Home EV charger to charge leisure battery?

[interbear]

We have an Andersen A2 home EV charge point (7kw, single phase) for charging our electric car. It has its own consumer unit / switch installed within our meter cabinet by Andersen and a tethered Type 2 cable.

For charging the campervan leisure battery I have been using the EHU cable plugged into a standard wall socket in the house.

Is it possible to charge the leisure battery via the EV charger? Is there an adaptor that I can use to convert the Type 2 EV to an EHU so that I can plug it into the van? Any safety issues? No idea why I haven’t thought of this yet, the idea just popped up when I was considering getting an external wall socket installed to charge the van, then thought…..” hold on a minute”….

 

[yorkiebar]

Juicy Brucie - cable to use EV charging points as EHU for motorhomes?

Keep seeing this mentioned on social media https://www.brucelauderdale.com/juicybrucie & wondered if anyone on here has one & what different applications do you use it for, how safe it is to use & what our techie experts on here think of it? With the number of EV charging points constantly...

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

 

[Cush]

Post #31 by autorouter

How much lithium is enough?

I also think it depends where and when you are using your motorhome and for how long. France/Spain/Germany etc is dead simple to get a cheap fill up of electric, maybe 5 euros a fill up, if organised. whereas UK you need to go in a campsite and thats going to cost 20 quiddish (so I am told)...

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

 

[autorouter]

If your charge point had an untethered cable (ie not permanently wired into the charge point, but which was unpluggable from a Type 2 connector on the charge point, then I'm sure the cable in yorkiebar's link would work OK. I've never tried one of those cables attached to a tethered cable - it would probably work, but I wouldn't be surprised if one of the safety 'pilot pins' managed to stop the whole thing on 'safety' grounds.

There's no reason why some kind of adaptor couldn't be designed to work in this situation, but I don't know if such a thing is on the market yet. Maybe something like this would work.

HDIUK EV Type-2 Plug to CEE 16 Amp Connector Fly Lead Power Converter Cable.

Type 2 16-Amp plug to 16A CEE Ceeform coupler provides the ability to draw mains power from an AC EV charging socket. This is a perfect solution for those who want to charge electric bikes or recharge motorhome batteries. The beauty of this cable is that when it is connected to the Type-2 power...

www.diy.com

 

[LostInSpace]

Unless I have missed something, I am not sure why you would want to do this.

I does not matter how the electricty gets into the EHU, the charge rate is going to be the same - determined by the motohome EHU charger.

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[autorouter]

Unless I have missed something, I am not sure why you would want to do this.

I does not matter how the electricty gets into the EHU, the charge rate is going to be the same - determined by the motohome EHU charger.

You're right about the charge rate, the mains electricity is exactly the same through either the EV charge point or a 16A motorhome hookup point. But if you already have an EV charge point on your house wall, you could use that to charge your motorhome leisure batteries, without having to install a special 16A round blue CEE socket outlet for the motorhome. Or having to run an extension cable from one of your 13A 3-pin sockets.

And if you take the gadget with you, then any Type 2 EV charge point can be used for charging your motorhome leisure batteries, saves finding a campsite and paying for facilities you don't need, just to charge your batteries. Especially useful in winter when solar is a bit weak.

 

[Gromett]

Unless I have missed something, I am not sure why you would want to do this.

I does not matter how the electricty gets into the EHU, the charge rate is going to be the same - determined by the motohome EHU charger.

I think it is for convenience the EV charger is in the garage, He is currently doing this;

For charging the campervan leisure battery I have been using the EHU cable plugged into a standard wall socket in the house.

So possibly looping a cable through a window into the house.

I suspect the garage EV charger point is more convenient?

 

[interbear]

I think it is for convenience the EV charger is in the garage, He is currently doing this;


So possibly looping a cable through a window into the house.

I suspect the garage EV charger point is more convenient?

Correct. I have to run a cable through a house window to charge the van as I don’t have a standard external wall socket. So I’m just exploring whether or not it’s possible to use the EV charge point that is already mounted externally.

 

[interbear]

Unless I have missed something, I am not sure why you would want to do this.

I does not matter how the electricty gets into the EHU, the charge rate is going to be the same - determined by the motohome EHU charger.

Yes I’m aware the charge speed would be the same, I’m just trying to avoid having to run the EHU cable from an internal wall socket and out through a window.

 

[interbear]

Juicy Brucie - cable to use EV charging points as EHU for motorhomes?

