Ora 5 Diaries: I bought EV accessories

As an actual EV owner, I am documenting my journey here on Recharged. It may be helpful for anyone considering making the switch. You can follow my Ora 5 Diaries posts from that tag.

As mentioned, my Ora 5 came with an emergency 3-pin plug charger, and my dealership threw in a wallbox charger as a gift.

But what I actually needed was an AC to AC public charging cable to use at certain malls that don’t have DC chargers. I frequent them a lot, and they are getting popular through support at many shopping centres.

AC chargers are the easiest and cheapest public charger to install since DC chargers cost over a R1 million to install and are better suited to strategic locations off the highway or at major shopping centres.

Since my Ora 5 didn’t come with this charger, I purchased one, alongside a vehicle-to-load adaptor (V2L).

My first choice was to shop at EV Charge at https://evcharge.co.za who also has a showroom in Centurion. They’ve been early followers of my work and it’s where I got my wallbox charger back in 2022.

I purchased it earlier this week, and noticed both items were listed as “in stock”, and they say delivery is between 1-3 days. Fortunately I received it the next day.

Let me quickly take you through the two items I bought:

22KW PUBLIC AC CHARGING CABLE

The 22kW 3-phase AC cable was listed as recommended for EVs with 11kW or 22kW charging capabilities, so I took this one. It’s a R200 difference to the 11kW one, at R2 999. My car has 11kW onboard charging, but I took it more for future proofing. It has a 2-year warranty.

I love that it comes with a cleaning cloth and storage case because theses cables touch the floors. This cable will remain in my boot so I can use it publicly – I can’t use it at home.

I also chose the 5m length one, as I think that’s sufficient and I haven’t used a longer one on test cars. The 8/10m ones don’t come with a bag as they are typically meant to be used at a permanent work or home location without carrying around, well according to EV Charge.

It also rated 480V, with a durability rating of IP55, for dust and water (like rain). If you’re interested in this kind of info, it also has a mechanical life of ≥10 000 cycles, and operates in -35° to +50°C weather.

UNIVERSAL V2L CABLE 

My Ora 5 supports a 6.6kW output of power, as if it were a giant power bank for my house. That’s typically higher than most EVs at around 3.3kW.

I wanted this universal 2VL accessory at R1500 for the ability to plug appliances or power tools into my car for whatever reason, load shedding if it ever returns, if we have a major power outage, or if I want to go on a road trip and take my coffee machine (amongst other small appliances).

I also just like having options in general. It’s cute, it’s portable and I can keep in my car or in my garage.

It is rated to deliver power up to 3600W. So think of your fridge, microwave, kettle, etc., running simultaneously on it.

This particular model is listed as supporting GWM and a bunch of other vehicles but it’s not compatible with Volvo, BMW, Mercedes, Land Rover, Toyota, iCaur V27 or Jetour T1. If you are interested in this accessory, check the website for the full list of supported brands.

That’s the extent of my additional purchases, I don’t see myself getting anything else in the near future. I hope you found this information useful. If you’re in the market for similar, I highly recommend EV Charge, they’ve been around since 2017.

If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment on this post.