PROS: Fast charging speeds, great design, easy to use.
CONS: No connectivity, no charge timer, slightly shorter cable.
| Product | Amp rating | Level | Cable Length | Nema | Power | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Amazon Basics – Level 2 EV Charging Station (32 Amp) | 32 Amp | Level 2 | 18 Feet (5.4M) & 25 Feet (7.6M) | NEMA 6-50 | 7.2 kW | Click for more info |
Amazon Basics – Level 2 EV Charging Station (32 Amp) Specifications
| Amp rating | 32 Amp |
|---|---|
| Level | Level 2 |
| Type | EV Charging Station |
| Cable Length | 18 Feet (5.4M) & 25 Feet (7.6M) |
| Nema | NEMA 6-50 |
| Power | 7.2 kW |
| Voltage | 240V |
| Connector | J1772 |
| Connectivity | None |
| IP Rating | IK10 |
| Display | 1 LED Light |
| Warranty | 1-Year Limited Warranty |
| Features | Charges up to 6X faster than a standard wall outlet, Home and residential station, Award-winning slim and stylish design, made of durable PC material, impact resistant, water/dust protection |
| What’s in the box | Screws x4 (for wooden walls), charging connector, power-plug, main unit, locking tab, mountain bracket |
| Weight | 11.68 lbs (5.23 kg) |
| Features | Tethered, Alexa & Google Home, Charge Scheduling |
Amazon Basics – Level 2 EV Charging Station (32 Amp) Charging specifications
Now this is an interesting one, Amazon’s own EV Charger. The Amazon Basics Level 2 EV Charging Station is a 32-Amp charger that works at a 240V voltage. It was built to do the same as any product from their Basics line, work flawlessly and have a minimal design.
This device can output at a 7.2 kW charging rate. Those are fast charging speeds by any standards even for a Level 2 home electric vehicle charging station.
Here are some estimates that we can put out for the charging times for different Electric Cars: If you are the proud EV owner of a Hyundai Kona, you’ll be happy to know that it will charge in just 9 hours and that number also applies to a Kia Niro and the Mustang Mach-E or a Tesla Model 3 Long Range.
A standard Model 3 will charge in 6.5 hours and so will the VW ID.4 Pure, the ID.3 Pure and the Renault Zoe. An Audi e-Tron SUV will take longer because of its 95 kWH battery pack. These are numbers for EVs but the Plug-In hybrids charge even faster because of their small battery packs.
Amazon Basics – Level 2 EV Charging Station (32 Amp) Cable types and connectors
Now this being a charging station, you will need to mount it on a wall in your garage, but it shouldn’t be too hard to have the charger installed on a wall, either by you or an electrician. It is also good to know that the EV charging cable is tethered to it, so you can’t disconnect it and replace it with another. This is standard practice for home EV chargers in North America. The cable is normally 18 feet long but if you live in the UK, there is also a version on Amazon UK that has a 25 foot cable.
On one end, it uses a J1772 connector which is standard for all the vehicles in the US with a charge port and that includes Tesla vehicles because they now come with an adapter to charge your car with an SAE J1772 but on the other end, things get more specific because this charger needs to plug into a NEMA 6-50 wall socket since it needs to draw out a lot of power.
In general, the Amazon charger has really good customer satisfaction numbers, apart from the shorter cord, people seem to be happy with it.
Amazon Basics – Level 2 EV Charging Station (32 Amp) Features
Even though this is an Amazon product, this is not a smart charger and so it doesn’ come with Alexa integration. Actually you don’t really interact with it at all. Usually chargers have 2 basic charging features: Adjust the amperage or set a charging timer.
This doesn’t have either of them, but you’ll be happy to know that most electric vehicles have the scheduled charging feature installed and so you can set it up from the car to only draw electric energy when the off-peak electricity prices are available and that way you can add more miles of range at a reduced charging cost.
This electric vehicle charging station is IK10 rated and at this point you’ll be asking: What is that? IK10 means impact resistance and that means it can withstand a direct impact with 5kg of mass. Now I would understand the necessity for this with portable electric vehicle chargers, however for a home charger and wall chargers in general that are mounted on the wall I do not understand why they would need the impact resistance.
In the box you should get everything you need to mount it on the wall including screws, locking tab and mountain bracket. The charger itself is actually much lighter than other electric car chargers weighing 11.68 lbs (Almost 2 lbs less than the average). It’s also good to know that this product comes with a 1-Year Limited Warranty.
