Which home charger will you choose for your new Kona or Niro

  • Thread starter Thread starter EnerG
  • Start date Start date
  • Replies Replies 246
  • Views Views 56K
EnerG said:
Does it give you the full 32Amps? My biggest concern about these Asian units is the of lack of safety certification. I am not sure what the American home insurance requirements are, but here in Canada if your house burns down and non-compliant device is the cause you will find yourself without a houses and no insurance. It may even be possible that if the car goes up in flames, your auto insurance might not cover the car either.
Click to expand...
Agree on no certification as confirmed here: (showing on the second critical review)
https://www.amazon.ca/Morec-Upgrade...07DHFH8LW/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8
 
electriceddy said:
Agree on no certification as confirmed here: (showing on the second critical review)
https://www.amazon.ca/Morec-Upgrade...07DHFH8LW/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8
Click to expand...

In all fairness to the product it has undergone CE and TUV certification however those tags are not recognized in our domestic market. I have a great deal of respect for the CSA, but I am very happy to see more products each year conforming to the ULC which is a close competitor and gives manufacturers access to the Canadian market with a only few extra check boxes selected when seeking product certification.
 
electriceddy said:
Agree on no certification as confirmed here: (showing on the second critical review)
https://www.amazon.ca/Morec-Upgrade...07DHFH8LW/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8
Click to expand...
I did a little more research on this product, and wanted to share my findings and understanding. First, please don't accept what I say as gospel or an expert's view, same as many other comments and opinions you may read on the internet incl Amazon reviews and Q&As. You are solely responsible for your own due diligence and buying decisions. But here is what I found.

The seller provides a 3 year warranty and lists CE, TUV and FCC certifications.While CE is not accredited in Canada, TUV is, specifically TUV Rheinland. Further below is a pic of the product specs and certification markings. The TUV Rheinland is 3rd from the right beside the FCC.

Here is the link from TUV.
https://www.tuv.com/canada/en/approvals-for-north-america.html

And here is the link from the BC approvals doc, go to page 8 for the TUV markings.
https://www.technicalsafetybc.ca/sites/default/files/alerts/B-E3 071019 3.pdf
Ontario has the same, and probably all provinces.

As for CSA, it is not a legal requirement for Canada, in case anyone might be suggesting that. It is similar to the UL listing in the US, again, not a legal requirement.
https://certification-experts.com/knowledgebase/what-is-the-difference-between-csa-and-ce/

So as far as I can tell, the Morec product is legal to use it Canada, and can't see how an insurance company could deny a claim if it might be responsible for a fire. I see that ChargePoint has UL markings but not TUV or CSA, so what's the difference. And after some research I did at the beginning, I would not use that product anyway, for several other reasons.

I should also mention that the 16A and 32A Morec chargers are in Amazon's top 3 EV chargers sellers ranking.
 
R P said:
I did a little more research on this product, and wanted to share my findings and understanding. First, please don't accept what I say as gospel or an expert's view, same as many other comments and opinions you may read on the internet incl Amazon reviews and Q&As. You are solely responsible for your own due diligence and buying decisions. But here is what I found.

The seller provides a 3 year warranty and lists CE, TUV and FCC certifications.While CE is not accredited in Canada, TUV is, specifically TUV Rheinland. Further below is a pic of the product specs and certification markings. The TUV Rheinland is 3rd from the right beside the FCC.

Here is the link from TUV.
https://www.tuv.com/canada/en/approvals-for-north-america.html

And here is the link from the BC approvals doc, go to page 8 for the TUV markings.
https://www.technicalsafetybc.ca/sites/default/files/alerts/B-E3 071019 3.pdf
Ontario has the same, and probably all provinces.

As for CSA, it is not a legal requirement for Canada, in case anyone might be suggesting that. It is similar to the UL listing in the US, again, not a legal requirement.
https://certification-experts.com/knowledgebase/what-is-the-difference-between-csa-and-ce/

So as far as I can tell, the Morec product is legal to use it Canada, and can't see how an insurance company could deny a claim if it might be responsible for a fire. I see that ChargePoint has UL markings but not TUV or CSA, so what's the difference. And after some research I did at the beginning, I would not use that product anyway, for several other reasons.

