The Juice Booster 2 should be familiar to pretty much every emobilist, as it has helped shape electromobility in recent years. It was already virtually synonymous with the term “mobile charging station” and the market for charging solutions has now developed significantly. In the fall, Juice Technology, based in Switzerland, presented the latest version called “Juice Booster 3 Air”. It is now in stores and has been in my test for a few days now.
Juice Booster 3 Air in use
What does the Juice Booster 3 Air offer?
Juice Technology is promoting the Juice Booster 3 Air, which I sometimes simply call JB3A for short, as an upgrade and the Juice Booster 2 remains on the market. While the second version was touted as a “3 in 1” solution (mobile charging, charging at home and use as a Type 2 cable), the 3 Series is now referred to as a “7 in 1” solution. In addition to the 3 previous functions, j+ comes with activation with authentication, monitoring and control of the charging processes as well as the integrated dynamic load management smartJUICE for up to ten units.:
Juice Booster 3 Air in the test Massively smaller than the Juice Booster 2 (only 28 cm long instead of 48.4) Connectivity on board: Bluetooth and WiFi Compatible with the “j+ pilot” app 11kW maximum charging power Compatible with previous adapters (except type 2) *
*There is a Type 2 specifically developed for the JB3air – only the JB2’s Type 2 adapter does not work with the JB3air.
Juice Booster 3 Air – much smaller and therefore more compact case Basic set comes with CEE16 and T13 (Schuko)
Connect Juice Booster 3 Air to j+ Pilot
Of course, the focus of the Juice Booster 3 Air is on its connectivity. The JB3air can be linked to the in-house j+ Pilot app. Of course, I recorded the process when setting it up:
In the j+ Pilot app you select “Add device” Scan the owners card that comes with the JB3air The app recognizes the Juice Booster 3 air via Bluetooth Selecting the home WLAN and connecting it with a password
That’s it, the Juice Booster 3 Air is already online and connected to the app. Very important, the JB3A connects via Juice’s cloud, so it can also be reached via your home WiFi when you’re on the go.
Pair J+ pilot and Juice Booster 3 air
Juice Booster Adapter – Compatibility
The basic version of my Juice Booster 3 Air comes with a household plug (T13) and CEE16 adapter, which is the red industrial charging plug that most people are familiar with. There are two versions of this, the CEE16 version is perfect and is sufficient for 11kW charging power. The even larger CEE32 can get the maximum out of the JB2 with 22kW. I have had numerous adapters from the Juice Booster 2 for years and they are also compatible with the Juice Booster 3 Air. This means I can continue to use the adapters for household sockets in Italy, Germany, Switzerland or the blue CEE plugs (camping sockets) without any problems. This is of course ingenious and practical, only the Type 2 plug is the exception. It doesn’t work on the Juice Booster 3 Air, Juice confirmed that to me. There is a type 2 plug specially developed for the JB3air, which should be taken into account.
Adapters from the Juice Booster 2 also fit the JB3A
Only 11kW, why?
The response came several times to my tweet about the Juice Booster 3 Air as feedback. A reaction that I can actually completely defuse, because as I already wrote in my recommendation for Type 2 charging cables: very few cars can even charge more than 11kW. There are actually only old Model S models from Tesla, Smart and especially Renault models on the market. The usual suspects who are in the upper echelons of electric car sales have almost unanimously installed the typical 11kW on-board charger and therefore a 22kW charger offers hardly any advantages.
Comparing the sizes of different chargers, the Juice Booster 3 (second from the right) is the most compact
With the Juice Booster, which as a mobile version has advantages due to its compact design, low weight and, above all, a significantly thinner and more flexible cable, I am a fan of the decision to use 11kW.
The more compact design is of course also reflected in the packaging, or in the case where the juice comes with the booster. This will also be significantly more compact, as you can clearly see in the comparison photo.
The Juice case is also significantly smaller, JB3A at the front and JB2 at the back
Juice Booster 3 Air in use
Basically, the Juice Booster 3 Air can be used in exactly the same way as its predecessor JB2. The big difference is definitely the smaller pack size and the significantly lower weight. The fact that cable cross-sections have been significantly reduced thanks to the 11kW charging power also benefits handling. The Juice Booster 3 Air feels correspondingly smoother.
Juice Booster 3 Air am Laden
The display on the Booster 3 Air is also new; significantly more information can be seen at a glance. At the top left, for example, I can see with three lines how many phases are available for charging the vehicle and above that, as usual, the adjustable charging current. As before, this is of course limited by the adapter used. At the top right there is information about the connection of the JB3A, i.e. connectivity, and in the lower area you can see the possible error messages. The Booster 3 detects more than ten different types of errors that are displayed directly. This means that the Booster 3 Air can still be operated manually.
Control Juice Booster 3 via app
What is new, however, is the connection to the j+ Pilot app, as already mentioned above. After setup and when the Booster 3 is connected to the power, the connection is established. If a car is connected, I can now completely control its charge via the app. So I can easily adjust the charging current from the sofa. Simply pausing (current = 0) or stopping the charge is currently not possible. This should also be delivered via an update and, in my opinion, would be a great addition.
It’s nice to monitor all three phases and the current amount of energy in the active charge. These are also saved in a history and can therefore be tracked later.
Juice Booster 3 Air charges the Renault Megane E-Tech
Access control via RFID
The Juice Booster 3 Air also offers so-called access management, which is solved with the integrated RFID reader and two freely usable cards are already included. Quite exciting and something I’ve never seen before: The RFID reader is located in the Type 2 plug on the vehicle. To do this, you can simply hold out the charging card or an RFID tag to enable the charging process. Cool solution and very simple, and the already slim design of the plug amazes me with the additional function.
RFID reader directly on the Type 2 charging plug
What I particularly like
Significantly lighter and more compact than its predecessor and therefore easier to use Connectivity: Offers more options through the app and external controls Updateable: Thanks to the connectivity, the JB3A appears to be expandable with new features in the future through updates Backwards compatibility with previous adapters (except one)
What I think needs improvement
Pausing or stopping charging via the app would be desirable. I’m hoping for an API or other external access option, for example for solar integration. As obligatory for YouTubers, a juice suitcase in the trunk 😉
Conclusion
The Juice Booster 3 Air has two things that I absolutely like: connectivity and the significantly more compact design. The fact that the Juice Booster 3 Air with 11 kW of power is not a replacement for the JB2 with 22 kW should now have been clarified in the report. The 22 kW device remains available and is cheaper. The connectivity and compactness have their price, the JB3A now costs significantly more than its “predecessor”, but as a customer I have the choice of what is the better solution for me. As a pure emergency charging solution in the trunk, the JB2 continues to do well. If you often charge at home and want to have control over charging quantities, you should take a closer look at the Juice Booster 3 Air.
The Juice Booster 3 Air in the Swiss Basic Set is available for CHF 1,499. If you want to have a few adapters with you, you can grab the Traveler Plus Set for CHF 1,799 or the ultimate Master Traveler Set for an impressive CHF 2,249.