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Post by pharmadave on Jan 27, 2020 23:10:31 GMT 11
I was flipping through the Aldi catalogue and there is an Ampfibian clone for $60 which I think is incredibly good value. With this device, you can use the thicket earth pin EVSE provided with the Nissan Leaf while charging at a standard power outlet. The EVSE ‘brick’ only draws 10A max which should not overload any circuits. Sale starts Saturday 8th Feb. Bunnings sells the Ampfibian for $185, can be found for a bit cheaper on eBay.   |
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Post by tomkauf on Jan 28, 2020 0:19:29 GMT 11
Oh wow! Very cool find. People should jump on that, if they considered getting one. Because Aldi stores usually run out of these sort of specials very quickly.
You can of course still get the basic Amphibian for $68 (same basic feature, but only low-level waterproof), or the mid-range one for $118 that I have. But the Aldi one looks exactly like the top-range $189 one from Ampfibian.
It basically looks identical. Far too similar to be a cheap copy. I know that cheap clones would try to copy the Ampfibian, but they would've simplified it, not kept it exactly the same and risk infringing the original design...
Aldi is famous for going to manufactures of more expensive products and making a deal to order a huge number of units. If they can budge on the price, they sell exactly the same unit (in this case just in a different colour), at higher volume and lower price.
I can't confirm if the internals etc. are the same of course. But Aldi has done the same with food items as well. A high-end supermarket Biscuit brand in Germany was literally making the same product, and at the very end of the line, their machine split the product into 2 different packaging. One was the expensive brand, one was the equivalent of No Frills.
EDIT: My Ampfibian was run off 10Amp PowerPoint on the weekend, with the EVSE set to 15Amp. But it didn't trip the internal bcircuit breaker. Ampfibian and Cabling got very warm, so I didn't run it for long (I set EVSE back to 10Amp), but just not what I was expecting.
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Post by pharmadave on Jan 28, 2020 14:55:11 GMT 11
It’s not exactly the same as the Ampfibian but certainly very similar. Seems to be missing a few screw and mounting points.
I’d agree that Aldi probably approaches the OEM to make a slightly altered version of it.
I’ll try and check it out.
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Post by tomkauf on Jan 28, 2020 15:46:01 GMT 11
It’s not exactly the same as the Ampfibian but certainly very similar. Seems to be missing a few screw and mounting points. I’d agree that Aldi probably approaches the OEM to make a slightly altered version of it. I’ll try and check it out. Ah yes. Sounds like minor areas of cost reduction - makes sense. Let us know if you check it out. I'd also imagine that the plastic can be made thinner. It's pretty thick in the Ampfibian. |
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Post by johnmath on Jan 28, 2020 19:44:31 GMT 11
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Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2020 12:44:20 GMT 11
That’s the mini and not water resistant
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jin
Half Charge
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Post by jin on Feb 3, 2020 19:57:39 GMT 11
I have the mini and I find it better.It just fits in the Nissan evse case together with the evse itself.
I keep it as a spare in the trunk and I have yet to use it as an emergency charger. Even under use, personally, haven't found any need for water protection.
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Post by EVangelist on Feb 4, 2020 8:38:04 GMT 11
I have the mini and I find it better.It just fits in the Nissan evse case together with the evse itself. I keep it as a spare in the trunk and I have yet to use it as an emergency charger. Even under use, personally, haven't found any need for water protection. Same here, except I’ve used mine. I’ve only needed to use it twice in five years, however, but of course that made the difference between being able to get to where I wanted to go and not. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 9, 2020 15:06:32 GMT 11
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Post by pharmadave on Feb 18, 2020 9:27:06 GMT 11
My local Aldi was sold out within the first few hours of opening and I haven't tried anywhere else, I suspect it's the sale at other locations. Didn't seem like they were allocated that many units to begin with.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 22, 2020 16:56:25 GMT 11
Tripped when Charging model 3 using juice booster 2 with 15 amp tail. Car set to 10amps. 9.9amp measured with 15 amp power meter.
Got refund from Aldi
Indian giving my ampfibian torpedo.
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Post by tomkauf on Mar 22, 2020 23:39:46 GMT 11
Tripped when Charging model 3 using juice booster 2 with 15 amp tail. Car set to 10amps. 9.9amp measured with 15 amp power meter. Got refund from Aldi Indian giving my ampfibian torpedo. Interesting. My Ampfibian (the medium sized one) is almost the opposite. It doesn't trip, even when charging on 15Amps setting via the EVolution EVSE (not sure how much that actually draws though). |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 23, 2020 9:37:19 GMT 11
My torpedo ampfibian Trips if I try to draw 13 amps. Takes about 5 mins. This was when I had my imiev
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Post by tomkauf on Mar 23, 2020 11:54:42 GMT 11
Ah yes, I think I remember that the Evolution draws about 13 Amps on the 15Amp setting. So maybe I didn't run it long enough for it to trip. It got very warm, so I only did a short test.
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