MG4 Granny Charge versus Public Charge Until Wallbox Installed

[HazardLights]

Hi,

I am finally getting an MG4 Trophy LR next week but my Wallbox isn't getting installed until a month after I get the car. I have a 30A RCD supplying a socket just inside my garage door. I am wondering should I:

1. Charge at the Dundee Supercharger for a month? 52p/kWh ...or will this be harmful to my battery as well as my wallet. I am not convinced I want to hang around at a 7kw charger.
2. Buy a granny charger and risk burning the house down? I am confused as to what cables come with cash purchased MG4s these days but suspect I need to buy one.

Cheers,
HazardLights

 

[Rolfe]

I charged my SE SR on the granny charger for over a year before I had a home charger installed, with no trouble at all. Even the 26-hour long charge sessions didn't even warm the plug. But having said that, some people have had problems, although I think actually burning the house down isn't usually the end result. A melted plug and a ruined cable is more likely.

It all comes down to the quality of the electrical circuit you're using. My garage was already fitted with metal-jacketed sockets and the garage is on its own dedicated ring main. An electrician who was here doing another job had a quick look and said, it's fine, don't worry. He said the fact that the garage was cool all year round was also a positive, as any heat got a chance to dissipate.

Maybe get a professional opinion on the quality of the wiring in the circuit you're planning to use, and keep a very close eye on the plug to see if it's going to heat up.

 

[HazardLights]

Do you still have a use for the granny charger now that you have a wall box?

 

[salty]

Yours will almost certainly come with a Granny charger. Hopefully a Type 2, too. ??

 

[Rolfe]

Do you still have a use for the granny charger now that you have a wall box?

Yes. I take it with me on long trips, just in case. I have never yet had to beg a householder for the use of a 13A socket and I hope I never do, but better safe than sorry. Also, if I'm not sure the car has balanced properly on the Zappi I take my empty bottles to the bottle bank, get back on 98% charge, and plug in the granny for an hour or so. Then I'm sure it has balanced.

I also found it useful before I had my export tariff and was trying to charge from sunbeams only. If I used the granny charger it would take what sunlight was there and some from the battery without the shenanigans the Zappi sometimes gets up to if the solar is intermittent. I think this is a bit of a niche requirement though and I don't do it any more now I'm exporting all the solar I can.

 

[HazardLights]

Thank you. These are very helpful insights into the realities. The solar point although not immediately applicable is interesting as I have a dumb mode smart meter but I do consider getting solar anyway. I am hesitant as I have dormer windows which will doubtless cast a shadow and winter skies are so often overcast. On the plus side I may do it as I am really interested and like the idea of being powered by the sun and not fossil fuels. Then there is the heat pump question. However I could be pondering this for some time.

If I get a granny charger included I will give it a go. I am not sure if I still buy one or I don't. The product description when I bought only mentions a "type 2 charging cable".

 

[Rolfe]

That's odd because apart from some very early cars supplied when they had a shortage of granny cables, these have been standard.

 

[Mark Hewitt]

It isn't going to burn your house down. It would be sensible to use the 6A or 8A setting in the car whichever is lowest and still gives the charge you need. Keep in mind that the current setting resets every time.

FWIW I have been using a granny cable only since February 2022 when I got my PHEV and now with the MG4

 

[Rolfe]

Good grief it's slow enough as it is. I never reset that and never had any problems.

 

[Mark Hewitt]

Good grief it's slow enough as it is. I never reset that and never had any problems.

I have also charged at the full 10A many times without issue. Just don't see the point in stressing the socket and wiring at 10A for it to finish charging at midnight when the lower setting means it finishes at 4am - it's all the same to me.

Of course your requirements are likely to be different.

 

[NickHeynes]

I charged my SE SR on the granny charger for over a year before I had a home charger installed, with no trouble at all. Even the 26-hour long charge sessions didn't even warm the plug. But having said that, some people have had problems, although I think actually burning the house down isn't usually the end result. A melted plug and a ruined cable is more likely.

It all comes down to the quality of the electrical circuit you're using. My garage was already fitted with metal-jacketed sockets and the garage is on its own dedicated ring main. An electrician who was here doing another job had a quick look and said, it's fine, don't worry. He said the fact that the garage was cool all year round was also a positive, as any heat got a chance to dissipate.

