Recommendations for battery charging

[insightman]

I'm planning on having a level 2 charger (Siemens) installed for my future SE. Just curious if there are any chargers that DON'T work with the new SE or any advice I should consider. Thanks in advance.

Remember, for the fastest Level 2 charging of your SE you'll need an EVSE capable of delivering 7400 Watts. 7400W / 240V = 30.8A, so a 32-Amp EVSE would be sufficient. Alternatively, if you can get the power company to jack up your line voltage to 247 Volts (not likely), you can achieve the max charging speed with a 30-Amp EVSE.

 

[GDOG]

On a somewhat related topic, has anybody taken precautions on securing the exterior charger from theft? My electrician recommended hardwiring to deter theft. I've also seen someone install metal straps over the charger to prevent it being ripped off the wall. This actually seems more secure than just a hard wired connection. Thoughts?

 

[insightman]

On a somewhat related topic, has anybody taken precautions on securing the exterior charger from theft? My electrician recommended hardwiring to deter theft. I've also seen someone install metal straps over the charger to prevent it being ripped off the wall. This actually seems more secure than just a hard wired connection. Thoughts?

I've never heard of someone stealing an EVSE, but I don't know many people with EVs other than InsideEV forum members. A vandal can wreak havoc that a thief would not attempt for fear of damaging their booty. Hardwiring eliminates your options if you want to take your EVSE on a trip. Google found this British EV cable company website with ideas.

 

[F14Scott]

How about installing the unit indoors and running the cable through the wall to outside?

It might mean disassembling the whole thing to unscrew the cable from the contacts so it can be threaded through a small hole and/or conduit, vice having to bore a giant hole that would fit the J1772 nozzle.

You could then mount a cable hanger outside, or even a wall-mounted, lockable box in which to store the cable and nozzle.

I have my Tesla's charger inside my garage, but I ran the cable to my driveway through the bottom corner gap of my garage for a while, until I got the garage cleaned out and ready for the car.

 

[GDOG]

Thanks for all the feedback. I've decided to install the exterior 220 outlet in a metal RV type enclosure that accepts a padlock. The charger itself snaps into a plastic mounting bracket and lifts off super easy. Since most of the charger is plastic, seems futile to secure the charger. A thief would have to cut the power cord which I'm guessing would be an electrifying experience.

 

[tom stewart]

See the MINI Cooper SE Owner's Manual thread for a link to (and discussion of) the downloadable owner's manual PDF. The chapter on charging begins on page 216.

Via the on-board display, the car can be set up to begin charging immediately or charge for a scheduled departure time. With the latter, you can also specify a window of time with the lowest cost to charge (e.g. off-peak). Depending on the state of charge, it may begin charging outside that window if necessary to achieve full (or highest possible) charge by the scheduled departure time (including preconditioning). Up to 3 departure times can be set.

You can select 1 of 3 amperages for Level 1 charging only, and it's set to the lowest by default (likely to protect owners who haven't checked the capacity & load of the circuit they plug into). If you want to configure Level 2 charging current, that will have to be done on the EVSE. The car will tell the EVSE what current it needs, so it shouldn't be a problem if yours can provide more than it needs.

the three amperage options are something like low, reduced and maximum. I cannot find anywhere these generic levels corresponding to the available amperage of the house socket. Anybody find a rule of thumb on this?

 

[F14Scott]

the three amperage options are something like low, reduced and maximum. I cannot find anywhere these generic levels corresponding to the available amperage of the house socket. Anybody find a rule of thumb on this?

When I get my SE delivered, I should be able to deduce the draw of the different levels by seeing how my two, connected Tesla chargers share the load (which would mean I watch my Tesla's screen as it charges at 48A and see how it drops when I attach the SE). It would be even easier if someone had a "smart" connector that reports throughput directly.

Anybody with an SE using a smart wall connector?

 

[MichaelC]

the three amperage options are something like low, reduced and maximum. I cannot find anywhere these generic levels corresponding to the available amperage of the house socket. Anybody find a rule of thumb on this?

