The price is the headline, so start there
The ELEGRP undercuts most of the 40-amp field, and the interesting question is always where the money came out. On a lot of budget chargers the answer is the amperage — a “Level 2” unit that actually delivers 16 or 24 amps. On others it is the certification, which is the one place you should never save money. Neither is true here.
ELEGRP publishes 40 A at 240 V AC, 50/60 Hz, on a NEMA 14-50 plug, with output selectable at 16, 20, 24, 32 or 40 amps. It publishes an ETL certificationfor the 40A model and states that the J1772 plug, the cable and the NEMA 14-50 connector are built from UL-listed components. ETL is Intertek’s mark as a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory, and for EV supply equipment the relevant standard is UL 2594. One honest caveat we have carried since we first added this unit: ELEGRP’s page says “ETL & UL” without naming the standards the unit was assessed against, so our spec table records the ETL listing and stops there rather than implying a UL listing for the whole assembly. Our safety certifications guide explains why that distinction is worth being pedantic about.
So where did the money come out? Three places, and all three are visible on the spec sheet rather than hidden: the two-year warranty, the IP54 connector, and the absence of any published ENERGY STAR certification. We take each of those seriously further down.
Charging speed, worked out
The arithmetic is the same for every 40-amp charger, which is exactly the point. At 40 amps and 240 volts the ELEGRP delivers 9.6 kW(40 × 240 = 9,600 watts). At our standard reference of about 3.5 miles of range per kWh, that is roughly 34 miles of range per hour. Over a ten-hour overnight window that is about 340 miles — more than any current EV needs from empty, and far more than the 30 to 60 miles most drivers actually replace on a given day.
We print the 3.5 mi/kWh assumption because your number depends on your car and the weather, not on the charger. A large, inefficient EV in February will do worse; a small efficient one in June will do better. The charger is a tap, not an engine.
Worth flagging: ELEGRP’s own page carries two different range claims — a badge reading “Up to 37 Miles/H” and a section headed “30 Miles Per Hour Charging”. Both are plausible for different reference efficiencies, but they cannot both be the same car, and we are not going to reprint either as a fact. Our figure is our own arithmetic with the assumption stated, which is the only kind of range number we publish.
The five current settings matter more than the headline. Under the NEC’s continuous-load rule a circuit is sized at 125% of the charger’s draw, so the ladder runs: 40 A on a 50-amp circuit (~34 mi/hr), 32 A on a 40-amp circuit (~27 mi/hr), 24 A on a 30-amp circuit (~20 mi/hr), 20 A on a 25-amp circuit, and 16 A on a 20-amp circuit(~13 mi/hr). That bottom rung is still about two and a half times Level 1 speed, which is why a constrained panel is not the end of the conversation — see chargers for small panels.
The 25-foot cable is the quiet upgrade
Cable length is the specification buyers underestimate and then live with for a decade. It is fixed at purchase, it decides where the unit can be mounted and where you can park, and no amount of amperage compensates for a handle that will not reach the port.
ELEGRP ships 25 feeton the SKU we track, with 16-foot and 21-foot variants also offered — so check the length on the listing before you order, because they are different products at different prices. Twenty-five feet is the same reach as chargers costing considerably more, and it is enough to cross a two-car garage or reach a car parked nose-in on the far side of a driveway. Our long-cable roundup covers how to measure the real route rather than the straight line, which is the mistake that turns a 25-foot cable into a 17-foot one.
The cost of all that cable is weight and bulk. This is described as a portable charger, and it is — it comes with a carry bag — but 25 feet of 40-amp cable is the heaviest thing in the portable class to coil and carry. Portability here means “you can take it when you move” more than “you will toss it in the trunk each weekend”. If genuine travel is the priority, a shorter cable is the better buy, and our portable roundup ranks on exactly that trade.
IP67 station, IP54 connector: read both numbers
This is the spec that most needs explaining, because a single “IP67” on a product page reads as “weatherproof” and the reality is more specific.
