A charger adapter is the part that matches your charger's plug to whatever socket you have to hand. A 32 A to 16 A reducer lets you connect a more powerful charger to a weaker industrial socket, a Schuko to CEE adapter makes charging from a domestic socket possible, and a Type 2 to Type 1 adapter connects a European cable to an older car from the Japanese market.

A Type 2 cable is a different thing: a standalone lead with no control unit, needed at public AC charging stations where the charger has a socket instead of a fixed plug.

Which charger adapter to choose

Schuko to CEE adapter

You have a charger with a CEE 16 A or CEE 32 A industrial plug and the only socket available is a standard domestic one. The adapter lets you connect the device, but the current then has to be limited to a level that is safe for a domestic socket, meaning at most 10 to 16 A on a single phase. Models with current adjustment, such as the P and Q series, have that function built in.

32 A to 16 A reducer

The most frequently bought adapter. A 22 kW charger with a CEE 32 A plug will work on a CEE 16 A socket through a reducer, with the current reduced accordingly. Useful in garages, workshops and at holiday homes.

Type 2 to Type 1 adapter

Needed by owners of older cars with a Type 1 inlet, for example the first-generation Nissan Leaf, the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV or the Kia Soul EV. The adapter lets them use a standard European Type 2 cable.

Adapters for the Q PRO series

Q PRO chargers have an interchangeable plug module. The range includes Schuko, CEE 16 A and CEE 32 A adapters as well as blue versions for camping sockets, plus a 5-metre extension. Swapping takes seconds and needs no tools.

Type 2 cables for charging stations

The Mamba 11 and Mamba 22 are 5-metre Type 2 leads for charging at public AC stations and at wallboxes with a socket. The Mamba 11 handles 11 kW (3 x 16 A), the Mamba 22 handles 22 kW (3 x 32 A). The cable has to match the power your car accepts: a 22 kW lead will work at a weaker station, but an 11 kW lead will throttle a more powerful car.

What an adapter will not do

An adapter does not increase charging power. Connecting a 22 kW charger through a reducer to a 16 A socket does not give you 22 kW, only as much as the weakest link in the chain can carry. Nor does an adapter turn single-phase power into three-phase, or allow DC charging from an AC socket.

There are also no adapters for DC rapid charging stations. CCS and CHAdeMO connectors work on a different principle and cannot be converted with an adapter.

Accessories worth adding

A Type 2 plug wall holder, which fits every charger. The cable stops lying on the ground.

Control unit wall holders, separate ones for the Q series and for the P and B series.

A Type 2 charging station tester, for checking that a public point works properly before you connect your car.