L1 Charger

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Busdriver

Busdriver

Member
Hello all,
I'm brand new to the site. Just picked up a '23 SE. My third Mini, first EV.
While trying to do a quick study, bear with me as I learn.
The car came with the FlexCharger, but when I got it home, plugged
it into the wall (110) and it is dead. Here is my lack of knowledge.
The price of a Mini/BMW unit is rather steep. Can I substitute another
brand/make, and any recommendations? I'm limited to L1 charging.
Thank you in advance.
 
Welcome! Most would work, provided the plugs are right. You have a lot of options here, so figure out if you're looking for a mobile one or a permanent one. There are a number of brands mentioned in the forum that are available from the river.
When I was looking for one, I found a global provider - Webasto. I suspect they make a large number of chargers for different car manufacturers. Although at the time the BMW charger was quite expensive, I found the one from a VW dealer to be considerably cheaper at the time.
 
Lots of options - any L1 will work and are readily available. Although I am not an Amazon fan they have multiple choices for L1 chargers. Do some research and if you can afford it pay a little more for a quality charger - its the old story you get what you pay for.

You can survive using L1 only - did it for 2 years - just a matter of planning and plugging in whenever you can - also taking advantage of L2 chargers - several free L2 chargers in my area and of course pay as you charge available
 
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I used a Lectron L1 until I installed a Grizzl-e L2 charger. Be mindful of the load on the plug. You may have to limit the car’s draw. I found the supplied L1 charging cable too bulky for my exterior AC outlet which has a plastic weather shield. BTW, I do not have a garage - but I’m working on it!
 
Hi there, since the flex charger comes with the car and is brand new, the first thing I would do is to go back to the dealer and ask for a replacement. I suppose flex charger can use 120 or 240 volt, so you have a choice of L1 or L2 charging.
 
Busdriver said:
Hello all,
I'm brand new to the site. Just picked up a '23 SE. My third Mini, first EV.
While trying to do a quick study, bear with me as I learn.
The car came with the FlexCharger, but when I got it home, plugged
it into the wall (110) and it is dead. Here is my lack of knowledge.
The price of a Mini/BMW unit is rather steep. Can I substitute another
brand/make, and any recommendations? I'm limited to L1 charging.
Thank you in advance.
Click to expand...
Go back to dealer like some members suggested and check an outlet power if is correct wiring try different outlet use a electronic cleaner on L1 plug maybe was never used and corroded IMG_1892.webp IMG_1891.webp
 
Thanks for all the great info, as I am in the fire hose stage right now. I assumed:) that all J1772, L1 chargers were
able to work, but wanted to double check with the experts.
The car I purchased was a '23 taken in on trade, Honda dealership, ie on my own. I am scheduled to have the battery recall accomplished
on Friday. I will see if the dealer will warranty the charger, but I'm not holding my breath. I tried at least six different
outlets. No lights, nothing. It's dead. I will see if I can have it repaired, in the meantime I need an affordable replacement,
as the Lectron seems to be a good choice. Since I live in a rental townhouse (long story there), with no garage, I am stuck with L1
IIRC, doesn't the car have a max limit of 10 Amp for charging on L1? We got rid of the R50 for this, so I am really
enjoying driving both the R56, and the F56.
 
The charging current setup of my 2021 model for L1 charging has only "Max", "reduced" and "low", so I set it up as "Max". Depending on the current in/out of the supplied charger, the 3 levels will draw power differently. My charger is at 10A, so I set it up at Max. I understand that in North America, general household power supply is 120V at 15 amp. So it will be safe for a 10A draw. If you are buying a L1 charger for your home, for safety reason, do not buy anything that will draw more than 15 amp. Having said that, there are 15A chargers. In that case do not plug in more appliances in the same circuit while charging.
 
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Per the manual the maximum L1 charge rate seems to be 15 A, but the L1 EVSEs (cables) usually are limited to 10 A since most outlets (NEMA 5-15) are on a 15-20 A circuit and EV charging needs to draw no more than 80% of circuit amperage.

selevel1.webp
 
Thanks for that info. I will confess that I haven't really jumped into the manual in depth.
I go for the battery recall tomorrow, and since I read that presets get dumped,
my thought was to go through everything in detail after that. The circuit is on a 20A breaker,
but I am extremely cautious and the max I would want to draw is 10-11A
 
IMG_1772.webp
Busdriver said:
Thanks for that info. I will confess that I haven't really jumped into the manual in depth.
I go for the battery recall tomorrow, and since I read that presets get dumped,
my thought was to go through everything in detail after that. The circuit is on a 20A breaker,
but I am extremely cautious and the max I would want to draw is 10-11A
Click to expand...
I’m plugging in 20amps outdoor GFCI Coleman fault circuit interrupter 50’ long which is rated 15 amp -1800 watts as factory charger come with my 2022 SE as L1 120 V. -1.2Kw./1200Watts .10amps .is working good for me without issues but my charging is mostly on L2 /240 V. In my garage .IMG_1893.webp IMG_1894.webp
 
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