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Adding a Shelly WiFi controller to a Chargemaster Homecharger

Big Nige

Standard Member
Joined
Jul 10, 2021
Messages
27
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Location
Anglesey
Driving
MG5
Got my MG5 Long Range about 3 weeks ago & after 1200 miles absolutely loving it.
The one thing I miss from my Zoe is the charge timer, so after seeing the other posts on here & videos on YouTube installing a Shelly L1 in a Rolec,
I decided to have a go at “ upgrading” my 2018 Chargemaster home charger to something more useful using a Shelly L1 Wi-Fi relay.

DISCLAIMER
I am not an electrician, but know enough to be dangerous😳
My Chargemaster box is now a couple of months out of warranty & so any damage is my responsibility.
I am just showing what I did & if you decide to have a go - good luck!

That said, if you can wire a plug and have a bit of common sense the process is straightforward.

The photos are of my box, which is an untethered unit.

Right, here we go…….

First and most importantly, isolate the power to the charger. If you aren’t sure how to do that, then stop now and go no further.

Once isolated, disconnect the charger from the external junction box and remove the charger from the wall by taking out the locking screw on the underside. ( All this is shown in a video on YouTube where a tethered cable is being replaced)

You will now have something like this:-
E3C9E752-E0E1-4035-B1B7-5557432FCFB7.jpeg



Next, turn over and remove all the screws around the edge and carefully open up.
There are connecting cables between the internal circuit board and face plate.

CDE50CBB-FD34-451B-A388-0EE3284A6A89.jpeg


5774283A-BD90-4EB8-A00E-FA1C04A30A93.jpeg

Case Open- you can just make out the red CP wire from the socket going
into the second terminal on the black terminal block on the pcb.

6FD20D3F-01A7-482F-8E8A-68D5A9BBF636.jpeg


Note, with the wire removed you can see PILOT marked on the pcb.

However as this is a socketed box it is far easier to connect the shelly L1
to the terminal on the back of the socket- clearly marked CP

9AA92612-EEE3-4251-A7C5-0A13B4CB9A41.jpeg


For the purposes of this project, 4 connections are needed to the Shelly L1
Mains L & N
I & O to the red pilot line. All the Shelly does is act as a breaker in the red pilot line.

505AD3F0-E346-4171-876D-1611A9D4403F.jpeg


The mains supply was taken from the terminals on the live feed side-
there is just enough room to get the wires in.
The red pilot line was taken from the back of the type 2 socket and put into the Shelly L1.
A new short lead was made up to connect the pilot line from the shelly back to the socket.
All connections made, I stuck the Shelly to the inside face of the box with a 3M sticky pad
and closed the box up, making sure the cables were all tucked in and the box seal in place.

C55436AD-6DA6-4FC9-B9CF-C26458226FC7.jpeg


5A748890-296A-4CD2-AE86-875DBB008064.jpeg


B07007D3-D35A-4F21-8D0D-DED6F2092D55.jpeg


Putting the box back on the wall was straightforward and the whole job only
took an hour including taking the photos, so not bad.

Onto the app. I bought the Shelly controller back in Sept '21 when I ordered
the MG5 so I set the L1 up a couple of months back, by wiring it up to a
mains plug and plugging it in near to my wifi router. Unlike others, I had no problem
setting it up on the app on my iPhone.

Once the device was added, I could turn it on, like most smart devices by
an on off button in the app. Trying that and....IT WORKED!! Plugged in, the car started to charge.

There are several options I haven't looked at on the settings, all I'm interested is the
schedule function and that's easy to configure. I'm on Economy 7 so I've set the scheduler
to come on just after midnight & switch off at 7.00am 7 days a week. So far it has performed
faultlessly.

tempImagezxbQaI.jpg



I'm very impressed with the Shelly L1, for around £10 I've got a "smart" charger. I'll be getting
more of these gadgets to do some more automation around the house.


Hope some of you find this information useful. If you're handy and feel like having a go, I'd
say its worth a try.
As I said my unit was out of warranty so nothing really to lose. I did enquire with BP Chargemaster
about upgrading the unit to one of their new smart chargers- They wanted to charge me over £600,
even though the wiring was all done!
If the Shelly hadn't worked I was considering having the junction box swapped out for a
commando socket and getting one of the Ohme boxes with the Octopus discount offer, but I'll
keep my pennies in my pocket for now!
 
Hi Big Nige - thank you very much for this and I'm sure loads of members will find this useful.

I've got a Pod Point so, personally, don't but I really love it when members have a go at something and then provide detailed instructions to others so we have the benefit of your experience (with minimal risks! ;)). This is exactly one of the main reasons why I join these car forums.

You've done everyone a big favour and will save some members a lot of money - keep up the great work and I look forward to hearing about your next mod/upgrade! :cool:

Happy New Year to you, and all the rest of the members and I hope 2022 is better than last year!

Cheers

Bloggsy
 
Hi Big Nige - thank you very much for this and I'm sure loads of members will find this useful.

