Porsche Mobile Charger Connect vs Mobile Charger Plus

[Artman]

Reliable and Stupid EVSE is the way to go - and ClipperCreek makes the dumbest on the market.

I may go ChargePoint. It will be better Looking in my garage. I drive a Porsche so yeah, I care about dumb crap like that. LOL

Thanks for the wisdom, guys.

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[Klepper]

Very good point but if it is a negligible difference in price (cable feed and breaker size) and nothing is installed yet, I might as well go with the better option.

Dave and Jeramy - You have me convinced to go aftermarket and keep the standard Porsche charger in my frunk .

I use the included PMC+ as my home charger (it's big and bulky), and picked up a Mustart Travel Charger for $379, as the alternate cable ends for different plug types are only $50 each. The alternate plugs for the Porsche charger are much more expensive at $200 each.

https://www.mustartsolutions.com/co...rent-mustart-travelmaster-level2-ev-charger-1

 

[Artman]

Now that I’ve decided to go after market for the garage and keep Mobile Charger Plus in my frunk as a travel charger, does it make sense to downgrade the nema 14-50 to a nema 14-30?

No charge option : 240 volt supply cable for NEMA 14-30 socket, replaces standard NEMA 14-50 supply cable

 

[daveo4EV]

Now that I’ve decided to go after market for the garage and keep Mobile Charger Plus in my frunk as a travel charger, does it make sense to downgrade the nema 14-50 to a nema 14-30?

No charge option : 240 volt supply cable for NEMA 14-30 socket, replaces standard NEMA 14-50 supply cable

no the most common plug you'll enounter in travels is NEMA 14-50 - it's also the most useful

if you really really need a 14-30 then you can get one from Porsche via parts - they will charge you toooooooo much money for it - but you can get it.

review this for more information about over-preparing for road trips…

https://www.taycanforum.com/forum/threads/ev-roadwarrior-adapters-“kit”.1364/

 

[whitex]

it’s been my experience this is true - why?

• well the J-1772 protocol in North America is “dumb” - it’s a minimal service very very simple specification
• _IF_ you attempt to make a J-1772 EVSE “smart” you as the EVSE vendor are going ”beyond” the specification and there is no way to do that in a standard manner
• the vehicle manufactures have to have their EV work with “dumb” EVSE’s - so if they want any features they have to make the vehicle smart cause they know the EVSE will be dumb
• there is no standard “smart” version of J-1772 documented, so no vehicle manufactures support anything in this space since there is no specification to test against
• now if your J-1772 EVSE is “smart” and your EV is “smart” - that means you have two smart things trying to accomplish/fix/solve the same problem
  • if you’ve ever seen two smart people trying to solve the same problem you’ll know where I’m going with this
  • when ever I’ve encountered “smart” EVSE’s - all that has happend is the two devcices “argue” with each other in trying to arrange the charging schedule - the car is trying to schedule the charge, the EVSE is trying to schedule the charge and both end up thinking the other isn’t working and disconnect - leaving you with 12% battery in the morning

the dumbest of the dumb EVSE’s is what you want for North America - something that will just always work - let the car’s software control the charging - it’s what it’s supposed to do and the only thing that “knows” the state of the battery.

ClipperCreek makes super reliable and super-stupid EVSE’s - they are in fact so brain dead stupid and mind numbingly dumb that they seem to always just work - because there is no alternative - they have to work cause there is no way they can not work. This setup will continue balancing between 2 cars. Even then I replace the 2nd Tesla, I plan to just convert the other charger to J1772.

Reliable and Stupid EVSE is the way to go - and ClipperCreek makes the dumbest on the market.

"Dumb but works" is in fact what you want. No WiFi or internet connection mean less likely it will get hacked some day when the manufacturer stops updating. The only smarts I want from my setup is to balance charging between 2 cars, and even for that I want dumb, dip-switch based, hard-wired setup between the 2 chargers. I use two Gen2 Tesla HPWC which balance 80A between 2 cars (each car up to 80A, but no more than 80A total). Once I replace one of them with a Taycan, I will convert one of the chargers to 80A capable J-1772 - the conversion is not hard. Then if the other Tesla is replaced with non-Tesla, I will convert the other charger to J1772 but continue to use the load balancing setup.

Btw, one option nobody mentioned here, not the cheapest but definitely cheaper than Porsche. Lets you charge up to 48A and can be ordered with a custom length of a cable.
http://www.umc-j1772.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=67&product_id=96
Quick note. These converted Gen3 Tesla chargers have it in their manual that they will load balance with another like charger, however last I checked this feature has been "coming soon" since this 3rd generation of chargers were released., so I wouldn't count on it. My personal guess is that Tesla couldn't get it working reliably enough over WiFi, therefore, like so many Tesla vaporware features, this may never be delivered.

