Tom, wow you out done yourself on this one 👍 .. truly deep dive review.. you actually water it down with a garden hose lol I really like how small this unit it and right now we have 2 EV’s plus family stay over at times and all have EV’s i may end up getting 3 of this unit, so can this unit be hardwired?
@@StateOfChargeWithTomMoloughney the JuiceBox doesn't make their EVSE in a way that is intended to have the plug removed for hard wiring. Their hardwired vertion comes with a whip that you need to land in a j-box.
Just got the 40 Amp Wallbox charger. They did not change the handle like the 48 Amp unit. Plus, I got it on Amazon for 549.00 dollars. Love the unit. So glad I watched your presentations. Thank you so much
Thank you so very much for the big effort in this video. You really covered every possible part of the unit. I got my Wallbox Pulsar with my Lucid Air GT this month. The one I got is the Pulsar Max. I had a hard time getting it to work per the hardwire connection diagram in the manual. I had to finally have one phase connected in the phase 1 terminal but the second phase in the 4th terminal next to the ground terminal. I requested support from Wallbox through an email but they never answered. It now charges at 7.4kw at the current connection. Thank you again
Tom, Thanks again for the review of the Wallbox plus. I purchased this based on your recommendation. I have had it for a month now and it works flawlessly with my new BMW IX 50. Just wants to say I appreciate you going through all these reviews. They were a great help in making my decision on what to purchase and have installed at my home.
Hello I have been binge watching your videos. First off thank you for putting this great information out to all of us. It does appear that you have a favorable bias to the charge point EVSE. I was hoping to see each EVSE reviewed individually, but more often than not there are more than one. I believe understand why you do that. I Really love the grading score that you give at the end before you add your personal star’s to the score. I also love that you give your personal star score also. When it comes to cords I guess I just view it differently since I have RV’ed for years now. RV power cords, such as a 50 amp cord can be a monster to deal with. All these cords just seem like a peace of cake in my opinion. As you said those that live in cold climates should really pay attention to that. Thanks for what you do!
Hey, great channel Tom! I'm new here. Thanks for all your in depth reviews. I'm an electrician in the North Bay Area, California. We do a lot of EVSE installs including the WallBox. I thought I'd bring something to your attention. NEC 2017 (currently enforced edition here) added article 625.40 which basically states one circuit per EV charger. Which means if you want to power share your 50A circuit, now you need to add a load center and give each charger it's own branch circuit.
No, NEC was changed in 2014 to allow oversubscription of breakers if a hardware _or software_ load balancing function is used. See section 625.42. Thus the system used by Wallbox meets code if it is set to share power at 80% of the breaker maximum between the various connected EVSEs.
@@Rumline7 Correct, AND in 2017 625.40 was added to require that (even when sharing / managing load) each EVSE is still required to be on an individual breaker and branch circuit. You can't tap multiple EVSE off the same circuit anymore. This does not mean they can't split the available power of the FEEDER and SERVICE, which are the only things that 625.42 applies to. NOT the branch circuit.
@@Rumline7 It blows my my mind that this is still not widely understood that 625.40 and 625.42 do not conflict with each other and one is not the exception to the other. Yes... you can overclock the FEEDER if load management is used. Yes each EVSE needs to be on a seperate BRANCH CIRCUIT AND BREAKER.
Well my brother in law who lives in CA (Orange County) just had an electrician add a branch to his existing 50A circuit in his garage and installed two gen3 Tesla Wall Controllers (which also power share). So two 14-50 outlets on the same 50A breaker. It passed inspection in January of this year. When did this 2017 NEC get adopted in CA?
I have a Clipper Creek HCS-40P installed in my garage since December 2016. It has been extremely dependable. I used to occasionally have the red light come on indicating a power fault. I tightened all the screws in my circuit panel to all the circuit breakers, neutral, and ground connections. No more Power Faults on the unit since then. It's a 60 year old house. Some of the screws had apparently worked lose after many years of heating and cooling. My guess is that was causing a ground fault interrupt condition.
I just ordered a Ford MME extended range awd. Based partly on your and EVdave reviews . I plan to get a wallbox plus for my charger. I currently use a 240v 16amp for my 2017 Ford Focus BEV which charges to full overnight. I live in central Texas and rarely road trip. I have a 2017 Cadilliac Escalade for that. Thank you.
Bought this unit and had it installed about a week ago. My first EV and my first home charger. I didn't do a lot of research. I'm glad to see such a positive review! My first impressions are very positive also! Thanks for the thorough review!
Just wanted to let you know I just found your channel today and it is truly high-quality. Your reviews are in-depth, informative, and very newbie-friendly. I am in the market for my first EV and I'm looking at as much information as I can to make an informed decision. From vehicle reviews to charger and charging information like you specialize in. I've been leaning toward the Mustang and so I find your Mustang-specific videos were really helpful, but they led me to checking out the rest of your channel. Really, really good stuff. I've subscribed and look forward to your future content both before and after I finally make my first EV purchase. Great work, Tom!
Thank you. For many people that live in warm weather areas it's not a problem. But if you live in a place where it gets very cold and especially if you're mounting the unit outside it can be a big consideration when you're choosing a unit. I've wrestled with frozen cables in the past and it's not easy.
Fantastic Indepth review. I feel we don't have to look at any other reviews. We are definitely now looking at the Pulsar 48 Plus. Have you had a chance to review the Wallbox Power Meter accessory? We will be adding storage to our solar system and the Power Meter accessory from Wallbox is said to allow our system to first serve the household critical load, then charge our storage batteries and finally charged our EV with any excess energy that would normally go back to the utility. We understand the Power Meter would adjust the Powerbox charger amperage from 6 to 48 amps to maximize our solar production. We are looking forward to reviews over the next few months on this or these types of features... 👍😃
Without a doubt in top 3 of the worts products I have ever bought. Have had two units that both failed on the wifi-connection within few weeks. Couldn't charge manually either. Customer service literally non existing. Have a friend with a working unit though, so in my experience you have 33% change of receiving a working charger haha. Bought an Easee Lite after the two Wallboxes, never had a problem since.
