J+ Booster 2 Level 1 & 2 Charger

[boggle]

Currently on sale on Amazon for ~$425, anybody have experience with it? No affiliated in any way, genuinely curious.

Seems like a quality product, had it on a camelcamelcamel price watch for a while after Tom's review and it finally popped today. Skipped out on the Ford supplied charger for $500, but I still need something mixed voltage for use this winter. This is actually UL listed and seems like a better choice for around the same money until the NACS adapters are available next year and we can hopefully use the Tesla mobile connector without having to buy a Tesla tap.

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[petemill]

The Tesla adapters available next year will likely be DC only. Perhaps they'll be auto-switching between DC and AC but probably not IMO.

 

[Amps]

Currently on sale on Amazon for ~$425, anybody have experience with it? No affiliated in any way, genuinely curious.

Seems like a quality product, had it on a camelcamelcamel price watch for a while after Tom's review and it finally popped today. Skipped out on the Ford supplied charger for $500, but I still need something mixed voltage for use this winter. This is actually UL listed and seems like a better choice for around the same money until the NACS adapters are available next year and we can hopefully use the Tesla mobile connector without having to buy a Tesla tap.

It's tough. Everything I've ever seen about it is high quality.

 

[boggle]

The Tesla adapters available next year will likely be DC only. Perhaps they'll be auto-switching between DC and AC but probably not IMO.

Sadly seems even more likely now that the universal wall charger is available. I asked Tesla support if they ever plan to sell the latched NACS to J1772 adapters separately for current NACS HPWC or mobile connector owners and was told no, and that the J1772 only version is to be obsoleted.

 

[Fastnf]

I have one and it is very well made. Mine says it was made in Switzerland so the it shoud be a lot better than the non-ul listed cheap ones. I use it as my travel charger. I have a GE durostation that works really well but they are no longer made. I have that mounted in my car port

 

[Pioneer74]

Nice little unit. But for that price, all the adaptors should be included.

 

[boggle]

I have one and it is very well made. Mine says it was made in Switzerland so the it shoud be a lot better than the non-ul listed cheap ones. I use it as my travel charger. I have a GE durostation that works really well but they are no longer made. I have that mounted in my car port

Thanks for the input. Plan to use this strictly for travel as well, already have a Chargepoint in the garage. Frankly don't feel comfortable plugging into a buddies places without a UL listed unit.

Nice little unit. But for that price, all the adaptors should be included.

Agreed. $80 for each of the different adapters is steep, if I needed anything outside the NEMA 5-15 I'd probably just get the Tesla mobile connector with a Tesla Tap for marginally more. Plan to use mine overnight out in the snow for snowmobile/ice fishing trips so we'll see how its ruggedness fares in the elements.

 

[djwildstar]

I bought a J+ Booster2 (the 25' version) when I got my truck -- overall my experience with it has been great. It came with a 5-15 and 14-50 adapters, and I ordered the 6-20 adapter. I used the 5-15 adapter for Level 1 charging on a road trip, and the 6-20 adapter to do Level 2 charging from my shop until I got the Charge Station Pro installed.

Overall, I like the J+ Booster2 a lot, and with the price drop I would recommend it to anyone.

Compared to the Ford Mobile Power Cord, the J+ Booster2 provides considerably more charging power when connected to a 14-50 plug (40A for 9.6kW) than the Ford unit (30A for 7.2kW). Since you can adjust the current draw, you can also use the J+ Booster2 with 40A circuits (charging at 32A for 7.68kW) or a 30A circuits (charging at 24A for 5.76kW). Both the Ford and J+ Booster2 units are rated IP67, so they are fine for outdoor use regardless of weather.

Compared to the Tesla Mobile Connector, the J+ Booster2 provides slightly more charging power (40A for 9.6kW) than the Tesla unit (32A for 7.68kw). The J+Booster2 is also IP67 waterproof so there are no issues with charging outside regardless of the weather. The Tesla Mobile Connector is NEMA 4X, which provides protection from splashing water and water hose spray, but is not waterproof or weatherproof (the manual specifically says that it should be used in "severe rain, snow, electrical storm, or other increment weather"). I wanted a mobile EVSE where I didn't have to worry about the weather. Tesla has more plug adapters available than the J+ Booster2 does, but doesn't have adjustable current settings (because Tesla vehicles let you set charging current from the vehicle's screen).

Compared to most other mobile EVSE, one of the key features of the J+ Booster2 is that you can manually adjust the charging current using the buttons on the unit. The plug adapter sets the maximum charging current but you can manually set a lower current. This lets you safely use lower-current plugs via cheap RV/EV adapters (such as a 14-30 to 14-50) as needed. This is important because (unlike a lot of other EVs) the F-150 Lightning doesn't allow you to limit charging current from the truck's screen or the FordPass app -- the Lighting will always draw as much current as the EVSE says is available, up to its maximum charge acceptance rate.