I should also mention that the 16A and 32A Morec chargers are in Amazon's top 3 EV chargers sellers ranking.
Click to expand...
As you are in Canada so long as it has a symbol exactly like the ones displayed on page 8 of the Tech. saftey B.C. pdf page 8, then it is ok.
As an electrician if in doubt, a picture of the symbol on the equipment can be sent to them to confirm, as there are other directives in the BCSA files
that express the concern of counterfeit accreditation approval labels and symbols specifically manufactured in China.
In the picture you provided it does not. Is that a little"c" beside the triangle?
 
Not saying there is anything wrong with the Morec unit but I have learned with experience to avoid Chinese electronics that typically represent "good enough" engineering,unless there is no other equivalent choice. I have run a completely off grid residence for nearly 20 years. Over the years I have had my share of "Asian" inverters and charge controllers that all seemed like a great price until a inevitable premature failure turned them unusable. None were easily repairable or had any support beyond a year if that. I finally bit the bullet and bought a North American made inverter ( but again likely with Asian components) around 8 years ago. Sure I paid more but it ran flawlessly until about month ago when the inverter shut down unexpectedly. Now here is catch. I called the manufacturer who helped me diagnose the failure and then expressed shipped a replacement board for free. The additional benefit is the inverter is entirely field repairable and I was able to make the repair myself. My advice for whatever its worth is if you can afford it find a reputable North American company that builds and will support your charge station.
 
Last edited:
I ordered this Sun Country charger from Costco Canada at the recommendation of my coworker who bought his Bolt a few years ago:

https://www.costco.ca/Sun-Country-H...in-EV-Charging-Station.product.100366896.html

After a month of using it, I’m very happy with it. It’s American made— reviewers speak highly of the after sales service. The charger doesn’t have bells and whistles— it simply charges. Costco sells it at a fair price and I liked the fact that if it fails, Costco is also standing squarely and fairly behind the product they sell.
 
electriceddy said:
As you are in Canada so long as it has a symbol exactly like the ones displayed on page 8 of the Tech. saftey B.C. pdf page 8, then it is ok.
As an electrician if in doubt, a picture of the symbol on the equipment can be sent to them to confirm, as there are other directives in the BCSA files
that express the concern of counterfeit accreditation approval labels and symbols specifically manufactured in China.
In the picture you provided it does not. Is that a little"c" beside the triangle?
Click to expand...
The TUV symbol is EXACTLY as it appears in the BC markings doc. The descriptor below is TUV Rheinland with a little (R) to indicate a registered trademark. On the website and on the box it says it is TUV tested and certified.

I should mention this product does not connect directly to the house wiring. It is a portable cable with a plug to a 14-50 receptacle. So does not require a electrician to install.
 
apu said:
Not saying there is anything wrong with the Morec unit but I have learned with experience to avoid Chinese electronics that typically represent "good enough" engineering,unless there is no other equivalent choice. I have run a completely off grid residence for nearly 20 years. Over the years I have had my share of "Asian" inverters and charge controllers that all seemed like a great price until a inevitable premature failure turned them unusable. None were easily repairable or had any support beyond a year if that. I finally bit the bullet and bought a North American made inverter ( but again likely with Asian components) around 8 years ago. Sure I paid more but it ran flawlessly until about month ago when the inverter shut down unexpectedly. Now here is catch. I called the manufacturer who helped me diagnose the failure and then expressed shipped a replacement board for free. The additional benefit is the inverter is entirely field repairable and I was able to make the repair myself. My advice for whatever its worth is if you can afford it find a reputable North American company that builds and will support your charge station.
Click to expand...
I find it kind of ironic that on a forum about an "Asian" car, we are promoting North American made products over Asian. Personally, having owned many cars over the years, have had much better luck with Asian makes than domestic. And if you look at Consumer Reports all the best cars now are Asian, and the domestics are on the bottom of their rankings.

As for off-grid, I can tell you that I also have direct experience with that as we have a cabin with a solar installation. I did it myself after a lot of research (forums were a great help) and set up my system using yes, Chinese controllers and inverters (and solar panels) that cost about 1/10 of my neighbour's installation done professionally by a electrician. Mine has worked flawlessly, and he has had nothing but trouble with his, and ends up using his generator most of the time. And his electrician has basically abandoned him, as he would not stand behind his work. Once he got his money, he just wanted more, to fix it.

