Charging from a granny lead, dangers???

[Rolfe]

I believe I am eligible for a grant of "up to" £300 to install a wall box (rural Scotland), and that they are available for somewhat less than the figures you've been quoted, but I agree with what you're saying. I intend to wait and see for a while before I make any decision.

The bottom line is, can the granny charger keep pace with my regular motoring needs? I think it can. I did an 80-mile joyride last week and the car was fully charged overnight and ready to go again the following morning. My journeys actually tend to be a fair bit shorter than that, anything from maybe six miles to 40-45 (if I go into Edinburgh) round trips. This sort of usage should be easy to make up overnight if I even bother to charge every night - which seems like overkill at the moment.

Now and again I go to Glasgow or a little further afield. That's a hundred-mile round trip, maybe 110 miles to Dollar and back (for music meetings). If I do one of these journeys in very cold conditions it might take the battery right down so that it wouldn't be charged by morning. But I very seldom do such a journey on consecutive days. If I get home at midnight with a low battery and stick the car on the granny charger, it's likely to cover anything I want to do the next day even if it isn't full, and another night will let it get to the max.

If I do want to do long journeys in cold conditions on consecutive days, I'll just have to give it 45 minutes at the public charger five minutes walk away. I can manage that! The thing I need to find out is, how often will I find myself doing that, and will it be often enough to make me want to shell out the sort of cash that a wall box costs. At the moment Í'm pretty dubious.

I think that's why they call it a granny charger. I may not have any actual grandchildren, but I'm in that demographic. The charger capabilities suit me.

 

[Tig170]

I've been using the granny since January when I got the car + the odd trip to a public charger and I do 80 miles a day. I have had a recent quote for a wall box @ £1200 - 1600 depending on which box I pick, which is a chunk of change in anyone's pocket! I don't know if I can justify that just for the speed of charging ?

Ouch - I was supposed to have a MG ZS lease car - but they couldn't deliver a MG ZS, but managed to get my ohme charger fitted for £595, last summer, and ended up with a non-lease MG4 with more luck!



First, you’ll need to complete the below form on the Ohme website;
ZenAuto OZEV Grant Replacement Offer - Ohme

There’s a few T&C’s to read too;
Grant Replacement Offer Terms & Conditions | ZenAuto

 

[Davn]

Ouch - I was supposed to have a MG ZS lease car - but they couldn't deliver a MG ZS, but managed to get my ohme charger fitted for £595, last summer, and ended up with a non-lease MG4 with more luck!



First, you’ll need to complete the below form on the Ohme website;
ZenAuto OZEV Grant Replacement Offer - Ohme

There’s a few T&C’s to read too;
Grant Replacement Offer Terms & Conditions | ZenAuto

I think all the grants have finished for private homes now unfortunately ?

 

[Rolfe]

I'm eligible for this one, but I'm still not sure it's worth it.

 

[Tig170]

I think all the grants have finished for private homes now unfortunately ?

I think thats right, but should point out that this wasn't a grant, but a grant "replacement" - it was fitted within 24 hrs during a slack period - so just a note to say that timing is the key to getting a cheaper system installed (the chap said that he gets £135 for a full install, and £120 for a failed one), and the ohme pro charger costs around £450 trade, so his company are making a loss / very little profit.

 

[Dwigt]

I've been using the granny since January when I got the car + the odd trip to a public charger and I do 80 miles a day. I have had a recent quote for a wall box @ £1200 - 1600 depending on which box I pick, which is a chunk of change in anyone's pocket! I don't know if I can justify that just for the speed of charging ?

From the comments above, I'd say it's justified so you don't have you house set on fire.

 

[Rolfe]

Just how many houses have actually been set on fire by one of these things, and what was the electrical fault that caused the fire?

My fan heater could set my house on fire but I still use it.

 

[tsedge]

Just how many houses have actually been set on fire by one of these things, and what was the electrical fault that caused the fire?

My fan heater could set my house on fire but I still use it.

Fires are rare but very serious when they happen.

A granny charger is very different to a fan heater, it can draw the max continuous load your wiring is rated at for many hours, whereas heaters crucially switch on and off once the element is at temperature. They are not comparable.

Home chargers also include protections against PEN faults, which is a rare but possible risk of electrocution.

Deaths are very rare but they do happen.

 

[Rolfe]

I was being a bit flippant, but if these things were as dangerous as some people are making out, there should be daily or at least weekly local newspaper stories about people's houses going up in flames, and more to the point, vendors should be required to provide purchasers with explicit warnings and instructions for safe installation. If it's not possible to operate a granny charger safely they should be banned.

I'm all for the safe installation part, and the good advice as to how to use a granny charger properly. However, I think "get a wall box or your house will catch fire" is a tad over the top.

 

[tsedge]

I was being a bit flippant, but if these things were as dangerous as some people are making out, there should be daily or at least weekly local newspaper stories about people's houses going up in flames, and more to the point, vendors should be required to provide purchasers with explicit warnings and instructions for safe installation. If it's not possible to operate a granny charger safely they should be banned.

I'm all for the safe installation part, and the good advice as to how to use a granny charger properly. However, I think "get a wall box or your house will catch fire" is a tad over the top.

Yes, that is over the top. But I think it comes from a reaction to the widespread ignorance out there about the risks and the cavalier attitude some express.

Imagine these were petrol cars and we were talking about whether to rig up a jerry can with barrels in the shed and a hose to fill your car up vs a mini underground storage and safety-certified petrol station pump with vapour control.

Then you might understand why people say a home charger is relatively good and low cost investment and safer.

