[Nycturne]

When I had an EVSE installed, I went with Clipper Creek because I wanted something reliable more than anything else. I didn't want to be fighting bugs, dealing with early failures, and the like. But my local utility district does have a rebate for smart EVSEs that let them pull usage data for future grid planning, and recently Autel's new home chargers showed up on the approved list. Between that and a promo code Amazon honored pushing the final price (after sales tax) to 90$, I figured why not. Autel seems to be selling the same charger with an LCD screen as their low-end commercial unit, and it's a NEMA 4 rated enclosure like Juicebox, Clipper Creek and Grizzl-e.

I got the hardwired version, same as the Clipper Creek it is replacing, and it is installed on the side of the garage hooked into a junction box. So it is exposed to the elements.

My early thoughts are that this is going to be one worth keeping an eye on. Obviously no long term data for me yet on reliability and they are relatively new in this space, but the fact that the home unit is derived from their commercial AC charger is not a bad sign. The decisions made in the engineering make a lot of sense to me, for the most part. I fully intend to run this as long as I can to see if it holds up to this early promise.

The Install

After going through the usual nonsense you run into preparing for a project (by not preparing), I had put together a cable whip that would install into the existing junction box, and installed it onto the Maxicharger and set the dip switch for a 50A branch circuit to match the existing unit. The 3/4" flexible conduit I used just barely fits, as does the 6 AWG wire I used. So if you want to hardwire this for the full current, be aware that you can't oversize the conductors.

Once power was applied, it was also quick to setup from the app. The only hiccup I had was getting hooked up to the WiFi network, as the unit is close to the edge of the network's reach. Took a couple tries, but once connected it's been solid enough to do a firmware update on its own and keep the app up to date during a charge. So far, I've just been treating it like a dumb charger. Plug in when I need to, unplug when it is time to go. But now it is collecting data I can use to understand how much power is going to running the car, which can be exported and worked with elsewhere.

The Good

• Plug in, and it works. No hiccups so far with just using it as an EVSE, or getting push notifications and status.
• The unit happily waited for my first charge to complete and for me to unplug before trying to automatically update the firmware. Prioritizing it's primary job like this is good to see.
• The app lets you export usage data as CSV on a per-month basis, emailed to your account address.
• One of the least janky apps I've used recently built on top of React-Native or whatever they used here.
• Support for inviting other Autel accounts to access your charger's data, rather than just giving out your credentials. Also support for RFID-based locking of the unit (requires Bluetooth to setup), carried over from the commercial version of this unit.
• Dip switch for setting branch circuit capacity, with in-app setting to downrate further means you won't accidentally set this thing to pull more current than the circuit is rated for.
• Should support load balancing when using 2 or more of these, but I don't really have a way to test it. Claim of OCPP 1.6 support which suggests that they will support cross-brand load balancing as OCPP support becomes more common.
• Unit has a heat sink on the back that's exposed to air to passively cool the unit's electronics. I could feel heat rising from the gap in the back during my charging sessions. That's going to be good for longevity versus trapping heat in a small enclosure.

The Bad

• Small bugs in the app that I intend to report:
  • A couple spots that don't honor your currency units and show as Euros.
  • Address for the location of the charger doesn't agree between different screens in certain situations.
• App is aimed to support the rollout of more commercial EV chargers, so it's a bit bifurcated like the ChargePoint and Electrify America apps.
• Cable is thick and harder to work with than some other EVSEs. Not sure how long the rubberized texture on the handle will survive either.
• I wish this used the lever terminals the ChargePoint Flex uses. Screw terminals are okay, but more troublesome getting the torque right.

The Weird

• Charge session only ends when you unplug. So an overnight charge will report a much longer time than it actually spent charging. But probably better than showing up as multiple charges if the EV wakes up to draw a bit more power later while plugged in for pre-conditioning.
• Came with a 0kWh charging session dated early December. It clearly wasn't opened or installed before I got it, but it is a little weird to see what seems like a QC charge session show up in the app.
• Sent me a little reminder that my charge session had finished after not unplugging for 30 minutes. Good for commercial setups, but maybe overkill for home chargers.

