J+ BOOSTER 2 portable EV charger review: More bang for your buck
Juice Americas launched its portable two-in-one EV charger, the J+ BOOSTER 2, in North America in August and invited Electrek to review it. Here’s how it went.
J+ BOOSTER 2 specs
Juice Americas is the US subsidiary of Swiss-based Juice Technology AG. The St. Petersburg, Florida-based Juice Americas sent me the J+ BOOSTER 2 set, which included a cloth-covered bag with velcro on the bottom so that it doesn’t slide around in the trunk; the J+ BOOSTER 2 with an SAE J1772 vehicle connector; and NEMA 14-50 and 5-15 adapters.
It also comes with a wall bracket, and that’s why the company says it’s a two-in-one: It can be used as both a wall charger and a portable charger.
Michael Boehm, managing director of Juice Americas, told Electrek in a video call:
In the US, people like wall chargers at home. Ours is just as fast if not faster, plus it has the added value of portability. We like to call it a portable wall charger. It’s basically a 2-in-1. Because most portable chargers are not really designed to be everyday chargers.
Adapters for NEMA 6-15, 6-50, and TT-30 charging outlets are now available for purchase as of this month.
The company is also now offering the 120-240 VAC, 40A heavy-duty cable in an extended 25-foot length option (list price $749.97) in addition to its original 21-foot length option (list price $699.97).
The 2.2-pound (1 kg) BOOSTER 2 is IP67 water and dust proof, and its aluminum housing is UV resistant, so it’s safe for outdoor use. It can withstand 6,600 pounds of pressure if you accidentally run over it with your car.
And the J+ BOOSTER 2 is compatible with any EV, including Teslas, if you use Tesla’s J1772 adapter.
J+ BOOSTER 2 review
The BOOSTER 2’s power input options cover all supply current variants, either 120V or 240V, and from 6 to 40 amps. The unit delivers a charging power ranging from 720 W to 9.6 kW. In my garage is a NEMA 6-50 outlet with a 30 amp breaker (I didn’t install it) and a standard 5-15 outlet. If I charge my 2021 Tesla Model 3 with Tesla’s portable EV charger, for which I have adapters for both outlets, I just plug it in, and the car takes care of the rest. Tesla’s 6-50 adapter can handle a maximum 32 amp output.
When I plugged in the J+ BOOSTER 2 charger to charge my 2023 Volkswagen ID.4, it recognized the adapter and defaulted to 40 amp capability, tried to draw too much power, and tripped the box.
The function display flashed a red LED “socket” fault indication. (Error messages are explained on page 15 of the product’s manual.)
I unplugged the BOOSTER 2 to reset the charger. My electrician also told me I could hold the “select” button down to reset it, but it doesn’t say that in the manual.
The permanent solution to my problem was to manually change the amperage by pressing the select button on the function display. I set it for 24 amps, and it now charges my VW ID.4 without tripping the box. I get 24 miles each hour, 8.5 kW.
If I’d read the manual more carefully, I probably would have avoided this glitch. The Swiss are considering including a quick start guide for North America, which would be great for those of us who are a wee bit impatient.
Know your amperage and set the charger accordingly if necessary.
Electrek’s Take
If you already have a Level 2 EV wall charger and a portable EV charger that can charge at both Level 1 and Level 2, along with necessary adapters, then you probably don’t need a J+ BOOSTER 2.
If your utility offers special EV charging rates if you use their wall charger, then the BOOSTER 2 might not be your best option for everyday charging.
But if you are a new EV owner, and your car doesn’t come with a portable EV charger, and you haven’t yet installed an EV wall charger and won’t get special charging rates from your utility, then the BOOSTER 2 is a great option.
You don’t need to pay an electrician to install it, and you only need to buy one charger, so it’s cost effective.
Hang it on the wall bracket to charge up at home, and take it with you when you travel.
As a two-EV household, we found this to be a great option as it’s versatile, reliable, and portable.
Just remember to RTFM.
Photos: Juice Americas
(Editor’s note: Amazon product links are affiliate links.)
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LiveWire, the electric motorcycle brand spun out of Harley-Davidson, has just announced its latest electric motorcycle model. The new LiveWire S2 Alpanista is built on the same platform as the brand’s last two models, leveraging the Arrow platform as a versatile foundation for several diverse bikes.
The Arrow platform first received its debut with the LiveWire S2 Del Mar, which was then followed by the S2 Mulholland.
LiveWire announced that a high-performance electric maxi-scooter would be produced on the Arrow platform, but not before the company rolled out the S2 Alpinista. “The Alpinista is LiveWire’s first sport standard,” explained the company, “equipped with 17” wheels and tires, blending the best of street, sport, and hyper-tourer characteristics.”
The recently unveiled S2 Alpinista is mechanically quite similar to the two previous models sharing the platform. The 10.5 kWh battery that serves as the main structure of the bike will offer a maximum range of 120 miles (193 km) per charge under city riding conditions. It can be recharged with a Level 2 charger from 20-80% in just 1 hour and 20 minutes.
The 433 lb (196 kg) bike can achieve a 0-60 mph (0-96 km/h) time of just 3.0 seconds, thanks to its powerful 63 kW (84 hp) motor. The S2 Alpinista can also reach an electronically limited top speed of 99 mph (159 km/h).
Priced at US $15,999 and already available at LiveWire dealerships in North America and Europe, the S2 Alpinista officially becomes the most affordable LiveWire electric motorcycle available to date, undercutting the $16,249 S2 Del Mar electric street tracker and the $16,499 Mulholland electric sport cruiser.
“Alpinista reimagines the S2 by combining the urban agility of a supermoto with the do-it-all nature of a touring bike, creating a practical and thrilling sport standard,” explained the brand.
The smaller 17″ wheels help reduce the seat height of the bike, and combined with the Dunlop Roadsmart IV tires, the street-optimized bike is ideal for “both daily commutes and spirited rides through winding roads.”
The S2 Alpinista comes with 6-axis IMU from Bosch providing cornering-enhanced antilock braking and cornering-enhanced traction control systems, in addition to four preset ride modes and two custom modes.
Now the third model launched on the Arrow platform, the S2 Alpanista underscores the versatility of LiveWire’s workhorse. The approach was intended to allow the e-motorcycle offshoot to quickly innovate with multiple styles of motorcycles all sharing key structural and drivetrain components. The move has largely been seen as an engineering success, with three models hitting the road in under three years. However, sales have yet to reach targets set by LiveWire as the more premium electric motorcycle industry has experienced a rocky few years.
As a LiveWire S2 Del Mar owner myself, I can attest to both the performance and enjoyable experience of bikes built on the platform, though I do find myself in a somewhat smaller community than LiveWire had likely hoped for. With the backing of its powerful older brother H-D, which retains a controlling stake in the company, LiveWire has enjoyed the relative freedom to cruise for its first few years and focus on motorcycle development and rollouts, with profitability hopefully coming over the horizon in due time.
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