iON Tech 7kW Type 2 Charger - experience/tips?

[andyMG4]

For better or worse I bought one of these for our 1 week old MG4 via eBay link - described as:
iON Tech 7kW 32A EV Charger 5 Meter Tethered Type 2 Level 2, 5x Cards+ Wi-Fi APP

As with a lot of 'cheap' (and I assume Chinese) equipment, likely good hardware is let down by (very) poor manuals and software.

I got it basically wired up yesterday, even did some charging, but unreliable and not on a schedule. Earlier today was likely to send it back, but think I have now got there, helped considerably by this forum and the quirks of other chargers and the MG4.

Firstly, has anybody else experience of one of these? And hopefully able to pass on tips?

Secondly / alternatively, anybody considering one / having issues, maybe use this thread and I'll try to provide solutions where I have them

 

[Jomarkh]

That is a great price for a 7kW EVSE.
It seems to have protection hopefully for O-pen faults.
What type of RCBO did it recommend?

 

[andyMG4]

Manual Link

It did not give a specific recommendation - however, from other manuals I used a 40A Type B MCB. The MCB however is largely to protect the wiring rather than device, and I've used 6mm2 cable.

I have not (yet) added a dedicated RCD, however, that part of the building circuitry is already protected by a RCD.

Update: after reviewing other 7kW charger manuals, will be fitting a dual pole RCD (40A 30mA) for the charger.

Have discovered the "Adjustable 3.5kW - 7kW via APP" is genuinely that - you can adjust the current it uses as you need (to 0.01A ), ideal for those (like me) charging from solar / inverters who need to (manually) load balance.

 

[shpub]

Apparently Octopus Energy have just reported that these chargers as "not legal as the ac lines in the cable remain live" - presumably when the AC should be disconnected.

 

[andyMG4]

Good job we're with eOn then

 

[johnb80]

Good job we're with eOn then

Lets hope those words dont bounce around your head when youre getting a lethal shock from a wet plug. It's a very serious situation in my book and all wallboxes I know of treat it as such by doing a self test to make sure thay can switch off the output via the internal relays.
If I was in your position and if what has been said is true I would be getting my money back and installing a Zappi / Ohme / Wallbox EVSE's (in that order of choice) immediately.
ITS DANGEROUS.

Apparently Octopus Energy have just reported that these chargers as "not legal as the ac lines in the cable remain live" - presumably when the AC should be disconnected.

Do you have a link to this info?

 

[andyMG4]

Lets hope those words dont bounce around your head when youre getting a lethal shock from a wet plug.

Understand your point, and I did add a smiley

Neither the OP, or yourself, have described "what" the ("alleged") issue is, or provided a link. My guess is that 'maybe' the car charger plug (?) is stated to be 'live' when the charger is not charging ?? On that assumption I will try to do some tests tomorrow with a meter... Given the noises from the charger (relays) and car as they exchange data prior charging I would be surprised. Standby

 

[johnb80]

Understand your point, and I did add a smiley

So you did...

Neither the OP, or yourself, have described "what" the ("alleged") issue is, or provided a link.

Yes, I have asked shpub for a link, if what he says is true (AC output on with no car connected, it is very dangerous, the contacts arent shuttered, a kid could stick fingers in there etc.

My guess is that 'maybe' the car charger plug (?) is stated to be 'live' when the charger is not charging ?? On that assumption I will try to do some tests tomorrow with a meter...

Good man, appreciated.

Given the noises from the charger (relays) and car as they exchange data prior charging I would be surprised. Standby

I would be surprised too if it is the case. Most (read all) chargers check the AC relay is functioning during a self test. On my home design one I checked both live and neutral independently and earth continuity along with tripping the internal earth leakage system during a self test and through out the charging phase.

 

[shpub]

It came up on UK EV owners face book group. Reported by an Ion-Tech owner. It is closed so I have copied the post:

We have encountered a compatibility issue between the Ion-Tech charger and Octopus Energy's Intelligent charging. Upon purchasing the charger, it was verified on Octopus Energy's approved list and selected on the application join up.

This is very strange as while it appears on the Octopus list, it is declared as ineligible.

However, subsequent communication with ION-Tech revealed that it is not legal for the charging lead to remain live,. Consequently, this renders the charger incompatible with Octopus Intelligent charging. Despite its feature-rich design, the charger's inability to integrate with the Intelligent charging system significantly diminishes its utility for our specific needs.

I assume that this is the reply from Octopus.

Does anyone have a working charger with octopus or had the ION work.

All of the replies including from a couple of EV installers say it has never been supported.

I did a quick check and the standards it quotes simply refer to generic ones for electrical equipment like vacuum cleaners, power adapters and so on. No mention of the specific charger standards that it must meet as described by OHME for example.

The seller's web site is now out of stock and is the only reference I could find to Ion Tech. ion-tech are still selling them on eBay though with a different product name: iON

My Spidersenses are tingling....

 

[johnb80]

It came up on UK EV owners face book group. Reported by an Ion-Tech owner. It is closed so I have copied the post:


This is very strange as while it appears on the Octopus list, it is declared as ineligible.

I assume that this is the reply from Octopus.

All of the replies including from a couple of EV installers say it has never been supported.

I did a quick check and the standards it quotes simply refer to generic ones for electrical equipment like vacuum cleaners, power adapters and so on. No mention of the specific charger standards that it must meet as described by OHME for example.

The seller's web site is now out of stock and is the only reference I could find to Ion Tech. ion-tech are still selling them on eBay though with a different product name: iON

My Spidersenses are tingling....

