An App to easily change and save Amps on Rivian Charging (like Tesla)

[dotnetdude]

So I read through all the replies in this thread, and I'm not seeing this overwhelming negativity you are complaining about. Yes, this thread is not full of praise for what you have done. But nobody has said anything that bad. Mostly just unbiased off the cuff type comments. You did ask for feedback, remember?

My own feedback is that I appreciate that this was probably a lot of work to do. Congratulation on getting it done! But personally it's not something I would be interested in as I don't see a need for it for myself.

You're right. I deleted my complaint. I think it was just miscommunication on my front on what the use case is. Appreciate it!

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[SwampNut]

This forum tends to be very blunt and straightforward, and I am one of those people also by nature.

 

[hammick]

I just set this up and it's very simple app to use and recognized both of our addresses. I set our R1S to charge at 8 amps when at our off grid solar place and 48 amps at our main home.

Any chance you can incorporate multiple locations for proximity lock like Tesla has? I think you would get a lot more interest in your app if you added that functionality.

I'll be buying you some Guac after some thorough testing.

 

[dotnetdude]

I just set this up and it's very simple app to use and recognized both of our addresses. I set our R1S to charge at 8 amps when at our off grid solar place and 48 amps at our main home.

Any chance you can incorporate multiple locations for proximity lock like Tesla has? I think you would get a lot more interest in your app if you added that functionality.

I'll be buying you some Guac after some thorough testing.

I can look into the API but I’m sure I can. What exactly are you wanting out of “proximity lock”? Just like leaving it always unlocked at home and automatically locking at other locations?

 

[mnsullivan]

I charge at 16 amps at home and 30 amps at my office (using mobile chargers on NEMA 14-50). My Tesla remembered those locations. I was shocked when getting a Rivian (absolutely love my Rivian) that this basic functionality wasn't available. So I finally got around to building an app to do just this. Change amperage as you'd like to reduce strain on the battery, set lower amperage on different sized breakers, etc- control your amperage how you'd like! It's a useful feature that Tesla, Ford, VW, and all others have provided for years on their apps, but not Rivian (even though their API supports it).

Completely free for now until (if ever) there are features that start costing money on my side! If you like it, feel free to buy me some guac for the effort!

Please leave feedback and report bugs as you see them. For now it's available on public beta in TestFlight (iOS only). It will be released officially after a round of bug fixes.

https://testflight.apple.com/join/auWkjVrP

IMPORTANT: This is all local only- no server. Your login information is on your device only and not stored.

I charge at 16 amps at home and 30 amps at my office (using mobile chargers on NEMA 14-50). My Tesla remembered those locations. I was shocked when getting a Rivian (absolutely love my Rivian) that this basic functionality wasn't available. So I finally got around to building an app to do just this. Change amperage as you'd like to reduce strain on the battery, set lower amperage on different sized breakers, etc- control your amperage how you'd like! It's a useful feature that Tesla, Ford, VW, and all others have provided for years on their apps, but not Rivian (even though their API supports it).

Completely free for now until (if ever) there are features that start costing money on my side! If you like it, feel free to buy me some guac for the effort!

Please leave feedback and report bugs as you see them. For now it's available on public beta in TestFlight (iOS only). It will be released officially after a round of bug fixes.

https://testflight.apple.com/join/auWkjVrP

IMPORTANT: This is all local only- no server. Your login information is on your device only and not stored.

Pretty cool App. I tried it today with various Amp Settings and it worked great. Key for me is to use it when my home solar system has excess power I can now send it to my R1T. Perfect solution for free charging... Normally my home charger is drawing 27 amps or 6.5 kWh which forces the grid usage. At 8 amps today I was drawing 1.92 KWh which fit nicely with my solar excess

 

[dotnetdude]

Pretty cool App. I tried it today with various Amp Settings and it worked great. Key for me is to use it when my home solar system has excess power I can now send it to my R1T. Perfect solution for free charging... Normally my home charger is drawing 27 amps or 6.5 kWh which forces the grid usage. At 8 amps today I was drawing 1.92 KWh which fit nicely with my solar excess

Good! Glad it’s helping. Thanks for the feedback!

 

[hammick]

I can look into the API but I’m sure I can. What exactly are you wanting out of “proximity lock”? Just like leaving it always unlocked at home and automatically locking at other locations?

Sorry I looked at our car and it's officially called "passive entry". Would like the ability to add multiple locations where it can be disabled. And if possible have the Geofence Radius so it could be fine tuned to lock in my driveway but not in my garage.

 

[beatle]

If the app works, it sounds like a decent alternative to buying a portable EVSE with plug adapters that automatically set the correct amps for you. My partner and I took different road trips last months. She had her Mach-E and I had my Rivian. She used my Tesla UMC with a 6-20 adapter to charge at her parents' house, and I used her Ford mobile connector to charge at my parents' house on a 14-30 using a 14-50 adapter. I took her EVSE since I was able to turn the amps down to 24 in the truck and she wasn't. That said, like OP, I was surprised to see that Rivian doesn't support saving a charging location other than home, and I had to set the amps manually each time.

Don't think I'd install a 14-50 on a 20A breaker though...

 

[SwampNut]

You don’t need an EVSE with its own settings you can just set it in the Rivian. This just automated so you don’t have to if you use more than one location.

 

[SwampNut]

@dotnetdude it just hit me that you should not be able to automate the 2FA because it’s not the actual Rivian app or a Rivian product. It would likely be a security violation to do that. In fact, I guess we really wouldn’t want that to be possible since it would enable phishing.

I’m about to test your app at one of the locations where I need to limit the charge current on a fairly regular basis.

 

[Time2Roll]

This reminds me of an old tech joke that I love, which is how many software developers does it take to change a lightbulb? The answer is screw that it’s a hardware problem. In this case a $30 breaker would fix the problem, but let’s write software instead. lol

To be clear, this is all in fun because it’s the sort of thing that I would do also. I’ll spend two hours writing a script to save 20 minutes of repetitive work.

Yes I would spend the $500 and have a 16a EVSE at home. And for that matter I got my employer to install 32 amp EVSE.

I still carry my 32a portable that I needed for my last vehicle.

If the app works best for the situation that is the best solution.

 

[therealcmj]

Thanks for providing this. We have an off grid vacation home and I'm always changing the charging amps depending on the time of day, time of year and amount of sun. Been using an adjustable charger that can charge at 6, 8, 10 or 12 amps.

Check out Home Assistant. Seriously.

You can configure it to monitor the output of your solar panels and adjust the truck to match in real time. And only when it's physically at the vacation home and plugged in.

 

[beatle]

You don’t need an EVSE with its own settings you can just set it in the Rivian. This just automated so you don’t have to if you use more than one location.

That's the problem OP is trying to solve when using a "dumb" EVSE. If not at home, the process is not automated. You have to set the amps each time you plug in the truck if the EVSE doesn't know what to limit the current to. Since most EVSEs only have 14-50 and 5-15 plugs, it'll default to 32 or 12 amps.

 

[SwampNut]

This app just simply does what it says. It’s a permanent part of my EV convenience bundle now, thanks! I have two frequent locations where I need to limit current, and it’s just convenient to not have to rush to reduce it as soon as I plug in, and have to beat the time before tripping the breaker.

 

[dotnetdude]

This app just simply does what it says. It’s a permanent part of my EV convenience bundle now, thanks! I have two frequent locations where I need to limit current, and it’s just convenient to not have to rush to reduce it as soon as I plug in, and have to beat the time before tripping the breaker.

This is great feedback. Thank you! Glad somebody is getting good use out of it!

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