Simpson and Partners - In administration??
Discussion
It's a charger that will go on your wall in a discrete location and get dirty, scuffed up and a bit abused. I mean good intentions and all that I'll look after it, get one I like display it as a feature for onward sale... All good justifications.
Maybe better to be honest with yourself, acknowledge it is effectively just a fancy plug socket and make it as practical as you can (which probably includes the provider being a going concern).
That being said it's a personal choice and whatever makes you happy, it'll likely always be able to put electricity in just wont have the functionality...
Maybe better to be honest with yourself, acknowledge it is effectively just a fancy plug socket and make it as practical as you can (which probably includes the provider being a going concern).
That being said it's a personal choice and whatever makes you happy, it'll likely always be able to put electricity in just wont have the functionality...
They’re proclaiming to have restarted the business, but not sure if that’s just rhetoric. It’s the ongoing maintenance / warranty/ app that concerns.
https://find-and-update.company-information.servic...
https://find-and-update.company-information.servic...
As above, it's just a fancy plug.
If they are going out, worst case scenario you will loose app functionality. You'll have plenty of warnings for that and then probably some OS updates before it's really out. Even then, just keeping an older android phone with the app on if you really need some of the config functionality.
So it mostly depends on how "smart" you need your plug to be.
A lot of modern EVs can do everything on their own without the need for the plug to be very smart, so the charger app is really superfluous.
In short: if you just like the look of them, don't worry, it's just a dressed up plug and it'll stay one for the foreseeable.
PS: Depending on your use case, the first consideration you need to make is tethered vs untethered. I've got tethered chargers at my garages just because they are so much more convenient in day to day use.
If they are going out, worst case scenario you will loose app functionality. You'll have plenty of warnings for that and then probably some OS updates before it's really out. Even then, just keeping an older android phone with the app on if you really need some of the config functionality.
So it mostly depends on how "smart" you need your plug to be.
A lot of modern EVs can do everything on their own without the need for the plug to be very smart, so the charger app is really superfluous.
In short: if you just like the look of them, don't worry, it's just a dressed up plug and it'll stay one for the foreseeable.
PS: Depending on your use case, the first consideration you need to make is tethered vs untethered. I've got tethered chargers at my garages just because they are so much more convenient in day to day use.
Sim75 said:
They’re proclaiming to have restarted the business, but not sure if that’s just rhetoric. It’s the ongoing maintenance / warranty/ app that concerns.
https://find-and-update.company-information.servic...
I read this at the time and was concerned, but not to the point of selling my charger which I had installed a few months earlier.https://find-and-update.company-information.servic...
Half way down in this link is David Simpson's insights to the situation: https://www.speakev.com/threads/simpson-and-partne...
Sim75 said:
I’m torn between S&P and Anderson - its going in a prominent place so I need it to look smart.
How does tethered deal with different makes of car - Is the plug the same on all? Guessing all cars come with a lead right??
So new to all this !! Haha
How does tethered deal with different makes of car - Is the plug the same on all? Guessing all cars come with a lead right??
So new to all this !! Haha
Should have answered this in my previous post; they are almost all the same connection for home charging called a type 2. DC charging from the various companies out there use CCS (Combined Charging System) or CHAdeMO connectors. There is a good diagram here: https://thedriven.io/2022/12/21/tesla-launches-new...
Ok, some car charging 101.
All cars sold in Europe have to have a Type 2 + CCS plug.
You've got 3 levels of charging:
So we're talking level 2 chargers here. As mentioned, all the cars should be the same now. Some older Japanese ones are an exception.
The cable you need for untethered ones are regular Type 2 cables.
The main reason most public ones are untethered is that it means they have much less to break or be vandalized. A tethered cable left on the ground is just one car driving over it away from being unusable.
When looking for a tethered one, you have to consider cable length and plug location in relation to the charging port of your car. In my one garage I've got a 2m lead and the plug is just 50cm from the charger. If I ever get a car with for example a front plug, I'd be f
ked there. If you want to accommodate all cars, you'd basically need at least 5m.
The advantage of it is that you never have to get your cable out of your car and faff about, its much easier. Also when it's outside, you don't have to put a wet and potentially dirty cable in your boot. At home, imho I see very little reason to not go tethered.
All cars sold in Europe have to have a Type 2 + CCS plug.
You've got 3 levels of charging:
- "granny charging", basically off the net off a default plug. This is slow but definitely workable for day to day use for the average driver. Will give you a mere ~60miles/100km for 10 hours of charging (eg overnight). Not all cars come with this plug, it usually looks like a chunky laptop charger.
