[walketed]

Hi everyone!!, so it seems there's nothing out there on how to charge our soon to arrive cars. The Genius are not so Genius and BMW's website redirects you to Qmerit which is the most expensive option in the world.

So... anybody knows how to charge the car? Does it come with one of the chargers? What's the real time it gets to charge the car with either charger, L1 and L2. What are the requirements or type of wallbox to purchase as well as the plugs on both sides.

It's crazy that we have to wait until we receive the car to check this. Also the user's manual for these cars is not available online yet.

Any info will be appreciated!!

[TurtleBoy]

Originally Posted by walketed

Hi everyone!!, so it seems there's nothing out there on how to charge our soon to arrive cars. The Genius are not so Genius and BMW's website redirects you to Qmerit which is the most expensive option in the world.

So... anybody knows how to charge the car? Does it come with one of the chargers? What's the real time it gets to charge the car with either charger, L1 and L2. What are the requirements or type of wallbox to purchase as well as the plugs on both sides.

It's crazy that we have to wait until we receive the car to check this. Also the user's manual for these cars is not available online yet.

Any info will be appreciated!!

There are many threads regarding charging and I’m sure some folks will chime in. Your 50e will come with a Flexible Fast Charger.


That manuals have been available for awhile now. Here is a link to some I downloaded. https://g05.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=2005828

[Bhuvi]

It comes with 10A adapter which fits the included "fast charger" which takes 30 hrs to fully charge on a regular wall socket.
There are several ways to make it work faster - I'm learning about it too (on the forum - thanks). I'm personally going to get a 14-50 NEMA socket built and buy a BMW OEM 220 V 40 A adapter (which fits the fast charger)that allows it to fully charge in ~2 hrs.

[jkramerXXX7]

I have ditched the Flexible Fast charger that came with my 50e. I installed two level 2 Chargepoint chargers. One at work and one at home. They charge my car from 0 to 100% in a little over 3 hours. I had them installed about a month before receiving the car. I chose not to use plugs but rather hard wired them.

[mobsync]

Originally Posted by Bhuvi

I'm personally going to get a 14-50 NEMA socket built and buy a BMW OEM 220 V 40 A adapter (which fits the fast charger)that allows it to fully charge in ~2 hrs.

You gotta part number?

[rexus300]

Originally Posted by mobsync

You gotta part number?

I believe its this one?

https://parts.bmwnorthwest.com/p/bmw...905A13A61.html

I am planning to get this and use it with the flexible fast charger but still debating to get the home 240V wall charger too.

[jad03060]

Originally Posted by Bhuvi

There are several ways to make it work faster - I'm learning about it too (on the forum - thanks). I'm personally going to get a 14-50 NEMA socket built and buy a BMW OEM 220 V 40 A adapter (which fits the fast charger)that allows it to fully charge in ~2 hrs.

The on-board charging circuit in the 50e can produce a maximum of 7400W/hr. To do that on level 2 will require at least a 32A device (on a 40A circuit to follow the 80% electrical code rules). The battery in the vehicle has a bit over 20Kwhr useable, and, given charging is not 100% efficient (some power will be lost in the power supply, some due to cooling requirements that can include running the a/c and fans), charging a depleted battery in 2-hours just isn't going to happen, no matter how large your EVSE is. Think of it like plugging in a 50W light bulb...even though the circuit may support 1800W (15A*120vac), it still only draws 50W. In this case, the light bulb is the vehicle...regardless of what the source it, it can't go faster than that. The internal logic does allow you to 'throttle' the power coming in so you don't overload the source wiring (like having a 16A EVSE plugged into a 15A circuit just doesn't work unless you can tell the vehicle to pull less!). The internal 'throttle' logic does not work with all EVSEs, though.

New owners may not realize the actual charger is IN the vehicle...the EVSE is a fancy power cord.

FWIW, the 50e user's manual linked appears to be for a Euro vehicle. I've not tried to get one for a US vehicle.

[TurtleBoy]

Originally Posted by jad03060

FWIW, the 50e user's manual linked appears to be for a Euro vehicle. I've not tried to get one for a US vehicle.

