BMW i3 Level 2 Charger

Hi all,

I am in need of some help with selecting a level 2 charger to be installed in my house for the i3 I will be getting this month. Price and mobility are the two most important factors, as well as the ability to use the charger with other vehicles like Tesla and the Volt.

As I am not familiar with EV high speed charging, I am asking for some recommendations. I would like to get a charger that can charge not only the i3, but other EV’s such as Tesla and Chevy Volt, as I am on the list for a Tesla which should be delivered in the next few months.

In terms of features, since the vehicles typically have connectivity and charging features built in, I do not think think I will need many bells and whistles. It would be nice to find a charger that could be portable (and can use adapters – bonus for those that come with adapters), or moved from my garage into a new home. I am considering moving in the future and would like to take it along. I saw some chargers that hookup to standard dryer outlets, but wasn’t sure of the advantages or disadvantages of using them.

I have a friend who is an electrician who will be helping with install and my electrical box is ~8 feet away from where I would install the charger or the wiring to plug the charger in.

Any recommendations for an affordable, reliable and portable unit that will work for my needs?

TIA!

If your panel is close to where the charger will be installed and there is enough free space on the panel, I would recommend running a new line to that location instead of trying to bastardize a dryer outlet. I don’t have any recommendations for models of chargers as its been a few years since I have had a plug-in car, but portable ones are available if you are planning on moving soon.

I am doing similar research on level 2 charger. You also need to check if you have 200amp service to the circuit panel to support charging your EV. You may get by a 100amp circuit panel if you don’t have high-load electric appliances (i.e. electric water heater, dryer etc…). The charger may only cost around $500, but upgrading the infrastructure may cost thousands.

my 2 cents here, not a licensed electrician but I am pretty good with tools and I have experience completely rewiring 3 homes in the last 6yrs. If you already have 200amp service at home, you are in good shape. Run a NEW line with a new 40amp (or whatever the charger u buy requires) to a NEW stanalone outlet. Given that you are so close to your panel you may get away with buying 10/3 gauge cable (ask your electrician friend he may suggest 8/3 gauge). That cable costs $1.25-2/ft or so at HD. The wall outlet for a dryer (depending on configuration) is probably another $20. The 40 amp breaker (buy a good one, GFCI etc with all bells an whistles) another $70-$90 (siemenes,square d or even homelite brands), that along with ~$2-300 of labor (cant imagine an electrician taking more than 2-3hrs for your particular setup, less if you run the line via nm conductors so you dont have to open walls and run wires behind sheetrock) to setup prob sets you back ~$400. Dont forget, you -technically speaking- may need a permit to do electrical work in your house, depending on your town code.
For context $400 bucks is filling up your tank ~10 times (once a week, thats about 2.5months of gas expense)

so with the electric bs out of the way, lets get back to your main question.

I am a big fan of amazon top selling products, they gets lots of reviews, this is the one i am considering for my i3, i like the fact that you can unplug and take to a new home (or other location etc), the other thing i need is to be able to schedule time so take advantage of lower rates at nighttime.

https://www.amazon.com/JuiceBox-Pro-40-JuiceNet-WiFi-equipped/dp/B00UB9R4KO/ref=zg_bs_7427415011_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=NNP53DVYYTYYEJSCENCG

Looks like I have 200 AMP service and have 2 slots open at the moment on the breaker panel. So I believe I will be good to go with running a line about 6-8 feet from Panel to where I plan on installing the charger.

With this said, any recommendations on an affordable charger and best place to buy?

As I understand things, you can safely charge through a 4-prong dryer outlet. However many homes built before electric codes were upgraded only have the 3-prong dryer outlets. If you were to use these 3-prong outlets there is a (small) risk that you could shock yourself.

The older 3-prong outlets connected the neutral and ground wires together. This opened up the possibility of current flowing on to the ground wire and could lead to the metal frame of the stove or dryer becoming energized. If this happened, the result could be a shock delivered to the user when touching the appliance.

Having said that, dryer circuits were made to run a dryer for stretches of an hour or so. They were never intended to be used for hours on end to charge electric vehicles.

havent heard this before, but a valid point, more reason to talk to your electrician friend and buy a heavier duty/gauge wire, perhaps a 8/3 (the lower the number the heavier the gauge, so 8/3 is thicker/can handle more amps than 10/3)

I also have an i3. I’m looking to install charger soon. I do have a bmw turbo cord, but it’s only rated 20A, nema 6-20. I know it can do the job for what I need, which is over night charging. However I’m concerned that the outlet is entirely different than nema 14-50. If I stick with turbo cord for the short term, does this mean additional electrician cost if I were to upgrade to nema 14-50 in the future? Basically I’m trying to future proof. If I was to go with NEMA 14-50, this would mean new charger, which is $500+. Sigh

If you go with a 14-50 outlet, you don’t have to replace your charger right away. They make adapters for 6-20 to 14-50.

SO you are saying to go with 14-50. And I can buy adapter that converts 14-50 to 6-20, which I assume this regulates the amp to 20A for the turbo cord. Correct?

Yep - you basically need one of these although I think there are other stores that sell them cheaper. Basically the 50A rating on the 14-50 is the max that can go through the plug. You can always plug in something that uses less current, just don’t plug in something that uses more.

Do you know if this would have risk. I mean the outlet is drawing out 50A, then going through the adapter. I suppose the turbo cord is regulating the maximum Amp to 20A. Is this correct? Should I worry about the adapter catching fire?

I have the turbo cord and installed a new plug and breaker as described in the box the turbo cord came with, either 20 or 30 amp. It went up from about 3-4 miles per hour added on level 1 home charging, to about 14-15 miles per hour added. I don’t know how much more you can get from a level 2 charger.

My understanding was that for a 50 amp plug, it is capable of the 50 amps but it will only feed as much as the item that is drawing the power. The turbo cord, in my understanding, will only draw the max stated in the manual it came with (20 or 30 amps).

Either way, I’m not an electrical expert, but it costed under $100 to put in a new breaker and run 3 feet of wire and the new plug. I do plan on putting in another 50 amp true 220 plug in the garage, for a compressor or dryer etc. But I don’t know if you are going to get more than 15 miles per hour on charging at home, it’s the same I get at level 2 public stations. It was enough to make me super excited, best home upgrade in a while.

Thanks. It’s exactly what I’ve learned the past couple of weeks. Basically the charger (turbo cord ) is limited to 20A max. Even though breaker can supply up to 50A, but the chargers will only draw 20A max. So what I will do is setup NEMA 14-50 outlet, and connect with a adapter to fit the turbo cord NEMA 6-20. This way I’m future proof for higher capacity EV. Thanks