Home Wall Charger

[SwampNut]

For example if your electric utility offers time of use discounts

Completely false, that's built into the car. I have multiple TOU rates and both the Rivian and Tesla can handle them with a dumb EVSE.

or special rates for EV charging they'll need you to have a smarter EVSE.

Also not true here, you can get the EV special rate without a smart EVSE.

The only things I've ever seen that have data requirements are the programs where the utility can delay/stop charging, and the programs where they specifically want your charging data. However, they don't require a smart EVSE as long as your car has data they can get access to (most EVs). In our area, they support a lot of cars, but only one EVSE; Emporia.

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[therealcmj]

It 100% depends on your electric utility. In MA my electric company requires you enroll both the EVSE and your car to get the discounts and rebates.

• https://east-sf.eversource.com/resi...electric-vehicles/ev-charger-managed-charging
• They manage it through a third party called ev.energy https://www.ev.energy/en-us/drivers/integrations

You'll note that the Rivian R1 is on the list of supported EVs, but their EVSE isn't.

You're right that pure time of use billing is fine with just the car so that was a misleading statement from me. I should have been more precise.

 

[AlphaSnowbordergirl]

Completely false, that's built into the car. I have multiple TOU rates and both the Rivian and Tesla can handle them with a dumb EVSE.



Also not true here, you can get the EV special rate without a smart EVSE.

Depends on the utility company. In MD and specifically BGE, you have to have either a certain brand of vehicle or have one of 3 EVSE that they approved to qualify for the TOU rates for your EV.

 

[SwampNut]

Another fun fact here…our EV TOU rate ends up costing more than the regular TOU rate for most households. Same for my brother in southern CA.

 

[Bullwinkle]

So question to all that currently have a Rivian truck. I plan to buy the R2 and will have a home wall charger installed in my garage. I don’t want to pay the $800 for Rivian’s when I can get a less expensive wall charger like the Tesla or Chargepoint. Does anyone else currently use a different home wall charger instead of Rivian’s, if so can you please share your experience. When I spoke to a Rivian representative I was told if I use another brand home charger that would void the warranty if something were to happened to the vehicle. This sounds crazy to me as people charge their Rivian trucks all the time at various public charging stations that aren’t Rivian. Of course I plan to get a licensed electrician and have them get a permit to install it. I just want to be prepared and know my options when it is time for me to place my order. I am new to EVs and any assistance anyone can share or provide would be greatly appreciated. If I have to purchase the Rivian wall charger to make sure my R2 when I get it charges and will function at its best with their brand I don’t mind paying for it.

Thanks in advance for any responses and assistance

Probably the correct thread, but slightly different query. I do not have level 2 charging at my ski house in Steamboat. When I drive my R1S, I am always surprised at how many miles (20+, depending on how long) I can add overnight using my Rivian kit with the L1 plug. My garage outlet is a 20amp NEMA 6-20, so the 12-amp Rivian charger is not tapping into all the juice it could. The outlet is safe charging 33% faster.

Has anybody seen a NEMA 6-20 110-volt charger that can do 16amps? And yes, I checked my fusebox and it is 20 amps.

 

[VSG]

You don't need a new portable charger. If you use the Rivian portable charger with the NEMA 14-50 pigtail and a 14-50 to 6-20 adapter you can get about 3.8kW out of your 6-20, which is about 3 times what you'll get with the 5-15 pigtail. Just be sure to set the charge rate in your vehicle to 16A, because when you use and adapter you're fooling the portable charger so it doesn't know what it's plugged into, and it will try to pull 32A by default.

 

[emroch]

Has anybody seen a NEMA 6-20 110-volt charger that can do 16amps? And yes, I checked my fusebox and it is 20 amps.

Are you sure you have a 6-20 and not a 5-20? 5-x is 120V and 6-x is 240V. I'm assuming you're using the 120V 5-15 pigtail as you mentioned 12A, but that would not fit in a 6-20 receptacle and the 14-50 pigtail with an adapter would use expect the wrong voltage, I think.

The Tesla Mobile connector has a 5-20 adapter. I haven't seen any Rivian options beyond the 5-15 and 14-50 that come with the mobile connector.

 

[Bullwinkle]

Are you sure you have a 6-20 and not a 5-20? 5-x is 120V and 6-x is 240V. I'm assuming you're using the 120V 5-15 pigtail as you mentioned 12A, but that would not fit in a 6-20 receptacle and the 14-50 pigtail with an adapter would use expect the wrong voltage, I think.