 

[whitex]

Also, for you DIY'er out there, open source J1772 solution up to 48A:
https://store.openevse.com/collections/all-products
Besides ready to use configuration via WiFi, it Includes an open API which can be used to do things adjust power based on your home usage (assuming you have some real time monitor on your home supply, and are able to write some code to interface between the two), or write your own super custom scheduling.

 

[ciaranob]

I've been sitting on the wall on this one and common sense says (if not screams to me) to totally ditch the PMCC BUT one last possibly dumb question please:

One of the touted main reasons to get the PMCC I thought was that there were specific data on SOC etc. real time delivered via wireless network to the Porsche app from the PMCC that distinguished this charger from other albeit equally capable chargers like CharePoint's HomeFlex.

I seem to recall reading that Chargepoint's model could not read this vehicle specific SOC info being unable to communicate with the Porsche system like the PMCC can. Is this in fact not true or simply if true, an option that has little to no real benefit other than not having to jump between different apps to remote check the charge status of your Taycan? Thanks in advance.

 

[Klepper]

I've been sitting in the wall on this one and common sense says (if not screams to me) to totally ditch the PMCC BUT one last possibly dumb question please:

One of the touted main reasons to get the PMCC I thought was that there were specific data on SOC etc. real time delivered via wireless network to the Porsche app from the PMCC that distinguished this charger from other albeit equally capable chargers like CharePoint's HomeFlex.

I seem to recall reading that Chargepoint's model could not read this vehicle specific SOC info being unable to communicate with the Porsche system like the PMCC can. Is this in fact not true or simply if true, an option that has little to no real benefit other than not having to jump between different apps to remote check the charge status of your Taycan? Thanks in advance.

I just have the "dumb" PMC+, and I have never connected it via a power line adapter (since it can't do wifi). I get all my charging info from the car itself via the "Connect" app. For me, all the info I need I can get from the car since it is connected. I see no reason to need to get info from the EVSE (which is really just a glorified extension cord).

 

[ciaranob]

I just have the "dumb" PMC+, and I have never connected it via a power line adapter (since it can't do wifi). I get all my charging info from the car itself via the "Connect" app. For me, all the info I need I can get from the car since it is connected. I see no reason to need to get info from the EVSE (which is really just a glorified extension cord).

So in essence the Porsche app gets all the info that a PMCC could deliver anyway - correct? Thus the only reason to get a PMCC is for the touchscreen? Sounds bizarre but makes the choice even easier if so and now I really do't get the utility of the 'connect' part of the PMCC (except maybe for truly long distance wifi connectivity or at least it has zero benefits over the wireless connection you get with a HomeFlex)!

BTW here is another reason to get the HomeFlex an additional tax credit on line installation and the unit itself:

 

[daveo4EV]

I've been sitting in the wall on this one and common sense says (if not screams to me) to totally ditch the PMCC BUT one last possibly dumb question please:

One of the touted main reasons to get the PMCC I thought was that there were specific data on SOC etc. real time delivered via wireless network to the Porsche app from the PMCC that distinguished this charger from other albeit equally capable chargers like CharePoint's HomeFlex.

I seem to recall reading that Chargepoint's model could not read this vehicle specific SOC info being unable to communicate with the Porsche system like the PMCC can. Is this in fact not true or simply if true, an option that has little to no real benefit other than not having to jump between different apps to remote check the charge status of your Taycan? Thanks in advance.

yes this is true - the PMCC can “display” information about SOC and other non-standard J-1772 information - however the majority of this information _IS_ available directly from the Porsche Connect app by talking to the vehicle rather than the PMCC.

PMCC _IS_ a network enabled EVSE and it does maintain it’s own data about charging and some such. It is technically sophisticated and has a nice LCD screen - that being said it’s not a great pure J-1772 EVSE - it overheats in normal use and is quite bulky for it’s product category.

the login.porsche.com site WILL maintain charging data and provide CSV download access to your charging data if you care about such thing. I love the data and it is nice/fun - but it is hard to see any actual circumstance where this would even remotely rise to the level of “necessary”. I consider it purely entertainment value. If you must have this type of access there are networked/Wifi chargers that provide similar cloud/internet based access.

