New Juice EV Charger

Check out the new Juice charge unit I was the first guy to order one last week should arrive Monday I'll put up some images on the install.

Mike

https://evcharging.enelx.com/store/residential

I just saw that Tom Moloughney wrote these up on Inside EVs, from their CES introduction last week.

https://insideevs.com/news/393541/enel-x-launches-new-juicebox-ev-charger/

I'm curious, though -- what improvements are users seeing / requesting from their smart EVSEs?

How does the user experience and reliability compare to a "dumb" EVSE, like the models Clipper Creek sells?

I see these new ones are able to receive updates (firmware?) but what actually gets updated? Soft features such as Alexa compatibility?

I'm asking from the standpoint of a i3 owner who is getting along just fine with a 120v , but will eventually install a 40A Level 2 box outside the garage.

I received this newer version when my JuiceBoxPro 40 (received & installed around November 15th) started to throw errors consistently -- all 3 lights on front panel flashed together in 1 second intervals when i removed the charger from the i3. At first i thought it was because i was pulling it out too fast. Tried to push the release lever and count 2 beats before pulling out the handle. That "worked" for a week or so. It started to happen more regularly. Had to disconnect power (flip the breaker or unplug) for about 30 seconds to reset the unit to work.

Because it started to throw errors more frequently in January, i was sent ($200 deposit) an advanced replacement. Had to drill couple of new pilot holes for new screws for the new mounting bracket. Uses the same NEMA 14-50P plug.

Functionality is the same as the old unit (minus the errors). There is a lock and key that works with the mounting bracket. I just leave mine unlocked because it is in my garage.

https://docs-emobility.enelx.com/NextGenJuiceBox/Residential/en-us/Welcome.html

I am curious what changes they made? Perhaps this v2 fixed random problems that i had.

eNate said:

I'm curious, though -- what improvements are users seeing / requesting from their smart EVSEs?

How does the user experience and reliability compare to a "dumb" EVSE, like the models Clipper Creek sells?

Click to expand...

I've got a 'smart' Juicebox 40 and in a perfect world you probably shouldn't* need any of the smart features unless you have a utility that participates in their rewards program and you want to cash in on whatever that offers (my utility doesn't participate, so I don't know). In the future, this is one of the cooler things that I think could happen with EVs, because rather than being an additional burden on the grid EVs could actually help stabilize it by increasing demand but on a predictable and adjustable schedule. I don't care if my car charges from 9pm to midnight, midnight to 3am, or 9pm to 3am so long as it's charged when I need it in the morning. If EV adoption skyrockets, the difference between those options *might* be the difference between turning a powerplant on or off or ramping up/down a dirty powerplant.

If you're in to data and charts and graphs, a smart EVSE might be worth a slight premium over a 'dumb' EVSE because you can see how much kwh you've used in a year/ since you've had your car and things like that. The individual charge graphs are interesting but they're really very similar overall so once you've seen one, you've seen most of them and there's not much insight beyond "oh, hey, my car must have kicked on the battery warmer at 4am." So, it kindof depends how much you like looking at similar graphs and how much you care about your particular charge status.

*The asterisk comes in for the features that BMW implemented in the car but maybe not so well. One of the things I use my smart EVSE for the most is to check whether the preconditioning command I sent to my BMW succeeded or not. Sadly, it's quicker and more reliable to check the juicebox app to see how many amps my car is pulling to see if it's preconditioning rather than checking the BMW app. This is something that (in my opinion) I shouldn't have to monitor at all, but because ConnectedDrive is spotty I do this to know whether I'm going out to a cold car or not.

Similarly, time of use charging can be done through the i3 but if you don't find the app reliable, it might be easier to do it through the Juicebox/ EVSE app instead.

The only additional 'upgrade' out of a smart EVSE I think I might want would be the ability to make it 'public for a fee' and/or during certain hours. Mine isn't in a shareable situation but I could see someone with a private-but-accessible EVSE willing to share use of the EVSE but not give away electricity to some jerk with a big-battery Tesla who wants to take advantage of their kindness and suck up 100kwh on the EVSE owner's dime.

TL;DR - When I got my EVSE, the 'smart' juicebox was $50 more than a 'dumb' equivalent and that was right at the threshold I decided to go with a smart one. I'm very pleased with it and I like the charts and graphs so I'm pleased with the purchase and would do it again. Also, I now get excited when I see ClipperCreek EVSEs in the wild because I know they are going to work because they're "dumb" and they seem to be very well made and I've never had an issue with one.