UK Home Charging Products and Installation

[Mwjdavies]

Hypervolt just installed
tethered unit, with cable neatly wrapped around the unit itself. App seems good too. Haven’t been able to actually use it yet though, car due next month

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[bl0ke]

Our Indra Smart Pro has died after just five months (and only three of those in actual use). Noticed on Friday - *just* out of office hours before a Bank holiday weekend - that there were no lights on.

It had tripped its RCD but resetting that has had no effect. It's dead, Jim.

Have emailed the installers and messaged Indra, but not expecting anything before Tuesday. Thankfully it's a quiet weekend for us.

 

[Leslie Gabriolek]

I was going for a Zappi but there was a delay on delivery and I had the car arriving and installer booked so I switched to a Hypervolt. Car has arrived and I've used the charger successfully. The app is good. At the moment its just on scheduled charge overnight between 0030 and 4.30 (cheapest Octopus rate).

 

[Rex]

I've looked at Grahame's commando solution and I think this would work well for in the garage. Although you can get IP rated commando sockets I would not want to leave the Ford Vario charger plugged in outdoors over night.

Why? It is IP66 rated so it is suitable for outdoor use. Are you worried about theft?

 

[Coolcatshaft]

Why? It is IP66 rated so it is suitable for outdoor use. Are you worried about theft?

There was an email from the concierge somewhere on here which said that while end that connects to the car is water proof the end that plugs into the wall isn't.

 

[Rex]

There was an email from the concierge somewhere on here which said that while end that connects to the car is water proof the end that plugs into the wall isn't.

The control unit built into the cable is actually IP67 and therefore safe outside. The mains plug should be plugged into a socket capable of being used outside. So after inserting the plug a lid closes which has a waterproof seal and the cable enters through a seal which clamps round the cable. Extension cables with appropriate weather proof sockets can be purchased in the UK from https://toughleads.co.uk You can also buy the outside sockets (mount with cable down!)

 

[al14]

Been waiting three months now for British Gas to install the Ford charger.

On the phone to complaints for 22 minutes of music and not one voice, not even a recorded one, before someone answered. They are now saying that their system shows the survey carried out on 28.6.21 was incomplete while I am sitting with a copy of the surveyor's report which has all the boxes ticked and the comment "completed EV survey".

Operative today was helpful but it seems that when I phoned them at the beginning of August a different operative, who failed to add his name to the entry he made in the system, had emailed the surveyor about this although he did not mention anything about it to me. Neither did he nor anyone else follow up with the surveyor when he failed to respond to the initial email. All in all a complete lack of concern for the customer, totally inadequate systems and work practices in place resulting in NO service to this customer.

If I get no installation date in the next fortnight then this order will be cancelled.

Just as well lwe have free public charge points in Scotland!

 

[Rex]

Been waiting three months now for British Gas to install the Ford charger.

On the phone to complaints for 22 minutes of music and not one voice, not even a recorded one, before someone answered. They are now saying that their system shows the survey carried out on 28.6.21 was incomplete while I am sitting with a copy of the surveyor's report which has all the boxes ticked and the comment "completed EV survey".

Operative today was helpful but it seems that when I phoned them at the beginning of August a different operative, who failed to add his name to the entry he made in the system, had emailed the surveyor about this although he did not mention anything about it to me. Neither did he nor anyone else follow up with the surveyor when he failed to respond to the initial email. All in all a complete lack of concern for the customer, totally inadequate systems and work practices in place resulting in NO service to this customer.

If I get no installation date in the next fortnight then this order will be cancelled.

Just as well lwe have free public charge points in Scotland!