No, that was downloaded from BMWUSA using a US VIN.

[jad03060]

Originally Posted by TurtleBoy

No, that was downloaded from BMWUSA using a US VIN.

Humm, some of the pictures show a Mennekes plug for charging and talks about type 1, 2, and 3 charging cables, which led me to think it wasn't a US vehicle's manual.

[TurtleBoy]

Originally Posted by jad03060

Humm, some of the pictures show a Mennekes plug for charging and talks about type 1, 2, and 3 charging cables, which led me to think it wasn't a US vehicle's manual.

It could be they have/had the wrong one online or perhaps don't have a US specific one ready yet. It would be interesting to see what the hardcopy ones are. Maybe someone can chime in.

[CAtoMA]

Originally Posted by jkramerXXX7

I have ditched the Flexible Fast charger that came with my 50e. I installed two level 2 Chargepoint chargers. One at work and one at home. They charge my car from 0 to 100% in a little over 3 hours. I had them installed about a month before receiving the car. I chose not to use plugs but rather hard wired them.

Me too.

I installed a Chargepoint Flex on a 40A circuit, so I'm getting the maximum 32A and 7400 watts at the X5 50e. It is awesome. The Chargepoint was super easy for my electrician to install. I like the look with the hard wire.

I'm somewhat looking forward to the math / optimization around two chargers in my garage at some point in the future.. but I'm going to live with one for now. My 200A house feeds a 60A garage sub-panel, so I will likely need some sophisticated amperage balancing via software. Tesla chargers have good ways to do this, as far as I understand, and I'll wait for the other charging companies to catch up then buy theirs instead.

[eelnoraa]

Originally Posted by CAtoMA

Me too.

I installed a Chargepoint Flex on a 40A circuit, so I'm getting the maximum 32A and 7400 watts at the X5 50e. It is awesome. The Chargepoint was super easy for my electrician to install. I like the look with the hard wire.

I'm somewhat looking forward to the math / optimization around two chargers in my garage at some point in the future.. but I'm going to live with one for now. My 200A house feeds a 60A garage sub-panel, so I will likely need some sophisticated amperage balancing via software. Tesla chargers have good ways to do this, as far as I understand, and I'll wait for the other charging companies to catch up then buy theirs instead.

so 60A subpanel will work. Most of L2 EVSE today is at 40A level. And 50e draw max of 32A. No need for load balancing right?

Actually, most EVSEs you can set charging limit. If you have two of the same brand, they communicate with each other and make sure a set max current won't be drawn at the same time. So no need to catch up, or they were never behind. In fact, Tesla L2 EVSE is the behind one. Their V3 lack many features compared to other brands.

[CAtoMA]

Originally Posted by eelnoraa

If you have two of the same brand, they communicate with each other and make sure a set max current won't be drawn at the same time.

Chargepoint, as one example, does not do this. Many do not.

I'm fine with my single charger but would not be okay with two chargers.

There's also the other amperage in the garage that would need to be balanced (treadmill being the worst offender).

The Span solution is looking really smart for future two-car households.

[eelnoraa]

Originally Posted by CAtoMA

Chargepoint, as one example, does not do this. Many do not.

I'm fine with my single charger but would not be okay with two chargers.

There's also the other amperage in the garage that would need to be balanced (treadmill being the worst offender).

The Span solution is looking really smart for future two-car households.

I have used JuiceBox and Wallbox, both allow charge sharing if pair with similar models. These two could be a good option. In fact I have a ChargePoint flex at home now, just never get time to switch. For single charger, I like ChargePoint better than JuiceBox and Wallbox.

As for garage load, maybe setup a charge time window where you don’t be using other devices, such as mid night or 1am to the next morning?

[jad03060]

There are also EVSEs with dual cords, so it knows what each vehicle is asking for, and adjusts its pilot signal to limit them so they can share the singular input power line. Clipper Creek has one, and I don't think they are alone. Each will get part of the capacity until one finishes, then it will shift the rest of the power to the remaining unit. One box, one power feed, simpler, less expensive option if you are power limited. https://store.clippercreek.com/featu...al-rugged-evse Those that are smart enough to 'talk' to each other and split the power usually are required to be the same brand to work together properly.