I've got a Pod Point so, personally, don't but I really love it when members have a go at something and then provide detailed instructions to others so we have the benefit of your experience (with minimal risks! ;)). This is exactly one of the main reasons why I join these car forums.

You've done everyone a big favour and will save some members a lot of money - keep up the great work and I look forward to hearing about your next mod/upgrade! :cool:

Happy New Year to you, and all the rest of the members and I hope 2022 is better than last year!

Cheers

Bloggsy
Hi Blogsy,
Thanks for that. If nothing else it's interesting to see what's inside these boxes. I've been an inveterate tinkerer all my life and just have to find out what makes things "tick".
Next on the to-do list is to fit my dashcam. So far got the power cord fed through the headlining & down to the fuse board......

All the best to you and everyone here, lets hope for a brighter, better, safer 2022.
 
...
As I said my unit was out of warranty so nothing really to lose. I did enquire with BP Chargemaster
about upgrading the unit to one of their new smart chargers- They wanted to charge me over £600,
even though the wiring was all done!
....
Just goes to show how grossly inflated the prices are for the EVSE 'charger' boxes.
 
Just goes to show how grossly inflated the prices are for the EVSE 'charger' boxes.
Exactly! I emailed BP Chargemaster (and it took them weeks to reply) around June 2021. Given all the wiring was in place and all the electrician would have to do was swap out the box, test and commission, I was expecting maybe £250-£350 as a "loyal" customer. Silly me!
With the homecharge grant going in March 2022 who knows what installation costs will be going forward.
 
It's a bit of a strange market because so many owners don't understand what they are buying & have no idea what represents good VFM.
 
Strangely enough, EVNick has just released a video on this very subject !.
His views and opinions are worth considering.


I haven't seen that one yet, but I did see one by EVM the other day . Up until then I didn't know the grants were going
 
It's a bit of a strange market because so many owners don't understand what they are buying & have no idea what represents good VFM.
Agreed, when I bought my first EV (Zoe) in 2018 I just accepted the bundled offer of a Chargemaster box. TBH it was a fair price and pretty hassle free. In hindsight and a little wiser 12 months on, I would probably gone for a Pod Point unit.
 
Agreed, when I bought my first EV (Zoe) in 2018 I just accepted the bundled offer of a Chargemaster box. TBH it was a fair price and pretty hassle free. In hindsight and a little wiser 12 months on, I would probably gone for a Pod Point unit.
The choice of wall boxes have grown at a huge rate in the last few years.
When I bought mine back in 2015 the choice was very limited and not even smart at that point !.
I think there was less than half a dozen units on offer at the time.
I do like the Hypervolt unit myself.
 
Hi Big Nige

Great write up ! Thanks !

My Chargemaster wallbox has recently stopped talking with the BP server due to the 2G/3G signal being turned off around me.

My BP Chargemaster has a 32a charging capacity , so I am thinking that I need a 32a WiFi relay switch to handle the current.

Have you found your 16a Shelly 1 is OK, or is your chargemaster a 16a unit ?

I have ordered this 32a wifi relay : 1P 32A 18mm DIN Rail WIFI Circuit Breaker Type Relay Switch, Smart Remote Control by TUYA APP for Smart Home


Which is on special Black Friday offer price today.
 
Hi Big Nige

Great write up ! Thanks !

My Chargemaster wallbox has recently stopped talking with the BP server due to the 2G/3G signal being turned off around me.

My BP Chargemaster has a 32a charging capacity , so I am thinking that I need a 32a WiFi relay switch to handle the current.

Have you found your 16a Shelly 1 is OK, or is your chargemaster a 16a unit ?

I have ordered this 32a wifi relay : 1P 32A 18mm DIN Rail WIFI Circuit Breaker Type Relay Switch, Smart Remote Control by TUYA APP for Smart Home


Which is on special Black Friday offer price today.
The Shelly device is only switching the low voltage pilot signal, the unit you have on order appears to switching the higher load itself.
These tend to be a lot more expensive than the Shelly devices.
 
Also, chopping the mains voltage isn't a great idea when the input to the EV's on-board charger is a largish inductor. Inductors don't like to change their current abruptly, like from full power to zero; they react by generating a large electric potential that can harm sensitive electronics and pit the relay contacts.

By switching the control pilot, you signal to the on-board charger that it should ramp down power quickly (but nowhere near as quickly as disconnecting the power via relay contacts). It can do this safely.
 
Also, chopping the mains voltage isn't a great idea when the input to the EV's on-board charger is a largish inductor. Inductors don't like to change their current abruptly, like from full power to zero; they react by generating a large electric potential that can harm sensitive electronics and pit the relay contacts.

By switching the control pilot, you signal to the on-board charger that it should ramp down power quickly (but nowhere near as quickly as disconnecting the power via relay contacts). It can do this safely.
yes agreed, so I will look and follow Big Nige's approach (y)
 
Got my MG5 Long Range about 3 weeks ago & after 1200 miles absolutely loving it.
The one thing I miss from my Zoe is the charge timer, so after seeing the other posts on here & videos on YouTube installing a Shelly L1 in a Rolec,
I decided to have a go at “ upgrading” my 2018 Chargemaster home charger to something more useful using a Shelly L1 Wi-Fi relay.