- Level 2 charging. This is a home wall charger or the public ones you see by the sidewalk or at a hotel, restaurant, gym,... When talking about the S&P and Andersen, these are the ones. They are usually limited in 3 ways: the limit of your home power, the limit of the charger and the limit of your car AC charging. For ease, lets say these do 11kW (the limit of most cars). That means you can 0-100% any EV currently for sale in 10h. 500km/300miles of range that sort of thing.
- Fast Charging: things like Fastned, Tesla Supercharging Network,... these pump DC directly in your battery. Usually only used when going on trips or in a pinch IME. Be hundreds of kW
So we're talking level 2 chargers here. As mentioned, all the cars should be the same now. Some older Japanese ones are an exception.
The cable you need for untethered ones are regular Type 2 cables.
The main reason most public ones are untethered is that it means they have much less to break or be vandalized. A tethered cable left on the ground is just one car driving over it away from being unusable.
When looking for a tethered one, you have to consider cable length and plug location in relation to the charging port of your car. In my one garage I've got a 2m lead and the plug is just 50cm from the charger. If I ever get a car with for example a front plug, I'd be f
ked there. If you want to accommodate all cars, you'd basically need at least 5m.The advantage of it is that you never have to get your cable out of your car and faff about, its much easier. Also when it's outside, you don't have to put a wet and potentially dirty cable in your boot. At home, imho I see very little reason to not go tethered.
Sim75 said:
I’m torn between S&P and Anderson - its going in a prominent place so I need it to look smart.
How does tethered deal with different makes of car - Is the plug the same on all? Guessing all cars come with a lead right??
So new to all this !! Haha
I have had a 7kW Andersen since November 2019. It has the optional 8.5m cable as we have a wide drive.How does tethered deal with different makes of car - Is the plug the same on all? Guessing all cars come with a lead right??
So new to all this !! Haha
It has charged 4 EVs (2 Teslas, a Hyundai and a Nissan) for c.125k miles and still works perfectly. The app is very easy to use and is regularly updated.
The latest ones have a 7 year warranty. They are very well made.
ZesPak said:
Ok, some car charging 101.
All cars sold in Europe have to have a Type 2 + CCS plug.
You've got 3 levels of charging:
So we're talking level 2 chargers here. As mentioned, all the cars should be the same now. Some older Japanese ones are an exception.
The cable you need for untethered ones are regular Type 2 cables.
The main reason most public ones are untethered is that it means they have much less to break or be vandalized. A tethered cable left on the ground is just one car driving over it away from being unusable.
When looking for a tethered one, you have to consider cable length and plug location in relation to the charging port of your car. In my one garage I've got a 2m lead and the plug is just 50cm from the charger. If I ever get a car with for example a front plug, I'd be fked there. If you want to accommodate all cars, you'd basically need at least 5m.
The advantage of it is that you never have to get your cable out of your car and faff about, its much easier. Also when it's outside, you don't have to put a wet and potentially dirty cable in your boot. At home, imho I see very little reason to not go tethered.
11KW charging is relatively unusual, the standard is 7KW and 11KW capability may be a cost option. 7KW on a typical 6 hour overnight charge will give 120 to 150miles typically.All cars sold in Europe have to have a Type 2 + CCS plug.
You've got 3 levels of charging:
- "granny charging", basically off the net off a default plug. This is slow but definitely workable for day to day use for the average driver. Will give you a mere ~60miles/100km for 10 hours of charging (eg overnight). Not all cars come with this plug, it usually looks like a chunky laptop charger.
- Level 2 charging. This is a home wall charger or the public ones you see by the sidewalk or at a hotel, restaurant, gym,... When talking about the S&P and Andersen, these are the ones. They are usually limited in 3 ways: the limit of your home power, the limit of the charger and the limit of your car AC charging. For ease, lets say these do 11kW (the limit of most cars). That means you can 0-100% any EV currently for sale in 10h. 500km/300miles of range that sort of thing.
- Fast Charging: things like Fastned, Tesla Supercharging Network,... these pump DC directly in your battery. Usually only used when going on trips or in a pinch IME. Be hundreds of kW
So we're talking level 2 chargers here. As mentioned, all the cars should be the same now. Some older Japanese ones are an exception.
The cable you need for untethered ones are regular Type 2 cables.
The main reason most public ones are untethered is that it means they have much less to break or be vandalized. A tethered cable left on the ground is just one car driving over it away from being unusable.
When looking for a tethered one, you have to consider cable length and plug location in relation to the charging port of your car. In my one garage I've got a 2m lead and the plug is just 50cm from the charger. If I ever get a car with for example a front plug, I'd be f
ked there. If you want to accommodate all cars, you'd basically need at least 5m.The advantage of it is that you never have to get your cable out of your car and faff about, its much easier. Also when it's outside, you don't have to put a wet and potentially dirty cable in your boot. At home, imho I see very little reason to not go tethered.
