PROS: Extremely high customer ratings (4.9/5), Works with 110V an 240V sockets.
CONS: No connectivity, charge scheduling or LCD display.
| Product | Amp rating | Level | Cable Length | Nema | Power | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Schumacher – Level 1-2 Portable EV Charger (16 Amp) | 16 Amp | Level 1 & Level 2 | 28 Feet (8.5 M) | NEMA 5-15 & NEMA 6-20 | 3.84 kW | Click for more info |
Schumacher – Level 1-2 Portable EV Charger (16 Amp) Specifications
| Amp rating | 16 Amp |
|---|---|
| Level | Level 1 & Level 2 |
| Type | Portable EV Charger |
| Cable Length | 28 Feet (8.5 M) |
| Nema | NEMA 5-15 & NEMA 6-20 |
| Power | 3.84 kW |
| Voltage | 120 – 240V |
| Connector | J1772 |
| Connectivity | None |
| IP Rating | IP55 |
| Display | 4 LED Lights |
| Warranty | 1-Year Limited Warranty |
| Features | Comfort grip handle, with a rubber cover on top to help keep out water and dirt, Smart Design, Reliable Power, Versatile Charging, 3x Faster Charging |
| What’s in the box | Charging Station, Portable Charger, Plug, Connector |
| Weight | 7.44 lbs (3.3 kg) |
| Features | Tethered, Alexa & Google Home, Charge Scheduling |
Schumacher – Level 1-2 Portable EV Charger (16 Amp) Charging specifications
The Schumacher EV Charger has a very recognizable name however it is not in any way linked to the race car driver as far as we can tell (Company was founded in 1947). Now, to the important stuff, the SC1455 is a Level 1 & 2 Portable Electric Vehicle Charger.
This can be plugged into a 110V (Level 1 – Slow Charging Rate) and a 240V power supply (Level 2 – Fast Charging Rate).
Now a representative from Schumacher mentioned in a video that the charger will add about 12 miles of range to your car when running at full Level 2 capacity.
Now given that this Compact Home EV Charging Cable has a rated power of 3.84 kW, our estimations for fully charging EVs up to 100% are as follows: 13 hours to charge a standard 50 kWH Tesla Model 3, 18.5 hours for a Tesla Model Y, 13 hours to charge a VW ID.3, ID.4 or Renaul Zoe and finally 17 hours for a Kia Niro and a Hyundai Kona.
DISCLAIMER: These are just estimated based on the charging power, battery capacity offered by those EVs at the time of writing and the maximum power that their charge port can take.
Schumacher – Level 1-2 Portable EV Charger (16 Amp) Cable types and connectors
It uses a universal SAE J1772 connector which will work on all the Electric Cars in North America, including the Tesla models which now come with an adapter.
Now let’s look at the other end of that cable, the one that plugs into the wall socket. The wall connector can be a NEMA 5-15 running at a 120V Voltage or a NEMA 6-20 socket running at 240V.
As you may guess, this is a tethered charger which has a cable that is permanently attached to it, it can’t be disconnected and replaced. However, the cable is pretty long because it actually measures 28 feet (8.5 Meters).
In terms of how happy its users are and reliability, this charger has proved to be excellent because people have stated that they are really satisfied with the fact that the power is exactly as much as is stated in the specs, it easily connects and seems to do everything that it states whether their car is a Chevy Volt, Prius Prime or Volvo XC90.
Schumacher – Level 1-2 Portable EV Charger (16 Amp) Features
The Schumacher SC1455 does not have any kind of special charging features, this is not a smart charger. You don’t get a smartphone app or Alexa integration. There is no scheduled charging either so you’ll have to make sure your EV has that function built-in so that you can reduce your charging cost and charge your car using off-peak electricity at night.
It uses your basic Duosida control box with 4 LED lights to indicate the charging status, whether the car is connected, if the charger is getting electric energy from the wall charger and if there is a fault.
It has no LCD display and no buttons to set the charging time. The only features that it has are in the form of circuit breakers for overcurrent and overvoltage protection.
Even though they only list it on the packaging for some reason, this is an IP55-rated charger, which is a bit lower than what you would get for its price, usually you get at least an IP65.
It would be good to know that Schumacher offers a 1-Year Limited Warranty when you buy this device, on par with what you get in this price range and they don’t send a carrying case with it.
