nitramluap
Well-known member
My wife and I have ordered two 94Ah (non-REx) i3 vehicles here in Australia. They'll be here later in the year. Really looking forward to them.
I note that in Australia, despite us having a 3-phase 240V grid power supply, BMW are using the Type 1 (SAE) connector - the same as used in the US/Japan where it's single phase 120V. In Europe/UK, the i3 comes with the Type 2 (Mennekes) connector after they decided to ditch the Type 1 connector standard. I'm not sure if Australia has settled on any 'standard' for charging EVs and I'm having a great deal of difficulty finding out. I suspect the answer is 'no'. All current i3 vehicles in Australia use Type 1 and the dealers are clueless about anything technical.
One big advantage of the Type 2 connector is the ability to use a 3-phase supply with the one socket, allowing much higher AC charging rates (as well as other benefits to power supply distribution). I currently have a 3-phase supply in my house as well as a solar setup with battery storage which is all 3-phase AC. Type 1 (SAE) can only handle a single phase so the maximum AC charging by this method appears to be about 7.4kW.
I have read/heard that the i3 has the same on-board AC charger and wiring behind the inlet socket regardless of whether it's Type 1 or Type 2. The signalling protocols for the two are the same. So, my question is: if Australia decided to settle on the Type 2 (Mennekes) plug as the 'standard' for all new EVs going forward, is it a simple job to change the inlet socket on an i3 from a Type 1 socket to a Type 2 socket and wire it up accordingly?
Any clever boffins out there that can help? Thanks in advance.
I note that in Australia, despite us having a 3-phase 240V grid power supply, BMW are using the Type 1 (SAE) connector - the same as used in the US/Japan where it's single phase 120V. In Europe/UK, the i3 comes with the Type 2 (Mennekes) connector after they decided to ditch the Type 1 connector standard. I'm not sure if Australia has settled on any 'standard' for charging EVs and I'm having a great deal of difficulty finding out. I suspect the answer is 'no'. All current i3 vehicles in Australia use Type 1 and the dealers are clueless about anything technical.
One big advantage of the Type 2 connector is the ability to use a 3-phase supply with the one socket, allowing much higher AC charging rates (as well as other benefits to power supply distribution). I currently have a 3-phase supply in my house as well as a solar setup with battery storage which is all 3-phase AC. Type 1 (SAE) can only handle a single phase so the maximum AC charging by this method appears to be about 7.4kW.
I have read/heard that the i3 has the same on-board AC charger and wiring behind the inlet socket regardless of whether it's Type 1 or Type 2. The signalling protocols for the two are the same. So, my question is: if Australia decided to settle on the Type 2 (Mennekes) plug as the 'standard' for all new EVs going forward, is it a simple job to change the inlet socket on an i3 from a Type 1 socket to a Type 2 socket and wire it up accordingly?
Any clever boffins out there that can help? Thanks in advance.