 

[jatrax]

I just installed a dumb charger (Grizzle) after going back and forth on smart vs dumb chargers. You started with dumb and then bought a smart charger (EVSE). Curious what the motivation was? Were you unhappy with the Clipper Creek? What has changed now with the smart one, does the EVSE control charging rather than the car?

Wondering if I made the right decision......

 

[Nycturne]

Curious what the motivation was?

Low price opportunity, honestly.

I like having access to the data, and control, that a more capable EVSE can offer. But it is still secondary to reliability. Autel wasn’t on the list of approved EVSEs with my local PUD (for the rebate) when I had the Clipper Creek installed. They just got on the list in the last couple months. The options at the time were Juicebox and ChargePoint, and I wasn’t too impressed with what I was reading, but I might have jumped on the Juicebox.

And while Autel isn’t yet proven in this space, they are doing the same thing as Clipper Creek: selling commercial L2 units to home users. One thing I’ve learned is that commercial customers put up with less nonsense. It also means the back end needs to handle commercial installs reliably.

The fact that I have spotty wifi coverage for the unit, but it can handle it for firmware updates and status reporting in such situations is a good sign, IMO. Network logic in low availability is hard to get right.

The sale made it cheaper than the Juicebox or ChargePoint Flex. So for 90$ after Amazon sale + PUD rebate, worst case it shouldn’t be hard to recoup that money if I have to sell it on. If I keep it and sell on the Clipper Creek, I can recoup more. So either way, I’m not having to float much money, and should be able to come out at least even. In that situation, why not try it?

Were you unhappy with the Clipper Creek? What has changed now with the smart one, does the EVSE control charging rather than the car?

Unhappy? No. I’m keeping mine until the Autel proves itself. I still would recommend Clipper Creek for folks wanting a dumb EVSE, in part because their customer service is well versed and can answer technical questions. I was honestly surprised how quick and helpful they were.

Because we don’t have TOU billing, EVSE scheduling isn’t as useful, but the logging is to me. I might play with the scheduling to see how well it plays with the ID.4, but I’m not planning on using it full time.

 

[jatrax]

Thanks, appreciate the detail response. We don't have TOU billing either. I initially wanted the smart EVSE because of all the information provided. But after reflection I realized that I would check it out carefully for a couple weeks until the novelty wore off and then likely never look again. I've done that before with other gadgets. This time I decided to just skip it and go with the dumb one. We are 100% solar powered so I keep close track of energy use anyway.

 

[Nycturne]

Yeah, especially if you already have ways to monitor consumption, there’s less value.

For folks that might get rebates or discounts on smart EVSEs but not dumb EVSEs, I do think this is worth adding to the list of units to consider, especially if you can take advantage of a sale here or there. Without the sales it’s cheaper than ChargePoint and Juicebox, although more expensive than the Emporia.

From my early impressions, I think that if they can establish a reputation for reliability, keep iterating on the software without introducing any nasty regressions, and if support doesn’t turn out to be a trash fire, I think they’ll do quite well. I realize that’s a number of ifs, but at least from the product standpoint, they’re starting out from a good position and the engineering behind the unit is sound. They just need to not fumble the ball.

 

[Justin8888CT]

@Nycturne ... this is a great write up, lots of good information.

I ended up with a ChargePoint charger so I would be eligible for a utility company rebate (it was either that or JuiceBox). After reading your detailed notes, I wish the Autel was a choice. I like the ability to lock it. I live on a quiet street, so very unlikely that someone would drop in to steal a charge on my dime, but it certainly would be more peace of mind if I had the option.

Charge session only ends when you unplug. So an overnight charge will report a much longer time than it actually spent charging.