Under IEC 60529 the first digit is solids and the second is water. IP67 on the charging station means dust-tight and protected against temporary immersion. IP54on the connector means protected against dust ingress and splashing water — a much lower bar, and the one that governs the part you actually handle in the rain. ELEGRP publishes both figures on the same table, which we credit them for; plenty of brands publish only the flattering one.
In practice that means: the box can live outdoors, the handle should be holstered when it is not in the car, and neither should sit in a puddle. ELEGRP includes a wall-mounted holder and anchors precisely so the connector has somewhere dry to live — use it. The published operating range is -22°F to 122°F (-30°C to +50°C), which is the same floor the cast-aluminum cold-weather units publish. One inconsistency to note in passing: a marketing bullet elsewhere on ELEGRP’s page says “-21°F to 121°F”. We take the figure from the formal specification table, which is the one that matches the metric conversion.
A published temperature range is a statement about the equipment, not a promise about your installation, and NEMA is explicit that its NEMA-to-IP conversion table cannot be run backwards. We explain what each rating actually protects against in NEMA and IP ratings explained.
No app, but not no features
There is no WiFi and no phone app, and ELEGRP publishes none for this SKU. What it does publish is a 1-to-12-hour delayed-start timer set on the unit, and a built-in display reporting charging current, voltage, total energy delivered in kWh and internal temperature, with LED fault patterns for troubleshooting.
That combination is more useful than it sounds, because it covers the two things people actually buy a smart charger for. The delay timer means you can charge in an off-peak window without a network — set it once and it repeats. The kWh readout means you can see what came through the wall, which is the number your utility bills against and the one a car’s own app cannot give you. You read it on the box rather than your phone, which is a real inconvenience and not a capability gap.
What you genuinely lose is remote control, session history you can scroll through, firmware updates, and eligibility for a utility managed-charging program, which by definition needs to reach the charger. If your utility runs one and it pays, that alone can outweigh the price difference. We argue the whole question both ways in smart vs dumb chargers.
Where the money actually came out
The warranty. Two years, where Grizzl-E, Emporia, EVIQO and ChargePoint all publish three. On a device that carries 40 amps for hours a night for a decade, the third year is worth something, and it is the clearest single place this charger is cheaper rather than better. ELEGRP pairs it with a 30-day return window and a 60-day price-protection policy, which are retail terms rather than product quality, but they are published and they are real.
The connector rating. Covered above: IP54 is the weak link in an otherwise well-sealed product, and it is the part that dangles.
The certification depth.ETL for the unit, UL-listed components inside, and no published ENERGY STAR listing. The safety certification is the one that matters for whether the thing is safe to own, and it is present. ENERGY STAR is about efficiency and, far more practically, about rebate eligibility — it is the most common filter in utility rebate programs. If your utility offers a few hundred dollars back on a qualifying charger, that rebate can erase the price gap to a certified unit, and the ELEGRP would be the more expensive choice in the end. Check the program list before you order, not after.
Who should buy it — and who should skip it
Buy it if you want the full 40 amps for the least money and you already have — or are already paying for — a NEMA 14-50. It is the cheapest way we know to get real 9.6 kW charging with a long cable, a sealed station and a third-party safety certification, and the delay timer covers the off-peak scheduling most people think they need an app for. Buy it if you rent, or expect to move, since it unplugs and comes with you. Buy it if you want a spare or second charger for a two-EV household without wiring a second circuit.
Skip it if your utility rebate requires ENERGY STAR — that is the single most likely way this ends up being the expensive option. Skip it if the charger will live fully exposed and the connector cannot be holstered under cover, where a unit with a weather-rated handle is the safer buy; our outdoor roundup covers those. Skip it if you want charger-side scheduling and energy history on your phone, where Emporia leads on data and ChargePoint Home Flexleads on app polish. And skip it if you want 48 amps, which no plug-in charger can deliver — that means hardwiring, and the reasoning is in hardwired vs plug-in.
The summary is unusually clean for a budget product: the ELEGRP 40A saves money on the warranty, the connector seal and the efficiency certification, and it does not save money on the amps, the cable or the safety listing. For a lot of buyers that is exactly the right set of corners to cut.