[Kmac59]

Hi all,

New bolt owner here and not sure I've got the charging set correctly or something has changed.

Seems like the charge to full when I first bought the car a few weeks ago was faster. This is only 2nd time to charge.

It's 7:30 AM and the time to fully charge the battery from @ 60% is 6 pm, almost 12 hours.

Is this correct?

Thanks for your help!

 

[Kmac59]

Well, I went back out to garage, unplugged and reset the breaker.

Plugged back in and dash said Full charge at 12:15 pm... then it started cranking up like a stopwatch all the way to Full Charge 6 pm.

 

[ashman70]

Are you using the level 1 charger that came with the car or a level 2 charger? I use a level 2 charger and don't use the cars built in charging capabilities.

 

[Kmac59]

Are you using the level 1 charger that came with the car or a level 2 charger? I use a level 2 charger and don't use the cars built in charging capabilities.

Yes, I'm using the L1 Charger that came with the car.

 

[Pike Bishop]

Yes, I'm using the L1 Charger that came with the car.

It helps to think about how big a hole you have to fill, and how fast you can fill it with your charger. You have to think in kWh.

As a note, the onboard full charge computation is reasonably accurate once it understands your charge rate. This may take 30 minutes to 1 hour. The onboard logic is simply measuring the rate of fill in kW (kilowatts) and the hole to be filled in kWh (kilowatts x hours).

• So, at 0730h you have 40% of a 60 kWh battery to be filled = 40% x 60 kWh = 24 kWh
• The onboard calculator says you will add 24 kWh by 6PM (1800h) or 10 hours, 30 minutes from starting.
• If you fill 24 kWh in 10.5 hours your filling rate is 24 kWh/10.5h = 2.3 kW
• The car's charging screen and your indication of using the supplied L1 charger says your maximum current is 12 Amperes.
• Watts = Amperes x Volts, so 2.3kW=2300Watts, and Volts = Watts/Amps = 2400/12 = 200V charging voltage. (Please remember, these are approximate...)

The charge times are consistent if you have plugged in the supplied charger to a 240V outlet, which is possible, and shows the onboard charger will work from 120-240V.

If you are plugged into a 120V outlet, it is hard to see how you would be filled by 6PM or 6PM of the following day. (Additional note, the dash display does not show what day you will be fully charged. This is important when you plug into low charge rate outlets with the supplied car charger.)

 

[Kmac59]

It helps to think about how big a hole you have to fill, and how fast you can fill it with your charger. You have to think in kWh.

As a note, the onboard full charge computation is reasonably accurate once it understands your charge rate. This may take 30 minutes to 1 hour. The onboard logic is simply measuring the rate of fill in kW (kilowatts) and the hole to be filled in kWh (kilowatts x hours).

• So, at 0730h you have 40% of a 60 kWh battery to be filled = 40% x 60 kWh = 24 kWh
• The onboard calculator says you will add 24 kWh by 6PM (1800h) or 10 hours, 30 minutes from starting.
• If you fill 24 kWh in 10.5 hours your filling rate is 24 kWh/10.5h = 2.3 kW
• The car's charging screen and your indication of using the supplied L1 charger says your maximum current is 12 Amperes.
• Watts = Amperes x Volts, so 2.3kW=2300Watts, and Volts = Watts/Amps = 2400/12 = 200V charging voltage. (Please remember, these are approximate...)

The charge times are consistent if you have plugged in the supplied charger to a 240V outlet, which is possible, and shows the onboard charger will work from 120-240V.

If you are plugged into a 120V outlet, it is hard to see how you would be filled by 6PM or 6PM of the following day. (Additional note, the dash display does not show what day you will be fully charged. This is important when you plug into low charge rate outlets with the supplied car charger.)

Thanks for the information! I am plugged into 240V outlet with the supplied L1 Charger.

I just looked and from 7:22 and now 8:50, it's added 15 miles. So, I guess I was not realistic with Bolt charging as I'm used to the Volt taking 4.5 hours to charge 100%.

I was thinking I could just use the one L1 charger but might have to put in a 2nd 240v and dedicate to Bolt.
Thanks!

 

[KeithMoon]

Thanks for the information! I am plugged into 240V outlet with the supplied L1 Charger.

I just looked and from 7:22 and now 8:50, it's added 15 miles. So, I guess I was not realistic with Bolt charging as I'm used to the Volt taking 4.5 hours to charge 100%.

I was thinking I could just use the one L1 charger but might have to put in a 2nd 240v and dedicate to Bolt.
Thanks!

The stock EVSE is also a L2 charger. Just plug it into 240v and you will double the charge speed (100 miles in 10 hours). If you charge every night 100 miles will probably be more than you need.