Thanks for that awesome review. My electrician had that unit and I could have bought it. But after seeing the deep freeze test I went for another unit. We live in Germany and the Pulsar would have been mounted outside. Charging during the winter month, would have been difficult.
midsail Well it's been 1 yr after reviewing the WB Plus and no major problems. This year we have run into a small issue. Our WB Plus is outside the house facing West (the sun) in South Fla . This was the reason we purchased this unit because of NEMA 4 rating. This year we ran into an issue were the unit was stating ready to charge (Green Halo). But it could not communicate with our ID4. After testing and resetting several times. We notice once the sun went down the charger work great. I guess being install in on the West side of the house The South Fla sun was over heating the WB Plus. The fix was too built a small canopy to provide shade during the day. The cost was about $20 to purchase reflect insulation material a 4" long PVC and some Stainless Steel screws. Since the canopy been built providing shade everything been work great.
Hi Tom, just wanted to thank you for your hard work on this and other home EVSE reviews. I watched them all before opting for the Wallbox Pulsar Plus 40 to replace the terrible Porsche PMC+.
Thank you for this VERY thorough follow-up review! I just ordered a Wallbox Pulsar Plus for my new Mach-E just now because of it! (Though the ChargePoint Home Flex was a close contender.) Thank you!
Huge thanks to you Tom for all your analysis and deep dive into EV chargers, you're my GO TO resource and helped me decide to get the Wallbox Pulsar Plus 48-amp. I have zero regrets, it's a game changer for us and the small form factor and sealed box that stands up to heavy rain & winds plus the 24-foot standard cable were all key selling points. Thank you, again!! Happy subscriber 😁
Wallbox may be one of the best chargers for multi-dwelling buildings. It’s not unusual to park your EV for the night and only need 2-3 hours of charging, but the space/charger is consumed for 8+ hours. Other chargers have load sharing, but these guys may be the first to offer direct billing to users. Very few multi-dwelling buildings will give EV users free power. Residents in apartments and HOAs desperately need direct billing to the user. I envision Wallbox collect all charging revenue, auto-billing users for energy, keeping a commission, and paying apartment / HOA management a handsome profit for energy used. Of course, a better solution is to bypass Wallbox and deposit funds in HOA account, less auto-billing. This is not revolutionary as ChargePoint has been doing it for years. But they want $200/mo lease for a dual station EVSE. Much too expensive ! User must also fund EVSE installation which isn’t cheap.
Tommmmmmmmmmm!!!! Always the very best videos on EV charging equipment. Is this the first charging equipment ready for multi family dwelling? Did they beat Tesla?
Excellent review. Impressed with Wallbox product. Multi-national design! Demand management protocol! Circuit sharing protocol! Only down side here is the cable. Could you do 2 cold cable demos, One at 20F in addition to -13 F frozen north demo. Norfolk VA normal winter low is about 30 F. A cold night takes us down to 20F. The magic word is the material's "glass transition temperature" Engineering Explained Jason has talked about this parameter with respect to cold season use of tires.
This was an incredibly in depth review, thank you for your work! I live in Georgia so I'm not too concerned about the cold weather performance, I think I'll buy the 48A version of the Wallbox,
I like that it’s a ~10kW unit that’s not gigantic. I want to use my charger at campgrounds/RV parks and it’s nice to have a high powered option that doesn’t take up too much cargo space
Really interesting review since I'm seriously considering getting me a Wallbox Pulsar+. Just having some doubts about the cable now, because in winter it regularly freezes here in Western Europe, but temperatures rarely go below -5 °C (23 °F) where I live...
Hi Tim, An idea you may want to consider… the physical placement of the “wall charger” given your current EV and its charger port location, future EV’s you may acquire, the need to do a direct connect to your electrical panel, and adding a second charger…all with not tripping over the cable. Ok, a bit of a run on but something for consideration… thanks.
Tom, here's a video idea: use these EVSEs on a GFCI-protected NEMA 14-50, and check how frequently they trip the breaker. I hired an electrician before I did enough research, and ended up with a NEMA 14-50 instead of a hard-wired connection (which in hindsight was a poor decision). I think this piece of data will also help others determine whether they prefer to go hard-wired or not. Thanks!
My favorite review. Helped me choose which level 2 station I was going to buy. I live down south (Jersey. I live in South Jersey by Ocean City way) and I don’t plan on mounting it outside the garage so I don’t think the cable will be a huge factor. The fact that there was a $50 coupon on Amazon was also a deciding factor.
I bought the 40amp plug version and found out that it’s also a 48amp. In fact I had to reduce the amp setting via a switch on the board per instructions. So if I ever upgrade to a 60am circuit I don’t need to upgrade this evse, just hardwire it.
Well done reviews and thank you so much for the knowledge you shared! I'm very new to EV and learning all these features and charging capabilities as my homework, before bringing home an EV. Appreciate it.
Excellent review and this could be my new favorite. However, on their website, they don't sell a 48A model. There is mention to it, but nothing available 'for sale'. I believe that anyone buying an EVSE should do what they can, what they can afford to future proof the investment as best as they can, which is why I would want to get the 48A model if I was to take the leap.
They told me they will be offering it *soon*. However, I urge you to think about whether 48-amps really makes much of a difference from 40-amps. I've been using these chargers on every kind of EV available today and in 95+% of the time, the extra 8 amps won't really make any difference at all. Plus, you need to run 4-ga wire for a 48-amp unit, and you can use 6-ga for the 40-amp ones. You are also required to hardwire the 48-amp ones and you can plug-in the 40 amp EVSE, which is a huge advantage. IMO.
@@StateOfChargeWithTomMoloughney I do think you're counterpoints are fairly dead on. And the difference between 40 and 48/50 isn't a game changer but if you are coming home and want to recharge for a turn-around you will take what you can get. IF the car of course could actually use it. But like I said, I do nod with respect to your points but when wiring a home I do think it's prudent to future proof as much as you can. Not only to run the 4GA if you can. The NEMA plug for me is not a big deal. I've had my first JuiceBox for almost 3 years. I hard wired it and have never regretted it. I'm not sure how often people unplug their EVSE's but I do see the ease if you had to replace it. When I bought my first EV 3 years ago, I wired a 125A sub-panel because I was thinking 2 EV's sooner than later and at the time the Tesla higher dual charger cars 'skewed' me unrealistically. But I have zero regrets.
