Porsche Mobile Charger Connect vs Mobile Charger Plus

W1NGE

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Please correct me if I'm wrong but it seems as though the one feature the PMCC offers, besides the LCD screen, is the ability to check your SOC from the Porsche Connect app even if you are not in close proximity to your car. This because the PMCC will connect to Wi-Fi and ultimately received as data in your cell phone. I'm not so sure I need to see my SOC while I'm on my couch.
No that's not correct - the check can be made independently of the PMCC.

Porsche Connect App or My Porsche web site.
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@Klepper, @daveo4EV, @W1NGE - Thanks for the clarification. I'm just not seeing an advantage to purchasing the PMCC. I am trying though. LOL
 

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Both PMC+ and PMCC have network connectivity and have a web server / browser page to configure and capture charging stats etc.

PMC+ has an ethernet interface only and requires a PLC connection to attach to your router.

So do I need to run an ethernet cable to the PMC+? Right now I have just the 14-50 plug and will use the PMC+ (probably going to buy a chargepoint or similar when back in stock).
 

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@Klepper, @daveo4EV, @W1NGE - Thanks for the clarification. I'm just not seeing an advantage to purchasing the PMCC. I am trying though. LOL
ROFL laughing if you come across one please let us know - but so far I really really dislike the PMCC an for the price there are higher quality better options - at least that’s my opinion for now.
 


W1NGE

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@Klepper, @daveo4EV, @W1NGE - Thanks for the clarification. I'm just not seeing an advantage to purchasing the PMCC. I am trying though. LOL
For US / North America customers there isn't an advantage currently besides a touch screen and easier connectivity. However, for Europe and elsewhere we get the 22kW version rather than 9.6kW i.e. 3 times the throughput is possible assuming the electrical supply is up to the task. The car would then charge at 11kW or 22kW if the upgraded AC charger is installed.
 

Klepper

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@Klepper, @daveo4EV, @W1NGE - Thanks for the clarification. I'm just not seeing an advantage to purchasing the PMCC. I am trying though. LOL
I will give you one more reason NOT to get the PMCC.

When you think about it, it's really even more expensive than the $1120 cost to get the PMCC. That's because you give up the free PMC+ (which is worth something.....$300? $500?).

You could get the free PMC+ and sell it, and then put that money towards a Clippercreek, etc. to offset the cost.

So it's not really $1120 for the PMCC vs. $659 for a Clippercreek. It's $1120 vs. [$659-$300] for the Clippercreek.

That's how my mind works anyways!
 

W1NGE

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You need a PLC adapter
I will give you one more reason NOT to get the PMCC.

When you think about it, it's really even more expensive than the $1120 cost to get the PMCC. That's because you give up the free PMC+ (which is worth something.....$300? $500?).

You could get the free PMC+ and sell it, and then put that money towards a Clippercreek, etc. to offset the cost.

So it's not really $1120 for the PMCC vs. $659 for a Clippercreek. It's $1120 vs. [$659-$300] for the Clippercreek.

That's how my mind works anyways!
You are overlooking one thing - you are entitled to the extended charging cable (7.5m) for free with is worth $$$ if you select the PMCC. So you get a more capable EVSE plus a longer cable (which is extremely useful for home charging). Still costs more but not as much as stated.

I still don't see the need to replace the PMC+ - it does what it says on the tin and you have the necessary control for charging via Porsche Connect App and / or My Porsche. Access to the EVSE itself is normally not required so you don't need the PMCC unless you can get 19.6kW and have the suitable AC onboard charger in the car.
 


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Just as a small technical note:

- The PMCC connects to the car via ISO15118, not via J-1772. Similar to DC CCS Charging station using ISO15118
- ISO15118 based AC charging means that the minimum charging power on a 3-phase setup (IEC61851, not J-1772) is 1.5kW instead of 4.2kW, so in some countries (Germany, Switzerland, ...) that means more efficient solar charging without specific chargers that provide 1p/3p-switching
- Porsche added extensions to the ISO15118 spec (so called vendor specific extensions) for providing SoC information, provide a solar charging option and Plug & Charge (in case you lock the charger with a PIN, you won't need to unlock it to start charging)
- combined with their Home Energy Management System (not sure if it is available in all countries) it allows for cost optimized or solar optimized charging using the Timer charging settings in the car and overload protection
- all this is only possible in the MY21 Taycan (announced for all MY22 in Germany at least) with the 11kW On-Board-Charger (I think that maybe the 9.6kW OBC in some regions?)

So yes there are benefits of that charger (with their HEMS), but their marketing & documentation on making this clear is horrible, the limitation to a subset of the sold Taycan models is bad at least.

The feature that the charger provides that anyone can make use of is the reporting of the charging sessions to the myPorsche portal. Not a feature that most people really need ;)
 
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You need a PLC adapter

You are overlooking one thing - you are entitled to the extended charging cable (7.5m) for free with is worth $$$ if you select the PMCC. So you get a more capable EVSE plus a longer cable (which is extremely useful for home charging). Still costs more but not as much as stated.

I still don't see the need to replace the PMC+ - it does what it says on the tin and you have the necessary control for charging via Porsche Connect App and / or My Porsche. Access to the EVSE itself is normally not required so you don't need the PMCC unless you can get 19.6kW and have the suitable AC onboard charger in the car.
Just to add - the ChargePoint HomeFLex is a full WiFi home charger with variable charge up to 50A that comes with a 23' charging cable all for $700. You also get 30% this year off the cost of this unit and any associated installation costs involved (Nema sockets). So even with the 25' cable for free the PMCC is still way overpriced.