DISCLAIMER
I am not an electrician, but know enough to be dangerous😳
My Chargemaster box is now a couple of months out of warranty & so any damage is my responsibility.
I am just showing what I did & if you decide to have a go - good luck!

That said, if you can wire a plug and have a bit of common sense the process is straightforward.

The photos are of my box, which is an untethered unit.

Right, here we go…….

First and most importantly, isolate the power to the charger. If you aren’t sure how to do that, then stop now and go no further.

Once isolated, disconnect the charger from the external junction box and remove the charger from the wall by taking out the locking screw on the underside. ( All this is shown in a video on YouTube where a tethered cable is being replaced)

You will now have something like this:-
View attachment 6121


Next, turn over and remove all the screws around the edge and carefully open up.
There are connecting cables between the internal circuit board and face plate.

View attachment 6122

View attachment 6130
Case Open- you can just make out the red CP wire from the socket going
into the second terminal on the black terminal block on the pcb.

View attachment 6131

Note, with the wire removed you can see PILOT marked on the pcb.

However as this is a socketed box it is far easier to connect the shelly L1
to the terminal on the back of the socket- clearly marked CP

View attachment 6132

For the purposes of this project, 4 connections are needed to the Shelly L1
Mains L & N
I & O to the red pilot line. All the Shelly does is act as a breaker in the red pilot line.

View attachment 6133

The mains supply was taken from the terminals on the live feed side-
there is just enough room to get the wires in.
The red pilot line was taken from the back of the type 2 socket and put into the Shelly L1.
A new short lead was made up to connect the pilot line from the shelly back to the socket.
All connections made, I stuck the Shelly to the inside face of the box with a 3M sticky pad
and closed the box up, making sure the cables were all tucked in and the box seal in place.

View attachment 6135

View attachment 6136

View attachment 6137

Putting the box back on the wall was straightforward and the whole job only
took an hour including taking the photos, so not bad.

Onto the app. I bought the Shelly controller back in Sept '21 when I ordered
the MG5 so I set the L1 up a couple of months back, by wiring it up to a
mains plug and plugging it in near to my wifi router. Unlike others, I had no problem
setting it up on the app on my iPhone.

Once the device was added, I could turn it on, like most smart devices by
an on off button in the app. Trying that and....IT WORKED!! Plugged in, the car started to charge.

There are several options I haven't looked at on the settings, all I'm interested is the
schedule function and that's easy to configure. I'm on Economy 7 so I've set the scheduler
to come on just after midnight & switch off at 7.00am 7 days a week. So far it has performed
faultlessly.

View attachment 6138


I'm very impressed with the Shelly L1, for around £10 I've got a "smart" charger. I'll be getting
more of these gadgets to do some more automation around the house.


Hope some of you find this information useful. If you're handy and feel like having a go, I'd
say its worth a try.
As I said my unit was out of warranty so nothing really to lose. I did enquire with BP Chargemaster
about upgrading the unit to one of their new smart chargers- They wanted to charge me over £600,
even though the wiring was all done!
If the Shelly hadn't worked I was considering having the junction box swapped out for a
commando socket and getting one of the Ohme boxes with the Octopus discount offer, but I'll
keep my pennies in my pocket for now!
Nigel,

I just wanted to say that the information you have provided has just helped me install a Shelly for a friend of mine, it was a slightly different unit because it was tethered but I worked it out and it works amazingly.

Thank you so much for what you provided, without it, I would never have managed.

All the best for 2024!! Andy.
 
Nigel,

I just wanted to say that the information you have provided has just helped me install a Shelly for a friend of mine, it was a slightly different unit because it was tethered but I worked it out and it works amazingly.

Thank you so much for what you provided, without it, I would never have managed.

All the best for 2024!! Andy.
You're welcome !.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Agreed, when I bought my first EV (Zoe) in 2018 I just accepted the bundled offer of a Chargemaster box. TBH it was a fair price and pretty hassle free. In hindsight and a little wiser 12 months on, I would probably gone for a Pod Point unit.
Hello Big Nige, this is great news, never gave it a thought that there are devices like this available👍. I too have an early Chargemaster, just the same as yours fitted in 2016 and was contemplating replacing it with a smart one that works with Intelligent Octopus Go. Smart chargers didn't exist back then. It didn't cost me anything as the UK govt grant of £500 at the time was topped up by Home Energy Scotland refund of £240 covered the remainder, so net zero to me😃. It too has stopped sending data to BP or Polar plus as this was the place that my account was on and I could see accurately how much was used in charging. This puts a completely different view on the case and I thank you for that. I too had the same reply from BP and any other installer for that matter, even though all the wiring is there, they wanted to charge the same as if no wiring or breakers existed! So thanks once again, this is well within my capabilities.
 
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