I started the process in February and the charge point was fitted 24/9/21. It does not work. I do not blame BG for the delays, in fact they have been remarkably helpful.
1. My meter was inadequate (40A)
2. My supplier had just gone bust.
3. My appointed new supplier would not fit a new meter until the administration was complete.
4. This was a long delay
5. BG conducted a survey via video.
6. SSEN were contacted to conduct the load test.
7. That took nearly 90 days.
8. The chap that did the survey made an en passant comment about my tails being marginal.
9. I had no report from the visit.
10. 2 weeks later I received a call from SSEN's agent saying "Have you changed the tails?"
11. I arrange for the tails to be changed by BG.
12. There were a couple of hiccups but it was done very speedily.
13. SSENs agent came and replaced the fuse with a 100amp fuse.
14. BG came and did their bit very quickly.
15. I have a charge point but BG cannot commission it because the voltage at the terminals exceeds the legal max of 253v and the unit trips out.
16. I have a voltmeter.
17. I reset the charge point when the volts are low, plug in the car and can charge.
18. When the car is on charge the house volts drop by 10V well below the trip point.
19. when the volts are high I can even turn the oven on, reset the unit, put the car on charge, it stays charging.
20. SSEN informed and they are installing a datalogger for two weeks to see if they need to adjust the local transformer, they do.
21. The Ford App for controlling the charging station does not work. Ford are working on the problem.

It is possible that BG will be the least of your problems, they were of mine.

 

[al14]

I started the process in February and the charge point was fitted 24/9/21. It does not work. I do not blame BG for the delays, in fact they have been remarkably helpful.
1. My meter was inadequate (40A)
2. My supplier had just gone bust.
3. My appointed new supplier would not fit a new meter until the administration was complete.
4. This was a long delay
5. BG conducted a survey via video.
6. SSEN were contacted to conduct the load test.
7. That took nearly 90 days.
8. The chap that did the survey made an en passant comment about my tails being marginal.
9. I had no report from the visit.
10. 2 weeks later I received a call from SSEN's agent saying "Have you changed the tails?"
11. I arrange for the tails to be changed by BG.
12. There were a couple of hiccups but it was done daily speedily.
13. SSENs agent came and replaced the fuse with a 100amp fuse.
14. BG came and did their bit very quickly.
15. I have a charge point but BG cannot commission it because the voltage at the terminals exceeds the legal max of 253v and the unit trips out.
16. I have a voltmeter.
17. I reset the charge point when the volts are low, plug in the car and can charge.
18. When the car is on charge the house volts drop by 10V well below the trip point.
19. when the volts are high I can even turn the oven on, rest the unit, put the car on charge, it stays charing.
20. SSEN informed and they are installing a datalogger for two weeks to see if they need to adjust the local transformer, they do.
21. The Ford App for controlling the charging station does not work. Ford are working on the problem.

It is possible that BG will be the least of your problems, they were of mine.

Thanks for that. They are now contradicting themselves over a few things and are not even going to SSEN but making their decision for them. Bottom line I wouldn't get them to do a thing for me and will check out this thread, and elsewhere to see what box to go for.

 

[Rex]

Thanks for that. They are now contradicting themselves over a few things and are not even going to SSEN but making their decision for them. Bottom line I wouldn't get them to do a thing for me and will check out this thread, and elsewhere to see what box to go for.

I suppose it depends on your life style but I have managed without the 7.4kW charge point for so long I came to the conclusion that with what I know now I probably didn't need it. I have used the 13 amp socket all this time to charge. When visiting friends and relations I use their 13 amp sockets.

 

[Rex]

Update
22. I installed my own data logger and the average voltage in a 24 hr period was over 253V (Illegal)
23. The Ford App now works
24. SSEN installed the data logger and phoned me to tell me the good news that my voltage was close to the limit, but not over it, and they would lower it by 6V. ie no admission of illegality and hence liability.
25. I did another 24 hr check and the voltage was down by 13v, strange that
26. The unit has had some problems and in the next couple of weeks BG are replacing it with a newer model. I had difficulty because I could not supply the serial number of my charger. Apparently that was down to me having an early model of the charger with no serial number. None of the problems stopped me charging but data from the charger was untrustworthy, might be right-might be wrong-might not exist at all.

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