[fitmaster]

I just installed a Siemens Versicharge VC30GRYU in my garage a few days ago. Really impressed on how fast it charges.
Reason I went with the Siemens vs the BMW brand is because of the following reasons.
- It's a level 3 plug in to 240 volts
- Can be easily unplugged and take with you if you move
- Has 2/4/6/8 hour delay to take advantage of lower electric rates
- So far been averaging 1.2 hours or less to fully charge.
- Price is only $549 for the plugin. The hard wire version is even lower
- Works with all SAE J1772 plug ins.
- Can be used indoors or out
- Comes with a 20' cord

Anyone else have any other chargers installed that you would like to share your experience.
Thanks

[kip1]

Edit:missed the model earlier. Cant find a product like this in Europe.

I never bought a charger as rarely need to go immediately out again and all the manufactures have different standard like mobile phone chargers.

[rap427]

Do you pick up any additional milage as a result of this charger>

[Epirali]

Originally Posted by rap427

Do you pick up any additional milage as a result of this charger>

I'll jump in and say no. I have both L2 charger at home and the included 110, tried both. There is no difference. In fact the i8 doesn't seem to use anywhere near the full draw of an L2 charger.

[YWGT3]

Originally Posted by fitmaster

I just installed a Siemens Versicharge VC30GRYU in my garage a few days ago. Really impressed on how fast it charges.
Reason I went with the Siemens vs the BMW brand is because of the following reasons.
- It's a level 3 plug in to 240 volts
- Can be easily unplugged and take with you if you move
- Has 2/4/6/8 hour delay to take advantage of lower electric rates
- So far been averaging 1.2 hours or less to fully charge.
- Price is only $549 for the plugin. The hard wire version is even lower
- Works with all SAE J1772 plug ins.
- Can be used indoors or out
- Comes with a 20' cord

Anyone else have any other chargers installed that you would like to share your experience.
Thanks

Good point on the Siemen's detachability feature. I am having the BMW wall mounted charging unit installed next week, which requires cutting into sheetrock and channeling cables within the garage ceiling. Definitely not detachable and less versatile than your unit.

[twm6]

OP, where did you purchase this unit from?

[Epirali]

Originally Posted by twm6

OP, where did you purchase this unit from?

Fwiw you can buy this unit from Amazon.

[mu2002cs]

After 11 months of ownership, I find that I charge my i8 maybe once a week. Why, the mix of local, highway and sport driving that I do keeps the battery charged at a level that allows me to maximize my personal "eco driving" with "spirited driving".

My advice - don't spend money on a charger until you drive your i8 for 2-3 months. Then decide if you need a charger.

Some additional data. Over the last 11 months, I've driven 4200 miles with an average of 35.7 mpg. This includes everything from eco-pro driving to run errands, to hard-core track driving.

[shawnhayes]

Originally Posted by mu2002cs

After 11 months of ownership, I find that I charge my i8 maybe once a week. Why, the mix of local, highway and sport driving that I do keeps the battery charged at a level that allows me to maximize my personal "eco driving" with "spirited driving".

My advice - don't spend money on a charger until you drive your i8 for 2-3 months. Then decide if you need a charger.

Some additional data. Over the last 11 months, I've driven 4200 miles with an average of 35.7 mpg. This includes everything from eco-pro driving to run errands, to hard-core track driving.

I charge mine twice a day during my work day.

I drive to one facility, work for one hour, then to another facility where the building is LEAD certified and they let me charge up there. I may then need to drive back to the original facility where I started before going home. At that point, I need to charge again.

As a result, I put 600 miles on the car before needing a fill up, and it only needed 3.47 gallons. I have found that the cars "brain" will start the engine on initial start up to warm up the gasoline engine occasionally. I usually put it in "sport" mode to run all the way to my next destination, as the ECU will only "warm up" the engine before immediate shutdown, and I think if you start the gasoline engine at all, it needs to run a little while to get fully up to temp before being shut off.

So, seems to me, lots of different people using this car in lots of different ways.

Shawn

[Aye-eight]

Originally Posted by mu2002cs

After 11 months of ownership, I find that I charge my i8 maybe once a week. Why, the mix of local, highway and sport driving that I do keeps the battery charged at a level that allows me to maximize my personal "eco driving" with "spirited driving".

My advice - don't spend money on a charger until you drive your i8 for 2-3 months. Then decide if you need a charger.

Some additional data. Over the last 11 months, I've driven 4200 miles with an average of 35.7 mpg. This includes everything from eco-pro driving to run errands, to hard-core track driving.

That's probably good advice. When I ordered my i8, I thought a charger had to go with it. Then I thought about it. I charge at home over night. The standard charger that comes with the car is more than adequate for that - charges the car in about three hours. I very rarely feel the need to charge more quickly than that at home.