@@bmoulas Everyone has different needs/wants. I just like to point out to the followers that it's not always necessary to go with the highest-powered EVSE. I really don't believe that 48-amp home charging offers much more value than 40-amp charging. However, the extra amperage can be useful if you get your 2nd EV down the road, and use the single circuit to loadshare with 2 units to charge both EVs at the same time.
@@StateOfChargeWithTomMoloughney I totally agree. I think we are at the cusp of a new era in EV charging. The Ionic 5 is a 11kW charging car which would take advantage of the 48A. Most people are commuting, and especially to them it won't matter but the interesting point is for those that hire electrician's they are paying for labor and materials, and the cost difference to future-proof the installation by upgrading the wire to one size more might be something that they should ask or now, know to ask. We all hate to do things twice.
@@tomm3218 No. Level 1 & 2 charging equipment doesn't have the ability to read the vehicles state of charge. Not just the wall box - any unit. DC fast chargers do get that information but not level 1 and level 2 units. You need to set that in your EV if the vehicle allows you to set a maximum charge level.
What's the advantage of a WiFi EVSE if your car can manage charging time (in a single EV family home)? I understand they can calculate actually money used to charge but I can calculate that manually. Personally, I see the wiFi as a disadvantage, I recently had to purchase a 600 dollar wifi mesh because I had too many wifi enabled devices (45).
Just purchased my first Eevee Nissan leaf Plus. I didn't write down the name of the DC unit that they're coming out with, but I'm thinking I might be wise for me to wait for that unit before purchasing anything other and what came with my car.
Hey Tom, really glad that I got on your channel. Can you please suggest an outdoor charger level 2. After multiple reports that Chevy Bolt gets on fire i don’t want to keep my car in the garage. I have a regular 240 outlet in my garage installed by electric. For now need to install a charger that will work outdoor. The weather is no snow, just rains. Would really appreciate your help.
Just a point, if you use scheduled chargin via your car rather than wallbox it reports the time that you plug the cable in rather than the time th car starts to charge. I couldn't use the wallbox scheduler so this is disappointing for me. I also find updating is rather hit and miss although if I do it enough times it eventually works
Thank you for posting such great content. I have been watching many of your videos over the past several months. 2:41 I am looking at getting the 48amp (hardwired) version of this charger. I have two questions about the 48amp charger: 1) I assume this 48amp can be derated either via the app or via a rotary knob inside of the charger. I can’t remember which method applies to this charger. 2) Can a NEMA 14-50 plug be used with the 48amp charger in derated (40amp) mode? I currently have a NEMA 14-50 receptacle installed in my garage. This circuit is on 6ga copper 90C romex and connected to a 60amp breaker. I did this to allow flexibility in my future use. I’d like to purchase the 48amp version and use it in 40amp mode with a plug. You see, I have a second home that also has a NEMA 14-50 installed. I would like the flexibility of transporting this single charger between my two homes. Once I buy a second charger in the future, I will hardwire this charger and start charging at 48amps. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Hey Tom great video thanks for all you do for us in the EV community. My employer has one of those level two EA solar charging stations that seem to be portable. But even on real sunny days 10 hours all day it goes off and on and only puts on about three or four KW. I also use a second one same type occasionally and it has been perfect each time putting in 3 kW in an hour which is fine great as far as I’m concerned but I don’t see any phone numbers or any contact info to see if the original one could be checked out it’s brand new and seems like it’s not working right. Any idea who I could contact at EA who might know about those. You did a report on those a couple of months back about the original 30 of these things if you remember. Thanks again Tom have a great days
Honestly, the best way to reach them is either through your employer that must have an agreement with them - so they would have the correct contacts, or to report the issue through the Electrify America app. I assume this site is located on the app, right? You "Report a Problem" that way. That's how I do it also, even though I have contacts there. Because that way it will get directed to the correct person that would be responsible for that particular issue.
@@StateOfChargeWithTomMoloughney you know what they are not on the EA app. I was a bit surprised as well but they are on ChargePoint app, thank you for that advice I can definitely find in electrify America customer number,I just figure Kyle could jump in that Porsche Turismo and road trip it out here to California and check it for me, haha. Thank you Tom
Hi Tom Can you help me with some advice on Tesla's I live in Australia and we're still waiting for the model Y to arrive here I'm hoping it will have the 46/80 batteries by the time it's released here (early 2022)How do they compare to what's currently in the Model 3's now (ours come China)Is the difference worth the wait ? I'm hoping for better life and distance from the 46/80 batteries Thanks Allan
The car dictates its power intake, not the EVSE. It will deliver power to top off the charge after preconditioning if the car will call for it, if that's what you're asking.
Tom, thanks for the review. In Europe the Pulsar PLUS is sold with a power management feature. Through a couple of CT clamps around the feed-in cables the system adjusts the output power fed into the car according to the other loads from the home, to prevent excess of power usage. Are going to plan to review such product as well? Thanks
I have a Mini Cooper SE, which does not have built-in state of charge settings option. Can you set charging limit with this Wallbox unit? For example, 50% for long term storage, 80% for summer, 90% for winter, 100% long-range driving etc. I don't want to overcharge the car unnecessary, but I’m not about to run outside at 2 o’clock in the morning unplug the car either. Need help selecting the right power supply unit, this one seems nice. Thanks
Can this be used as portable charger that you can carry around? Other than inconvenience of bulky unit, would there be any issue carrying it out for a frequent use?
Hi Tom, It's really not clear to me how the power share works with 2 Wallbox units sharing a NEMA 14-50 line. Any idea? I plan on being a 2 EV house hold within 3 years.
Just purchased a Kia EV6. Trying to get my home and dental office ready. Going to charge at my office. My building is 3 phase power. Can the Wallbox Pulsar be wired to accept 3 phase power by electrician?
Im getting a Jeep 4xe PHEV and I’m trying to pick a level 2 charger for my house. The charger will be installed inside my garage. We don’t have current plans to be a 2 ev household but I see it coming in the future. Would you recommend the Pulsar Plus or the Charge Point HF?
Tom, thanks for a great review! I do have a question: I saw someone mention that you can turn the Halo LEDs off. In that case each time the charger changes state, the LEDs light and stay on for a bit before going dark again. How do I set this feature? I can't see anywhere in the app that would do this. Thanks!
