SplitVolt Level 2 EV portable charger review

splitvolt ev charger review

Is it good for charging Tesla cars? Plug directly into your existing standard household 220-240V NEMA 10-30 socket, dryer outlet or Splitvolt Splitter Switch (sold separately). Compatible with common Electric Vehicles available in North America with a SAE J1772 socket; includes cTUVus, CE and TUV safety certifications. Get details in SplitVolt Level 2 EV portable charger review.

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Specs – Splitvolt Level 2 EV portable charger

  • Wall socket connection NEMA 14-30 Male
  • Electric Vehicle Connection SAE J1772
  • Overall Length 16.4 ft (5 Meters)
  • Packaged Weight 9.0 lbs (4.1 kg)
  • Maximum Charging current 24 Amps
  • Voltage 240 Volts
  • Package dimensions 17.7 x 4.7 x 13.4 inches (45x12x34 cm)
  • Dust and Water protection IP55
  • Warranty 1 year
  • Safety Certifications cTUVus, CE and TUV
  • LED’s Three LED’s – Power, Fault One, Fault Two.

Feature – Splitvolt Level 2 EV portable charger

  • Easy to use: just plug it into your NEMA 10-30, 14-30, or 14-50 wall socket or your Splitvolt Splitter Switch and connect it to your EV
  • Super fast: Fastest possible safe charging on 30- or 50-amp circuits
  • See the charging state at a glance via 4 LEDs.
  • Lightweight: highly portable at only 6.4lb (2.9 kg), so you can use it at home or pop it in the trunk for a road trip
  • Charge any standard EV: compatible with all common electric vehicles (BEVs and PHIVs) available in North America
  • Safety certifications: cTUVus, CE, TUV
  • Convenient: comes with a carry case, compact and simple to store
  • Warranty: full one-year warranty included for peace of mind

Splitvolt Level 2 EV portable charger review

Design

 It is durable, and lightweight. It is portable and coils up and travels easily with me in the free carrying bag.

Build

The charger is heavy and has a high quality of build, which is nice. It does come with a 16 ft length cord which is plenty to reach my car. If you need a longer cable, Splitvolt does sell copper based extension cables specifically designed for EV chargers.

Indicator

Real-time voltage, current, temperature, kilowatt-hours (kWh), and status indicators are there for those of you who must know what’s going on with the Splitter Switch at all times. There’s also an integrated 25-amp circuit breaker with easy reset for additional protection. 

Splitvolt Level 2 EV Switch

EV Splitter Switch, shares your existing 240-volt dryer socket to provide full 24-amp power on demand, to dry your clothes, recharge your EV charger, or the vehicle itself. According to the company, it will deliver power to charge your car seven times faster, bypassing the cost, complexity, and time required to have an electrician install a new power circuit. In some locations, this may entail having to get a permit, another of those EV ownership drawbacks.

NEMA Socket

The NEMA-15 socket can also be used to charge just about any EV as well. This is true whether it is a full Battery Electric vehicle (BEV) or a Plug in Hybrid (PIHV). Using this standard type of socket to charge your EV is known as Level 1 charging. The problem with this NEMA socket for EV charging, however, is the amount of time it takes to charge your vehicle. The NEMA 5-15 socket only supplies electricity at 120 Volts with 15 Amps of current. At this rate a modern EV such as a Tesla Model 3 could take up to 50 hours to charge.  That’s approximately 4.5 miles of range per charging-hour.

Plug Type

  • NEMA 10-30
  • NEMA 14-30
  • NEMA 14-50

If you can figure out how much power your dryer draws off that 30amp you can limit your car to pull a safe amount of amps as to not overload the circuit or trip the breaker safely and use both at the same time. Or just be mindful not to plug in when the laundry is going or not do laundry when you’re charging if the dryer pulls a lot.

How to charge with Splitvolt Level 2 EV portable charger?

How to start charging

  1. Take out the charger and fully insert the 240-volt plug into the wall socket outlet
  2. Remove the cover and a) for non-Tesla vehicles, plug the J1772 vehicle connector into your vehicle inlet; or b) for Tesla vehicles attach the standard J1772 adapter and insert into vehicle inlet
  3. The device will start charging automatically while the READY/CHARGE, POWER indicators are all green

How to stop charging

  • Press the button and disconnect the J1772 vehicle connector from the vehicle inlet
  • Close protective cap of vehicle inlet
  • If necessary, disconnect the plug from the socket outlet

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