Portable EV Chargers

Portable EV chargers plug into an ordinary 3-pin domestic socket and charge at up to 2.3kW — the backup you keep in the boot rather than an everyday solution. We stock 2 Cord portable chargers: a 5m version at £145 and a 10m at £165, both with adjustable 6A, 8A and 10A settings so the current can be dialled down on older wiring. Free UK delivery.

Cord Range / EV Charging Cables / 7kW Home Chargers / All Accessories

What is a portable EV charger?

A cable with a control box in the middle, plugging into a standard 3-pin socket at one end and your car at the other. It is sometimes called a granny charger, and it is the slowest way to charge an EV — around 2.3kW, or roughly 8 miles of range per hour. A full charge from empty takes well over a day on most vehicles. It exists for the times when there is no charge point at all.

When would you actually use one?

Staying with relatives, a holiday cottage, a rural site with no charging infrastructure, or an overnight stop where the only option is an outdoor socket. It is also worth having in a company vehicle that occasionally travels beyond the charging network. What it is not is a substitute for a home charger: charging at 2.3kW every night will not keep up with normal mileage, and it puts a domestic socket under sustained load for many hours at a time.

Is it safe to use a normal plug socket?

With sensible precautions. Use a socket in good condition on a dedicated circuit where possible, never through an extension lead or reel, and dial the current down to 6A or 8A if the wiring is old or the socket warms up. The adjustable current setting exists precisely for this. Outdoor sockets should be weatherproof and RCD protected. If you find yourself using one regularly, that is the signal to fit a proper 7kW home charger, which is both faster and safer for daily use.

5m or 10m?

The 5m version at £145 suits situations where the socket is close to where the car parks. The 10m at £165 gives far more freedom on unfamiliar driveways, which is exactly where a portable charger tends to be used — and £20 is a small premium for not discovering the cable is two metres short at 11pm in someone else's driveway.

Do I still need a Type 2 cable?

Yes, if you use public or workplace charge points, which are mostly untethered. A portable 3-pin charger and a Type 2 charging cable do completely different jobs — the portable plugs into a wall socket, the Type 2 cable connects your car to a proper charge point. Most EV drivers carry both.