AIUI Simpson & Partners was born out of ex-Andersen engineers, maybe even the management? Separately Andersen went bust, then was rescued by EVIOS.
I don't think there's an awful lot of money in the kind of chargers both companies make. They are very boutique, and a decent amount more money than basic chargers that critically offer identical performance when it comes to actually charging your car.
It seems most people buying electric cars don't care enough about aesthetics to justify the extra cost, or they can just get their charger installed where it's not so conspicuous.
I had a look at Simpson & Partners when they first came about and I was surprised that they did not offer any tethered option. For me the biggest plus of the Andersen (which I have) is that you can hide the whole charging cable away inside the unit, so it looks tidy when not in use. Also, when you get home and it's raining you aren't fishing around in the boot or the garage for your cable, it's all self-contained.
I don't think there's an awful lot of money in the kind of chargers both companies make. They are very boutique, and a decent amount more money than basic chargers that critically offer identical performance when it comes to actually charging your car.
It seems most people buying electric cars don't care enough about aesthetics to justify the extra cost, or they can just get their charger installed where it's not so conspicuous.
I had a look at Simpson & Partners when they first came about and I was surprised that they did not offer any tethered option. For me the biggest plus of the Andersen (which I have) is that you can hide the whole charging cable away inside the unit, so it looks tidy when not in use. Also, when you get home and it's raining you aren't fishing around in the boot or the garage for your cable, it's all self-contained.
eldar said:
11KW charging is relatively unusual, the standard is 7KW and 11KW capability may be a cost option. 7KW on a typical 6 hour overnight charge will give 120 to 150miles typically.
Agreed, I'm doing more European installations where 3 phase is the norm.I've never heard someone describe an "overnight" charge as being 6 hours though, seems very minimal?
Plugging in your car at 20h, leaving for work at 6 gives you 10h.
Fastlane said:
Sim75 said:
I’m torn between S&P and Anderson - its going in a prominent place so I need it to look smart.
How does tethered deal with different makes of car - Is the plug the same on all? Guessing all cars come with a lead right??
So new to all this !! Haha
I have had a 7kW Andersen since November 2019. It has the optional 8.5m cable as we have a wide drive.How does tethered deal with different makes of car - Is the plug the same on all? Guessing all cars come with a lead right??
So new to all this !! Haha
It has charged 4 EVs (2 Teslas, a Hyundai and a Nissan) for c.125k miles and still works perfectly. The app is very easy to use and is regularly updated.
The latest ones have a 7 year warranty. They are very well made.
).I've had mine since 2018 and it was faultless right up to the end of its warranty, oddly enough. It was a 1st gen so not as good as the current version. But a telling thing was that Andersen replaced it completely and didn't bicker about it one bit, despite them going through their darkest time financially.
Personally I can't fault them and the new 7 year warranty is a real plus point. I've dealt with Lee, their technical expert a few times and he's a lovely chap. Wholly recommended.
S&P were set up by the people who sold Andersen a few years ago. They essentially created a lower cost Andersen charger.
The chargers will have base software that is universal across 90% of chargers meaning you can add something like MONTA software to it (free) and use the charger without issue so don't worry if they go under (hopefully not). Chargers are generally very reliable as they have no moving parts beyond the flap on the front.
The chargers will have base software that is universal across 90% of chargers meaning you can add something like MONTA software to it (free) and use the charger without issue so don't worry if they go under (hopefully not). Chargers are generally very reliable as they have no moving parts beyond the flap on the front.
Just on the Anderson website.
What is surge protection and is it necessary?
It states "According to new UK regulations, all new installations of EV chargers must have Surge Protection Devices (SPDs) fitted" yet it lists this as a £150 extra, which I find odd. Surely selling / installing without would be illegal if that was the case no?
What is surge protection and is it necessary?
It states "According to new UK regulations, all new installations of EV chargers must have Surge Protection Devices (SPDs) fitted" yet it lists this as a £150 extra, which I find odd. Surely selling / installing without would be illegal if that was the case no?
Sim75 said:
Just on the Anderson website.
What is surge protection and is it necessary?
It states "According to new UK regulations, all new installations of EV chargers must have Surge Protection Devices (SPDs) fitted" yet it lists this as a £150 extra, which I find odd. Surely selling / installing without would be illegal if that was the case no?
It's an extra because a property may already have one, then you don't need another. My installer asked if I had one before quoting.What is surge protection and is it necessary?
It states "According to new UK regulations, all new installations of EV chargers must have Surge Protection Devices (SPDs) fitted" yet it lists this as a £150 extra, which I find odd. Surely selling / installing without would be illegal if that was the case no?
It's not part of the charger, it's part of the electrical installation in your house (sits in the consumer unit alongside the breakers).
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