NOTE: remote control of a charging session is _STILL_ via the vehicle via the Porsche Connect app and NOT via the PMCC webportal - so the consider the webportal “read only” - there is NO remote control of the PMCC - but it can be viewed and monitored with a web-browser.

here is an example of what you can “see” from the PMCC data uploaded to Porsche

there are non Porsche EVSE’s that provide similar data via app or website -but yes the PMCC is the only EVSE that’s I’m aware of that will show battery SOC for MY’21 Taycan’s or later.

 

[ciaranob]

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NOTE: remote control of a charging session is _STILL_ via the vehicle via the Porsche Connect app and NOT via the PMCC webportal - so the consider the webportal “read only” - there is NO remote control of the PMCC - but it can be viewed and monitored with a web-browser.

here is an example of what you can “see” from the PMCC data uploaded to Porsche

Thx Dave - exactly what I was after and agree 100% re what is necessary here

So is it also true presumably for the Homeflex (sorry too lazy at this minute to check myself apparently) that you cannot remotely control that unit but simply read it's data feed?

 

[daveo4EV]

I seem to recall reading that Chargepoint's model could not read this vehicle specific SOC info being unable to communicate with the Porsche system like the PMCC can. Is this in fact not true or simply if true, an option that has little to no real benefit other than not having to jump between different apps to remote check the charge status of your Taycan? Thanks in advance.

this fact is “TRUE” - PMCC can display battery SOC on it’s built in LCD screen - and other EVSE’s do not support this porsche-only J-1772 extension to the standard.

however regardless of what EVSE a Taycan is plugged into - you will remotely check the charging status via the Porsche Connect app - and the information shown in this app is from the “vehicles” perspective - so you can remotelly check you vehicle battery, charging status and start/stop charging when using any EVSE - so this ”extra” feature is really only useful if you are standing in your garage staring at the PMCC…when you are “away” from your vehicle you’ll use the Porsche Connect app to remotely check on your vehicle status and the information/control available to you via this app is the same for all EV chargers.

 

[daveo4EV]

Thx Dave - exactly what I was after and agree 100% re what is necessary here

So is it also true presumably for the Homeflex (sorry too lazy at this minute to check myself apparently) that you cannot remotely control that unit but simply read it's data feed?

not clear to me - some EVSE’s provide a mesaure of control via their apps or website - feature set varies greatly depending on the vendor.

NOTE: no EVSE can “start” a charging session - EVSE’s are “dumb” and can not “force” a vehicle to do anything - only the vehicle itself can start a charging session - for the most part the EVSE is not interesting after the 1st couple of weeks of ownership - as the real information and control is via the vehicle itself not the EVSE.

the _ONLY_ time my EVSE information is interesting to me is when a vehicle I do not own is charging off my equipment (my friend’s Audi eTron) - if I want to check on the status of their charging session I do not have access to their “myAudi” account - so I log into the PMCC website to make sure power is flowing - I do not consider this critical and I only do it because I’m a bit OCD - I can’t do anything with this information - becuase if it’s not charging I‘d have to grab the keys to their car or ask them to launch their app to start the charging session - but I can see if their vehicle is charging or not - but there is very very limited control - it’s informational only.

 

[ciaranob]

not clear to me - some EVSE’s provide a mesaure of control via their apps or website - feature set varies greatly depending on the vendor.

NOTE: no EVSE can “start” a charging session - EVSE’s are “dumb” and can not “force” a vehicle to do anything - only the vehicle itself can start a charging session - for the most part the EVSE is not interesting after the 1st couple of weeks of ownership - as the real information and control is via the vehicle itself not the EVSE.

the _ONLY_ time my EVSE information is interesting to me is when a vehicle I do not own is charging off my equipment (my friend’s Audi eTron) - if I want to check on the status of their charging session I do not have access to their “myAudi” account - so I log into the PMCC website to make sure power is flowing - I do not consider this critical and I only do it because I’m a bit OCD - I can’t do anything with this information - becuase if it’s not charging I‘d have to grab the keys to their car or ask them to launch their app to start the charging session - but I can see if their vehicle is charging or not - but there is very very limited control - it’s informational only.

Got it - so I guess you were an early adopter of the PMCC and your current ambivalence reflects experience to date ? You and the other responders have def convinced me towards dropping the PMCC TBH, largely over the overheating issues but also indeed the over-pricing.

 

[ciaranob]

Got it - so I guess you were an early adopter of the PMCC and your current ambivalence reflects experience to date ? You and the other responders have def convinced me towards dropping the PMCC TBH, largely over the overheating issues but also indeed the over-pricing.

PMCC removed from build and ChargePoint HomeFlex ordered - thx for all the advice on this thread.

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