Finally, the F-150 Lightning seems to have a maximum Level 1 charge acceptance rate of 10A (1.2kW), so there's little point in the NEMA 5-20 adapter. A 5-15 plug (which is included with the charger) will fit in a 5-20 socket, and the Lightning charges at the same speed regardless of the Level 1 power available. There's some utility to the TT-30 plug adapter if you regularly stop at campgrounds that have TT-30 but not 14-30 or 14-50 plugs available. The Lightning won't charge any faster, but at least you can plug into the TT-30 socket without carrying yet another plug adapter.

 

[djwildstar]

[When] the NACS adapters are available next year and we can hopefully use the Tesla mobile connector without having to buy a Tesla tap.

I expect that J1772/CCS trucks will always have to carry two adapters for full Tesla/NACS compatibility. The issue is that the Tesla/NACS connector uses the same pins for both AC and DC charging, while the CCS connector has different pins to carry AC versus DC charging current.

The existing TeslaTap and similar adapters connect the Tesla/NACS charging pins to the J1772 AC-only pins, leaving the CCS DC-only pins disconnected. This makes for a simple and robust adapter, since there's no need for any active components (logic chips, contactors, etc.) in the adapter. This keeps the price reasonable, in the $100-$400 range depending on form factor and specifications.

I expect that the forthcoming NACS adapters will be designed similarly, connecting the Tesla/NACS charging pins to the DC-only CCS pins, leaving the AC-only J1772 pins disconnected. I'm not sure if there will be a need for an active component in these adapters, such as a chip to translate between the CCS and SuperCharger protocols. Again, I'd expect the price for this to be in the $100 to $400 range, possibly less if the automaker subsidizes some of the cost for existing vehicle owners.

While it is possible to design a single universal adapter, it would be expensive and bulky: it would need to contain a logic chip and a contactor (relay). The adapter would need to listen in to the conversation between the vehicle and charger, determine if the charging session would be AC or DC, and then engage the contactor to connect the NACS power pins to the correct J1772 or CCS pins). This kind of adapter would be at least $800, and possibly well over $1000.

 

[boggle]

I expect that J1772/CCS trucks will always have to carry two adapters for full Tesla/NACS compatibility.

I'd be fine with separate adapters for AC/DCFC, I just wish Tesla would natively offer something for their AC chargers in the short term to compete with Tesla Tap. I imagine once the Superchargers open up the destination chargers will probably become a lot less popular and demand for adapters will fall, but they're still useful in some situations. They've already shown they can with the new universal wall charger, they're just not currently incentivized to attract more non-Teslas to their network. They won't even offer a viable upgrade path for current NACS HPWC owners.

 

[djwildstar]

I just wish Tesla would natively offer something for their AC chargers in the short term to compete with Tesla Tap. I imagine once the Superchargers open up the destination chargers will probably become a lot less popular.

I think from Tesla's point of view, a NACS-to-J1772 adapter would involve development and certification costs -- but it isn't useful to current or future Tesla vehicle owners, nor does it incentivize non-Tesla-owners to purchase a Tesla as their next vehicle. So ultimately such an adapter would be all costs and no benefits for Tesla.

If you have a Tesla High-Power Wall Connector, your best bets are:

• If you no longer have any Tesla vehicles, have an electrician come out and swap the HPWC for the Ford Charge Station Pro that's included with ER trucks. The FCSP can use the same circuit and same breaker as the HPWC to deliver the same charging power.
• If you now have a mixture of Tesla and J1772 vehicles, replace the HPWC with two (or more) Tesla Universal Wall Connectors in a power-sharing network. While the individual UWCs can't deliver the maximum charging power of the HPWC, in a power-sharing network they can distribute that combined charging power across multiple vehicles.

If you have a short-term need (for example, to charge your Lightning while waiting for an electrician to come out and implement the long-term solution), then a third-party adapter is your best bet. The TeslaTap Mini 80A is needed to handle the power output of your HPWC.

I carry a TeslaTap Mini 80A on my truck -- I've found that Tesla destination chargers at hotels often provide more charging power and are more likely to be available (because there are typically more chargers) than J1772 plugs. I prefer not to depend on adapters for routine charging, so my home charging solution is a FCSP, and my mobile charging solution is the J+ Booster2.

 

[mklcolvin]

It's tough. Everything I've ever seen about it is high quality.

We have one of these as a backup for the Lightning & my wifes Ioniq 6. The first one would not charge at all, flashing error lights. The company's support was awesome & shipped us a new one (with a longer cable!) nearly overnight! Never had a problem with it since.

