Socket or tethered charger?

Hi there. I have been lurking for some time, and have now ordered a 4h for delivery at the end of March.

I am about to order a Chargemaster charger and am trying to decide which cable type to choose. It will be mounted on the wall at the front of my house and I don't want the local ne'er-do-wells to pinch the cable.

If I get a tethered charger (which works out about UKP100 cheaper in total), is it difficult to replace the cable if it gets damaged, or if it should need to be swapped for a different type when the car gets replaced in 3 years' time?

Or should I get a socketed cable and secure it through a wall anchor mounted next to the charger? View attachment Wall_Anchor.jpg

It's not difficult to change cables on a charger, I changed mine from a type 2 to a type 1. In fact it's not difficult to change anything inside a charger, there's only three things in there! An incoming circuit breaker, a control unit, and a contactor (relay). Any competent person can do it. But if you do, beware of any warranty issues with the original supplier of your charger. The cables themselves are a ridiculous price, for what they are, IMO.

Regulo said:

It's not difficult to change cables on a charger, I changed mine from a type 2 to a type 1. In fact it's not difficult to change anything inside a charger, there's only three things in there! An incoming circuit breaker, a control unit, and a contactor (relay). Any competent person can do it. But if you do, beware of any warranty issues with the original supplier of your charger. The cables themselves are a ridiculous price, for what they are, IMO.

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Which in itself is a good reason to get a socket type charger. You often need a separate cable for public chargers anyway.

Thanks for the comments. I should have said that I don't see any merit in charging at a public charge point, so I only need a cable at home.

I don't know about Canada, but we've got quite a few free ones over here, and it is handy to secure a parking spot for a few hours.

Dondon said:

Thanks for the comments. I should have said that I don't see any merit in charging at a public charge point, so I only need a cable at home.

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If you're in the UK, especially England, then as long as you live or work pretty near to a public charge point, it can be very economical. I drive less than once every two days, but still charge up around a dozen times a month at free charging points, working out at an average cost of £0.65 for a full charge - roughy half of the cost of charing at home.

stripey said:

charge up around a dozen times a month at free charging points, working out at an average cost of £0.65 for a full charge - roughly half of the cost of charging at home.

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I'd love to know where such charging points are. Here in the SE of England all the public points I see are either in expensive car parks (e.g. stations) and/or require a monthly fee to use (which makes them prohibitive for occasional users such as me). I'm aware that some cities have (had?) networks of free/cheap points, but none around here.

We bought a Zoe first, and couldn't decide whether to go tethered or untethered. Thanks heavens we chose untethered, as it means we can charge both cars from the same point. I'd certainly go untethered again if I had a type 1 car, as most (?all) new cars coming on sale now have a type 2.

stripey said:

If you're in the UK, especially England, then as long as you live or work pretty near to a public charge point, it can be very economical. I drive less than once every two days, but still charge up around a dozen times a month at free charging points, working out at an average cost of £0.65 for a full charge - roughy half of the cost of charing at home.

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Please can you explain why you need to pay for a free charge? :?:

I have a thetherd cable set us just like this. There is no problem leaving the car charging overnight. It will stop charging as soon as it’s full.

The charger is safe if someone unplugs it, the power supply will shut off from the charger.

The charger will be secured to your wall on installation, you would need power tools to remove it. Just secure your cable.