PHEV charging cable

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janesdsg
Posts: 12
Joined: Sat Feb 17, 2018 6:39 pm

Post by janesdsg »

Hi, I've bought an ex-demo PHEV today, picking it up on Monday. Please could someone tell me what length the supplied charging cable is. I'll be needing a dedicated charging point for home and am not sure whether to get one with 4.5m cable attached or not.

And any thoughts on which charging point to go for. It looks as though the 3.7kw will be sufficient, but I wondered if any make of charger had a better reputation than the others. Podpoint offer a 3yr on-site warranty but I've not been able to see on Chargemaster's website if they offer anything similar.

Thanks for your help.
Jane
Kia Niro PHEV, gravity blue

Merlin350
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Feb 17, 2018 8:57 pm

Post by Merlin350 »

Hi there...I think the Pod Point charge station looks the nicest out there from what I have seen, but it definitely comes at premium! Sadly before I can get a station installed I need to a breaker fitted first...after this I will be going for https://www.chargedev.co.uk/at-home simply because the price is right 😝
I am currently charging using an extension lead to the charger that comes with the car. I use https://www.industrialextensionleads.co ... 0288-p.asp they also supply other lengths 😉This is taking about 4.5 hours from 12% remaining charge on the car.
I think it is safe to say if money is no issue the more KW on your charge point the better as this will future proof yourself as much as possible...But you are right 3.7 is absolutely fine for the Niro in the here and now... Good Luck 🍀
Last edited by Merlin350 on Sat Feb 17, 2018 9:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.
janesdsg
Posts: 12
Joined: Sat Feb 17, 2018 6:39 pm

Post by janesdsg »

Thanks Merlin
Jane
Kia Niro PHEV, gravity blue
Merlin350
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Feb 17, 2018 8:57 pm

Post by Merlin350 »

You welcome..Enjoy you new car 👍
Brianh
Posts: 26
Joined: Thu Feb 01, 2018 11:22 am

Post by Brianh »

Hi

I also have an ex demo PHEV, had it for about 3 weeks now and well pleased with it. I will be very interested in your experience/choice of charger as I am still undecided as to what to do.

Currently I do a couple of long (150 mile round trip) journeys during the week and local trips at the weekend. During the week I run it as a hybrid and weekends as electric which means that it charges itself on the longer trips but I plug it in at weekends. So far I've only had to plug it in once per week and I use the 13A mains charger that came with the car. This takes around 3.5 hours from empty.

My dilemma is that I park the car under a car port which is the other end of the house from where my consumer unit is and much further than the standard install of 10 metres from the unit. Luckily there is already an outdoor 13A mains point under the car port so I can charge the car from that without having to use an extension lead and it works fine.

I had a quote a week or so ago from a charger installing company for the eo charger which seems to get positive reviews. Howver to install it where I wanted it meant a long route around the back of the house and a quote of around £700 (after taking off the £500 OLEV grant so £1200 in total). As this would only save me an hour or so charging time per week at the moment it really didnt seem worth it.

As I plan to retire at the end of this year the longer journeys will cease and the majority of my trips will be short ones so hopefully I will get the benefit of the EV mode but ultimately this will mean more plug in charges. That's when the home charger is likely to become of more benefit so I would welcome anyone's advice or experiences.

Brian
MerlinXL
Posts: 18
Joined: Sun Dec 03, 2017 3:28 pm

Post by MerlinXL »

Hi
I own a Niro PHEV and a charging point outside the house. It’s a Rolex charger which charges at 3.6 kWh which I think is the limit set by the car. Maybe 7.2 kWh cooks the batteries. Anyway the charger and fitting was was free with the car. I don’t know the length, it’s padlocked to the wall. Leaving it plugged into the wall speeds up the plugging in operation.
Still looking for a suitable electric tariff. Economy 7 means a lunch time charge works out a bit steep as the normal rate is higher. I still cannot get the charge delay timing system to work to use off peak electrictity. No part of the documentation supplied with the car seems to cover the subject completely.
I’m a bit mystified that when zero EV miles are shown there is still 15% battery left. I suppose that’s required to enable normal HEV motoring.
Anyhow I’m very happy with the car after 3 months.
niroal
Posts: 183
Joined: Thu Jun 29, 2017 11:22 am
Location: North Kent

Post by niroal »

We have a thethered 7kW charger (other car is a fuill EV Renault Zoe). Part of the cabling is communications with the car so the car tells what power it can receive & also when it is nearly full so the power can reduce for battery balancing.
No damage will be done to the car by using a 7kW charger.

Yes the 15% battery is for the HEV usage.
Niro 3 PHEV Graphite
Topicalcat
Posts: 49
Joined: Sat Dec 02, 2017 12:43 pm

Post by Topicalcat »

A comment for Brian, I note your reasons for using a 13amp supply, given the cost of the long cable run.

Of you are retiring at the end of the year and not having to get up at the crack of dawn then you may find your 13amp socket proves adequate for charging. But what if the cabling to that socket is not up to such prolonged use. Is that socket a spur off a ring main or a dedicated circuit? Is the cabling up to modern standards and of suitable cross section? It is a long run and there could be problems drawing 13amps for prolonged periods, it could overheat and be a fire hazard unless the wiring is up to modern standards? Probably worth having it checked out?

Clearly a proper charging unit has to be the prefered option. The cabling will be sized for the load and will reduce any risk of the supply cable overheating.
🚙
Brianh
Posts: 26
Joined: Thu Feb 01, 2018 11:22 am

Post by Brianh »

Thanks Topicalcat, you are right I will need a dedicated charger in the longer term as once my driving pattern changes I will no doubt be using it more often.

The external point is dedicated with it's own RCD switch in the consumer unit and, as far as I'm aware, the 13A charger only draws 10A so for intermittent use I'm OK with it.

I think the choices I have to make are where to have the charger installed as a 'standard' install is much cheaper but not where I want it and also what size - whilst I intend to keep the Niro for the next 4-5 years it's possible that when my wife's car is due to be changed (maybe 18 months - 2 years away) a full electric may be the answer and that would require a higher rated charger than the 3.6K for the Niro.

Decisions...decisions....
janesdsg
Posts: 12
Joined: Sat Feb 17, 2018 6:39 pm

Post by janesdsg »

Comment for Brian: I'm thinking of getting either the Rolec unit or the EO mini. Originally I was looking at tethered units but 5m is just a bit too short so I'll be buying a separate 10m cable to keep at home. It'll add about £160/£180 to the cost so which unit I choose may boil down to which is the cheapest. I like the looks of the EO mini but I suspect the Rolec will be cheaper.

Had my first long drive in the car today. Like you I'm using HEV mode for longer distances and EV for around home. Liking the car a lot.

Jane
Jane
Kia Niro PHEV, gravity blue
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