According to the owner's manual, it depends on the maximum ampere rating of the Level 1 charging cable delivered with your SE:

No idea how it relates to Level 2 charging, as that isn't covered in the manual as far as I can tell.

 

[F14Scott]

According to the owner's manual, it depends on the maximum ampere rating of the Level 1 charging cable delivered with your SE:
View attachment 9048
No idea how it relates to Level 2 charging, as that isn't covered in the manual as far as I can tell.

And, also, the amperage of the socket and associated breaker/circuit.

A "regular" 15A house socket should not exceed 80% (12A) for continuous use, so if that's what is in one's garage, the car's setting should be set to a max of 12A, regardless of the connector's capacity.

If one's garage has 20A sockets (and, presumably, breakers), then one could set the car's draw at a maximum of 16A and be OK.

One other thing. If your garage has 15A sockets, they are likely wired like other rooms in the house, daisy-chained on a single 15A breaker. Two dangers come from this:

1) If you're charging your car at 12A on one socket in the chain, and your garage freezer kicks on and draws from another socket in the chain, you are now overloading the circuit and relying on the breaker to heat up and trip before the wires heat up and catch your wall on fire. It's a race you should not want to be running.

2) Lots of sockets on a daisy-chain increase the odds that one or more of their connections are loose, creating a point of resistance that will heat up quickly, and might be heating up in an area that is not near the active socket, masking the imminent failure. Not good.

So, most BEV people recommend that, if one is going to regularly use a wall socket to drive a connector, vice a hard-wired connector, it be on its own breaker and not be daisy-chained to other sockets.

 

[MichaelC]

Everything @F14Scott says is correct and wise, and likely why the SE is delivered with the charge current setting at the lowest level.

Also beware of your garage door opener, if you have one. That's another very high current draw to be aware of (albeit brief), and may not be on a dedicated circuit.

 

[Puppethead]

Anybody with an SE using a smart wall connector?

I have been using the Eve Energy smart outlet (North American version), which has worked great. My garage is on a 20A circuit (garage opener on separate circuit), but the maximum the SE will draw is 15A so I figured this would suffice, and it hasn't even gotten warm.

I've been charging at "maximum" Level 1 and it has been drawing close to 15A. Here's a consumption graph for one charge session:

 

[Puppethead]

According to the owner's manual, it depends on the maximum ampere rating of the Level 1 charging cable delivered with your SE:
View attachment 9048
No idea how it relates to Level 2 charging, as that isn't covered in the manual as far as I can tell.

There is very little in the manual about Level 2 charging, but the car has two settings for Level 2: "reduced" or "maximum". When I got my SE it was set to "reduced" by default, and there's no indication what the amperage is.

 

[F14Scott]

There is very little in the manual about Level 2 charging, but the car has two settings for Level 2: "reduced" or "maximum". When I got my SE it was set to "reduced" by default, and there's no indication what the amperage is.

Does the MINI phone software allow adjusting/monitoring/starting/stopping/measuring charging? Now that you are on the bleeding edge, I'd love to hear about phone app connectivity.

 

[Puppethead]

The app is working great, although I haven't explored everything yet. I've been using it to check on charge status with my meager Level 1 charging.

You can use it to monitor charging as well as open/close windows/hatch, lock/unlock car, and control the climate. You can schedule charging but I don't see a way to change the charge rate, that seems to be controlled only in the vehicle.

I made sure to pair my phone with my SE at the dealer before I left to make sure it was all set. Had no problem.

 

[tom stewart]

According to the owner's manual, it depends on the maximum ampere rating of the Level 1 charging cable delivered with your SE:
View attachment 9048
No idea how it relates to Level 2 charging, as that isn't covered in the manual as far as I can tell.

ahh. Thank you. I didnt get the graph the first time I read it. I have a dedicated 20 amp so I think max level 1 is fine for me although its painfully slow. My SE replaces my Fiat 500e which was not as fun to drive but charged 3x faster on 110.