Setting up 80-100A home charging: Porsche charger vs Lucid Home Charger

[Slappy_G]

The Juicebox 80 Pro was another option mentioned earlier in the thread.

I did reach out to Juicebox, and they confirmed that the Pro models are NOT suitable for home use. They require their software subscription to use, which is $60/year/unit. I don't want any EVSE that requires me to be tied to a specific software platform to work, and especially so for a paid one.

So that means that the options for either 64 or 80 amp continuous charging are: Porsche PWC, Lucid Home Charger, ClipperCreek/Enphase. There is also the WattZilla stuff, but it is so insanely overpriced that I am not seriously considering it (their only charger that can do load sharing is basically a dual 80A charger that goes for over $4K).

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[whitex]

The ultimate solution would be a dual-vehicle 80A charger, but it seems no one makes those anymore.

I went with a pair of Tesla Gen2 HPWC, works great, but:

1. I already had the dual load-shared 80A installation from my Tesla days. They don't make them anymore, though you can still buy them on ebay, even new in a box.
2. I still need one of the EVSE's to charge a Tesla (though have parts ready to convert it to J1772 should I need it).
3. I converted one HPWC to J1772, which is not that complex, but it can be hard to get parts for 80A J1772. An alternative is to use the TeslaTap 80A adapter

This setup balances Tesla and Taycan perfectly. One thing which I like about this setup is that the load balance communication is wired - I am not a fan of wireless communications for things like this. Fun fact, the HPWC which charges the Taycan has Elon's autograph on it.

 

[RPSRPS]

The Porsche Mobile Charger Connect is a waste of money. It fails to support it's 40 AMP specification. Porsche remotely downgraded it's software via WiFi. You can manually set it to 40 AMPS each time you use it, but it errors out if it thinks it is "too" hot. Porsche has left buyers in the lurch here.

Porsche has another hard wired (not portable) charger that may not have this issue.

Many other portable and hard wired charges exist and should be evaluated.

By the way, there is no particular value in having a charger that is Wi-Fi enabled. It makes no practical difference. You plug in the cable and the battery will charge until it reaches the percentage of charge you set in the car itself. There is no need to query an app other than that for the Taycan itself.

Hey guys,

I'm currently getting quotes for electricians to do a subpanel run to my garage. I will have the option to wire up to a 100A run (80A charger) and am considering the 2 listed above. I have seen some people saying to avoid the Porsche wall charger, but many of those complaints are from 1-2 years ago.

2 main questions:

1. Which would you recommend and why?
2. Can these chargers be limited to charge speed via apps (not having to open up and change switches, etc)? It'd be nice to be able to only use max charge speed when really needed.

Thanks a ton!

I have had no problem (with the exception of a rare charge failure) with my Porsche Mobile Charger, but I also never connected to WiFi (your car communicates all the charging info you require). I do have an ENEL JUICE BOX in my other house which works perfectly (no unnecessary bells and whistles) - I would suggest one of those or equivalent. For the most part they are all the same if they have equivalent charging specs.

 

[whitex]

I have had no problem (with the exception of a rare charge failure) with my Porsche Mobile Charger,

That is what I find extremely surprising from a brand like Porsche. I’ve been using various EVSE’s over the last decade and I have never seen a charging failure. Even charging Taycan with a Tesla EVSE at full 80A has never thrown any errors. An EVSE which causes charging errors in today’s times just seems like a poor and/or overly complicated design.

 

[Slappy_G]

Given my 100 amp discovery, I want to future proof my home as best as possible with this installation, especially if my wife eventually moves to an EV Macan.

One point of clarification here, from an EE's perspective. NEC (national electric code) specifies that the wiring and components used in a circuit should only be used at a maximum constant draw of 80% of their rating.

This means if you want to wire an 80A charger, you MUST run a 100A capable wire from a 100A breaker to the device. Then ensure the device is set to never pull more than 80A continuous. Do NOT, NOT, NOT pull an 80A spec'ed wire to run an 80A device. That is the recipe for inspection failures, insurance excuses, and broken dreams.

[Note, I am an EE not a practicing electrician, but I know not to screw with maxing out load ratings.]

 

[AmpedUp]

2 main questions:

1. Which would you recommend and why?
2. Can these chargers be limited to charge speed via apps (not having to open up and change switches, etc)? It'd be nice to be able to only use max charge speed when really needed.

Thanks a ton!

I have not seen your second question answered anywhere, so thought I would weigh in even through this thread is aging.

I bought the Porsche Wall Charger (80 amp) with the upgraded 19.2kW on-board charger on my car, so I can take full advantage of the 80 amp rate. As others have noted, the 80 amp Wall Charger doesn't have the same overheating / downrating issues as the Porsche Mobile Chargers. It works extremely well and is shockingly reasonably priced.

While I had it professionally installed, I will say that updating the software for the first time was unnecessarily difficult. You need set up the EVSE WiFi (as a host), download a file to either a computer or phone, then connect that phone or computer to the charger's WiFi and upload the file through a web-app hosted at an IP address on the charger. Once done, though, you can connect the EVSE to your home WiFi and it will update itself. I don't know if they are still shipping them with versions of the software that won't update themselves initially via WiFi... It might be easier now.

To answer your second question, you can change the charge speed via software. However, it either needs to be done through the touchscreen OR through the wonky web-app, which you need to connect directly to the wall charger to access (which means you need to physically go to the EVSE regardless to turn on the WiFi host on the unit). In other words, there is no way to change the charge rate from your sofa. But you can easily do it when plugging in through the menu on the screen. No need to change jumper settings inside the unit.

In short, it delivers a great charging experience at a reasonable cost for Taycans. I cannot speak to other vehicles (as others have noted errors), but if your Taycan is your only electric car like it is in my household, it does the job and does it very well, imo. Do keep in mind that unless you spec'ed the upgraded on-board charger, this EVSE will max out at 11kW and not the full 19.2kW this EVSE is capable of delivering.

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