Tom: Great review. I just had my hard-wired Wallbox installed. Have the Halo colors changed? You indicate that standby is green, but your video shows white? The other colors look right, but I simply don't see a solid green on the video as standby. However, mine looks like your video. So I'm confused. Mine looks like your standby on the video, but you (verbally) and WallBox (website) say "green = standby". What's up?
Is there capability to disable the lights on the Wallbox unit? I plan on installing this on the outside of the house and would prefer no lights if possible.
You forgot to mention an important feature: • its the Only charger capable of eliminating costly panel upgrades by intelligently monitoring total home power
Can you add your car to this so that only your authorized car or cars will charge? Meaning authorized cars just simply charge... As in only locked for non-added cars...
That's up to the car. The car calls for the energy, the charging station is just there to provide what the car asks for. Some EVs will call for more power if the SOC lowers to a certain point.
So Tom great video as usual I wanted to ask I am undecided between the Charge point, Grizzel-E and the Wallbox regarding the cable. I live in Northeast PA and border NJ so you have a reference on my location I wonder if the Wallbox would be a good choice in my area. It does get cold but not like in New England or up in Buffalo NY where the temperature gets super cold. I know that the Charge Point is the best option for a good cable for the cold but I really like how compact the Wallbox is on it's foot print regarding mounting. Thanks for your time. Jay
If you're not mounting it outside then the cable really isn't going to be a problem. If you are, the ChargePoint will be MUCH more accommodating in January and February.
@@StateOfChargeWithTomMoloughney Ok thank you Tom I wa s leaning toward the Charge point unit based on your video of the ease of movement on the cable. You just my decision that much easier. Thanks for your time.
I’m worried about the plastic mounting plate and the rest of the box attached to this plate with just two tiny screws. Over time, the plastic plate may deteriorate and crack etc. You got heavy cables loop around it and constant yanking on the cable, etc, I just got a bad feeling that something’s gonna give
Great review. My question is how good is the wifi signal and strength. Also ease of wifi setup install. I have read on amazon reviews that the wifi and blue tooth tend to fight for dominance and drop offline a lot! Could you comment on that. Thanks! The one downside I see is the price. Tesla Gen 3 is currently $400. 10/23/2022. Plus I do own a Tesla vehicle and use a Tesla wall charger currently. Tesla charger doesnt have all the Alexa, and Google and Apartment and Condo capabilities but it is a lot cheaper for home use. I dont necessarily need all those bells and whistles. Plus Tesla has load share also, if needed. The Tesla wall charger is sometimes hard to keep wifi connected and also my 2022 model Y. The other thing is I am interested in a Rivian R1T and other non-Tesla vehicles and would love CCS1 wall charger but they are a few years out. I know you can get the adapter thats now available but would like a cleaner install. I guess i will have to wait till it is manufactured!
I wonder how this would do outside in a hurricane where you can have rain driven by 100 mph winds? Great channel with incredibly detailed reviews. Are there any other NEMA 4 chargers?
Hi Tom, great review as always... for the freezer test, will the unit still work at those temps even though the cord seems to tighten up so much? I live in MN and we will experience temps as low as -20F at some point
Do any of these chargers support temperature based charging? So many of them support time of day (peak) charging optimization but I haven't seen one that supports temperature based... Reason is some utilities are charging peak rates based on temperature now.
Could you tell if any of these charges you've reviewed that are app intergrated will stop charging if it gets too hot? And if so, will it notify you if that happens? (My charger s in my garage, and I have to crack the garage door to help cool sometimes) I live in Texas and during the summer my car won't charge well because the charger I have will quit charging due to overheat protection... I won't know untill I get in the car and see that not much of of a charge was done. Please include that in your reviews. Great job! And hope you are able to respond to this comment.
Hi can the Wallbox unit be mounted upside down if my Nema 14-50 outlet is high up on my garage wall and the grounding pin is oriented up instead of down?
Yes you can - it makes no difference. the only thing is the cable will be pulling down. You may want to attach the cable to the wall with a bracket so it's not straining the unit.
Great review Tom. I’m planning on buying an EV in the next 3-6 months. I really want a Tesla but I may lease something else first. What home charger do you recommend?
Tom, wow you out done yourself on this one 👍 .. truly deep dive review.. you actually water it down with a garden hose lol
I really like how small this unit it and right now we have 2 EV’s plus family stay over at times and all have EV’s i may end up getting 3 of this unit,
so can this unit be hardwired?
Yes, absolutely. An election can hardware any evse. They just remove the plug.
@@StateOfChargeWithTomMoloughney the JuiceBox doesn't make their EVSE in a way that is intended to have the plug removed for hard wiring. Their hardwired vertion comes with a whip that you need to land in a j-box.
Great review as always, Tom. Note to Costco Members - these units are now on sale for $499.99... best price I have seen anywhere.
Score it at 303.19 i just got it from fisker 250.00 plus 25.00 shipping nad tax. Only differnce is sticker. At 250.00 definitely got be a winner
Just got the 40 Amp Wallbox charger. They did not change the handle like the 48 Amp unit. Plus, I got it on Amazon for 549.00 dollars. Love the unit. So glad I watched your presentations.
Thank you so much
My wife is getting her first electric car. It's going to be a Tesla like yours and you have been a big help. Thanks great channel.
Thank you so very much for the big effort in this video. You really covered every possible part of the unit.
I got my Wallbox Pulsar with my Lucid Air GT this month. The one I got is the Pulsar Max.
I had a hard time getting it to work per the hardwire connection diagram in the manual. I had to finally have one phase connected in the phase 1 terminal but the second phase in the 4th terminal next to the ground terminal.
I requested support from Wallbox through an email but they never answered.
It now charges at 7.4kw at the current connection.
Thank you again
Tom, Thanks again for the review of the Wallbox plus. I purchased this based on your recommendation. I have had it for a month now and it works flawlessly with my new BMW IX 50. Just wants to say I appreciate you going through all these reviews. They were a great help in making my decision on what to purchase and have installed at my home.
Thanks, David! So happy it was useful.
This is the best charger review I’ve seen on RUclips. Great work!!