Maybe get a professional opinion on the quality of the wiring in the circuit you're planning to use, and keep a very close eye on the plug to see if it's going to heat up.

I've had mine for nearly two years and am only just getting a home charger . I also plug into the garage , although my sockets are on the house ring main. I've also had no issues at all. I'm in the south east where ambient temps are generally higher all year round. I'm only getting the wall box because I'll benefit from my low overnight tariff a lot more than I do at the moment and that I've completely decided that I won't be returning to an ICE car

 

[Rolfe]

Yes, my main reason for getting the Zappi was to speed up charging and to be able to take advantage of Octopus Intelligent Go. It all came to a head after a three day period when I needed the car so much it was difficult to keep up just on the granny charger. I only made it because of a destination charger in a car park where I left the car for about three hours.

When I got my car the DC charger five minutes walk from my house was only 30p and I used it to speed things up but then they doubled the price and I decided it was time to bite the bullet.

 

[decrep]

Has anybody used the Tesla wall box? It says it suits all EVs and is much cheaper than anything else here

 

[Mark Hewitt]

Has anybody used the Tesla wall box? It says it suits all EVs and is much cheaper than anything else here

Says it is 475 quid without installation. About the same as most chargers.

 

[decrep]

Thanks Mark, but doesn't answer my question.
The 7.5kW chargers here are Zappi AU$1,500, Tesla AU$800

 

[GaryMG4]

When I bought my car in May last year I had every intention of getting a wallbox fitted, I even got the guy who fitted the smart meter to arrange the wiring to make it easy. I found the combination of granny/solar and some free supermarket electrons meant I didn't feel the need during the summer so decided to see how the winter went and to my surprise it worked out OK for me even though I was just on the capped rate. I did a couple of DC charges over the winter when I was expecting to exceed my available range the nest day but that amounted to around £22 in total. since then I'm on standard Go and I've used DC charging once at Gatwick. I'm still thinking that £1k for a wallbox will buy a lot of miles even at peak rates and numerous 'emergency' DC charges if I need them.

 

[Rolfe]

That was my thinking also, and it's a perfectly reasonable position. I decided to go for it, but I could have carried on just as I was doing. Having the 50 kW charger a short walk away could have kept me going forever, I think it's 67p now, but as you say, the cost of the home charger can cover a lot of electrons at that price.

 

[bileva]

Hi,

I am finally getting an MG4 Trophy LR next week but my Wallbox isn't getting installed until a month after I get the car. I have a 30A RCD supplying a socket just inside my garage door. I am wondering should I:

1. Charge at the Dundee Supercharger for a month? 52p/kWh ...or will this be harmful to my battery as well as my wallet. I am not convinced I want to hang around at a 7kw charger.
2. Buy a granny charger and risk burning the house down? I am confused as to what cables come with cash purchased MG4s these days but suspect I need to buy one.

Cheers,
HazardLights

MG UK website says that all cars come with granny charger. I got an Xpower in June and I got a granny charger and type 2 cable aswell.

Electric Life | MG Motor UK

Venture behind the wheel with our MG blog to view a whole host of articles written by experts. Learn about electric cars, top tech and more here.

www.mg.co.uk

(Scroll down to “WHAT EQUIPMENT DO I NEED TO CHARGE AN MG ELECTRIC CAR?”)

 

[HazardLights]

MG UK website says that all cars come with granny charger. I got an Xpower in June and I got a granny charger and type 2 cable aswell.

Electric Life | MG Motor UK

Venture behind the wheel with our MG blog to view a whole host of articles written by experts. Learn about electric cars, top tech and more here.

www.mg.co.uk

(Scroll down to “WHAT EQUIPMENT DO I NEED TO CHARGE AN MG ELECTRIC CAR?”)

I had seen that but my product description only lists the Type 2 charging cable so I am uncertain as to which is accurate. Hopefully I will get the granny charger too. I will find out next week.

 

[bileva]

I had seen that but my product description only lists the Type 2 charging cable so I am uncertain as to which is accurate. Hopefully I will get the granny charger too. I will find out next week.

If they don’t give you a granny charger I would politely wave the website page under their nose. ?

Or give them a call to ask them to confirm what it comes with as you need to buy one otherwise.