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In today’s rapidly advancing world of electric vehicles, finding a reliable and efficient charging station is crucial for every EV owner.
That’s why, as a proud owner of both a fully-electric vehicle and a plug-in hybrid, I embarked on a quest to find the ideal charging station that caters to the diverse needs of the two.
So when Lectron reached out and asked if I wanted to test out one of their flagship products by doing a Lectron V-Box 48A EV Charging Station review, I jumped at the chance.
Below, I will explain my experience with the charger, including what I liked and didn’t.
Let’s jump right in.
Notable Features
- Rapid charging
- A variety of charging levels to choose from
- Heavy weatherproofing and durability features
Overview of the Lectron V-Box 48A EV Charging Station
By design, this charger comes equipped standard with pretty much everything you could ask for in a charger.
1. 48 Amp Output
The charging speeds include 16, 24, 32, 40, and 48 amps. A wide variety of customization means that most vehicles can be charged on this charger.
2. Rapid Charging
When hardwired and operating at max efficiency, this charger can achieve charging speeds of up to 46mph at 11.52 kWh.
3. Weatherproof and Durable
This charger has an IP55 weatherproof rating, and is designed to withstand the elements, as well as daily wear-and-tear.
Additionally, the charger comes packed with safety features such as a circuit board temperature sensor and protection against leakage, over-current, over-heating, and over-voltage.
Charger Specs
- Charging plug type: J1772
- Charging cable length: 20 feet
- Outlet type: NEMA 14-50 outlet, or can be hardwired
- Weather rating: IP55 weatherproof rating
Unboxing the Lectron V-Box 48A EV Charging Station
The charger arrived at my office via UPS. The shipping was fast and convenient.
The unit arrived in it’s original box. As a $500 charger, I would have liked the unit to arrive a little more discrete.
Porch pirates would be able to spot this a mile away, so having a box that that hid the contents inside would be a little more ideal.
I had no issues since the box was delivered to the inside of a commercial office building, but if this was sitting on a porch for too long, it might get taken.
The items inside the box were pretty much exactly what I expected:
- The charging unit, with attached charging cable
- A “J” hook to wrap the cable around when not in use
- Instructions & mounting hardware
Once I read the instructions and understood what I was dealing with in terms of installation, I gave my electrician a call to install the unit.
Installing the Lectron V-Box 48A EV Charging Station
I called my electrician and gave him a rundown of what I was hoping to accomplish.
I wanted to run power from the breaker in my basement, up through the wall, into my garage.
Once run, I would be able to install this charger. As I learned though, things were not that easy (more on that below).
Pro Tip: Before you call an electrician out to install any type of charger, be very clear what they’ll need to do in order to complete the installation.
Many electricians assume if you are installing a new charger, you’re doing so in a new construction.
Things to consider understanding before scheduling an install:
- Does your garage already have NEMA 14-50 outlets installed?
- Do you plan to run the charger directly from the breaker, in order to charge at max power?
- Do you plan to charge another vehicle in your garage, using a separate charger?
If you are installing in an existing house that does not have the correct writing already run, you may find yourself having to get creative with the installation, as I did.
I order to get the power from my circuit breaker in the basement of my home, up to the garage, the electrician had to fish a wire down through the meter.
From there, they had to install the wire to run through a metal conduit into the garage.
I don’t like how the conduit looks outside of the house, but inside the garage, it doesn’t look to bad since the run is not really that long.
As you can see though, the charger ended up looking pretty nice on my wall.
It is fairly low-profile and doesn’t stick out as much as I feared it would.
The “J” hook also really helps keep the charging cable neat and tidy.
While the charging cable does have the ability to plug into the hook, I rarely actually plug it in.
Instead, I opt for just sort of draping it over the hook so that it doesn’t stick out, like shown in this picture.
With this and the Tesla unit both side by side, I have two different options for charging my vehicles.
The one complaint that I have about this charger is that the 20′ cable is slightly shorter than I would like it to be.
When installing, make sure that you have enough room. I learned that there is a big difference between my Tesla charger’s 24′ cable and this 20′ one.
In hindsight, I wish I would have mounted the charging unit in front of my car, not to the side.
While the cable still does reach my vehicle, it oftentimes stretches the cable a bit more than I would like.
Had I thought this through initially, the stretch wouldn’t be nearly the problem is it now.
Charging With the Lectron V-Box 48A EV Charging Station
Charging with this unit is as easy as I could hope for.
Once the unit is set up, all that is required to charge a vehicle is to simply plug the power cable into the vehicle you’re looking to charge.
This is what the unit’s power cable plugged into my Tesla’s charging port looks like.
As you might notice, I had to use a J1772 to Tesla adapter to make this unit compatible with my vehicle.
If you own a Tesla, you need an adapter because the J1772 does not fit a Tesla – most Tesla owners will already have this. If you don’t, Lectron makes a great one that you can buy here
Once plugged in, the unit will take a couple minutes to fully power up.
It will start at zero, gradually increasing amperage as time goes on.
In my case, going from zero to full power usually takes about 2 minutes total.
The green status indicator is a nice touch. The light works its way down the unit, notifying you that the unit is powered on and charging.
The indicator will remain in one of the following statuses at all times:
- Solid Blue: disconnected
- Rolling Blue: connected
- Rolling Green: charging
- Solid Green: charge complete
- Solid Red: error/fault
You can also see on the screen how long it has been charging for, the power you’re drawing, and where your battery is at in its charging cycle.
Once fully powered, the unit will do its thing until your battery is fully charged.
Conclusion: Is the Lectron V-Box 48A EV Charging Station Worth It?
Overall, I think that this charger is a great option for anybody seeking a flexible charger at an affordable price point.
P.S. – are you looking to purchase a Tesla? If so, I’d really appreciate you using my Tesla referral code to do so.
Notable Features
- Rapid charging
- A variety of charging levels to choose from
- Heavy weatherproofing and durability features
Hi Brett,
I read your article and wanted to ask if you’d consider reviewing the ShockFlo G1 .
The G1 high-performance EV charging cable includes key features such as:
– Fast Charging – Achieves 36 miles per hour using level 2 charging (40 amp, 240 volts).
– Adaptive Safety – Adjustable current outputs (16-40 amps) to prevent overloads
– LCD Screen – Displays information including current charge rate, voltage, temperature and time
– Versatile 2-in-1 – Wall-mountable and portable
– Cost-Efficient – Automatically schedules charging during low-cost periods
– Safety First – Protects against lightning, current leakage, grounding, low-voltage, over– voltage, over-charge, over-heat and over-current
Low Price Tag – $249.99
If you’re interested, I can provide a G1 for you to test and a briefing with Julie Zhu, ShockFlo’s head of international business.
Would you please let me know if this is of interest, thank you!