State of Charge

                                Charging Station Reviews

We independently review every item we recommend. If you buy through our links, we may earn a small commission that helps us continue to make quality content for you. Thanks for your support!

Grizzl-E Smart EV Charging Station Review

One of the least expensive 40-amp smart chargers on the market
Published on February 28, 2022
Last updated on August 3, 2023

Remember back when we reviewed the Grizzl-E Classic EV charging station, a rugged model manufactured by Canada-based United Chargers and built to withstand even the most extreme weather conditions? Well, there's an improved version of that fabulous charger out, only this one has smart connectivity. Not only is it built to last, but it’s also easy on the wallet, considering its cost compared to other similar smart chargers.

The Grizzl-e Smart is packed full of features that easily make it one of the most popular (and recommended) EV charging stations that we’ve reviewed, too. Smart connectors in general allow you to keep tabs on charging, costs, and more, all from your mobile device. If you don’t have the necessary 50 amp circuit needed to use the Grizzl-E at full power, the company is more than happy to provide internal dip switches to let you de-rate the power. Its NEMA 4-rated enclosure gives it the ability to withstand harsh weather conditions, and its ‘EasyEVPlug’ is a remote connector holster that means that you can install your connector where it’s most convenient for you. The Grizzl-e Smart is absolutely a good pick for your home charging station needs.

UNITED CHARGERS
unitedchargers.com
$354.00

Key Specs of the Grizzl-E Smart

  • Charger: AC Level 2
  • AC Connector: Type 1 (SAE J1772)
  • Power Input: Hardwired, NEMA 6-50 plug, NEMA 14-50 plug
  • Rated Current: 40A
  • Adjustable Current: 16 – 40A
  • Maximum Power: 10 kW
  • Dimensions (without cable): 10.25" x 6.25" x 3.75"
  • Cable length: 24 feet
  • Connectivity: Wi-Fi
  • Safety Certified: Yes
  • Hits

  • Holster your connector wherever you want with its EasyEVPlug
  • OCPP compliant software means you can choose your charging app
  • Rugged construction withstands even the harshest weather
  • Misses

  • Cable is pretty thick and inflexible in cold weather conditions
  • Connector feels more ‘plastic’ and cheap than one with a well-made rubberized grip
  • Manufacturer only has agreements with two apps (AmpUp and ChargeLab) right now, making the OCPP choices slim
  • Installation

    The Grizzl-E Smart is very straightforward to install. You’ll want a dedicated 50 amp circuit with a NEMA 14-50P outlet close by, or if that’s not possible, United Chargers can provide you with a pre-set dip switch to de-rate the power down to 16, 24, or 32 amps instead.

    You attach a metal wall bracket to the wall with three center-aligned screws, preferably along a stud for extra stability. Then you attach the mounting bracket to the back of the charging station with an Allen wrench to lock it into place. Once that’s done, the two brackets lock together and are held in place by a security pin in the back. Plug it into your outlet, and you should be good to go.

    The security pin is handy because it secures the Grizzl-E while also allowing for quick removal if needed. If you’re mounting the unit outdoors or anywhere where there’s a possibility of theft, United Chargers sells a security lock to replace the pin for an additional $14.95.

    The Grizzl-E does come with a remote holster, but if it's not quite what you're looking for, we suggest checking out this holster and cable hook instead.

    After everything’s properly connected, you can plug in your Grizzl-E Smart and let it do its work. With the full 40 amps, you should be able to add 25-32 miles of range to an EV per hour of charging, depending on how efficient the EV is.

    One of the best features of the Grizzl-E Smart is the fact that it can connect to any Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP) compliant EV charging station software. Rather than being stuck with whatever app your charger manufacturer decides to stick you with, you can try out different apps and their features before picking the one you like best. On top of that, the Grizzl-E Smart is also capable of becoming a commercial charging station that can collect payments with the help of a QR code. That makes this EV charging station perfect for places like apartment buildings, workplaces, and public parking garages.

    Testing

    The Grizzl-E Smart has a NEMA 4-rated metal enclosure and a thick charging cable meant to resist all sorts of extreme weather, but even so, we didn’t cut it any slack when it came to putting it through its paces.


    The Cable Deep Freeze Test

    Everybody loves our cable deep freeze tests. Considering that this particular charger hails from Canada, we were eager to see how it would fare after 14 hours spent in an ice cream freezer to simulate cold weather exposure. The temperature inside the freezer read -10.5° F when we pulled the cable out, but despite being marketed as an upgraded version meant to remain pliant in cold temperatures, the resulting flexibility wasn’t that impressive. The Grizzl-E Smart’s cable might perform a little better than average compared to others we’ve tested, but the cable did remain stiff until it warmed up a bit. But we can’t count the cable as a complete bust. United Chargers claims that their charging cable is durable enough to be run over by a car without damage. They also claim that the cable’s outer jacket won’t crack in extreme weather.


