Personal Experience
This is the cable we used in our recent Tackling Tasmania Road Trip. We made excellent use of this cable during the trip, getting free electricity on several occasions. Truth be told, it may have saved the day at Cradle Mountain (Day 4)
Update: I recently had an issue where the Tesla Supercharger at Yass was offline for an upgrade (I should have checked before I got there – bad planning on my part). I didn’t have enough charge to get to the next fast charger at Goulburn, so I pulled in to Gunning where I used my BYOD cable on an AC charger in the main street. It was lunch time, so I enjoyed a lovely chicken parmigiana at the local pub. 45 minutes later I had enough juice in the battery to get to Goulburn.
If you’re wanting a type 2 EV charge cable, then the first step is to make sure it meets the relevant standards in your area. This one is designed to NZ and Australian electrical standards. Compatible with all Type 2 (IEC 62196-1/ IEC 62196-2) electric vehicles on the market and tested to meet CE and TUV Rheinland certification requirements.
Don’t skimp on capacity. You might be able to get a 7kW version cheaper, but you might regret it. The 22kW versions are 3-phase compatible. The three phase (22kW) cable will work with single phase (7kW) chargers, but the opposite won’t work. A single phase cable simply doesn’t have enough capacity for 3 phases.
Handy Tip: If you can get a charge cable with a carry bag (like this one), you can leave the bag on the drivers seat of your car while you charge, as a reminder to take your cable. It would be an expensive mistake to leave it behind.
Here’s a list of times I used my BYO Cable on my recent Tackling Tasmania trip:
- Cradle Mountain – this cable might have actually saved the day. We plugged in to the Cradle Mountain Visitor Centre charger and went off for a couple of hours walking. We returned to the car with near full charge. On checking in to our hotel, we found the destination charger we were relying on using overnight was faulty. This might have altered our next day’s plans had we not had the BYO cable charge at the visitor centre.
- Derwent Bridge – the first time on the whole trip we couldn’t immediately get on to the fast charger. We pulled in next door and plugged in to the 22kW AC charger. Getting a bit of a top up while we waited about 10 minutes for the fast charger to become available made our wait a little more fruitful.
- Hobart – all of our charging in Hobart CBD was at the FREE chargers at Hobart Ports. There were 3 chargers within 2 blocks of our accomodation. We parked, plugged in and walked back to relax and watch TV while the car charged for free. There’s an ice-cream parlour and cafes right there amongst the chargers too. Bonus!
- Ashgrove Cheese Experience – we tasted cheese while the car charged. It was only an hour, but it was free and it didn’t impact our journey at all. Never miss an opportunity for a charge while you’re doing something else. Cheese and Charge – I’m sure there’s a catchphrase in there somewhere.
Don't leave home without this item. I've used this charge cable quite a few times. On my Tasmania trip, I was able to get FREE electricity on multiple occasions where a BYO charge cable was required.
There have been several occasions where I'd have been downright stuck without this vital piece of kit, as the only chargers available were BYO cable jobs.