Thanks for the reply, definitely one for the memory banks and note to all owners of said devices, switch them off and don't use them for your safety and that of others.

 

[andyMG4]

I have done initial tests... with the charger at Green i.e. standby a meter gave 0.105VAC between L & N. I tried to activate the charger without it being plugged onto the car and would not get out of green / standby. Meter gave 0VAC shorted out and 241VAC across the mains.

I think we need to balance "is this cheap Chinese charger inherently dangerous" (?), or does it just fail to meet the regulatory standards for an advanced online supplier's requirements for automated charging? If you asked me when I started this thread, the probability Octopus would approve it I would have said 0%.

If anybody can suggest specific tests I will try them, but there is a hazard e.g. in running signal wires out of a plugged in socket to test voltages ? For now I am happy with it, while acknowledging for £170 there are likely some shortfalls from ~£1000

 

[Superflan]

I bought a more basic one on Amazon and had no issues with it yet, charging the Marvel R Luxury every night up to 8 hours.

It is the AWESAFE 7.2kW Portable Type 2 EV charger, for €160 with a 8-meters tethered cable. this version isn't in stock now but 3-phases 11kW and 22kW, and a single phase 3.6kW are.

This 7.2kW variant has adjustable power at 32/24/20/16/13/10/8/6 amps, and a timer to delay the starting of the charge.

I'll check soon if the power wires are live even when not connected to vehicle.

 

[shpub]

The problem is that the post I saw was vague and without the exact conditions difficult to reproduce. Given that andyMG4 was saying that charging was a bit unreliable, I thought it was important to pass on what had been said just in case. The last thing I wanted was to ignore it and find that there had been an incident.

While the results are good, it is possible that the test conditions are different. We don't know?

Re-reading the post it could be interpreted as Ion-Tech saying it was not legal for the charger to remain live implying that is how Octopus works. It is very strangely worded. Either way, it is very concerning. I may ask the OP for more information and then let you know.

These are the things I personally would check before buying anything like this:

Does it meet the UK standards for chargers? e.g

BS 61851-1:2019
IEC 62955:2018
BS 61000-6-3:2021
BS 61000-6-1:2019
IEC62196-1
BS7671:2018 subsections 722.411.4.1 (iv) and 543.3.3.101(ii)

These are the ones quoted by Ohme BTW.

What is the working voltage. The Ion Tech is 110 to 230v which if absolute limits won't like the 240 ish volts that the UK uses especially as it can reach 250+. Some have 220v +/- 15v which again if accurate is dodgy.

Can the installer provide the certification required during installation. The DNO has to be informed and effectively approve as well.

If it doesn't comply then the next question is the potential risk worth the few hundred quid savings especially as it may well invalidate house insurance because it does not meet standards.

Forgot to add that these standards are nothing to do with Octopus requirements which actually more of the software API to access the unit.

 

[Superflan]

I bought a more basic one on Amazon [...]

It is the AWESAFE 7.2kW Portable Type 2 EV charger, for €160 with a 8-meters tethered cable. [...]

I'll check soon if the power wires are live even when not connected to vehicle.

So the mains pins on the Type 2 plug are effectively not live when not connected to the vehicle. I didn't check if they are grounded or lifted though.

 

[shpub]

I asked for some more information and the OP replied that considering the replies he had got, he is going with a Zappi instead.

So the mains pins on the Type 2 plug are effectively not live when not connected to the vehicle. I didn't check if they are grounded or lifted though.

The mains pins are isolated at both ends when the car is plugged in. They are only connected at the completion of the EVSE negotiation. The pins should be completely isolated when not plugged in.

 

[johnb80]

I asked for some more information and the OP replied that considering the replies he had got, he is going with a Zappi instead.

Good choice

The mains pins are isolated at both ends when the car is plugged in. They are only connected at the completion of the EVSE negotiation. The pins should be completely isolated when not plugged in.

Agreed

 

[Coulomb]

with the charger at Green i.e. standby a meter gave 0.105VAC between L & N.

That's just picking up noise. Perfectly normal; zero output as expected.

I tried to activate the charger without it being plugged onto the car and would not get out of green / standby. Meter gave 0VAC shorted out and 241VAC across the mains.

Without it being plugged in to the car, it's designed not to be active. It needs to see various resistances and a diode between the control pilot pin and the protective earth pin. I'm sure that there are EVSE testers to do this, but I don't recommend poking clip leads into the plug for testing. Just accept that the Chinese know what they are doing with respect to manufacturing. They can manufacture down to a price, or up to a quality standard. I've not heard of any problems with Chinese inexpensive EVSEs, though I'm sure there are some out there, as with anything.

 

[johnb80]

That's just picking up noise. Perfectly normal; zero output as expected.


Without it being plugged in to the car, it's designed not to be active. It needs to see various resistances and a diode between the control pilot pin and the protective earth pin. I'm sure that there are EVSE testers to do this, but I don't recommend poking clip leads into the plug for testing. Just accept that the Chinese know what they are doing with respect to manufacturing. They can manufacture down to a price, or up to a quality standard. I've not heard of any problems with Chinese inexpensive EVSEs, though I'm sure there are some out there, as with anything.

My first EVSE was a Chinese clone unit and it worked great with a few oddities. It picked the time up from, their server and was on Chinese time with no options to change, Then when it did an auto upgrade it completely bricked the WiFi connection which rendered it useless apart from an instant charger. It's that that push me along to designing and building my own EVSE (it eventually morphed into a twin unit). When my solar was installed, Zappi came as part of the package so my home brew was donated to nephew who runs a Tesla Model 3 and a BMW i3 and still uses it to date.