daveo4porsche

the plusar looks pretty good - and I’d definatly go with 48 amp if your home can handle the 60 amp breaker - if you want to do a “little” more I’d seriously consider an 80 amp ClipperCreek share2 setup (64 amp charge rate) - that way in the future when charging 2 EV’s each would get 32 amps (7.68 kW) for overnight charging.

C4 Pazzo

The Pulsar Plus requires Cat5e be installed in addition to the conductor wire if you want multiple chargers to communicate. Since you already have a 14-50 socket, I'd probably get the 40 amp version now (no electrician required now), then if/when you need two chargers, consider adding the 48 amp version and the communication wire if you need to use the same 60+ amp circuit.

daveo4porsche

it’s worth noting again - EVSE’s (EV chargers) are by design _NOT_ manufacturer specific. They are fairly simple devices that perform at a minimum 2 functions:

1. power flow control (no power flows if not plugged into vehicle) - safety - do not electrocute the EV owner when it’s raining and they drop the plug in a puddle
2. communicate the maximum amps they can provide to the vehicle

that’s its - that’s all any EVSE must do - therefore the general expectation is that ANY J-1772 standard charger will charge any J-1772 EV (Taycan included) - it is in fact a problem _IF_ the EV does NOT charge with any J-1772 and I would demand the EV vendor fix the incompatibility.

all the complexity/knowledge and specifics about how to charge the Taycan’s battery (or any EV) is actually in the BMS (Battery Management Software) and the AC/DC converter _INSIDE_ the vehicle. The onboard charger in the Taycan (11 kW standard - 22/19.2 kW optional) + Porsche BMS is what controls how your EV battery is charged - the external EVSE only provides raw AC power to the onboard charger - and the BMS software in the vehicle (not the EVSE) is what conditions and controls/conditions the power flow to the battery.

if you think in terms of water as a methaphor - an EV charger (EVSE) is a simple water valve - it is NOT a water filter…it does not condition/change the quality of the water flowing through it - it simply controls on/off and reports how much water can flow…

if you feed ‘bad” electricity to an EVSE - the bad electricity will be fed directly to the vehicle - they are simple pass through devices - they are really nothing special

they in fact could be replaced with an extension cord except for the following:

1. an extension cord would electrocute you if you dropped it into a puddle
2. an extension cord has no communication protocol to control power flow and/or report capacity

the car is NOT charged by the EVSE - it’s charged by the onboard software and onboard AC/DC converter installed by Porsche (this is true in all EV’s in production) - the EVSE is purely and simply a “raw” AC power source that can be controlled by the vehicle’s BMS - and the EVSE makes sure the J-1772 plug is inert if it’s not plugged into a vehicle which is a safety feature.

EVSE stands for:

Electric
Vehicle
Supply
Equipment

that’s it - your EVSE can not damage your EV battery - if your EV battery is damaged during charging that’s because your vehicles BMS/AC-DC converter allowed the battery to be damaged - the EVSE is simply raw AC power and has no idea how to charge your battery.

the car charges it’s own battery using an external flow-controlled raw power source - therefore all raw power sources should work with any EV - because there is NO smarts/knowledge in these EVSE’s - they are just simple/dumb flow control devices - all the smarts and battery management and charging control should be in the vehicle - NOT the EVSE.

this is why it’s utter BS if Porsche claims (which they have to me specfically and others) that it’s the EVSE that’s causing the problem. No Porsche - wrong - errrr - fault - tilt - BS meter reading 100% - my EVSE can’t not screw up your precious Taycan Battery - your BMS software of AC/DC converter may not work correctly or deal with the J-1772 standard correctly - but my EVSE Mr. Porsche technician is soooo damm stupid that it could not possibly be the fault in this system - I would humbly suggest it’s your buggy onboard vehicle software that is causing the problem - not my dumb external raw AC power source - saying my EVSE is the problem is like saying your toaster over doesn’t work because you plugged it into the wrong outlet on the wrong end of the kitchen - that makes no sense - it’s just raw AC power - there is no difference which plug the toaster oven is using.

daveo4porsche

having said what I said above then why do some EVSE’s cause problem - my simple is answer is they have gone ‘beyond’ the J-1772 specification and they are trying to do “clever” things the J-1772 protocol was never intended to accomplish - combine this with different vehicle BMS’s and you get two clever things that tend to defeat each other.

I like my EVSE dumb - dumb as a post - it’s purely a glorifed raw AC power outlet - it can not fail because it does nothing other than turn the power flow on or off - nothing more nothing less - simply a remote controlled power switch….

example of how a “smart” EVSE and a “smart car” defeat each other.

• some EVSE’s offer “schedule” control
• this means the you do not use the car’s scheduling software - you use the external EVSE’s “software”
• there is NO support for scheduling in the J-1772 protocol
• so how do EVSE’s accomplish scheduling?
  • simple they refuse to report that they exist when they are plugged into the vehicle if it’s outside the schedule
  • vehicle sees “no” pilot signal from the J-1772 plug - so vehicle does not request power - boom scheduling accomplished!!
  • later during the schedule the external EVSE will “light up” the pilot low voltage signal and then the car can start charging
  • boom - scheduling accomplished!!!
• except - due to lack of testing (it’s not part of the J-1772 protocol remember) some vehicle’s BMS software is pretty stupid….
  • vehicle sees plug inserted
  • vehicle attempts to “talk” to EVSE
  • vehicle fails to communicate with EVSE - (remember the EVSE is being clever and playing dead cause it’s outside the schedule)
  • vehicle assumes it’s a bad EVSE and it shuts off the power flow
  • vehicle waits patiently for you to unplug the connector and replug it in…
  • if you never physically unplug the cord and replug it in - the vehicle will NOT resample the state of the EVSE
  • when the EVSE wakes up later during allowed schedule charging time - the vehicle is not listening because it already tried and failed to communicate with the EVSE
  • now you wake up in the morning and nothing has charged.

this is one example of 100’s of possible scenarios in which a clever EVSE combined with a clever or not so clever EV can defeat each other for reliable charging.

I like my EVSE’s dumb - simple - dumb and not too incredibly smart - that way when there is a problem - there is only one party to blame - the vehicle’s charging software. Because my EVSE is simply a raw AC power source - and therefore if my mechanic is telling me it’s my EVSE - they are telling me the car does not work with a simple raw AC power source - which is simply stupid. No try again, your vehicle under warranty doesn’t work, fix it or buy it back from me. But it’s not my raw AC power source that is the problem.

Mr_Marty

Chargepoint Flex. Highly recommended.

satquest

I use a Clipper Creek HCS 50P (Nema 14-50 plug). I chose this based on recommendations in this thread and it was professionally installed in May '21. I have had no issues to date.

I also installed two surge protectors (one for each electric panel) in case of a nearby lightening strike (direct hit would not be protected). Living in Fl., it is the lightening capital of the US and we get frequent overnight storms so I thought it prudent to install the surge protectors. That being said, I would not charge the car if I knew in advance there was a storm coming. According to the electrician, a lightening strike could seriously damage the car as well as the electronics in the house.

Archimedes

Unfortunately, back ordered at the moment, like many of the other chargers our there. The chip shortage must be impacting the industry just like everyone else.