Any GTAM'ers own an electric vehicle?

[mxs]

I consider those L2 boxes just a fancy extra security layer which will limit power to the on-board charger should it sense any issue, like increased resistance in the circuit etc. It's kind of crazy they cost as much as they do .... I am sure in a couple of years there will be plenty for 200$ from the main players. It's really the cables which costs probably the most ...

 

[PrivatePilot]

I consider those L2 boxes just a fancy extra security layer which will limit power to the on-board charger should it sense any issue, like increased resistance in the circuit etc. It's kind of crazy they cost as much as they do .... I am sure in a couple of years there will be plenty for 200$ from the main players. It's really the cables which costs probably the most ...

It’s a misnomer to call them “chargers” even, as they are not. On all EV’s, the actual charger is part of the car - the plug on the wall is just a fancy super-safe extension cord basically that makes sure everything is connected safely and securely before the high voltage begins flowing.

The proper term is EVSE, or “Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment”.

And yes, there are cheap ones available - I’m eyeballing a $275 16a 240v Model on Amazon right now as a second L2 for home. For the short term I’m just going to use the included L1 EVSE as a second charger, and we can share the L2 as needed until then. Who knows we may find that perfectly viable and decide a second L2 isn’t necessary.

 

[nobbie48]

Considering how some A-H's park is there any legal status to the EV charge spots? Handicap parking spots cost around $300 if you don't have the appropriate sticker.

I am under the impression that a lot of the courtesy spots have no legal status to warrant a ticket. Also a "Hybrid" sticker is cheaper than the car.

 

[mxs]

And yes, there are cheap ones available - I’m eyeballing a $275 16a 240v Model on Amazon right now as a second L2 for home. For the short term I’m just going to use the included L1 EVSE as a second charger, and we can share the L2 as needed until then. Who knows we may find that perfectly viable and decide a second L2 isn’t necessary.

The problem is that many of those cheap L2 one's have not been approved by any respectable certification lab in North America. I would just not be prepared to cheap out that much, I guess.

 

[GreyGhost]

The problem is that many of those cheap L2 one's have not been approved by any respectable certification lab in North America. I would just not be prepared to cheap out that much, I guess.

Good call. If the insurance company tracks your house fire back to an unlisted device plugged into a 6000+W energy source they will not be impressed.

 

[PrivatePilot]

The problem is that many of those cheap L2 one's have not been approved by any respectable certification lab in North America. I would just not be prepared to cheap out that much, I guess.

The one I'm talking about is UL listed.

When you actually look what's inside these things you quickly realize that they're not particularly complicated - some basic circuitry that converses with the charger in the car to handshake and agree on safety and amp requirements, and a relay to actually start the high voltage flowing once that's complete.

 

[PrivatePilot]

Considering how some A-H's park is there any legal status to the EV charge spots? Handicap parking spots cost around $300 if you don't have the appropriate sticker.

I am under the impression that a lot of the courtesy spots have no legal status to warrant a ticket. Also a "Hybrid" sticker is cheaper than the car.

Aholes will be aholes. Our experiences thus far is that most people do respect them however, so far as the spots are marked properly - the ones that have the least issues are the spots that are painted completely green, and the ones that people seem to ignore are the ones with a tiny little sign attached to the EVSE(s) without any in-your-face markings otherwise.

 

[PrivatePilot]

Good call. If the insurance company tracks your house fire back to an unlisted device plugged into a 6000+W energy source they will not be impressed.

You're at a higher risk of fires from cheap spaceheaters from Walmart and dollar store extension cords then you are from just about any EVSE. There's only a handful of stories of them ever causing issues, and more often than not it comes back to the house wiring having been poor/inadequate/unsafe, and not the EVSE itself.

This is the main reason that even on L1 chargers that come with EV's it's recommended that they only be used on a circuit alone, and if the plug is old at least a new one should be installed. It's people that plug their shiny new EV into a crusty old receptacle in their garage or on the front of the house that hasn't been used in 20 years (and was original to the house 50 years ago) that tend to have issues when suddenly that old hardware is put under an 8 or 10 hour constant 12A load.

