Grizzl-E Classic vs Grizzl-E Classic Connect

Most charger comparisons are muddied by variables — different amperages, different cables, different enclosures — which makes it hard to isolate what any single feature is worth. This one is unusually clean. Same brand, same 40 amps, same 25-foot cold-flexible cable, same cast-aluminum NEMA 4 / IP67 body rated -22°F to 122°F, and the same plug-in install on a NEMA 14-50 and a 50-amp circuit. One of them has a WiFi radio. That is the comparison.

One note on availability, updated 28 September 2026: the Grizzl-E Classic was unlisted on Amazon in every plug and finish through most of September, which is why this page spent several weeks with a buy button on only one side. All three variants are listed again with live prices, and the specs in the table below were re-read from Grizzl-E’s own current pages the same day. Grizzl-E never discontinued it — the gap was an Amazon listing gap — but stock has proved patchy, so check the listing before you plan around it.

Two spec footnotes. Grizzl-E also builds the Classic for a NEMA 6-50 receptacle and hardwire-ready, so check the exact variant if you buy one; the Classic Connect is published as a 14-50 only, but with a choice of a J1772 or a NACS cable on the car end.

What the Classic Connect actually adds

Grizzl-E’s own product overview describes the Classic Connect as “the Wi-Fi Connected Smart Level 2 EVSE for home use”, shipping with the Grizzl-E Connect app. Concretely, that gives you four things:

Scheduling. Tell the charger when to run. Useful on a time-of-use rate — and, importantly, duplicative if your car already schedules charging natively, which nearly all do.

Usage history. The genuinely non-duplicative one. The car reports its own charging, but the charger reports what came through the wall, which is the number your utility bills against. If you want to verify what a session actually cost rather than estimate it, this is the feature that does it.

Remote lockout. Underrated on an outdoor or shared install. If the charger lives on a driveway a neighbor could reach, being able to disable it from a phone is worth something concrete.

Utility Demand/Response.Grizzl-E publishes this one for the connected unit specifically, and it is the feature with actual money attached. Managed-charging programs pay you to let the utility shift or trim your charging at peak, and they need a charger the utility can reach — which the Classic, by design, is not. Check your program’s approved-hardware list before assuming it qualifies.

One thing the Classic Connect does not publish, which the discontinued Smart did, is OCPP 1.6Jsupport — the open protocol that would let third-party software drive the charger instead of Grizzl-E’s own app. It is not on this model’s spec sheet or overview, so we do not credit it.

What the Classic Connect does not add

In-app amperage adjustment. Worth stating clearly because buyers assume it. On both models the current limit is set by a physical DIP switch — 16, 24, 32 or 40 amps — inside the unit. The app does not change it. That is either charmingly honest or annoyingly analog depending on temperament, but it means adding WiFi does not make the charger any more adjustable than the Classic — Grizzl-E’s own overview describes setting the Classic Connect’s maximum power with the DIP switches. If in-app amperage matters, the unit that does it is the ChargePoint Home Flex, at 16 to 50 amps.

Any charging speed. Both are 40 amps, 9.6 kW, about 34 miles of range per hour at our reference efficiency. Identical.

Any weather capability. Same enclosure, same rating, same cable. The thing you are actually buying a Grizzl-E for is unchanged.

The certification wrinkle, which matters if you want a rebate

This is the one substantive place the Classic Connect is behind, and it is a documentation issue rather than a hardware one.

Grizzl-E’s own pages state ENERGY STAR certification for the Classic. For the Classic Connect, neither of Grizzl-E’s pages states one — even though some Amazon listing titles for it carry an ENERGY STAR badge. We record that as Not published rather than guessing in either direction, and we deliberately keep this unit off our ENERGY STAR roundup because of it.

Why it matters: ENERGY STAR is the most common eligibility filter in utility rebate programs, and DOE lists 114 utilities offering residential charger purchase rebates. If yours requires the certification, the model whose manufacturer documents it is the safer buy — and a retail badge is not the evidence a program will accept.

The awkward irony is that the connected model is the one more likely to be wanted by a managed-charging program, and the one whose certification is harder to prove. If you are chasing a specific rebate, verify with the program before ordering either.

Quick picks

Ranked on published specs, charging speed, electrical fit and value. Select a row to jump to the full write-up. We have not bench-tested these chargers — here is exactly what we do instead.

#	Product	Best for	Price
1	Grizzl-E Classic A deliberately dumb charger, and that is the point: no app, no cloud account, no firmware to fail — just a die-cast aluminum box built for a Canadian winter and rated to keep working outdoors. It went missing from Amazon for most of September 2026 and is listed again as of our 2026-09-28 check. If you want the same build with a WiFi radio in it, that is the Classic Connect.	Same hardware, documented ENERGY STAR — but not listed on Amazon	$299.99 · View on Amazon $399.0025% off Price as of October 18, 2026. #ad How we’re funded
2	Grizzl-E Classic Connect 40A Grizzl-E's cast-aluminum build with a WiFi radio in it. You get the IP67 body and the cold-flexible 25 ft cable that made the brand's name, plus scheduling, usage history and utility demand-response programs in the Grizzl-E Connect app — in a plug-in unit that comes off the wall when you move. The amperage is still set with a DIP switch, which is either charmingly honest or annoyingly analog depending on your taste.	Add usage history, lockout and utility programs	$349.99 · View on Amazon Price as of October 18, 2026. #ad How we’re funded
3	Lectron Nexus 48A J1772 A full 48 amps with nothing to log into. Lectron's Nexus body is IP66-sealed for an outdoor wall, the cable is a heavy 15 mm compound the brand says is built to stay flexible in freezing weather, and the safety paperwork is the real thing — ETL to UL 2594/2231/2251, plus ENERGY STAR. Hardwired only, and there is no app, which is the entire point.	If you need 48 amps and still want no app	$449.99 · View on Amazon Price as of October 18, 2026. #ad How we’re funded

The verdict

• Your car schedules charging and you just want it to work: the Classic on the hardware — you are not giving anything up that you would notice. But you will have to buy it direct, because it is no longer on Amazon. If it has to come from Amazon, take the Classic Connect and simply ignore the app. (And if the real question is Grizzl-E against a mainstream smart charger, see Grizzl-E vs ChargePoint Home Flex.)
• You want to see what each session cost through the wall: the Classic Connect. The usage history is the one feature the car cannot replace.
• The charger lives outdoors where others could reach it: the Classic Connect, for remote lockout.
• Your utility rebate requires ENERGY STAR: the Classic, on the documentation — bought direct. Verify with the program, and note that a program will ask for the certification, which Grizzl-E publishes for the Classic and not for the Classic Connect.
• Your utility runs a managed-charging program: the Classic Connect, since those need a networked charger — but confirm the certification question first.
• You need 48 amps: neither — both cap at 40. Grizzl-E’s 48-amp answer is the hardwired Ultimate 48A, which the brand sells at $383.99 in J1772 or NACS. (We recorded it as discontinued in August 2026 on the strength of a dead Amazon listing and corrected that on 28 September.) The Lectron Nexus 48A is the other no-app 48-amp option — hardwired, J1772, IP66.

And if your garage has poor signal, note that the Classic Connect’s advantages all depend on it reaching your network. Check that before paying for it — our connectivity guide covers how to find out and what to do about it.