Keep seeing this mentioned on social media https://www.brucelauderdale.com/juicybrucie & wondered if anyone on here has one & what different applications do you use it for, how safe it is to use & what our techie experts on here think of it? With the number of EV charging points constantly...

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

Thanks. Interesting. Wouldn’t work in our use case as our EV charger has a tethered type 2 cable, this will only work with a non tethered charge point. And pricy too, could be cheaper to have a local electrician put in an external wall socket at home. I’m not really looking for a cable to charge the leisure battery at public EV charge points, that’s one sure fire way to annoy EV owners waiting to charge their cars I’m only looking for a solution at home to top up the battery when solar is less than productive.

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[MisterB]

I wouldn't be bothered about EV owners having a moan about my motorhome being plugged into a charging point, though I would try to charge during quieter periods if I had the option.

Im also not bothered about taking longer to fill my fuel tank either ....

 

[dunnah01]

Could you use a cable to charge domestic solar banks off the EV hook up to make use of the Uber cheap EV tariffs to heat your house

 

[The Wino]

I wouldn't be bothered about EV owners having a moan about my motorhome being plugged into a charging point, though I would try to charge during quieter periods if I had the option.

Im also not bothered about taking longer to fill my fuel tank either ....

It depends on the charger network but for instance in Tesla chargers you are charged £1 a minute parking if you aren't actively charging. If a significant number of motorhomers started parking there to charge at a relatively piddling rate ( they go up to 300kw !!!) I think all charging points are likely to go to a similar charge with a minimum charging rate that reflects what people would charge at for an EV. Parking there to charge a motorhome at a low rate would be a bit like me parking my EV at a petrol pump for an hour to refill the lawnmower jerry can!

 

[MisterB]

Could you use a cable to charge domestic solar banks off the EV hook up to make use of the Uber cheap EV tariffs to heat your house

we have an overnight EV rate and charge our home battery up ASWELL as our overnight storage heaters (Dimplex Quantums), just got my November bill in, its around £70 cheaper than last year (now we're on a better tariff) but included in that was charging the Hybrid car up aswell most nights (its only 12kw, so around £1 per night)

you dont need any special cables, other than for the EV. If you wanted to charge your motorhome cheaply, just plug it in via a suitable and safe timer during the cheap period !

 

[autorouter]

It depends on the charger network but for instance in Tesla chargers you are charged £1 a minute parking if you aren't actively charging. If a significant number of motorhomers started parking there to charge at a relatively piddling rate ( they go up to 300kw !!!) I think all charging points are likely to go to a similar charge with a minimum charging rate that reflects what people would charge at for an EV. Parking there to charge a motorhome at a low rate would be a bit like me parking my EV at a petrol pump for an hour to refill the lawnmower jerry can!

The Tesla EV points have their own design of plug, and are not suitable for Type 2 plugs. But there are literally thousands of suitable EV charge points all over the place. There's one or two at least at most Lidls and Tescos for example. Mostly not used, have a look next time you are passing one. They are often only 22kW, and a lot are only 7kW. That would take 6 or 7 hours to fill an EV battery.

The charge point owners are selling electricity - the more it sells, the more return they get on their investment. Of course avoid Friday afternoon in the motorway services, but mostly I've been the only vehicle at a bank of several EV points.

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[The Wino]

The Tesla EV points have their own design of plug, and are not suitable for Type 2 plugs. But there are literally thousands of suitable EV charge points all over the place. There's one or two at least at most Lidls and Tescos for example. Mostly not used, have a look next time you are passing one. They are often only 22kW, and a lot are only 7kW. That would take 6 or 7 hours to fill an EV battery.

The charge point owners are selling electricity - the more it sells, the more return they get on their investment. Of course avoid Friday afternoon in the motorway services, but mostly I've been the only vehicle at a bank of several EV points.

Given a pretty big motorhome battery charger of 80 amps it's going to draw a maximum of 1 KW or thereabouts. If I ran a charger network I might allow motorhomes to charge at that rate if there was a free charger on the condition that they moved if an EV was going to use the point but wouldn't want a motorhome sitting there for 3 or 4 hours to charge half an hours worth of EV charging even at 7 KW. It's really up to the charge point owners to decide but it does sound a bit like filling the lawnmower jerry can and parking at the pump for an hour!

 

[Gromett]

It depends on the charger network but for instance in Tesla chargers you are charged £1 a minute parking if you aren't actively charging.