    The Extreme Weather Test

    In order to simulate driving rain, we thoroughly drenched the Grizzle-E Smart charger with a garden hose, even going so far as to give the outer seals a direct blast of water. Not willing to stop there, we went so far as to take it off of the wall mounting and dunk the housing into a bucket of water, even holding it under a bit at the end. After thoroughly toweling it off and plugging it back in, the Grizzl-E Smart charger immediately lit up and began charging an EV without any issues.

    We score each eV charger that we review on a 15-point categorical system before tallying up the final score out of 100, that way you can easily compare the features that matter most to you. The Grizzl-E Smart scored rather well across the board, though it most notably gained points due to its rugged construction and smart features. Overall, the Grizzl-E Smart scored a total of 93 points for a rating of 4.65 out of 5 stars.

    After averaging in the ChargerRater score with my personal rating of 4.75 stars out of 5, we gave the Grizzl-E Smart a final rating of 4.7 stars out of 5. While it’s advertised as a rugged device meant to laugh in the face of inclement weather, we just felt like it could have been a little better– the connector felt a little cheaply made, and the cable could have been more flexible. But on the upside, it’s a 40 amp Wi-Fi-enabled smart charger, both safety certified and Energy Star certified, and it does what you need it to do.

    The Grizzl-E smart charger is an excellent value and one that will remain on our list of recommended chargers for some time to come. It’s available for $399 with a three-year warranty from United Chargers, though there’s a five-year warranty available as well for an extra $100. Check out our video and let us know what you think in the comment section below.

    4.7 / 5
    Grizzl-E Smart

    By: Tom Moloughney

    Tom has been covering the electric vehicle scene since 2010 and has written for Forbes, Plugincars, GreenCarReports, BMWBLOG, and InsideEVs. He's a former director at Plug In America and specializes in the North American and Chinese electric vehicle markets, with a strong emphasis on EV charging and charging equipment. Tom is also the host of the EV charging YouTube channel, State of Charge.

    Latest News From State of Charge

    EVChargingStation’s Comment Policy

    We welcome polite, respectful comments, but rudeness and personal attacks will not be tolerated. All comments are reviewed prior to publication.  Thanks for joining in the conversation!

    5 Comments

    1. Mitch C

      Hello, I can tell you this has not been my experience. Poorly built products and software that is entry-level at best. Asking a customer to reduce security by removing special characters from password and SSID names is unacceptable. I am on my second charger, still not working properly.

      Reply
    2. Brian

      I recently purchased their product and constant WiFi disconnects (with an extender right next to it), company takes for a long time to respond to issues. When the product works it works good..

      Issues since got the product:
      – 2 firmware updates both failed
      – had to reduce the speed of charging on the unit as it kept failing

      Tickets open for all issues and responses to queries have fell on deaf ears..

      When the product works its great.. but lack of support and above issues makes me really rethink my purchase.
      Hope this helps others in their decision making process.

      Reply
    3. Don Allen

      Charger constantly stops charging randomly, Tech support says it’s because I have a poor wifi signal. Signal is at 62db. They will not send me a new unit but have recommended me to use the charger in dumb mode. STAY AWAY FROM THESE, No warranty and bad support.

      Reply
    4. Dino Guan

      I have the Grizzl-E Smart WiFi and it is plagued with problems on the “Smart WiFi” side. It will often “not” follow the schedule programmed through the ChargeLab App choosing not to charge the vehicle. It often reports 0 kWh in the ChargeLab App history making tracking usage history useless.
      In order to make it work, you have to disable WiFi to convert it to a dumb charger and then it will work.

      But that is not what we paid for.

      United Charger won’t replace charger blaming it on ChargeLab App. ChargeLab blames the OCPP software on the charger, but does acknowledge problems with their app (intermittent charging history tracking), but has no incentive to update or fix the issue.

      Bottom Line: Grizzl-E Smart WiFi is dead on arrival and waste of money.

      Grizzl-E “Dumb” charger works fine, but lacks any useful data metrics.

      Tom Moloughney‘S Review misses on Long term use of the Grizzl-E Smart WiFi charger where over time, many Users start experiencing the issues described here over time. Just check Reddit or Forums. This review is superficial at best given its short review period and lacks a long term review to be comprehensive. However, Tom Moloughney is not to blame as most EV Charger reviews lack any long term evaluation which is where real world problems start to show themselves.

      Reply
    5. Marc Fontana

      I bought my Grizzl-E Smart in January 2023. I use the ChargeLab App to check the status of charging and to keep track of my kWh usage history. If you buy it today (January 2024) it’s $100 cheaper than it was a Year ago and it can use the new Grizzl-E Connect App. So, this Smart Charging station is very good value at $375. Unfortunately for earlier buyers like me, the Grizzl-E Smart needs a hardware upgrade in order to use the new App. It’s a free upgrade if you bought the unit before August 2023. Well, not exactly free since United Chargers won’t pay for shipping. They want you to send them the whole thing including the cables ~ 25lbs. That’s around $80 round trip in shipping costs ! I think that’s too high a cost for a getting an App that’s slightly more functional .

      Reply

    Submit a Comment

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Share This