Best EV Charger in 2025 - Wallbox Pulsar Max

Join me as I share why this may just be the ideal EV charge point for you.
The Wallbox Pulsar Max can do anything that you may want from your charger.
Supplied by wallbox.com/en...
Installed by www.echargeins...
Wallbox sent me this unit for free but they did not pay me any cash to say anything, they gave no suggestions, direction or have any editorial control.
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My system :
Sunsynk 8.8kW Inverter
Longi HiMo 6 430w Panels x 22
16 on NW aspect and 6 on SE aspect
No battery storage
MG5 EV
Vaillant Arotherm Plus 7kW Heat Pump
200L UniStor Cylinder
45L Buffer tank
140sqM Detached 1997 built house
10mm copper microbore pipework downstairs
Installed by British Gas

[@edwardpickering9006]

The best bit of advice in this video is to make sure the connectors on the cable are covered when not in use. They can rust and also short out if they get wet. Loads of people don't realise this... I'm a MyEnergi fan personally as its all Uk designed and made, but it will be interesting to see what their V2G/H options look like - hopefully in 2025!!!

[@UpsideDownFork]

I think we're all waiting eagerly on more V2X details!

[@rugbygirlsdadg]

I've installed mine inside my garage close to the door and run the cable under the garage door when I'm charging - no problem with exposure to the elements or vandalism. I've read that in hot countries (Australia for example), chargers in direct sunlight can overheat and reduce charging speed....

[@andyj2106]

When I used the holster for my connector, a bee found it pretty much immediately and filled the "hollow" tubes with wax and pollen. I didn't know what it was at the time - I assumed the installer had dropped it in some gunk or something - so I cleared it out and when my car arrived 3 weeks later found it completely full again! I had to buy one of those rubber caps and not use the holster.

[@edwyncorteen1527]

I'll be sticking with my Zappi, also fully Intelligent Octopus compatible and designed from day 1 to use surplus solar, has a button on it to release the charge cable and it is made in Grimsby!

[@UpsideDownFork]

No point changing from an existing Zappi unless you can get some more functionality like V2G for example.

[@adunford2664]

Thanks for the video. I’m interested in EVs but unclear on chargers etc. Good to see a real installation and explanation.

[@UpsideDownFork]

Glad it was helpful!

[@BillsCountrysideAdventures]

What a great spark, really appreciate his time to tell everyone everything. One thing I really desperately need is to v2h, my electrical bills are stupidly expensive.

[@UpsideDownFork]

Yes, he was great!

[@johnmason4234]

Had a Wallbox installed in 2021 and on the whole a solid charger for the money. Think in that whole time it crashed twice and needed switching off/on again. The main annoyance with the product design is the cable which wraps round the unit and has a tendency to ping off unless you get the coils just right. The plug holder is also cheap and nasty plastic. But again you get what you pay for.

[@UpsideDownFork]

Thanks for sharing your experience!

[@TJames]

"A great design.." when "people just yank it" and it breaks? Reminds me of the old iPhone that users were "holding wrong" when it lost signal. Great design is adapted for people, not one people have to adapt to.

[@UpsideDownFork]

Fair point. So far I like the way it works and the way the cable sits more flush to the wall than most of the other holsters.

[@TJames]

​@@UpsideDownForkFair enough. I just hope they put a clear "How to" sticker on the holder and put more R&D into the next iteration. Great Channel, BTW - pro-progress without the uneeasoned evangelism of some of the others.

[@UpsideDownFork]

@@TJames Thank you. If I come back here in a few months with my tail between my legs because we've broken it. I'll be sure to let you know! Wallbox are taking this feedback on board and have always had an iterative approach to their development so i'm sure they will figure out a further improved design sooner or later.

[@geoffreycoan]

You probably will want to turn the solar charging off if you’re going to IOG. Charge your EV overnight on the cheap rate and let all the solar get exported at 15p Looks a nice charger

[@UpsideDownFork]

That's what we do but nice to have the function in case tariffs change in the future.

[@TheRonskiman]

Nice. I have arranged for a Zappi to be installed, I wanted something with a hard wired network connection, and good Home Assistant integration along with IOG. I see the Wallbox has HA integration, but only wifi or 4G. It is significantly cheaper than a Zappi though.

[@UpsideDownFork]

Thanks for raising that point! Fortunately for me, I have a strong wi-fi signal in that location. Others could use wi-fi extenders or look at charge points for hard wiring.