There would be no way of triggering a Tesla charger. They have to be able to communicate with the car for billing purposes.
This is in addition to the non standard connector as autorouter states.

 

[The Wino]

There would be no way of triggering a Tesla charger. They have to be able to communicate with the car for billing purposes.
This is in addition to the non standard connector as autorouter states.

The higher power chargers are all DC so wouldn't be any use for a motorhome I really used the Tesla chargers as an example of having a charge if you're sitting there not really using them . I think if a significant number of motorhomers started using them at a 1kw probably at best charging rate others are going to have similar charges very quickly. People might say they wouldn't pay but you often have a pre payment on a credit card or through an app/ electroverse card with a link to a card.
By the way non Tesla cars can use some of the Tesla network despite the software not communicating you do it through their app with a pre payment. Haven't tried it yet early days! The only time I've charged away from home was at a Morrisons took 15 kWh in 19 minutes just to try out higher speed charging my maths isn't great but isn't that the equivalent of a 1,200 ah 12 v battery from totally empty to full in 19 minutes?

 

[Gromett]

The higher power chargers are all DC so wouldn't be any use for a motorhome I really used the Tesla chargers as an example of having a charge if you're sitting there not really using them . I think if a significant number of motorhomers started using them at a 1kw probably at best charging rate others are going to have similar charges very quickly. People might say they wouldn't pay but you often have a pre payment on a credit card or through an app/ electroverse card with a link to a card.
By the way non Tesla cars can use some of the Tesla network despite the software not communicating you do it through their app with a pre payment. Haven't tried it yet early days!

Oh, I agree with all that.

I also think we would get a lot of abuse and be banned if we started blocking chargers.

I think the only time to use them would be if there were plenty spare and if they all filled up we "IMMEDIATELY" moved on.
Avoiding motorway ones, fast charger capable ones and peak times would be key.

If we start abusing them then we will start getting banned like we have from a lot of sea front spaces.

 

[MisterB]

Do EV drivers immediately remove their vehicles once they are 'full', or just leave them there plugged in? And of course I assume many drivers just top up during there shipping, irrespective of how much they actually need ?

I think a motorhome hogging an EV point is an over exaggerated point !

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[mikash]

Oh, I agree with all that.

I also think we would get a lot of abuse and be banned if we started blocking chargers.

I think the only time to use them would be if there were plenty spare and if they all filled up we "IMMEDIATELY" moved on.
Avoiding motorway ones, fast charger capable ones and peak times would be key.

If we start abusing them then we will start getting banned like we have from a lot of sea front spaces.

At least one groceries chain here already has a charging price model where even the (camper relevant) slow type 2 chargers have both a kW-based cost and a quite steep minute-based cost (with first hour free) so slow chargers don't hog the chargers after they've done their shopping run. I would assume that kind of pricing model allows keeping the kWh price relatively modest and attractive so makes sense for a shop who's into selling groceries instead of electricity.
Campers at EV charging points isn't really a thing here though, I've only ever seen one. He was a full timer and said he tends to combine shopping and charging during winter when solar is not available to support his off grid habit. So he'd arrive after the shop closes in the night, spend the night charging his 800Ah pack, fill the fridge in the morning and be on his way before EV-people would arrive. Said it cost about 2 euros to top up the battery at that particular grocery shop charging point so a lot cheaper than any other available options and he'd then be good for a week both battery and food-wise.

 

[Gromett]

I think a motorhome hogging an EV point is an over exaggerated point !

It is at the moment, but it is doing the rounds on van lifer videos. So expect the freeloaders to start taking the pee in the near future.

 

[Spriddler]

I’m not really looking for a cable to charge the leisure battery at public EV charge points, that’s one sure fire way to annoy EV owners waiting to charge their cars

Similar situation with absent customers at a laundrette who leave it and go off shopping or sightseeing leaving the finished clothes in a finished machine.

 

[The Wino]

Do EV drivers immediately remove their vehicles once they are 'full', or just leave them there plugged in? And of course I assume many drivers just top up during there shipping, irrespective of how much they actually need ?

I think a motorhome hogging an EV point is an over exaggerated point !

Electricity costs a lot more at any public charging points than at home so it's very unlikely anyone will charge just to get a parking place on some in car parked you pay for charging plus the cost of parking! Free chargers at shops have more or less disappeared.
On some chargers there is an idling cost if you are plugged in but not charging ( on Tesla £1 a minute).
There's a lot of anti ev urban myths!