[greensaloon]

Very soon you'll be able to purchase this flexible fast charger for your iX SUV or i4 sedan from BMW.

"Introducing a new way to charge – at home or on the go. The Flexible Fast Charger – arriving first with the BMW iX and BMW i4 in 2022 – can be used on a 120V or 240V outlet. With up to 9.6 kW of AC power, it can charge as quickly as most Wallboxes."

 

[Lord]

You mean a "normal" socket at your garage or ..anywhere?
That's great,

 

[Inception]

I don’t think this will help most people, the normal fuse here is 16A 230V 1phase, which gives a maximum potential of 3680W.
Maximum is 32A, but you’d most likely need a new fuse for that, and then you should probably install a fixed charger at the same time.

 

[max03]

I think that it will be delivered with the car for no additional cost.
I got this in my order (M50) : "BMW Flexible Fast Charger with domestic plug (2,3kW/10A)". It can be useful as an emergency charger, if you have to charge on a standard socket. 10A is really low so you don't take much risk even if you don't know the plug capacity.

I suppose that we will be able to purchase additional plugs (P17 would be great).

 

[rangerek]

There is an optional accessory from BMW which is a 3F 16A (and same with 32A) plug
Here:

Elektromobilność | BMW.pl

 

[MinhSATx]

I agree with Inception, the maximum 110V outlet can only provide 3.8kW with 35A (40A circuit). To get 9.6kW, you need a 240V/40A (50A circuit, higher current than a dryer outlet, so special installation). I am actually confused because BMW announced a max of 11kW in June (see other thread) but their Wallbox ony seems to support 7.7kW. So this Flex cable would actually be better than the Wallbox, but the car (preliminary, I guess) manual says the car maxes at 7.7kW on single phase AC and 11kW tri-phase (no home in the US has that as far as I know).

 

[Dmeinen]

In the US to get 11kw you will need a 240v on a 60 amp single phase circuit to support a EVSE at 48 amps. I have a "Wallbox Pulsar Plus 48" installed in my garage in Texas. There are other EVSE that support 48 amps too. By doing the math 240v x 48 amps = 11.520kw.

 

[i4_Loe]

The supplied NEMA 14-50 adapter is limited to 9.6kW due to limitations of the NEMA 14-50 plug itself running at 40A max.

Wallbox will be needed if your house can support above 40A and you want to maximize charging capabilities up to the cars 11.5kW Level II rating.

I'm interested to see if somehow BMW can do an OTA patch to allow for up to [email protected] in the future. 2.5hrs to charge 60% would be a nice (but unnecessary) convenience.

 

[Inception]

80A is insane, is that something used in the US??

 

[Ken7]

I think one point that some are missing with this flexible fast charger, is the 'flexible' part. Anyone that's used EV chargers knows the plugs and wires are almost always bulky and awkward. It appears, from the picture at least, the wire is thinner and more flexible than any I've seen. That would be a welcome addition. Unfortunately, in the end, it won't help me since it's not a wifi charger that's mandatory if you have TOD (time of day) utility discounts. The only way the utility knows you're charging in off hours is if your charger is wifi and they have access to it.

 

[max03]

for Europeans: has anyone found a blue 32A CEE (or P17) adapter in the BMW catalog?
I can only find a blue 16A, or a red (3-phase) 32A, but not what I’m looking for…
Maybe the flexible charger can’t manage 32A on one phase ? That would be disappointing compared to the Tesla mobile charger, Juice Booster, and all the cheap Chinese chargers which are compatible

 

[XtBimmer]

I think one point that some are missing with this flexible fast charger, is the 'flexible' part. Anyone that's used EV chargers knows the plugs and wires are almost always bulky and awkward. It appears, from the picture at least, the wire is thinner and more flexible than any I've seen. That would be a welcome addition. Unfortunately, in the end, it won't help me since it's not a wifi charger that's mandatory if you have TOD (time of day) utility discounts. The only way the utility knows you're charging in off hours is if your charger is wifi and they have access to it.

Within the app you can schedule charge times. I have it even in my Kona EV app.
No need for a fancy wifi charger

 

[Ken7]

Within the app you can schedule charge times. I have it even in my Kona EV app.
No need for a fancy wifi charger

No, the issue is the utility provider must actually see that you are using a wifi charger for the car. If it's not wifi, it can be anything causing the drain, they don't know what it is. The reduced rate is only for car charging. When you use a wifi charger, the utility can actually see the charger is being used at a given time. They even provide a list of 'approved' chargers to get their lower rates and they give you $500 toward the purchase.

 

[XtBimmer]

No, the issue is the utility provider must actually see that you are using a wifi charger for the car. If it's not wifi, it can be anything causing the drain, they don't know what it is. The reduced rate is only for car charging. When you use a wifi charger, the utility can actually see the charger is being used at a given time. They even provide a list of 'approved' chargers to get their lower rates and they give you $500 toward the purchase.

Dat sux , in Canada we don't have specific TOU rates like that for car chargers.

 

[reddy_kilowatt]

Does anyone know the total length of the Flexible Charing Cable (from "box" to car)? I found this PDF on the bmw.ca website, but it does not include dimensions.

 

[swalt004]

The description states 20ft of cable but it doesn't specify if that is from the box to the plug or including the adapter cable

 

[MinhSATx]

I think this that is shown on the page below answers the question, at:

BMW Electromobility: charging | BMW.bm

With the charging solutions from BMW Charging, all options are always available with numerous offers for charging at home, on the go and at work.

www.bmw.bm

(kind of weird that Bermuda is the only site that shows it?)

 

[theiyer]

No, the issue is the utility provider must actually see that you are using a wifi charger for the car. If it's not wifi, it can be anything causing the drain, they don't know what it is. The reduced rate is only for car charging. When you use a wifi charger, the utility can actually see the charger is being used at a given time. They even provide a list of 'approved' chargers to get their lower rates and they give you $500 toward the purchase.

Be sure to check and keep checking. My utility has a rebate but for specific auto manufacturers. So, you could use any EVSE, including this charger for a BMW and it would work. I am guessing the car manufacturer exposes the necessary interface for the utility to do what they need. I am seriously considering returning my unopened ChargePoint Flex since it seems to be an unnecessary $700 at this point.

 

[XtBimmer]

Be sure to check and keep checking. My utility has a rebate but for specific auto manufacturers. So, you could use any EVSE, including this charger for a BMW and it would work. I am guessing the car manufacturer exposes the necessary interface for the utility to do what they need. I am seriously considering returning my unopened ChargePoint Flex since it seems to be an unnecessary $700 at this point.

I would definitely return the flex , it's really not needed.

 

[reddy_kilowatt]

Be sure to check and keep checking. My utility has a rebate but for specific auto manufacturers. So, you could use any EVSE, including this charger for a BMW and it would work. I am guessing the car manufacturer exposes the necessary interface for the utility to do what they need. I am seriously considering returning my unopened ChargePoint Flex since it seems to be an unnecessary $700 at this point.

Situations are apparently different for different utility companies. My utility company will provide EVSE installation rebate AND a reduced rate for EV charging, but ONLY if you use pre-approved EVSEs (and not related to specific car manufacturer). @Ken7 is correct that if the utility company provides reduced EV charging rates, this is accomplished by a data sharing agreement. For this a Wifi charger is needed that can submit charging data to the utility company. My utility company (PSE&G, NJ) will only provide the rebate and reduced electricity rate for (1) ChargePoint Home Flex or (2) Enel X Juicebox.