[@rugbygirlsdadg]

A significant number of installers aren't aware of WiFi limitations. The other advantage of the Zappi and similar wall boxes is that I can control the Zappi without any external connections because of the built in screen. Where wall boxes don't have a screen and control buttons and can only be controlled via WiFi or GSM, if your WiFi / mobile signal goes down, you can no longer control the box. To an extent this also future proofs the box against changes over which you no longer have control (G3 being pulled for example)

[@UpsideDownFork]

@@rugbygirlsdadg That's definitely a plus point of the wallbox having bluetooth as a redundancy feature. My installer was very aware of this having had several homeowners who specified the wallbox mainly for this feature.

[@Sean_S1000]

The simple latching of the wall plug is a good idea, for people who dont think and will just pull without trying to figure it out definitely needs instructions from the installers or maybe an ecthed infographic might be a good idea.

[@UpsideDownFork]

Yes, good point 👍

[@chrisswallow3734]

That plug parking port looks really Naff. ALso is ther a boost now button on the device? I think the Zappi is a much better bet.

[@UpsideDownFork]

Thanks for commenting. No boost now button on the device. Can't say I've ever felt the need to have that function but maybe for some people that would be helpful.

[@davidcoates6768]

Looks like a nice box, I thought it was only agile compatible, didn't know it could do intelligent also. It'd be nice if it went purple / pink when octopus was controlling it, maybe one colour once charge timer set, then the other when actually charging.

[@UpsideDownFork]

That's a good idea! 👍

[@alanc1406]

Will wallbox utilize 100% of excess solar or will it leave a minimum excess which goes back to the grid ie 200watts ?

[@UpsideDownFork]

It has two settings. One that seems to use all of the excess but I'm not sure how responsive that can be in reality. I'm sure it will never be able to perfectly track with the solar export. The other option leaves a 1.4kW buffer if I'm reading it correctly.

[@TinTentTourist]

Good info thanks. My Zoe is not suitable for intelligent, but I have another issue. If I start a charge and then stop it at some point, it will not resume without the car being unlocked and relocked or the cable taking out and put back in (! I know ). So if Intelligent want to charge my car, will it do it on one go or try and spread it out over a longer period. I don't mind leaving it plugged in, but if they chuck an hour at it in the afternoon, it will not then charge overnight! Unless I'm doing something wrong?

[@malcolmfowler8972]

Seems strange? I've got a Zoe which charges fine on Intelligent Octopus

[@TinTentTourist]

@@malcolmfowler8972 Mine is 2020, GT line ZE50 52kwh with CCS, but is not a named octopus car, and I don't yet have a 7KW charge point fitted... do the newer ones get included or was it your charge point? *** I stand corrected, I have just checked Octopus again and it now is included. - thanks for the heads up.***

[@UpsideDownFork]

This was the exact issue we had with our MG5 on our previous charge point and we had to unplug and reconnect the car for the charging to continue. Fortunately this is not the case with the Wallbox Pulsar Max. It stops and starts as it likes and we don't have to intervene.

[@M0j0]

I've had this model for 16 months and can confirm it's amazing 👍. I valued the fact it didn't need a sim card to communicate as the end user could potentially have to foot the bill for that one day if t&c's change! Best not to press bump charge and wait for octopus to start it as that could cancel the 7p rate..they usually just crack on with it within a minute or so anyway. Until the bi directional chargers come along this is the best on the market in my humble opinion :) 👌

[@UpsideDownFork]

Thanks for sharing!

[@TheRonskiman]

On the subject of excess solar, as long as you can export it and get paid for it more than off peak import it makes sense to do that. Can you set an export threshold where it will start charging, so once you reach your export limit it sends the excess to the car?

[@UpsideDownFork]

A good plan for those with G98/G100 limits. I can't find any settings in the app to allow it to function that way. The only option seems to be to allow it to charge from any solar excess or to wait until it is exporting more than 1.4kW then begin charging.

[@rugbygirlsdadg]

With the Zappi, you can set an export margin. That's exactly what I've done with it. The Bluetooth would be useful.

[@Lewis_Standing]

If this was a free charger its considered payment in kind and you should declare it as a sponsored post Not that it particularly affects what you say or my trust in you as that's my charger too and i know it's good but good for clarity especially as your channel grows

[@M0j0]

True.. I think it can be added in video title and/o the vid discription. YT can have a huff n a puff about it...

[@kolifx]

Agreed, something like that should be disclosed in the video.

[@UpsideDownFork]

Thanks for raising this. Sorry if I wasn't explicit enough about it when I said that Wallbox sent me the item. There is a box that we tick when uploading the video so you should have seen a little pop up box in the top left hand corner telling you that this contains some form of paid promotion. Yes, Wallbox sent me this unit for free but they did not pay me any cash to say anything, they gave no suggestions, direction or have any editorial control. They know that I plan to personally test several charge points over the coming year or two to form an opinion on the best charge point based on my real world home testing. So far they are in the lead of my small sample of 3.