Thank you! Like and share, please! :)
Hello I have been binge watching your videos. First off thank you for putting this great information out to all of us. It does appear that you have a favorable bias to the charge point EVSE. I was hoping to see each EVSE reviewed individually, but more often than not there are more than one. I believe understand why you do that. I Really love the grading score that you give at the end before you add your personal star’s to the score. I also love that you give your personal star score also. When it comes to cords I guess I just view it differently since I have RV’ed for years now. RV power cords, such as a 50 amp cord can be a monster to deal with. All these cords just seem like a peace of cake in my opinion. As you said those that live in cold climates should really pay attention to that. Thanks for what you do!
Thank you Tom for making this video, Lucid in the country I live usually gives credit to install this unit for client.
Thanks for all these great comments. It has enlightened me on how to choose among all these chargers.
Hey, great channel Tom! I'm new here. Thanks for all your in depth reviews. I'm an electrician in the North Bay Area, California. We do a lot of EVSE installs including the WallBox.
I thought I'd bring something to your attention. NEC 2017 (currently enforced edition here) added article 625.40 which basically states one circuit per EV charger. Which means if you want to power share your 50A circuit, now you need to add a load center and give each charger it's own branch circuit.
No, NEC was changed in 2014 to allow oversubscription of breakers if a hardware _or software_ load balancing function is used. See section 625.42. Thus the system used by Wallbox meets code if it is set to share power at 80% of the breaker maximum between the various connected EVSEs.
@@Rumline7 Correct, AND in 2017 625.40 was added to require that (even when sharing / managing load) each EVSE is still required to be on an individual breaker and branch circuit. You can't tap multiple EVSE off the same circuit anymore. This does not mean they can't split the available power of the FEEDER and SERVICE, which are the only things that 625.42 applies to. NOT the branch circuit.
@@Rumline7 It blows my my mind that this is still not widely understood that 625.40 and 625.42 do not conflict with each other and one is not the exception to the other. Yes... you can overclock the FEEDER if load management is used. Yes each EVSE needs to be on a seperate BRANCH CIRCUIT AND BREAKER.
Well my brother in law who lives in CA (Orange County) just had an electrician add a branch to his existing 50A circuit in his garage and installed two gen3 Tesla Wall Controllers (which also power share). So two 14-50 outlets on the same 50A breaker. It passed inspection in January of this year. When did this 2017 NEC get adopted in CA?
@@Rumline7 2020.
I have a Clipper Creek HCS-40P installed in my garage since December 2016. It has been extremely dependable. I used to occasionally have the red light come on indicating a power fault. I tightened all the screws in my circuit panel to all the circuit breakers, neutral, and ground connections. No more Power Faults on the unit since then. It's a 60 year old house. Some of the screws had apparently worked lose after many years of heating and cooling. My guess is that was causing a ground fault interrupt condition.
Tom I have learned so much from your videos. I prefer to watch your in-depth videos when it comes to EVSE!
Glad to hear it - Thank you!
I just ordered a Ford MME extended range awd. Based partly on your and EVdave reviews . I plan to get a wallbox plus for my charger. I currently use a 240v 16amp for my 2017 Ford Focus BEV which charges to full overnight. I live in central Texas and rarely road trip. I have a 2017 Cadilliac Escalade for that. Thank you.
Bought this unit and had it installed about a week ago. My first EV and my first home charger. I didn't do a lot of research. I'm glad to see such a positive review! My first impressions are very positive also! Thanks for the thorough review!
Did you do hardwired or NEMA plug? I'm looking buying one and want to hardwire it, but don't see the option to choose in the website.
I m going to use it in my apartment complex i want to know if i can see every other user’s usage and consumption?
did you end up hardwiring this?@@DiegoRdgl
Just wanted to let you know I just found your channel today and it is truly high-quality. Your reviews are in-depth, informative, and very newbie-friendly. I am in the market for my first EV and I'm looking at as much information as I can to make an informed decision. From vehicle reviews to charger and charging information like you specialize in. I've been leaning toward the Mustang and so I find your Mustang-specific videos were really helpful, but they led me to checking out the rest of your channel. Really, really good stuff. I've subscribed and look forward to your future content both before and after I finally make my first EV purchase. Great work, Tom!
Very detailed review, great job again by Tom. My worst nightmare is fighting deep frozen charger cables.
Thank you. For many people that live in warm weather areas it's not a problem. But if you live in a place where it gets very cold and especially if you're mounting the unit outside it can be a big consideration when you're choosing a unit.
I've wrestled with frozen cables in the past and it's not easy.
Fantastic Indepth review. I feel we don't have to look at any other reviews. We are definitely now looking at the Pulsar 48 Plus.
Have you had a chance to review the Wallbox Power Meter accessory? We will be adding storage to our solar system and the Power Meter accessory from Wallbox is said to allow our system to first serve the household critical load, then charge our storage batteries and finally charged our EV with any excess energy that would normally go back to the utility. We understand the Power Meter would adjust the Powerbox charger amperage from 6 to 48 amps to maximize our solar production.
We are looking forward to reviews over the next few months on this or these types of features...
👍😃
Without a doubt in top 3 of the worts products I have ever bought. Have had two units that both failed on the wifi-connection within few weeks. Couldn't charge manually either. Customer service literally non existing. Have a friend with a working unit though, so in my experience you have 33% change of receiving a working charger haha. Bought an Easee Lite after the two Wallboxes, never had a problem since.
Thanks for that awesome review. My electrician had that unit and I could have bought it. But after seeing the deep freeze test I went for another unit. We live in Germany and the Pulsar would have been mounted outside. Charging during the winter month, would have been difficult.
Got mine with my Mach-E and plan on on finally installing it next weekend. Great review Tom
midsail
Well it's been 1 yr after reviewing the WB Plus and no major problems. This year we have run into a small issue. Our WB Plus is outside the house facing West (the sun) in South Fla . This was the reason we purchased this unit because of NEMA 4 rating. This year we ran into an issue were the unit was stating ready to charge (Green Halo). But it could not communicate with our ID4. After testing and resetting several times. We notice once the sun went down the charger work great. I guess being install in on the West side of the house The South Fla sun was over heating the WB Plus. The fix was too built a small canopy to provide shade during the day. The cost was about $20 to purchase reflect insulation material a 4" long PVC and some Stainless Steel screws. Since the canopy been built providing shade everything been work great.
I got the 48 watt one, just waiting to install it due to supply chain issues. Thanks for the review.