The Tesla Mobile connector has a 5-20 adapter. I haven't seen any Rivian options beyond the 5-15 and 14-50 that come with the mobile connector.

You are right 5-20. MyNEMA google search was fruitless.

 

[Bullwinkle]

Are you sure you have a 6-20 and not a 5-20? 5-x is 120V and 6-x is 240V. I'm assuming you're using the 120V 5-15 pigtail as you mentioned 12A, but that would not fit in a 6-20 receptacle and the 14-50 pigtail with an adapter would use expect the wrong voltage, I think.

The Tesla Mobile connector has a 5-20 adapter. I haven't seen any Rivian options beyond the 5-15 and 14-50 that come with the mobile connector.

Would my NEMA 5-20 outlet

Are you sure you have a 6-20 and not a 5-20? 5-x is 120V and 6-x is 240V. I'm assuming you're using the 120V 5-15 pigtail as you mentioned 12A, but that would not fit in a 6-20 receptacle and the 14-50 pigtail with an adapter would use expect the wrong voltage, I think.

The Tesla Mobile connector has a 5-20 adapter. I haven't seen any Rivian options beyond the 5-15 and 14-50 that come with the mobile connector.

But I wonder if the Tesla 5-20 adapter actually would decrease charging time significantly—or if the current rate is actually the same as 5-15?

 

[emroch]

But I wonder if the Tesla 5-20 adapter actually would decrease charging time significantly—or if the current rate is actually the same as 5-15?

Tesla claims 3 mph vs 4 mph charging rate on the 5-15 vs 5-20, so it seems they are taking advantage of the extra current.

 

[dradam]

Home : Rivian wall charger 48A I charge at 20A
Dads house: Installed 32 A Chargepoint Hardwired ($150 used Ebay) I charge at 20A
Traveling: Rivian portable charger into a 30A dryer plug I charge at 20 A

In all 3 cases I am topped off in the morning when I get up. Your choice may be more about your needs than the charger itself. In retrospect I probably would have been fine with just the portable charger and saved some $.

 

[Bullwinkle]

Tesla claims 3 mph vs 4 mph charging rate on the 5-15 vs 5-20, so it seems they are taking advantage of the extra current.

Thanks!

 

[VSG]

Tesla claims 3 mph vs 4 mph charging rate on the 5-15 vs 5-20, so it seems they are taking advantage of the extra current.

No no no no no. They charge at the same rate in kW. Don't use "miles" as a unit, you're not filling your battery with miles.

The different range achieved with the same number of kWh is because different models have different efficiencies, so unless you actually know the efficiency number and actually do the math, you can't compare "miles".

The only way a portable charger could get more power is to use a dedicated 5-20 pigtail - that doesn't exist for the Rivian

 

[Jeremy3292]

Probably the correct thread, but slightly different query. I do not have level 2 charging at my ski house in Steamboat. When I drive my R1S, I am always surprised at how many miles (20+, depending on how long) I can add overnight using my Rivian kit with the L1 plug. My garage outlet is a 20amp NEMA 6-20, so the 12-amp Rivian charger is not tapping into all the juice it could. The outlet is safe charging 33% faster.

Has anybody seen a NEMA 6-20 110-volt charger that can do 16amps? And yes, I checked my fusebox and it is 20 amps.

Yes, I have this setup at my parents house. You need the Tesla mobile connector and you can buy all the different plugs for $35 each I think.

6-20 is 240 volts at 16 amps, or 3.8 kW. Works great and is a very underrated setup.

5-20 is 16 amps at 120 volts so not as good, but better than a household outlet. Tesla sells the adapter for that too.

5-15 is a normal household outlet and won’t pull more than 12 amps on the charger.

 

[Zathras]

An EVSE is just a fancy on/off switch, the actual charger is inside the Rivian. Any level 2 EVSE will work with any BEV or PHEV as long as the connector matches, or you have an adapter. I am using a ChargePoint with the J1772 connector and the provided Rivian NACS adapter, works perfectly. Have used this same EVSE with my Taycan, PHEV XM, PHEV Cayenne, G580 and now the R1S with zero issues.

Actually there is an argument for a smart level 2 EVSE. My house has a 100 amp panel which means I have to limit charging to 32 amps. My R2 can pull 48 amps. So my gen 3 Tesla EVSE allows me to keep things safe by throttling current.

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