[@trailblazer7108]

Why is this better than Hypervolt?

[@UpsideDownFork]

Objectively it offers the same functionality in a smaller form factor and at a cheaper price? Subjectively? Well you decide that one.

[@danielbarton1694]

I wish you had brought this video out 6 months ago, I would have bought the Wallbox charger instead of the GivEnergy EV charger. I’m still waiting for it to be made compatible with Intelligent Octopus Go - very disappointing!

[@UpsideDownFork]

I wish Wallbox had sent this to me 6 months ago. It's truly been a pleasure to use from day 1.

[@SimonPerkins-j8r]

I am also still waiting for givenergy to integrate with Octopus as my batteries are givenergy it seemed to make sense to go with them and have it all on the same app.

[@rtfazeberdee3519]

Maybe i missed it but can you pair the box to the car so no-one else can plug in and charge rather than having to lock it.

[@UpsideDownFork]

That is not possible with this charge point. I'm not sure any of the competition offer this either?

[@rtfazeberdee3519]

@@UpsideDownFork I don't know either, just thought it would be a better solution to locking/unlocking.

[@UpsideDownFork]

@@rtfazeberdee3519 In my location it's not an issue but i'm sure this could be a significant consideration in some locations!

[@jonjo6886]

Going electric! Just now, in UK over 75% of our electricity was either from gas or imported. I'm on Agile and have had to ditch the heat pump. Obviously the price of electricity must be linked to emissions. Pipeline gas is as good as it gets...... and what do we hear? A ban on North Sea gas! So what will happen, I expect the country will have to import LNG which has an horrific LCA.

[@UpsideDownFork]

There's no point taking a snapshot at the worst time. Take a look at the average over the last year. Even if the grid was 100% CCG, a heat pump would still produce lower emissions overall than a gas boiler.

[@JamesEdwards860]

In relation to the intro about brand names, I’ve never heard someone refer to their ev charger as a “wall box” 🤔 majority of the time it’s incorrectly referred to (including in your title) as a charger, which is actually located inside the car.

[@UpsideDownFork]

That's interesting. Thanks for sharing.

[@kelechin8656]

what happened to the Hydra Cubus EV charger you installed earlier?

[@Lewis_Standing]

Sounds like he got this for free as a sponsored post. Perhaps he will resell it or is giving it to friends or family

[@UpsideDownFork]

It's in the garage, awaiting the next chapter.

[@bigup7777]

Seems like a goods charger, with what seems to also have built in PEN Fault detection, but why this over say a Hypervolt Home 3?, price is also better on this! also props to the engineer! seems knowledgeable in this field and attention to detail for the install was good. You should put his details on here too.

[@UpsideDownFork]

This charge point was installed by www.echargeinstall.co.uk/ The hypervolt is more expensive and larger. I guess it depends what you want from your charge point.

[@stephen_syddallskycom]

that's the charger that i had installed.

[@UpsideDownFork]

Good choice!

[@OraEtLabora0]

7:14 no need to blur S/N, nor your email? 🤔

[@UpsideDownFork]

Thank you!

[@OraEtLabora0]

@@UpsideDownFork sht, should have noted 🤦‍♂

[@andrewfinlay8259]

NO wireless CT clamp, no purchase from me. End of. Note to charger companies, you realise its a more or less one horse race for end users, zappi (which is a lot uglier), so come on, make some more with wireless. I like many millions have nice houses that do nto want ugly as hell cables/ ducting on the outside. (yes i have electrical cables already routed in walls, not data rj45, and am more doing more)

[@UpsideDownFork]

@@andrewfinlay8259 that's understandable.

[@yellownev]

+1 for the need for wireless CT, just seems to rule out a lot of installs where the consumer unit is remote from the charger. A nice video and as others have said a spark who seems to know his stuff. Thanks for the content

[@UpsideDownFork]

@@yellownev there are now single armoured cables that contain both power and data cables necessary for a charge point installation so an electrician only needs run one cable from the consumer unit to the charge point. Search for SOTA electrical on KZbin if you would like to see this cable in action.

[@yellownev]

@@UpsideDownForkthanks for the reply and a good point. I watch artisan electrics and they use Doncaster cables. I’ve a Zappi that uses the Harvi’s they work but I’d always prefer a hard wired ct connection. My batteries are remote from the charger which is remote from the consumer unit, shame I wasn’t offered ( if it was even available ) the new Swa cables with data included. Thanks again for the content

[@stephenamos7445]

Sellotape

[@UpsideDownFork]

Great stuff 👍

[@harveyschofield4619]

Jiffy bag