (if it has a plug and isn't hardwired) and leave the one in the car.

If you wanted to you could pick up one to plug into your parent's house as well and just leave it there (not plugged in) then plug it in when you need it. Of course if your parents house has a normal 120V plug you won't get much out of it (like 3 miles an hour charging or some such slow charging speed). If they have a 240V dryer plug you're good to go.

right on both points. but 3mi/hour is still more than 0/hour

the dryer plug thing kind of assumes they are willing to deal with that and it's close enough to the garage/driveway and it's even accessible - at my house, it is, but at the gf's house, it's behind the dryer and completely inaccessible without pulling out the dryer, which then means worrying about the venting getting pulled away, and then leaving the garage door at least cracked to the cold garage and then having enough cord to get all the way through the garage to the driveway.... yeah no I'm not dealing with any of that ever. A lot easier to just plug in to a 120V in the garage and leaving it there and running that to the car. (yes I've done this enough at this point in the 7 years of PHEV ownership )

 

[JamieGeek]

right on both points. but 3mi/hour is still more than 0/hour

the dryer plug thing kind of assumes they are willing to deal with that and it's close enough to the garage/driveway and it's even accessible - at my house, it is, but at the gf's house, it's behind the dryer and completely inaccessible without pulling out the dryer, which then means worrying about the venting getting pulled away, and then leaving the garage door at least cracked to the cold garage and then having enough cord to get all the way through the garage to the driveway.... yeah no I'm not dealing with any of that ever. A lot easier to just plug in to a 120V in the garage and leaving it there and running that to the car. (yes I've done this enough at this point in the 7 years of PHEV ownership )

Hey I never said the dryer plug would be easy to get to ! LOL It all depends on the house.

The 3mi/hour is just a warning to not expect much but yeah its better than 0.

 

[GoGoGadgetMachE]

just adding on here the car's mobile charger, in my opinion, is much more for the "temporary destination charging" use case. anywhere you're going to be a lot, that has a garage or something to leave it (so it's not stolen ) and a 120V outlet handy, having a charger you can just leave at that place plugged in full time is a nice convenience.

which is why the price point matters - what are you willing to pay for that convenience. For me $200 is a mental line to cross. Although the UL listing thing is a legitimate "giving me pause" thing.

even at 3 mi/hour, I can quickly get from low to "get home or to the store or whatever" territory in a couple of hours...

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