 

[NCMike]

If you have a Tesla High-Power Wall Connector, your best bets are:

• If you no longer have any Tesla vehicles, have an electrician come out and swap the HPWC for the Ford Charge Station Pro that's included with ER trucks. The FCSP can use the same circuit and same breaker as the HPWC to deliver the same charging power.
• If you now have a mixture of Tesla and J1772 vehicles, replace the HPWC with two (or more) Tesla Universal Wall Connectors in a power-sharing network. While the individual UWCs can't deliver the maximum charging power of the HPWC, in a power-sharing network they can distribute that combined charging power across multiple vehicles.

I just wanted to comment that I very much disagree that a Tesla HPWC should ever be replaced with a Ford Charge Station Pro. The CCS connector on it is a deal breaker. If the EV industry does what it says its going to do then CCS will be phased out long before your current charger will need to be replaced. The simple answer is just by an 80 amp Teslatap and sell the Ford Charge Station Pro. You will be able to charge any car you buy for many many years to come with that setup. If you install a charge station pro, you can only charge CCS cars without hacking up the connector. You cant charge any PHEVs that are only J1772, or any Tesla's or future non Tesla NACS cars.

I sold my Ford Charge Station Pro and bought an 80amp Tesla charger and use a Teslatap Mini to charge my truck at the full 80amps. Works great!

 

[djwildstar]

I just wanted to comment that I very much disagree that a Tesla HPWC should ever be replaced with a Ford Charge Station Pro. The CCS connector on it is a deal breaker. [...] I sold my Ford Charge Station Pro and bought an 80amp Tesla charger and use a Teslatap Mini to charge my truck at the full 80amps. Works great!

This is a post from almost a year ago, but here's what I believe my thought process was:

Buy the EVSE that supports the vehicle you're driving now, because the industry is in a state of flux. By the time most people are ready to replace their current vehicle, standards and features will have changed enough that you'll want a new charger to go with it.

I prefer not to depend on 3rd-party adapters for daily charging. I have a TeslaTap Mini 80A and use it on road trips. However, these adapters aren't UL/CSA-approved, aren't Tesla-approved, and aren't Ford-approved.

Home EVSE standards continue to evolve, and in addition to the adoption of the NACS connector in J3400, we can also expect to see standards for 480/277V 3-phase charging, "carry-along" cables, and bidirectional charging -- all likely hitting the market circa 2026, give or take a year or so.

Most people (who don't lease) hold onto vehicles for about 7 years. So the owner of a new ER Lightning purchased in the latter half of 2023 will be looking at a replacement circa 2030. By then, a lot of the things that are currently on the drawing board will be established technology with at least a few years track record. It seems a little silly to deal with a charging adapter every day for 2500 days in the off-chance that you'll want to save $1000 or so by using a HPWC (that doesn't support V2H, V2G, load management, or anything else invented after 2012) with a new MY2030 vehicle that could support any or all of them.

The typical lease is 3 years, so a new 2023 Lightning would be up for replacement in 2026. It is likely that the "coming by 2026" technologies will still be in flux at that point, so it will be much less clear that you'd be missing out on features by using the HPWC. I still prefer not to deal with a 3rd-party adapter every day for years, and the charger swap is a minimum-price electrician visit. At least around here, that's a relatively small price for 3 years of convenience.

If you're looking at replacing a 2023 Lightning in the next year or two, you'll need to make a decision based on what it is you intend to buy. The connectors for the 2024 and 2025 model years are pretty well-known at this point. So if you're planning on buying a 2025 Lightning (or CyberTruck, or Silverado, or RamEV, etc.), then by all means keep your HPWC installed

Finally, if you're looking at adding a second EV in addition to the Lightning, again in the next few years, you'll want to have two chargers. I am a firm believer that each EV in the household should have its own charger. This is a situation where the existing 100A circuit could be repurposed to feed a power-sharing network for multiple vehicles. You'll need two new EVSE regardless, because the FCSP can't do power-sharing, and the HPWC can only do power-sharing with Gen2 Tesla Wall Connectors. This is why I recommended two new Tesla Universal Wall Connectors for this scenario.

 

[NCMike]

My bad, didn't see the date. I just wanted to state my point of view which remains. A Tesla HPWC and a Teslatap mini is far more future proof and will charge many more vehicles than the charge station Pro. I guess I would revise my recommendation to just sell the charge station pro and replace it with whatever you want as long as it doesn't have a CCS connector for A/C charging. Anything with J1772 or NACS will long outlive the charge station pro and charge many many more cars in the future than the charge station pro will. There are no adapters for CCS connectors for A/C charging. That was the point I was making. Any other charger can be made to work with an adapter.

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