One more comment about Morec, their Amazon Review scores (Amazon.com) are very, very good,... higher than ChargePoint. So that should tell us a lot, too. Like I said in an earlier post, I would never buy a ChargePoint.

Anyway, I don't think there is any more I can add to this particular discussion on this thread. People should do their own due diligence, and make your own buying decisions. So far, I am very happy with my charger,... and my Asian car.
 
R P said:
I find it kind of ironic that on a forum about an "Asian" car, we are promoting North American made products over Asian. Personally, having owned many cars over the years, have had much better luck with Asian makes than domestic. And if you look at Consumer Reports all the best cars now are Asian, and the domestics are on the bottom of their rankings.

As for off-grid, I can tell you that I also have direct experience with that as we have a cabin with a solar installation. I did it myself after a lot of research (forums were a great help) and set up my system using yes, Chinese controllers and inverters (and solar panels) that cost about 1/10 of my neighbour's installation done professionally by a electrician. Mine has worked flawlessly, and he has had nothing but trouble with his, and ends up using his generator most of the time. And his electrician has basically abandoned him, as he would not stand behind his work. Once he got his money, he just wanted more, to fix it.
Click to expand...

I meant no offense, I was simply expressing my own anecdotal ramblings and generalizations specifically about Chinese electronics. I am sure your decisions were made with great consideration and deliberation. The Chinese are very capable of producing first rate spec electronics but for what ever reason you will often see cost costing in manufacture that deems the product "good enough" for the duration of the warranty and little more. If you get more awesome and you have made the the best decision.

Out of curiosity I have ask who makes Morec EV chargers other than their amazon presence I have been unable to find a website, physical address or how to access the warranty? Seems like the only contact is a generic email through Chinese NetEase's 163.com network( [email protected])
 
Last edited:
apu said:
I meant no offense, I was simply expressing my own anecdotal ramblings and generalizations specifically about Chinese electronics. I am sure your decisions were made with great consideration and deliberation. The Chinese are very capable of producing first rate spec electronics but for what ever reason you will often see cost costing in manufacture that deems the product "good enough" for the duration of the warranty and little more. If you get more awesome and you have made the the best decision.

Out of curiosity I have ask who makes Morec EV chargers other than their amazon presence I have been unable to find a website, or what their warranty is or how to access it? Seems like the only contact is a generic email through Chinese NetEase's 163.com network( [email protected])
Click to expand...
Well, we are talking about a charging cable, not a larger network company like ChargePoint is or Bosch, etc, etc. So yes, it is Amazon that I am talking about. I wouldn't be surprised if their charger (and Morec) disappears in 2 years. I have lots of Chinese products in my home and garage that are one-offs (from Costco, Canadian Tire, Princess Auto, etc). Who cares, as long as they do their job, and I expect the same from this charger. If it fails in 4 years, well, my bet is there will be even cheaper and better replacements available by that time. That's just how this electronic/electric gadget stuff goes. Technology keeps moving along. I notice on the charger box, this is actually version 3 of the product already, and wouldn't be surprised if one year, the product name changes.

That happened to a little inverter generator I have (Chinese of course). Great little product, but have seen about 3 other companies since sell exactly the same product just a different name. And if you ever look at the engines and carbs (just never leave old gas in them) on these generators across about 10 different brands, they are all pretty well identical. So a lot of these parts are very interchangeable.
 
3year warranty
https://www.mokeyinternational.com/...-sae-j1772-compatible-with-most-electric-cars
Imo, for the most part, a huge percentage of electronics, come from China. Its the branding/label and aftermarket support that jacks the price.
From my own experience, putting together PC's since 1990, generally after the burn in period, if that electronic component is going to fail, it will fail early.
Some of this thinking is one of the reasons, i chose an electric vehicle.
I can also, say the same about Hyundai. When i bought my first brand new car in the 80's, it was a Hyundai. Ppl went off on a tangent then cuz it was Korean. I bought it cuz it was cheaper and offered more value for my money.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: R P
The car sets the current. Buying an EVSE that has more current is a waste of money.

I have a IoniQ and it charges fine at 28.5A from the EVSE that charged my Mercedes B250e at 40A. The extra is ignored and unused.
 