 

[Rolfe]

I can see that. But I don't really see a home charger as a low-cost investment. I'll put one in if it turns out that I need fast home charging to keep me on the road. However, it's looking as if the granny charger will do me just fine for a number of reasons.

I'm not using an extension lead. I'm not trailing wires from a plastic socket inside the house, through a window or a letter-box. I'm using a metal-boxed power point installed on a breeze-block wall in a garage. The car is parked right beside the power point. I'd be more appreciative of advice relating to anything I need to do to make that safer, rather than constantly being told that if I don't invest in a wall box my house will burn to the ground and I'll probably die.

 

[tsedge]

I can see that. But I don't really see a home charger as a low-cost investment. I'll put one in if it turns out that I need fast home charging to keep me on the road. However, it's looking as if the granny charger will do me just fine for a number of reasons.

I'm not using an extension lead. I'm not trailing wires from a plastic socket inside the house, through a window or a letter-box. I'm using a metal-boxed power point installed on a breeze-block wall in a garage. The car is parked right beside the power point. I'd be more appreciative of advice relating to anything I need to do to make that safer, rather than constantly being told that if I don't invest in a wall box my house will burn to the ground and I'll probably die.

I think that advice has been provided earlier in this thread:

• get a dedicated circuit with its own breaker
• have a sparky check over your wiring
• fully uncoil the cable
• check for heat in the cable, granny and socket

I haven't seen anyone say you will burn and die, so I think you are overstating that. But maybe I missed a comment?

I'd just add that it is strange to me that people who will plonk £30k on a new car baulk at £1k for a home charger.

 

[Rolfe]

From the comments above, I'd say it's justified so you don't have you house set on fire.

I think that advice has been provided earlier in this thread:

• get a dedicated circuit with its own breaker
• have a sparky check over your wiring
• fully uncoil the cable
• check for heat in the cable, granny and socket

I haven't seen anyone say you will burn and die, so I think you are overstating that. But maybe I missed a comment?

The one above.

I think that advice is sensible, but at the same time I'm not seeing granny chargers being supplied with advice and warnings to that effect, which makes me question just how frequent actual problems are in the real world.

 

[tsedge]

The one above.

Fair enough. It is a possibility, albiet unlikely.

I think that advice is sensible, but at the same time I'm not seeing granny chargers being supplied with advice and warnings to that effect, which makes me question just how frequent actual problems are in the real world.

At the end of day it is your decision.

Many of the early adopters have home chargers, as EV ownership spreads many more people will be relying on grannies. We'll see whether that leads to greater regulation or not.

 

[Rolfe]

I'd just add that it is strange to me that people who will plonk £30k on a new car baulk at £1k for a home charger.

In my case, just under £24K.

I'll just add that it's strange to me that people who will plonk £30K on a new car fill threads and threads with agonised discussions about how to reduce power consumption and where to find a charge for a few pence cheaper.

You can get a lot of electricity for £1K.

 

[tsedge]

In my case, just under £24K.

I'll just add that it's strange to me that people who will plonk £30K on a new car fill threads and threads with agonised discussions about how to reduce power consumption and where to find a charge for a few pence cheaper.

You can get a lot of electricity for £1K.

Yes and there are a lot of solar and battery people claiming savings without factoring in capital costs and foregone investment returns on capital.

 

[Rolfe]

Fair enough. It is a possibility, albiet unlikely.

At the end of day it is your decision.

Many of the early adopters have home chargers, as EV ownership spreads many more people will be relying on grannies. We'll see whether that leads to greater regulation or not.

Most people I know have a wall box and I just assumed that I would be getting one too. However the more I look into it, the more the granny charger seems to suit me, and the less justification I can see for shelling out for a fast charger.

It's all very well to say, well you just spent a chunk of money on the car, but that was carefully budgeted for. Having budgeted for the car doesn't mean I have another £1,000 handy to splurge on something that may not be necessary - in fact rather the opposite, in that I need to be careful with spending for a few months, having been forced by circumstances to change the car a year earlier than I had originally planned.

I'm just having problems with the argument that says, well the device supplied with the car may be fine for your purposes but it isn't safe so you shouldn't use it.

 

[Ian Key]

Yes and there are a lot of solar and battery people claiming savings without factoring in capital costs and foregone investment returns on capital.

A friend of mine brags it is only costing him £1 a day for his electricity...
...after he's spent tens of thousands on 50mm external wall insulation, solar panels and a 9kW home battery.

 

[tsedge]

Most people I know have a wall box and I just assumed that I would be getting one too. However the more I look into it, the more the granny charger seems to suit me, and the less justification I can see for shelling out for a fast charger.

It's all very well to say, well you just spent a chunk of money on the car, but that was carefully budgeted for. Having budgeted for the car doesn't mean I have another £1,000 handy to splurge on something that may not be necessary - in fact rather the opposite, in that I need to be careful with spending for a few months, having been forced by circumstances to change the car a year earlier than I had originally planned.

I'm just having problems with the argument that says, well the device supplied with the car may be fine for your purposes but it isn't safe so you shouldn't use it.

I have nothing more to add. Good luck with your decision.

 

[Rolfe]

Yes and there are a lot of solar and battery people claiming savings without factoring in capital costs and foregone investment returns on capital.

A friend of mine brags it is only costing him £1 a day for his electricity...
...after he's spent tens of thousands on 50mm external wall insulation, solar panels and a 9kW home battery.

I was particularly struck by the people saying what low cost per Kwh they had, but not considering that the cost of their daytime domestic energy use had gone up in proportion.