Hi Tom, just wanted to thank you for your hard work on this and other home EVSE reviews. I watched them all before opting for the Wallbox Pulsar Plus 40 to replace the terrible Porsche PMC+.
Thank you for this VERY thorough follow-up review! I just ordered a Wallbox Pulsar Plus for my new Mach-E just now because of it! (Though the ChargePoint Home Flex was a close contender.) Thank you!
Huge thanks to you Tom for all your analysis and deep dive into EV chargers, you're my GO TO resource and helped me decide to get the Wallbox Pulsar Plus 48-amp. I have zero regrets, it's a game changer for us and the small form factor and sealed box that stands up to heavy rain & winds plus the 24-foot standard cable were all key selling points. Thank you, again!! Happy subscriber 😁
Wallbox may be one of the best chargers for multi-dwelling buildings. It’s not unusual to park your EV for the night and only need 2-3 hours of charging, but the space/charger is consumed for 8+ hours.
Other chargers have load sharing, but these guys may be the first to offer direct billing to users. Very few multi-dwelling buildings will give EV users free power. Residents in apartments and HOAs desperately need direct billing to the user. I envision Wallbox collect all charging revenue, auto-billing users for energy, keeping a commission, and paying apartment / HOA management a handsome profit for energy used. Of course, a better solution is to bypass Wallbox and deposit funds in HOA account, less auto-billing.
This is not revolutionary as ChargePoint has been doing it for years. But they want $200/mo lease for a dual station EVSE. Much too expensive ! User must also fund EVSE installation which isn’t cheap.
Tommmmmmmmmmm!!!!
Always the very best videos on EV charging equipment. Is this the first charging equipment ready for multi family dwelling? Did they beat Tesla?
Excellent review. Impressed with Wallbox product. Multi-national design! Demand management protocol! Circuit sharing protocol!
Only down side here is the cable. Could you do 2 cold cable demos, One at 20F in addition to -13 F frozen north demo. Norfolk VA normal winter low is about 30 F. A cold night takes us down to 20F.
The magic word is the material's "glass transition temperature" Engineering Explained Jason has talked about this parameter with respect to cold season use of tires.
This was an incredibly in depth review, thank you for your work! I live in Georgia so I'm not too concerned about the cold weather performance, I think I'll buy the 48A version of the Wallbox,
I like that it’s a ~10kW unit that’s not gigantic. I want to use my charger at campgrounds/RV parks and it’s nice to have a high powered option that doesn’t take up too much cargo space
Very good and honest reviews, liked and subscribed... greetings from Belgium !
Really interesting review since I'm seriously considering getting me a Wallbox Pulsar+. Just having some doubts about the cable now, because in winter it regularly freezes here in Western Europe, but temperatures rarely go below -5 °C (23 °F) where I live...
Your reviews are so helpful! Thank you for making a new EV owner feel a little smarter!
Hi Tim,
An idea you may want to consider… the physical placement of the “wall charger” given your current EV and its charger port location, future EV’s you may acquire, the need to do a direct connect to your electrical panel, and adding a second charger…all with not tripping over the cable. Ok, a bit of a run on but something for consideration… thanks.
Greetings from across the pond. Thanks for a very professional review. I'm about to order one of these
Glad it was helpful!
Tom, here's a video idea: use these EVSEs on a GFCI-protected NEMA 14-50, and check how frequently they trip the breaker. I hired an electrician before I did enough research, and ended up with a NEMA 14-50 instead of a hard-wired connection (which in hindsight was a poor decision). I think this piece of data will also help others determine whether they prefer to go hard-wired or not. Thanks!
My favorite review. Helped me choose which level 2 station I was going to buy. I live down south (Jersey. I live in South Jersey by Ocean City way) and I don’t plan on mounting it outside the garage so I don’t think the cable will be a huge factor. The fact that there was a $50 coupon on Amazon was also a deciding factor.
First time I see your video, this is very well done and complete test & review. Thank you and well done!
I bought the 40amp plug version and found out that it’s also a 48amp. In fact I had to reduce the amp setting via a switch on the board per instructions. So if I ever upgrade to a 60am circuit I don’t need to upgrade this evse, just hardwire it.
What an awesome review. Appreciate the in depth info. Already have one on order, so this helps confirm my good decision!
Well done reviews and thank you so much for the knowledge you shared! I'm very new to EV and learning all these features and charging capabilities as my homework, before bringing home an EV. Appreciate it.
Excellent review and this could be my new favorite. However, on their website, they don't sell a 48A model. There is mention to it, but nothing available 'for sale'. I believe that anyone buying an EVSE should do what they can, what they can afford to future proof the investment as best as they can, which is why I would want to get the 48A model if I was to take the leap.
They told me they will be offering it *soon*. However, I urge you to think about whether 48-amps really makes much of a difference from 40-amps. I've been using these chargers on every kind of EV available today and in 95+% of the time, the extra 8 amps won't really make any difference at all. Plus, you need to run 4-ga wire for a 48-amp unit, and you can use 6-ga for the 40-amp ones. You are also required to hardwire the 48-amp ones and you can plug-in the 40 amp EVSE, which is a huge advantage. IMO.
@@StateOfChargeWithTomMoloughney I do think you're counterpoints are fairly dead on. And the difference between 40 and 48/50 isn't a game changer but if you are coming home and want to recharge for a turn-around you will take what you can get. IF the car of course could actually use it. But like I said, I do nod with respect to your points but when wiring a home I do think it's prudent to future proof as much as you can. Not only to run the 4GA if you can. The NEMA plug for me is not a big deal. I've had my first JuiceBox for almost 3 years. I hard wired it and have never regretted it. I'm not sure how often people unplug their EVSE's but I do see the ease if you had to replace it. When I bought my first EV 3 years ago, I wired a 125A sub-panel because I was thinking 2 EV's sooner than later and at the time the Tesla higher dual charger cars 'skewed' me unrealistically. But I have zero regrets.
@@bmoulas Everyone has different needs/wants. I just like to point out to the followers that it's not always necessary to go with the highest-powered EVSE. I really don't believe that 48-amp home charging offers much more value than 40-amp charging. However, the extra amperage can be useful if you get your 2nd EV down the road, and use the single circuit to loadshare with 2 units to charge both EVs at the same time.