 

[mxs]

I don't disagree with you on anything you wrote, just merely point out that I have seen a lot of questionable devices, whether they are complicated or not is not the point. I would just not risk it in a case of a device I will use often and depend on with my transportation. The boxes should be cheaper though, significantly ... and I am sure their price will fall drastically in next few years.

 

[LBV]

Just don't run a basic extension cord when the Volt is at 12 amps pull (default is 8 amps and you need to menu it to 12). I used one I've had for years from back when my lawn mower was electric. The wall receptacle was black in areas I later noticed (I've since replaced it). Close call for me ... or go with a proper gauge extension cord if you switch to 12 amps.

 

[PrivatePilot]

The boxes should be cheaper though, significantly ... and I am sure their price will fall drastically in next few years.

They're cheaper now in a perfectly safe UL listed device @$289.

The difference is that they come in utilitarian plastic forms versus the fancy metal case designs of the $1000+ EVSE's, most of which do the exact same thing in the end and are just markup. Use that Nissan EVSE I posted the photo of above, it lists for about $700+...and when you see the inside of it, well...same stuff as the drastically cheaper versions, it just has a big markup because it says "Nissan" on it, the same way GM sells the original Volt L1 (not even an L2!) EVSE for $800 still.

Don't let the lower prices of EVSE's scare you into thinking they're firetraps - they are just on the leading edge of that "should be cheaper" curve you're looking for.

Just don't run a basic extension cord when the Volt is at 12 amps pull (default is 8 amps and you need to menu it to 12). I used one I've had for years from back when my lawn mower was electric. The wall receptacle was black in areas I later noticed (I've since replaced it). Close call for me ... or go with a proper gauge extension cord if you switch to 12 amps.

The 2011 and 2012 Volt charge rates are actually controlled on the EVSE itself, not the car, and it defaults to 12A.

It was people smoking their crusty old receptacles at 12A that caused GM to make the 2013's and up default to 8A in the car when charging on 120V regardless of the EVSE...and it was a thorn in the side of Volt owners forever and a day afterwards because you have to reset it to 12A every...single....time you plan to charge on L1 and want 12A vs 8A. It's a total PITA digging into the menus everytime you park to force it back to 12A again if you're relying on L1 charging.

But, I'm sure someone sued GM at one point, and that was the result.

 

[Lunatic]

It was people smoking their crusty old receptacles at 12A that caused GM to make the 2013's and up default to 8A in the car when charging on 120V regardless of the EVSE...and it was a thorn in the side of Volt owners forever and a day afterwards because you have to reset it to 12A every...single....time you plan to charge on L1 and want 12A vs 8A. It's a total PITA digging into the menus everytime you park to force it back to 12A again if you're relying on L1 charging.

I L1 charge the Bolt at work every day and have to do the same thing. At least I was able to customize the home screen to add the button to switch the setting so I don't have to hunt for it.

 

[PrivatePilot]

I L1 charge the Bolt at work every day.

LOL, that must be like trying to fill an Olympic sized swimming pool with a drinking straw.

But if it was free, I’d do the same.

 

[mxs]

They're cheaper now in a perfectly safe UL listed device @$289.

The difference is that they come in utilitarian plastic forms versus the fancy metal case designs of the $1000+ EVSE's, most of which do the exact same thing in the end and are just markup. Use that Nissan EVSE I posted the photo of above, it lists for about $700+...and when you see the inside of it, well...same stuff as the drastically cheaper versions, it just has a big markup because it says "Nissan" on it, the same way GM sells the original Volt L1 (not even an L2!) EVSE for $800 still.

Don't let the lower prices of EVSE's scare you into thinking they're firetraps - they are just on the leading edge of that "should be cheaper" curve you're looking for.