XtsKonaTrooper said:
3year warranty
https://www.mokeyinternational.com/...-sae-j1772-compatible-with-most-electric-cars
Imo, for the most part, a huge percentage of electronics, come from China. Its the branding/label and aftermarket support that jacks the price.
From my own experience, putting together PC's since 1990, generally after the burn in period, if that electronic component is going to fail, it will fail early.
Some of this thinking is one of the reasons, i chose an electric vehicle.
I can also, say the same about Hyundai. When i bought my first brand new car in the 80's, it was a Hyundai. Ppl went off on a tangent then cuz it was Korean. I bought it cuz it was cheaper and offered more value for my money.
Click to expand...

For me the support and parts are key. If we are bringing Hyundai into this, yes they built some great value but also some crappy cars back in the 80s. I know I used to own one. At least they provided great warranty and support so you could overlook some of the garbage.
 
Hi folks, I purchased and installed JuiceBox Pro40 - plugs into NEMA 14-50. I ran the circuit myself, so the cost was $550 for the JuiceBox, about $100 for the wiring and another $125 to have it inspected. Works great, scheduled for off-peak (NYSEG has EV owner rate) and
charges at 7Kw/hr.
20190508_171835.webp
 

Attachments

  • 20190508_171835.webp
    20190508_171835.webp
    52.5 KB · Views: 17
R P said:
The TUV symbol is EXACTLY as it appears in the BC markings doc. The descriptor below is TUV Rheinland with a little (R) to indicate a registered trademark. On the website and on the box it says it is TUV tested and certified.

I should mention this product does not connect directly to the house wiring. It is a portable cable with a plug to a 14-50 receptacle. So does not require a electrician to install.
Click to expand...
On an existing outlet - I agree no permit required ( providing the service capacity is adequate based on the total calculated load). Glad to see the cert. marking is the same, couldn't tell from your picture.
 
  • Like
Reactions: R P
eastpole said:
Nice -- let us know how the Aerovironment charger works for you. They are a big player.
$0.09/kWh is a good price for California. But that does make me feel pretty good about charging at $0.065 (CAD) overnight in Toronto.
Duck curve has been a "problem" here in Ontario for quite a while, despite the fact that we have much less PV than you. For those who wouldn't have previously thought about the regional electrical grid's problems before they bought an EV: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duck_curve
Click to expand...

My charger is a 32A Aerovironment model that's somewhat different than what I can find at the usual sources. It doesn't have the start and stop buttons, but is completely remote control. It has a 25 ft cord and is installed on the outside wall of my house, hard wired into the main panel. It was installed free of charge as part of a pilot "smart home" study and is, for now, controlled by the study. It's programmed to charge only during the "super off-peak" periods in the SDG&E TOU EV-5 tariff. I can override the schedule, if needed, by responding to a text message I get every time I plug it in. So, I plug in when I get home from work and it doesn't start charging until midnight. It has worked flawlessly so far. My daily commute is about 35 miles round trip, so it only takes a little over an hour to charge up if I plug in every night. I once ran the battery down to about 25% or so and it didn't quite come up to 100% in six hours.
 
30 ft cable is pretty good. Looks like there will be more and more of these cheaper chargers becoming online. I agree wifi is not necessary, when you have BlueLink and can monitor and manage your charging remotely. The one I use (Morec) is similar and also displays amps and wattage charged on the LED.
 
TheLight75 said:
I went with this 40-amp level 2 charger from PrimeCom: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07NQ5YTNW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I like the level of detail shown on the screen including the actual amps & wattage pulled. Ran at a solid 7.5kw last night for my Kona's first charge. Fancy bells & whistles like Wi-Fi aren't important to me.
Click to expand...
This looks a lot like the Zencar adjustable EVSE that used to be available with the same amperage settings changed with the RFID card (had a lot of good reviews), this is the kind I would like to replace the stock EVSE that comes with the car as it should allow a charge from a TT-30 RV receptacle (24A @120V) which a lot of RV sites have around these parts (of course you will still need a 14-50 to TT30 dog bone) Thanks for the link:)
 
electriceddy said:
This looks a lot like the Zencar adjustable EVSE that used to be available with the same amperage settings changed with the RFID card (had a lot of good reviews), this is the kind I would like to replace the stock EVSE that comes with the car as it should allow a charge from a TT-30 RV receptacle (24A @120V) which a lot of RV sites have around these parts (of course you will still need a 14-50 to TT30 dog bone) Thanks for the link:)
Click to expand...

It is. The actual charger says Zencar all over it. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top