@@StateOfChargeWithTomMoloughney I totally agree. I think we are at the cusp of a new era in EV charging. The Ionic 5 is a 11kW charging car which would take advantage of the 48A. Most people are commuting, and especially to them it won't matter but the interesting point is for those that hire electrician's they are paying for labor and materials, and the cost difference to future-proof the installation by upgrading the wire to one size more might be something that they should ask or now, know to ask. We all hate to do things twice.
Very thorough and usefull review!
Great review as always Tom. Just installed this unit the other day. Works great, love the size, and love the connectivity options.
Using the iOS app, is there a way to schedule a charge and set it to stop at say 80%?
@@tomm3218 No. Level 1 & 2 charging equipment doesn't have the ability to read the vehicles state of charge. Not just the wall box - any unit. DC fast chargers do get that information but not level 1 and level 2 units. You need to set that in your EV if the vehicle allows you to set a maximum charge level.
What's the advantage of a WiFi EVSE if your car can manage charging time (in a single EV family home)? I understand they can calculate actually money used to charge but I can calculate that manually. Personally, I see the wiFi as a disadvantage, I recently had to purchase a 600 dollar wifi mesh because I had too many wifi enabled devices (45).
excellent comprehensive review
Just purchased my first Eevee Nissan leaf Plus. I didn't write down the name of the DC unit that they're coming out with, but I'm thinking I might be wise for me to wait for that unit before purchasing anything other and what came with my car.
Hey Tom, really glad that I got on your channel. Can you please suggest an outdoor charger level 2. After multiple reports that Chevy Bolt gets on fire i don’t want to keep my car in the garage. I have a regular 240 outlet in my garage installed by electric. For now need to install a charger that will work outdoor. The weather is no snow, just rains. Would really appreciate your help.
Just a point, if you use scheduled chargin via your car rather than wallbox it reports the time that you plug the cable in rather than the time th car starts to charge. I couldn't use the wallbox scheduler so this is disappointing for me. I also find updating is rather hit and miss although if I do it enough times it eventually works
Thank you for posting such great content. I have been watching many of your videos over the past several months.
2:41
I am looking at getting the 48amp (hardwired) version of this charger.
I have two questions about the 48amp charger:
1) I assume this 48amp can be derated either via the app or via a rotary knob inside of the charger. I can’t remember which method applies to this charger.
2) Can a NEMA 14-50 plug be used with the 48amp charger in derated (40amp) mode?
I currently have a NEMA 14-50 receptacle installed in my garage. This circuit is on 6ga copper 90C romex and connected to a 60amp breaker. I did this to allow flexibility in my future use.
I’d like to purchase the 48amp version and use it in 40amp mode with a plug. You see, I have a second home that also has a NEMA 14-50 installed. I would like the flexibility of transporting this single charger between my two homes. Once I buy a second charger in the future, I will hardwire this charger and start charging at 48amps.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Hey Tom great video thanks for all you do for us in the EV community. My employer has one of those level two EA solar charging stations that seem to be portable. But even on real sunny days 10 hours all day it goes off and on and only puts on about three or four KW. I also use a second one same type occasionally and it has been perfect each time putting in 3 kW in an hour which is fine great as far as I’m concerned but I don’t see any phone numbers or any contact info to see if the original one could be checked out it’s brand new and seems like it’s not working right. Any idea who I could contact at EA who might know about those. You did a report on those a couple of months back about the original 30 of these things if you remember. Thanks again Tom have a great days
Honestly, the best way to reach them is either through your employer that must have an agreement with them - so they would have the correct contacts, or to report the issue through the Electrify America app. I assume this site is located on the app, right? You "Report a Problem" that way. That's how I do it also, even though I have contacts there. Because that way it will get directed to the correct person that would be responsible for that particular issue.
@@StateOfChargeWithTomMoloughney you know what they are not on the EA app. I was a bit surprised as well but they are on ChargePoint app, thank you for that advice I can definitely find in electrify America customer number,I just figure Kyle could jump in that Porsche Turismo and road trip it out here to California and check it for me, haha. Thank you Tom
Does the Pulsar Plus have built in GFCI protection? Thanks
Hi Tom Can you help me with some advice on Tesla's I live in Australia and we're still waiting for the model Y to arrive here I'm hoping it will have the 46/80 batteries by the time it's released here (early 2022)How do they compare to what's currently in the Model 3's now (ours come China)Is the difference worth the wait ? I'm hoping for better life and distance from the 46/80 batteries Thanks Allan
Can you start adding the length of the NEMA 14-50 cable length as well as the J1772 cable length. Thanks.
How does it handle morning EV conditioning? Would it do a quick charge when car is ready to go, keeping it at 100%?
The car dictates its power intake, not the EVSE. It will deliver power to top off the charge after preconditioning if the car will call for it, if that's what you're asking.
Tom, thanks for the review. In Europe the Pulsar PLUS is sold with a power management feature. Through a couple of CT clamps around the feed-in cables the system adjusts the output power fed into the car according to the other loads from the home, to prevent excess of power usage. Are going to plan to review such product as well? Thanks
I will when I come across that option. The Pulsar Plus doesn't currently offer that feature in the US.
For a ford mustang Mach E I’m looking at this one and a juice box and also the emporia can you tell me which would be best for my car
Thanks
Thanks for all your videos.
I have a Mini Cooper SE, which does not have built-in state of charge settings option. Can you set charging limit with this Wallbox unit? For example, 50% for long term storage, 80% for summer, 90% for winter, 100% long-range driving etc. I don't want to overcharge the car unnecessary, but I’m not about to run outside at 2 o’clock in the morning unplug the car either. Need help selecting the right power supply unit, this one seems nice. Thanks
Great extensive review thanks!
Can this be used as portable charger that you can carry around? Other than inconvenience of bulky unit, would there be any issue carrying it out for a frequent use?
Hi Tom, It's really not clear to me how the power share works with 2 Wallbox units sharing a NEMA 14-50 line. Any idea? I plan on being a 2 EV house hold within 3 years.
Well unfortunately it's not as simple as Tom puts it. Do you already have a 50A circuit with a NEMA 14-50?
Thank you so much Tom!
You're welcome!
Please review the Rivian charger !
Brilliant review but persuaded me I do not like being forcibly automated!
this is currently on sale now at 449.99 at Costco and the Juicebox is $529.99 at costco as well, would you choose this over juicebox?