I am thinking 100$ for the cable and box you have shown ... cannot cost more than that, looking at the parts involved ... LOL ... $250 maybe for something which has a display and perhaps a BT or wifi connection to your phone app, so you can see what's up without going to the box. So I'd say 300$ + tax for the plain contraption is still too much, in my view ... LOL

Anyway, the Bosch Power Max 2 will cost me 200$ in the end, after I get the rebate form the gov, so I am OK with that.

 

[mxs]

LOL, that must be like trying to fill an Olympic sized swimming pool with a drinking straw.

But if it was free, I’d do the same.

I'd do it more because of the climate pre-set and battery management, not so much because of range fill-up.

 

[Lunatic]

LOL, that must be like trying to fill an Olympic sized swimming pool with a drinking straw.

But if it was free, I’d do the same.

It's not actually that bad. I get back about half of my daily commute so it's totally worthwhile. I leave hilltop reserve on so at home the battery charges to about 88% max. When I get to work I'm usually down to about 67% and the L1 charging through the day gets me back up to about 83% or so. So yeah, it's totally unnecessary but saves me a buck or so a day.

I'd do it more because of the climate pre-set and battery management, not so much because of range fill-up.

My garage at work is heated so that stuff is a non-issue for me, but the charge is worth it. On the Bolt pre-conditioning uses way more power than an L1 charger can provide so there is little benefit to being plugged in for it.

 

[PrivatePilot]

I'd do it more because of the climate pre-set and battery management, not so much because of range fill-up.

Fair enough.

My sister and brother in law are looking at buying a brand new Gen2 Volt, he commutes from Whitby out to the DVP/401 area daily and it’d be ideal for him, but he’s been scoping out plug locations in his parking garage and planning to talk to management about reimbursing them for electricity if he’s able to use it through the day - still a fraction of the cost of gas.

In related news I’ve been driving my wife’s Volt for a few days now, kinda irritated with ERDTT as the engine is running even when I have plenty of electric range and aren’t going far - I think I am going to do the override on my new Volt to avoid this when I don’t mind using electric heat (at the expense of range) versus needing the automatic engine supplementation.

And lo and behold just got an email from the dealership saying it’s ready for pick up.

 

[mxs]

My garage at work is heated so that stuff is a non-issue for me, but the charge is worth it. On the Bolt pre-conditioning uses way more power than an L1 charger can provide so there is little benefit to being plugged in for it.

Really?? That's surprising and I quite cannot understand why would that be the case. If I plug an L1 into my Soul and feed it from an ordinary garage 110V outlet, in 30 mins it would be ready to go (battery temp optimized and 23C inside).

 

[PrivatePilot]

Really?? That's surprising and I quite cannot understand why would that be the case. If I plug an L1 into my Soul and feed it from an ordinary garage 110V outlet, in 30 mins it would be ready to go (battery temp optimized and 23C inside).

When plugged into L1 power a percentage of the battery will be used as well to accomplish a precondition. Electric grid heaters draw up to 6-8kW, and you’re only getting a fraction of that from a L1 source at 110V - the remainder comes from the battery.

 

[mxs]

My sister and brother in law are looking at buying a brand new Gen2 Volt, he commutes from Whitby out to the DVP/401 area daily and it’d be ideal for him, but he’s been scoping out plug locations in his parking garage and planning to talk to management about reimbursing them for electricity if he’s able to use it through the day - still a fraction of the cost of gas.

I don't blame them they are looking for new and not used .... there's a ton of used 2nd gen. with 10K-50K mileage on autotrader priced from high 20's to low 30'sK .... what's the logic for anyone to get one of these instead of new is beyond me. Someone, paid cash and kept the rebate ... LOL ... these cars surely will need to be price corrected. It's little nuts if you ask me .... because if I run and brand new one off their site with nothing negotiated or traded in ... I get 32K OTD (obviously rebate included). I am sure GM likes it that way, since they will get to sell more new 2018's .... there seems to be many available already. They should be able to negotiate a decent deal, if they can avoid ordering one to their specs.