Product profile: Low cost EV charger

If you buy a used EV, it may or may not come with a basic portable charger (commonly called a granny charger). These are handy for charging at home overnight, or when only a slow charge is needed.

The price of portable chargers has come down steadily, and the Mini Portable Type 2 EV Charger from EVSE is the cheapest and smallest we’ve seen so far.

The charger box itself measures just 189 x 66 x 48mm, and weighs in at just 3kg including the 6 metre lead and standard 10A plug, making this charger perfect to leave in your EV all the time just in case you need a top-up charge.

Maximum current is 8A (1.84kW charge rate) and the charger includes 6mA DC earth leakage protection, as well as under voltage, overload, short circuit, over temperature and lightning protection, so it has all the important safety features. It also sports an IP66 sealing rating, so it can be used outside in the rain if needed.

It even supports auto charge recovery, so will restart charging if power is interrupted (providing the EV supports this).

Warranty is a decent two years.