Just purchased a Kia EV6. Trying to get my home and dental office ready. Going to charge at my office. My building is 3 phase power. Can the Wallbox Pulsar be wired to accept 3 phase power by electrician?
If you buy one from fisker RIGHT NOW only $250!
Im getting a Jeep 4xe PHEV and I’m trying to pick a level 2 charger for my house. The charger will be installed inside my garage. We don’t have current plans to be a 2 ev household but I see it coming in the future. Would you recommend the Pulsar Plus or the Charge Point HF?
How about extra points for lockable plugs?
Tom, thanks for a great review! I do have a question:
I saw someone mention that you can turn the Halo LEDs off. In that case each time the charger changes state, the LEDs light and stay on for a bit before going dark again. How do I set this feature? I can't see anywhere in the app that would do this. Thanks!
Tom: Great review. I just had my hard-wired Wallbox installed. Have the Halo colors changed? You indicate that standby is green, but your video shows white? The other colors look right, but I simply don't see a solid green on the video as standby. However, mine looks like your video. So I'm confused. Mine looks like your standby on the video, but you (verbally) and WallBox (website) say "green = standby". What's up?
Is there capability to disable the lights on the Wallbox unit? I plan on installing this on the outside of the house and would prefer no lights if possible.
You forgot to mention an important feature: • its the Only charger capable of eliminating costly panel upgrades by intelligently monitoring total home power
Bom dia eu me chamo Edmar, eu tenho uma dúvida o modelo wallbox plus de 7.4 Kva e trifásico ou bifásico?
Can you add your car to this so that only your authorized car or cars will charge? Meaning authorized cars just simply charge... As in only locked for non-added cars...
Do any of the chargers offer a trickle charge if the car is plugged in for a long period and the battery starts to lose its charge over time?
That's up to the car. The car calls for the energy, the charging station is just there to provide what the car asks for. Some EVs will call for more power if the SOC lowers to a certain point.
Can WALLBOX Pulsar Plus 2021 (22kW) charge VW ID.4 Pure (52KW)? thanks
So Tom great video as usual I wanted to ask I am undecided between the Charge point, Grizzel-E and the Wallbox regarding the cable. I live in Northeast PA and border NJ so you have a reference on my location I wonder if the Wallbox would be a good choice in my area. It does get cold but not like in New England or up in Buffalo NY where the temperature gets super cold. I know that the Charge Point is the best option for a good cable for the cold but I really like how compact the Wallbox is on it's foot print regarding mounting. Thanks for your time. Jay
If you're not mounting it outside then the cable really isn't going to be a problem. If you are, the ChargePoint will be MUCH more accommodating in January and February.
@@StateOfChargeWithTomMoloughney Ok thank you Tom I wa s leaning toward the Charge point unit based on your video of the ease of movement on the cable. You just my decision that much easier. Thanks for your time.
I’m worried about the plastic mounting plate and the rest of the box attached to this plate with just two tiny screws. Over time, the plastic plate may deteriorate and crack etc. You got heavy cables loop around it and constant yanking on the cable, etc, I just got a bad feeling that something’s gonna give
I love the video. What is the best NEMA 14-50 outlet. Do I need to buy a industrial Nema or just a regular one. I need your advice asap
So to hard wire it, do you need 6/3 Romex to it or will it work with 6/2?
Yes, I have an important question, is the 22kw wallbox also suitable for plug-in cars, not just full power?
Thanks for sharing Tom. Very informative. What would you say the top two are for North America area.
love the review, have any interert on review our 16A portable ev charger?
Great review. My question is how good is the wifi signal and strength. Also ease of wifi setup install. I have read on amazon reviews that the wifi and blue tooth tend to fight for dominance and drop offline a lot! Could you comment on that. Thanks! The one downside I see is the price. Tesla Gen 3 is currently $400. 10/23/2022. Plus I do own a Tesla vehicle and use a Tesla wall charger currently. Tesla charger doesnt have all the Alexa, and Google and Apartment and Condo capabilities but it is a lot cheaper for home use. I dont necessarily need all those bells and whistles. Plus Tesla has load share also, if needed. The Tesla wall charger is sometimes hard to keep wifi connected and also my 2022 model Y. The other thing is I am interested in a Rivian R1T and other non-Tesla vehicles and would love CCS1 wall charger but they are a few years out. I know you can get the adapter thats now available but would like a cleaner install. I guess i will have to wait till it is manufactured!
I wonder how this would do outside in a hurricane where you can have rain driven by 100 mph winds? Great channel with incredibly detailed reviews. Are there any other NEMA 4 chargers?
It would be down the street just like the rest of your house. 😢
Help. I'm deciding between Ea home station or wallbox. Wich one? Is for indoor
BMW i3 offers an app that provides same functionalities. The question is what is best to use.
Hi Tom, great review as always... for the freezer test, will the unit still work at those temps even though the cord seems to tighten up so much? I live in MN and we will experience temps as low as -20F at some point
I wonder how those rubberised connectors hold up outside in the sun? Did you loose weight??
Do any of these chargers support temperature based charging? So many of them support time of day (peak) charging optimization but I haven't seen one that supports temperature based... Reason is some utilities are charging peak rates based on temperature now.
Can you have two vehicles sharing the same charger, just at different times?
Could you tell if any of these charges you've reviewed that are app intergrated will stop charging if it gets too hot? And if so, will it notify you if that happens? (My charger s in my garage, and I have to crack the garage door to help cool sometimes)
I live in Texas and during the summer my car won't charge well because the charger I have will quit charging due to overheat protection... I won't know untill I get in the car and see that not much of of a charge was done.
Please include that in your reviews.
Great job! And hope you are able to respond to this comment.
Tom, have you by chance of or reviewed the MaxiCharger AC WAllbox Home 40A - Nema 14-5-0 - EV Charger With Body Holster?
Hi can the Wallbox unit be mounted upside down if my Nema 14-50 outlet is high up on my garage wall and the grounding pin is oriented up instead of down?
Yes you can - it makes no difference. the only thing is the cable will be pulling down. You may want to attach the cable to the wall with a bracket so it's not straining the unit.
Great review Tom. I’m planning on buying an EV in the next 3-6 months. I really want a Tesla but I may lease something else first. What home charger do you recommend?
What do you think about the Neo charge smart splitter?