We freeze, submerge and run over the rugged J+ Booster 2 to find out if it's as tough as advertised.
The J+ Booster 2 is a 40-amp dual voltage portable electric vehicle charger advertised to be about as tough as any charging equipment available today. We got our hands on one and used it for a couple of weeks to offer this comprehensive video review.
Being a dual-voltage charger, it offers the flexibility of charging your EV from either a 120-volt household outlet or a 240-V NEMA 14-50 level 2 outlet. The J+ Booster 2 uses the J1772 connector so it can charge any EV currently sold in North America, even Tesla vehicles using the J1772 to Tesla adapter that comes standard with every Tesla vehicle.
The unit has been available in Europe for many years already and is sold under the name of Juice Booster 2. However, when Juice America began to offer the unit in North America, they renamed it the J+ Booster 2, so there wouldn’t be any confusion with the Enel X JuiceBox EV charger.
The J+ Booster 2 can deliver up to 9.6 kW to an EV when using the NEMA 14-50 adapter and up to 1.4 kW using the NEMA 5-15 plug. It has an IP67 rating which means it’s dustproof and waterproof and can be submerged in up to 39″ of water for up to 30 minutes. We test out the waterproof rating in the review and left the unit submerged for longer than 30 minutes and it passed the test.
Chapters:
- 1:25 J+ Booster 2 key features
- 3:20 Unboxing the J+ Booster 2
- 4:13 Installing the J+ Booster 2
- 8:25 First impressions
- 18:13 Submersion test
- 19:15 J+ Booster 2 cable deep freeze test
- 22:08 J+ Booster 2 connector drop test
- 24:44 J+ Booster failure
- 27:23 J+ Booster 2 crush test
- 32:22 Rating
- 35:55 J+ Booster 2 likes and dislikes
The J+ Boosted 2 comes with a wall-mounting cradle for those who want to use it as their daily charger. It can then be unplugged and placed in the supplied carrying case when you want to take it on the road with you.
There are two cable length options; the 21′ cable costs $699.97 and the 25′ cable version (which is the longest EV charging cable allowed under the NEC) $749.97. It’s an expensive unit, but it does have a lot to offer and is very durable.
We did our usual cable deep freeze test and the cable received an average score. It passed the connector drop test and also the crush test. Since the J+ Booster 2 is crush-rated at up to 6,600 lbs, we drove over it with a Ford F-150 Lightning and a Rivian R1T ao test that rating out. While the unit did suffer a lot of scratches and torn rubber end caps, it worked perfectly after the abuse.
We gave the J+ Booster 2 a final score of 4.4 stars out of 5 and added it to our list of recommended electric vehicle charging equipment.
Limited-time Black Friday Special:
For those interested in the J+ Booster 2, Juice America is currently offering 20% off the regular price of $699.97 to $559.98 for Black Friday. We’re unsure if the special price will be extended beyond Black Friday. In our opinion, it’s a very good deal at the current discounted price. InsideEVs has reached out to Juice America to find out how long the special pricing will last.
Source: State Of Charge
Keyword: J+ Booster 2 EV Charger Review