And according to the brochure, the wall-mounted charger is not that much quicker, anyway (at least not in countries with 220V mains). It would make more of a difference with a bigger battery. But at 5.2 kW usable capacity, a higher charging rate doesn't safe that much time. And it won't make the car go any further - the battery will hold what it can hold, no matter what kind of charger it is.

Now, in terms of consumption: I can charge up at work as well. So I now have 5'400 miles at an average mpg of 89.4 (!). And half of my charges are free.

[YWGT3]

Originally Posted by Aye-eight

That's probably good advice. When I ordered my i8, I thought a charger had to go with it. Then I thought about it. I charge at home over night. The standard charger that comes with the car is more than adequate for that - charges the car in about three hours. I very rarely feel the need to charge more quickly than that at home.

And according to the brochure, the wall-mounted charger is not that much quicker, anyway (at least not in countries with 220V mains). It would make more of a difference with a bigger battery. But at 5.2 kW usable capacity, a higher charging rate doesn't safe that much time. And it won't make the car go any further - the battery will hold what it can hold, no matter what kind of charger it is.

Now, in terms of consumption: I can charge up at work as well. So I now have 5'400 miles at an average mpg of 89.4 (!). And half of my charges are free.

Here in the U.S., I found the BMW wall mounted charger cuts my charge time in half as opposed to the standard charger. Furthermore, if the battery is less than 40% depleted, the wall mounted charger only takes ⅓ the time for the batteries to reach 100% capacity versus the standard charger.

[MalibuBimmer]

Originally Posted by Aye-eight

That's probably good advice. When I ordered my i8, I thought a charger had to go with it. Then I thought about it. I charge at home over night. The standard charger that comes with the car is more than adequate for that - charges the car in about three hours. I very rarely feel the need to charge more quickly than that at home.

And according to the brochure, the wall-mounted charger is not that much quicker, anyway (at least not in countries with 220V mains). It would make more of a difference with a bigger battery. But at 5.2 kW usable capacity, a higher charging rate doesn't safe that much time. And it won't make the car go any further - the battery will hold what it can hold, no matter what kind of charger it is.

Now, in terms of consumption: I can charge up at work as well. So I now have 5'400 miles at an average mpg of 89.4 (!). And half of my charges are free.

I assume you're from Old Blighty. ("Mains" was a clue.) I have 4547 miles on my car and, converting to Imperial gallons, my MPG would be close, but not quite up to yours, 85.56. In the U.S. that's 71.3 MPG.

I often drive the car from home several times a day and the garage charger is useful for me. But I can also see where others could rely on the charger that comes with the car.

[thunberg]

I haven't, just drive in sport mode

[Aye-eight]

[QUOTE=MalibuBimmer;18515221]I assume you're from Old Blighty. ("Mains" was a clue.) I have 4547 miles on my car and, converting to Imperial gallons, my MPG would be close, but not quite up to yours, 85.56. In the U.S. that's 71.3 MPG. /QUOTE]

Nice try. I'm German, have lived in the US for about six years, and live in Switzerland now. But British English sometimes is so much more punchy. "Mains", to me, is much more efficient than "power supply" or whatever ...

Anyway, I guess you're right. When I select "English" on my app, it seems to use Imperial Gallons. The only other option besides "Metric" is "Japanese".

[fitmaster]

Originally Posted by rap427

Do you pick up any additional milage as a result of this charger>

Actually no. It just charges much faster, approx. 30 minutes to a full charge. The particular charger gives you the option to delay charging, 2, 4, 6, 8 hours later to take advantage of lower electric rates. Nice thing is too, you can unplug it and take it with you if you move. Thanks

[fitmaster]

Originally Posted by twm6

OP, where did you purchase this unit from?

Got mine from Amazon. Already had the 240 v plug so it was a no brainer for me.

[Aye-eight]

Originally Posted by fitmaster

Actually no. It just charges much faster, approx. 30 minutes to a full charge. The particular charger gives you the option to delay charging, 2, 4, 6, 8 hours later to take advantage of lower electric rates. Nice thing is too, you can unplug it and take it with you if you move. Thanks

The charging time is pretty impressive. But in terms of charging at off-peak hours, you can tell the i8 directly to only charge at low-cost times, and you can even set the precise time window. I love it. I use off-peak charging at home every night, and the car is set to be ready to go at 7:15 a.m. - but only on weekdays.

[jaserion]

i didnt know that these off the shelf chargers work with our car!! i'll look into them more closely..

thanks.

[edev]

No electric car will receive more range from a higher charger. The only benefit is getting a quicker charge. OP, that's a Level 2 plug, not a level 3. Just wanted to correct you to provide correct information for current and future owners alike

EDIT: Congrats on the charger. I just picked up a Clipper Creek HCS-40P 6-50 for my i3. Zero to full in 3.5 hours? I'll take it! It totally beats 15-20 hours for a full charge.