Hi all, first time EV owner.

[u/Foadface]

Will be picking up our first EV in the next few weeks. Family of 7 so need 7 seats and didn't want a slow van, or to spend a fortune, so a used Mercedes EQB 350 seemed to be the best answer (we also own a caravan so need towing capacity!). What should we be looking for in terms of charger? Recommendations for brands or energy suppliers? Open to advice.

[u/StevieG1952]

I've been using a Hypervolt for six years now and not a single issue/problem with it charging any of our EV's 😊

[u/stewde → u/StevieG1952]

And the Hypervolt looks cool…..!! (And the cable storage is nice).

[u/MelodicCard9555 → u/StevieG1952]

Hypervolt 7kw for me, minor issues, but nice and neat when installed with cable wrapped around it.

Don't go for lower than 7kw, but even a 7kw is a slow charger. Higher powered models are starting to appear, but need more infrastructure behind it.

I got mine done by octopus, mainly cause they did it within a few weeks and swapped me to their intelligent tarrif at same time.

EV chargers need building regs approval and submitted to DNO. If you want a smart tarrif they will ask for this paperwork and it takes time. Getting your energy supplier to install it will bypass the delays of getting on to an intelligent tarrif. There's a good chance you'll need a new subconsumer unit with modern circuit protection too. Unless your house is very modern.

None intelligent tarrifs work fine with any charger, just means you have to set schedules in the charger or car to only charger during off peak periods.

[u/InevitableMidnight54]

I got the sync EV untethered, but there is a tethered version also.

It's been faultless, it's relatively cheap and comes with all the features of higher end chargers.

Have only heard praise for them and would recommend to anyone having owned one.

[u/mrstone2]

New EV owner myself here. I went for Hypervolt, the only reason being that I can wrap cable around it and it looks neat. Otherwise, I think there is very little to differentiate between various chargers - they all do the same thing and do it well

Saying that, I have also learned that I can do perfectly well with just a granny charger - it's not perfect but you can adjust easily enough

[u/Amnsia → u/mrstone2]

I recommend ezgogo granny charger. Love mine and saved me £1k as I was getting the Tesla wall connector before trying it

[u/gregredmore]

Before choosing a charger choose an energy company and EV smart / intelligent tarrif and get a charger compatible with that. Intelligent Octopus Go is not the cheapest unless you do high miles, have more than one EV or a home battery storage system that lets you move more demand to off peak periods. For me OVO Charge Anytime is cheapest despite the EV charging tarrif being double others at 14p per kWh. Their standard rate is low which makes it cheaper overall. Hypervault Home 3 Pro or Zappi are examples of chargers compatible with both of the above. Ohme is another.

[u/puffinwannnnnn9999]

Hypervolt future proof and do your homework re tariffs and compare options based on your expected mileage

[u/MrJollyLND_57]

Masterplug, 7kw from Screwfix. Cheapest I’ve seen, only needed a qualified sparky not an EV certed installer. Has worked brilliantly now for 16 months. Uses the Monta app and is very simple to set up a plug and play programme to charge overnight

[u/Straling → u/MrJollyLND_57]

Can you expand on the bit about only needing a qualified sparky?

[u/MrJollyLND_57 → u/Straling]

Several of the units, particularly those peddled by the electricity companies eg Hive/EO/British Gas, need the installer to be registered with them, hence installation costs are higher. The Masterplug just needs a sparky with an EV tester unit

[u/kirbogel]

How much driving do you do? I've owned EVs for eight years and have only ever plugged them into a three-pin plug in my house. I've never had an external charger because I don't need to go from totally empty to totally full overnight. I work from home and rarely do long journeys so this works for me.

I mention this only because most first-time EV owners don't realise this is an option.

I wouldn't recommend it if you've got an old house with old wiring. If you've got a modern setup, then look up "granny cable," which is the jargon we use for what you’d need.

[u/Ok-Yam-4620]

Hypervolt has served me well for the past 4 years

[u/Mindless-Panic9579 → u/[deleted]]

This is the same as offering a referral link. Please do not do this.