The ChargePoint does the same thing. Rather than a "Charge session" they should call it "Plug-in session". I have one session that is 76 hours long, 99% of that is idle time. I guess this will let me track how much I don't drive

 

[Nycturne]

I ended up with a ChargePoint charger so I would be eligible for a utility company rebate (it was either that or JuiceBox). After reading your detailed notes, I wish the Autel was a choice. I like the ability to lock it. I live on a quiet street, so very unlikely that someone would drop in to steal a charge on my dime, but it certainly would be more peace of mind if I had the option.

Autel is really new on the scene, so it’s not surprising. The first units seem to have been delivered about 5 months ago, and our PUD added them at some point in the last 3 months or so.

The ChargePoint does the same thing. Rather than a "Charge session" they should call it "Plug-in session". I have one session that is 76 hours long, 99% of that is idle time. I guess this will let me track how much I don't drive

Good to know. The “weird“ section is literally just stuff I noticed that made me go “Huh, that’s odd/different.” Not necessarily good or bad, just stood out.

 

[IslandLarry]

@Nycturne ... this is a great write up, lots of good information.

I ended up with a ChargePoint charger so I would be eligible for a utility company rebate (it was either that or JuiceBox). After reading your detailed notes, I wish the Autel was a choice. I like the ability to lock it. I live on a quiet street, so very unlikely that someone would drop in to steal a charge on my dime, but it certainly would be more peace of mind if I had the option.


The ChargePoint does the same thing. Rather than a "Charge session" they should call it "Plug-in session". I have one session that is 76 hours long, 99% of that is idle time. I guess this will let me track how much I don't drive

Juicebox reports the time actually spent charging and a graph showing when it is charging.
I do have a TOU plan and this helps me be assured that I am only charging during off-peak times.

I use the charge scheduling on the ID.4, but monitor the charging on the Juicebox app.

 

[Nycturne]

Juicebox reports the time actually spent charging and a graph showing when it is charging.
I do have a TOU plan and this helps me be assured that I am only charging during off-peak times.

I use the charge scheduling on the ID.4, but monitor the charging on the Juicebox app.

Good to know. In comparison, the Autel app only shows the plugged in time. Much like ChargePoint, I think this is partly because when plugged into a public charger, the plugged in time is more important. Certainly something I’m planning on adding to my feedback list back to Autel. Especially as the time spent delivering power is more useful at the home than time spent plugged in. You can see the bug where the monthly totals are always “in Euro” (right value, wrong unit label), even though the charge history is in USD.

But it is nice that I can get some tasty details on the charge itself, like the Juicebox. Interesting knowing our service voltage is on the high side, and being able to account for the power delivered by the EVSE but lost before it reaches the battery.

 

[EVready]

Really informative thread. My electrician recommended a Juice Box 40. What do you guys think?

tnx

 

[IslandLarry]

Really informative thread. My electrician recommended a Juice Box 40. What do you guys think?

tnx

I started to write that I am very happy with my Juice Box 40, then I realized just how happy can I be with an EVSE.
All I can say about the Juicebox is:

1. It works
2. I got a $400 rebate from my utility company for purchasing it. I would not have spent that much on it otherwise.

My recommendation is to check with your utility for any incentives, then buy whatever meets your needs.
They are not very exciting devices (Like your new ID.4).

 

[Nycturne]

My take tends to be:

• Do you like data collection or other features that a "smart" EVSE provides? If not, it's just added complexity.
• Is it reliable and bug-free for basic operation? Looking at you, ChargePoint.
• Do you have incentives that makes certain units much cheaper? @IslandLarry also points this out.

Beyond that, it doesn't really matter, IMO. The fact that the Autel has been trouble-free is what caused me to start the thread.

 

[Nycturne]

After more time with this thing, the cable is honestly the most annoying part. Thick enough that it likes to hold onto any twist it picks up, and the weight makes it annoying to address when trying to hang it up on the unit after finishing charging.

ClipperCreek‘s cables are much easier to work with, which is a plus when you just want to put the cable away so you can drive off to work, or putting the cable away while it is raining.