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[chisquare]

Hi everyone,

Does anybody here happen to own one of these Romada 3.5kW/16A Compact Type 2 chargers? (https://aliexpress.com/item/1005010017541800.html)

It seems to be very compact and lightweight—potentially a good solution for traveling in areas where fast chargers are scarce. However, I'm unsure if it’s legit or compliant with necessary safety standards. I can't find any tests or reviews and there's no documentation at all from the manufacturer or seller, just the few pictures on Aliexpress. Despite the low price, I’m hesitant to buy one due to the risk of bricking my SS9.

Any experiences would be greatly appreciated.

Best, Urs

[DonTom]

Hi everyone,

Does anybody here happen to own one of these Romada 3.5kW/16A Compact Type 2 chargers? (https://aliexpress.com/item/1005010017541800.html)

It seems to be very compact and lightweight—potentially a good solution for traveling in areas where fast chargers are scarce. However, I'm unsure if it’s legit or compliant with necessary safety standards. I can't find any tests or reviews and there's no documentation at all from the manufacturer or seller, just the few pictures on Aliexpress. Despite the low price, I’m hesitant to buy one due to the risk of bricking my SS9.

Any experiences would be greatly appreciated.

Best, Urs

Those are not really "chargers" at all. They are just an AC supply but are very often incorrectly called "chargers". The real charger is inside the SS9.


I do not see how using such an item can do any harm. It is just supplying the 240 VAC to your real charger.


-Don-  Douglas, AZ

[Specter]

if it observes the ccs protocol and can talk to the  charger, which is on the bike it should work,  if not, you might want to see what comes up which wires.  without memorizing which goes where, if the bike, say, is expecting say 5 volts on a comm terminal and the thing is putting 48 volts up there, as an example, it could fry something in the bike charger.

you can get a regular j plug real cheap, why go with this out of curiosity,  the power supplies on them tend to be very wide, accepting like 90 volt to 270 volt ish. so with a pigtail you can plug into pretty much any mains.

aaron

[chisquare]

Thanks for the clarification — I agree these devices are not "chargers" in the strict sense; the actual charger is on the bike, and this is an EVSE supplying AC and handling the signaling.

What prompted my question is a specific design difference. Most portable Type-2 EVSEs have a fairly bulky in-line control box between plug and cable, typically around 20 × 10 × 5 cm (8 × 4 × 2 in), which adds both volume and weight when traveling. The Romada appears to be the first design I've seen where all control electronics are integrated directly into the plug head, with no separate in-line box at all.

The obvious advantage is reduced size and weight in luggage. My hesitation is therefore not about AC charging per se, but about build quality, protection, and compliance, given the complete lack of documentation or independent testing. Any real-world experience with this specific unit would be very helpful.

Or, if anyone is aware of a similar concept or product from a reputable manufacturer, I would be very interested to hear about it.

Urs

[jotjotde]

Hi Urs,
I am owning a brick looking similar to that you have in mind.
https://www.feyree.com/products/portable-16a-type2-ev-charger-schuko
I also purchased it a Aliexpress and I used it when I had the Zero and now when I am travelling for overnight AC charging.
You are right, it is quite compact and it fits it in a Kriega 5 Liter pack which I strap behind me.
Weight should be around 2 kg.

[chisquare]

Hi jotjotde,

Thanks, but I have a brickless brick in mind. Yours does look fairly compact indeed, but it still takes up more space and adds more weight than a truly brickless EVSE. The unit offered on AliExpress appears to do exactly what I am looking for; however, given the lack of documentation and real-world user experience, I do not feel comfortable trusting it.

Urs

[DerKrawallkeks]

Psssht. This is what you want hehe

I made it using a wallbox electronic package from evalbo for the Type 2 plug that goes into the bike, and an EV electronic package (just a PCB) from evalbo for the Type 2 plug that plugs into a charging station.

[svelectric]

The Webasto Turbo cord is pretty small and I'd say proven/trusted.  Got mine from ebay.  Packs away nicely.  Some guys even modded it with a smaller J plug handle.  https://www.reddit.com/r/Electricmotorcycles/comments/14yvgh8/looking_for_a_very_tiny_portable_j1772_evse_that/?rdt=58079

[chisquare]

I made it using a wallbox electronic package from evalbo for the Type 2 plug that goes into the bike, and an EV electronic package (just a PCB) from evalbo for the Type 2 plug that plugs into a charging station.

Very likely the most compact EVSE out there. But as it stands, it’s indoor-only. Any plans to go commercial and make it IP67 or the like?

[DerKrawallkeks]

It works outdoor just fine:)
But yea, technically the mt30 connector has no seal.
I love it though, cause it's literally smaller than the cable, very cool connector.

I made it so you can either do wall outlet to bike, charging station to bike, charging station to outlet (for my other moped or something else), and naturally it can be used as a regular extension cable.
Fully modular.
I intend on making a 3 phase version now, but I had to go with a molex mini-fit plus he's, cause I need 5 pins.

[jotjotde]

Hi jotjotde,

Thanks, but I have a brickless brick in mind. Yours does look fairly compact indeed, but it still takes up more space and adds more weight than a truly brickless EVSE. The unit offered on AliExpress appears to do exactly what I am looking for; however, given the lack of documentation and real-world user experience, I do not feel comfortable trusting it.

Urs

OK, now I understand. I could not follow the link you posted because Aliexpress led me to the German site where these kind of charging cables are not available. And when I googled the article name, just bricked charging cables popped up, so first I assumed you meant one of those.

Having looked around a bit, apparently these brickless charging cables are not available in Europe. That tells me that those most probably go against EU regulations.
According to my (limited) knowledge, the brick (correct name is presumably 'in-cable-control-box') contains stuff for some important safety relevant functions (fault currents, overvoltage, overtemperature).

Call me a whimp but I would never use something electrical that hasn't a CE certificate.

[chisquare]

From what I could find, the "brick" of an EVSE usually contains the control pilot signaling, ground-fault protection, current and temperature monitoring, relays, and the basic safety logic. So its design and build quality is indeed safety-critical.

That's why I'm more than a bit uneasy about ultra-compact designs where everything is packed into the J-plug. Beyond heat dissipation and long-term reliability, I also wonder how well fault protection can realistically be implemented in such a small space - especially AC ground-fault detection and DC leakage detection, which seem to be essential to avoid blinding upstream GFI/RCD devices. Without independent certification (CE, etc.), this approach seems to carry non-trivial risks.

[T.S. Zarathustra]

Hi everyone,

Does anybody here happen to own one of these Romada 3.5kW/16A Compact Type 2 chargers? (https://aliexpress.com/item/1005010017541800.html)

It seems to be very compact and lightweight—potentially a good solution for traveling in areas where fast chargers are scarce. However, I'm unsure if it’s legit or compliant with necessary safety standards. I can't find any tests or reviews and there's no documentation at all from the manufacturer or seller, just the few pictures on Aliexpress. Despite the low price, I’m hesitant to buy one due to the risk of bricking my SS9.

Any experiences would be greatly appreciated.

Best, Urs

This is a cable, not a charger. The cables that plug into wall outlet, with "bricks" on the cable, have adjustable current. (The adjustable current is a simple "control signal" that tells the vehicle charger how much power it can draw from the grid.) This one seems to be hardwired to 16 Amps (3.5 kW at 220V). So if your wall outlet has 10 Amp fuse it will blow or switch off.
With the poor English in the listing I would not trust it to charge a Lego EV or RC.