Porsche Taycan Porsche Mobile Charger Connect vs Mobile Charger Plus 1
Porsche Taycan Porsche Mobile Charger Connect vs Mobile Charger Plus 2
 

W1NGE

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Just as a small technical note:

- The PMCC connects to the car via ISO15118, not via J-1772. Similar to DC CCS Charging station using ISO15118
- ISO15118 based AC charging means that the minimum charging power on a 3-phase setup (IEC61851, not J-1772) is 1.5kW instead of 4.2kW, so in some countries (Germany, Switzerland, ...) that means more efficient solar charging without specific chargers that provide 1p/3p-switching
- Porsche added extensions to the ISO15118 spec (so called vendor specific extensions) for providing SoC information, provide a solar charging option and Plug & Charge (in case you lock the charger with a PIN, you won't need to unlock it to start charging)
- combined with their Home Energy Management System (not sure if it is available in all countries) it allows for cost optimized or solar optimized charging using the Timer charging settings in the car and overload protection
- all this is only possible in the MY21 Taycan (announced for all MY22 in Germany at least) with the 11kW On-Board-Charger (I think that maybe the 9.6kW OBC in some regions?)

So yes there are benefits of that charger (with their HEMS), but their marketing & documentation on making this clear is horrible, the limitation to a subset of the sold Taycan models is bad at least.

The feature that the charger provides that anyone can make use of is the reporting of the charging sessions to the myPorsche portal. Not a feature that most people really need ;)
3-phase in UK would let me max my PMCC at 22kW. 1-phase - 7.4kW. Don't follow what you are saying - I'm probably misunderstanding.

PMC+ can also be used in conjunction with the Home Energy Manager provided you PLC connect it.
 

W1NGE

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Just to add - the ChargePoint HomeFLex is a full WiFi home charger with variable charge up to 50A that comes with a 23' charging cable all for $700. You also get 30% this year off the cost of this unit and any associated installation costs involved (Nema sockets). So even with the 25' cable for free the PMCC is still way overpriced.

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Yes, but the point is you don't need to deviate from the std PMC+

PMC+ can also be added to your network via a PLC connection (it has an ethernet interface built in) - so not having WiFi is not a strong argument against either.

What maximum supply does 50A support in US?
 

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3-phase in UK would let me max my PMCC at 22kW. 1-phase - 7.4kW. Don't follow what you are saying - I'm probably misunderstanding.

PMC+ can also be used in conjunction with the Home Energy Manager provided you PLC connect it.
Yep, thats the max power with 32A, I was writing about minimum power which is relevant when charging solar where you don‘t want the charging to stop too often because of clouds flying by.

Correct about the PMC+, but that charger doesn‘t know the ISO15118 protocol, so it can only use IEC61851 or J-1772 protocols to talk to the cars. Which means all the ISO15118 specific features are not available (SoC, Plug & Charger). Solar charging is possible of course, but within the protocols limits, where ISO15118 has benefits.

But this shows the problem, the differences are highly technical and it is hard to communicate the pros/cons even with people having technical know how.

I am not sure if it is helpful to go more into detail here, feel free to PM me if you want to know more or if I wasn‘t able to communicate this properly. As a side note: I am a software engineer working (with others) on an open source project that helps with solar charging supporting lots of different chargers.
 

W1NGE

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Yep, thats the max power with 32A, I was writing about minimum power which is relevant when charging solar where you don‘t want the charging to stop too often because of clouds flying by.

Correct about the PMC+, but that charger doesn‘t know the ISO15118 protocol, so it can only use IEC61851 or J-1772 protocols to talk to the cars. Which means all the ISO15118 specific features are not available (SoC, Plug & Charger). Solar charging is possible of course, but within the protocols limits, where ISO15118 has benefits.

But this shows the problem, the differences are highly technical and it is hard to communicate the pros/cons even with people having technical know how.

I am not sure if it is helpful to go more into detail here, feel free to PM me if you want to know more or if I wasn‘t able to communicate this properly. As a side note: I am a software engineer working (with others) on an open source project that helps with solar charging supporting lots of different chargers.
Thanks for educating me and delighted to hear you are working on an open source project (I have a small business built on Open Source).

So if you logon to the PMC+ with it's local web server do you not get to see the SOC? I guess it's not that crucial given you can get that from the Porsche Connect App via the central repository.
 

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Thanks for educating me and delighted to hear you are working on an open source project (I have a small business built on Open Source).

So if you logon to the PMC+ with it's local web server do you not get to see the SOC? I guess it's not that crucial given you can get that from the Porsche Connect App via the central repository.
You can find the project here in case it is of interest: https://github.com/andig/evcc

Correct, the PMC+ will not show the SoC. If seeing the SoC in the Porsche Connect App works for you, great, it mostly doesn't for me because of the horrible mobile connection. And often doesn't work at all in garages in cities here in Germany. So for customers with a bad mobile connection at the parking location, this is really helpful.

But imho this is not the most critical feature of the PMCC anyway. Plug & Charge for ease of use (if you lock the charger with a PIN that is) and the support for optimized (cost or time) are more important. The PMC+ can't provide any of those as the car can't send the required information to the charger.

So if you understand how timers and profiles work (which is for most too complicated), and have time based tariffs and/or a solar installation, the combination of PMCC and the Porsche HEMS provide the means to charge your car more cost effectively. All by using the UI in the car or the Porsche Connect app to setup the charging preferences.
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