[nZtiZia]

Originally Posted by CAtoMA

Chargepoint, as one example, does not do this. Many do not.

I'm fine with my single charger but would not be okay with two chargers.

There's also the other amperage in the garage that would need to be balanced (treadmill being the worst offender).

The Span solution is looking really smart for future two-car households.

I have a two-EVSE (JuiceBox) load-sharing setup on a single 50A 240V circuit. mind you, our vehicles are a X5 45e and a 530e with each able to charge at max 16A each, so together they pull 32A when charging simultaneously.

if I had an X5 50e, the fastest it could charge is 24A if the 530e is also charging since the load-sharing program knows my circuit can only pull 40A max. I’m glad I went with JuiceBox for this feature, but truth be told, i initially got this brand because of the rebate incentive from my utility company. i only learned about its load-sharing feature after we got the 530e.

[Bhuvi]

I'm reading all of the above. My ? is if we are really looking at a hybrid vehicle with a smaller battery (compared to a full electric) do you really need to have the wallbox/chargeflex etc. Granted it seems better but isn't that setup significantly more expensive? My reason so far to get the adapter was it does the job fast - uses included equipment and therefore cost is less. Please correct me if I'm wrong (novice in the EV *******

[nZtiZia]

Originally Posted by Bhuvi

I'm reading all of the above. My ? is if we are really looking at a hybrid vehicle with a smaller battery (compared to a full electric) do you really need to have the wallbox/chargeflex etc. Granted it seems better but isn't that setup significantly more expensive? My reason so far to get the adapter was it does the job fast - uses included equipment and therefore cost is less. Please correct me if I'm wrong (novice in the EV *******

folks here that have recommended a wallbox are probably unaware of the difference between the EVSE that’s included with the 45e (level 1 only) versus the new EVSE included with the 50e (both level 1 and 2). for the 50e that comes with the flexible fast charger, while you may only need to purchase the adapter to charge at level 2, you still may need to upgrade or install a 240V circuit to support it as that level doesn’t work on 110/120V. if you have an existing 240V circuit or plan to share an existing one (such as a clothes dryer), then it’s only this scenario that would deem less expenses overall. that being said, even if one does incur additional costs, one may qualify for a federal tax credit of 30% of the cost on the installation of a charging station, EVSE included (up to $1000) thanks to the IRA

still, you may not need a level 2 if your use case doesn’t require it. note when plugged in to a common household 110/120V outlet, it will take ~24h to charge from 0-100%. on my 45e, I use 95% of the HV battery capacity every day, so the included EVSE is not fast enough to charge overnight which is why I added a 240V circuit and invested in a level 2 EVSE that takes 5-6h to charge from 0-100%. this way I’m guaranteed to have a fully charged battery every morning.

for U.S. vehicles:
level 1 = 110/120V
level 2 = 240V

[walketed]

You guys are the best!! Thanks for all the posts, I will probably invest in a L2 charger, I don't like the idea of having to wait so long for a full charge of a small battery. Either way will use the new charger in the future.

[nZtiZia]

Originally Posted by walketed

You guys are the best!! Thanks for all the posts, I will probably invest in a L2 charger, I don't like the idea of having to wait so long for a full charge of a small battery. Either way will use the new charger in the future.

with the 50e flexible fast charger, you won’t need to invest in a separate level 2 EVSE because it can charge at that level; you’ll just need to buy the adapter, but you may incur additional costs for installation of a 240V circuit if your situation warrants

for U.S. vehicles:
level 1 = 110/120V
level 2 = 240V

[Elle BMW]

I have an I4 and a hard wired charger, I will be able to use that to charge this vehicle correct?

[spreddybmw]

Originally Posted by nZtiZia

with the 50e flexible fast charger, you won’t need to invest in a separate level 2 EVSE because it can charge at that level; you’ll just need to buy the adapter, but you may incur additional costs for installation of a 240V circuit if your situation warrants

for U.S. vehicles:
level 1 = 110/120V
level 2 = 240V

Can you please advise what is that Adapter.