BMW i3 Electric Car Charging At Home - BMW Wallbox Essential versus the Standard Cable

Join me as I find out what can go wrong when charging an electric BMW i3 94Ah at home for the first time using the charging cable included with the car, and what I have to change at my house in order to charge the car in the fastest possible time, as well as be able to have pizza for lunch. Watch and find out!
Subscribe! / @stevenbtuner
Here is a breakdown of the chapters in this video:
0:00 BMW Electric Car Charging At Home - Overview
0:40 First Charging Attempt
1:31 What Went Wrong?
2:09 How Much Power Does A BMW i3 Want?
3:13 Home Charging Times
4:14 Home Wiring Upgrades
6:42 The Final Solution
7:13 The BMW Wallbox Essential
6:42 The Cost of the Upgrades in $US
#BMW #BMWElectric #BMWDIY
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[@itsSmaxy]

When I thought you couldn't make a better video, you upload this! Damn Steven this is so good! :D Keep it up!

[@StevenBTuner]

Thanks for all the kind comments - more videos to come soon!

[@thegrimreaper8843]

Good video Steven, and good quality, effort etc.

[@StevenBTuner]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@michaelroberson7055]

Very nice summary. Thank you.

[@StevenBTuner]

Welcome!

[@Kermit26297]

Very informative. You had to do much more than we did to get a Level 2 EVSE installed (we live in the U.S.). Fortunately, my next door neighbor is an electrician and an EV enthusiast. He helped me install 6 gauge wiring from the breaker box (50 Amp) to the garage, then connect it to a NEMA 14-50 outlet. I bought a 40 Amp EVSE. More than the i3 needs but wanted to future-proof for other EVs. We don’t ever plan to buy ICE again. :)

[@StevenBTuner]

Hi, thanks for watching! Yes, my 40 year old breaker box was never going to handle any upgrade very well, especially not an electric car, and then I made an additional problem by parking the car a long way from the house - but the most annoying part I suppose was the expensive upgrade by the power supplier. Having an electrician as your next door neighbor helps a lot! :-) Just so I understand correctly, you have ended up with 9.6kW of power at your charger - which more than the what a US spec BMW Wallbox Essential could do. Sounds like you have a good setup.

[@robertbright8741]

@@StevenBTuner I had no idea if I have 9.6 kW of power (remember it's my friend who's the electrician, not me lol) but I found the calculation to figure it out and yes, you are correct. Thanks for teaching me something else. :)

[@StevenBTuner]

@@robertbright8741 :-) The main thing is that you have enough power to charge your i3 in a reasonable time, so that you can use it when you want to!

[@ameba6151]

Looking forward to more i3 related videos. I’m looking into owning an i3 in Denmark. Would be grate with a video about pros and cons of having it in Denmark.

[@StevenBTuner]

Hi, the only 'con' is that people are switching to electric cars much quicker than fast chargers are being installed - it is a problem worldwide, not just in Denmark. Of course this is not an issue if you only drive in the range of your battery.

[@orangeman3343]

Learned where to put the charge connector cover(s) today. Thanks for that. I've been leaving the top one dangling, after unsuccessfully trying to clip it onto the flap somehow. Didn't think to simply place the rubber tether over the cllp/hook thing on the flap, probably as on other cars the fuel filler cap tether has always broken easily & on some cars the cap can be placed in a holder on the flap.

[@StevenBTuner]

Hi, thanks for watching and I'm glad the vid helped you out! I think that a better / more intuitive setup could probably be designed.

[@mantasstraukas4597]

Really good chanel👍

[@StevenBTuner]

Thanks!

[@StevenBTuner]

Who else had trouble charging their electric car at home or has had a very different experience? I'd love to hear about it! Here is a breakdown of the chapters in this video: 0:00 BMW i3 Charging At Home - Overview 0:40 BMW i3 Charging At Home - First Charging Attempt 1:31 BMW i3 Charging At Home - What Went Wrong? 2:09 BMW i3 Charging At Home - How Much Power Does A BMW i3 Want? 3:13 BMW i3 Charging At Home - Home Charging Times 4:14 BMW i3 Charging At Home - Home Wiring Upgrades 6:42 BMW i3 Charging At Home - The Final Solution 7:13 BMW i3 Charging At Home - The BMW Wallbox Essential 6:42 BMW i3 Charging At Home - The Cost of the Upgrades in $US

[@ronedwards8239]

Installed a Wallbox 40 amp charger. The BMW CE 04 will not charge and goes into fault. The new EV charges perfectly. The wiring is new 6 GA and has no faults. I also tried the Charger that came with the car on the BMW. It will not charge at level II. Only works on commercial public charges.

[@StevenBTuner]

Hi, those kinds of problems are not much fun to figure out! I don't know how fussy the wallbox is when it comes to voltage drop, but it may have an issue with a 2 or 3% voltage drop if you have a long cable run. This is something that your electrician should be able to test with a dummy 40A load. There is always the chance that the box or the car has a fault as well, and the car should record a DTC trouble code to help. All the best in getting to the bottom of the issue!

[@borkophil6948]

Does it work with any other EV car brand or it must be BMW only?

[@StevenBTuner]

Hi, thanks for watching! It is a standard type 2 CCS charger, so it should work with other cars too.

[@damiangrabowski2104]

Where you live Steven?

[@StevenBTuner]

Hi, I am in snowy Denmark.

[@DiscoFang]

I see your problem... 150C is not hot enough to cook ( or reheat) pizza properly!

[@StevenBTuner]

Very true! :-)