 

[The Other Tom]

So, I guess I was not realistic with Bolt charging as I'm used to the Volt taking 4.5 hours to charge 100%.

Yeah, the Volt's battery is about 18kW and the Bolt's battery is about 60kW, or about 3.3 times bigger than the Volt. So, all other things being equal, it would take the Bolt 3.3 times longer to charge than the Volt.

 

[MikeyBolt]

Yeah, the Volt's battery is about 18kW and the Bolt's battery is about 60kW, or about 3.3 times bigger than the Volt. So, all other things being equal, it would take the Bolt 3.3 times longer to charge than the Volt.

The Volt's available kW is about 14 and the Bolt's available kW is close to 58 so it's more like 4x.

Mike

 

[Kmac59]

Thank you all... I am charging the Bolt (and Volt) with the supplied charger at 240 V and 12 amps.

Do the Siemens, ClipperCreek, etc., Level 2 chargers provide faster charging than the Chevy supplied charger?

Thanks,

 

[MikeyBolt]

Thank you all... I am charging the Bolt (and Volt) with the supplied charger at 240 V and 12 amps.

Do the Siemens, ClipperCreek, etc., Level 2 chargers provide faster charging than the Chevy supplied charger?

Thanks,

Yes. A 32A+ L2 charger can charge the Bolt from 0 to 100% in under 10 hours. I had one installed in my garage even though I almost always take short trips. The Bolt is my only car and I didn't want to get "stuck" in a low state of charge if I encounter a day with a lot of driving.

Mike

 

[XJ12]

Do the Siemens, ClipperCreek, etc., Level 2 chargers provide faster charging than the Chevy supplied charger?

The Bolt's onboard charger can take up to 32 amps. So there's quite a few aftermarket EVSEs that can provide that amperage. At a minimum you'll need a 40 amp circuit to support an EVSE at 32 amps.

 

[Vertiformed]

Thank you all... I am charging the Bolt (and Volt) with the supplied charger at 240 V and 12 amps.

So you bought an adapter cable to allow “off label” use of the supplied EVSE on a 240V outlet?

It seems a bit odd to me that you would know enough to know you can do this (which is certainly not obvious to most people given the warnings on the label of the stock EVSE) yet don't know the basics of home Level-2 charging (which can, say, be found in the manual for the car or on Chevy's website promo materials) to know that the Bolt can work with a 32A Level-2 EVSE.

 

[KeithMoon]

So you bought an adapter cable to allow “off label” use of the supplied EVSE on a 240V outlet?

It seems a bit odd to me that you would know enough to know you can do this (which is certainly not obvious to most people given the warnings on the label of the stock EVSE) yet don't know the basics of home Level-2 charging (which can, say, be found in the manual for the car or on Chevy's website promo materials) to know that the Bolt can work with a 32A Level-2 EVSE.

It's not an "off label" use. Every Ampera-e (European Bolt) owner uses the very same EVSE to charge on 240vac

 

[Vertiformed]

It's not an "off label" use. Every Ampera-e (European Bolt) owner uses the very same EVSE to charge on 240vac

The original poster claimed to have bought a Bolt, not an Ampera-e. The label of the EVSE looks like this (random image grabbed from the 'net, sorry for the stupid orientation):

Notice the label says 120V.

Now, you and I both know that the innards are made by ClipperCreek and rated at 240V (and the exact same innards are almost certainly used with the charger supplied with the Ampera-e). I have no problem running it at 240V and have an adapter that lets me do just that.

But is an off-label use. The label clearly indicates that it's designed to deliver 1440W at 120V, not 2880W at 240V.

 

[Kmac59]

It's not an "off label" use. Every Ampera-e (European Bolt) owner uses the very same EVSE to charge on 240vac

Not odd at all. I have a Volt I purchased in February and belong to the Volt forum. There are many posts on how to buy an adapter and use the supplied OEM EVSE, connected to a 240 power supply. My charging on the volt went from something like 12+ hours with 120 V to @ 4 hours with the 240 V.

 

[Vertiformed]

My charging on the volt went from something like 12+ hours with 120 V to @ 4 hours with the 240 V.

Doubling the voltage from 120 to 240 can only double the wattage delivered to the car, and thus halve the charging time. If it made charging go three times faster, it'd be defying the laws of physics and working some kind of miracle.

 

[KeithMoon]

Doubling the voltage from 120 to 240 can only double the wattage delivered to the car, and thus halve the charging time. If it made charging go three times faster, it'd be defying the laws of physics and working some kind of miracle.

Well, not quite. I suspect what is happening is that the OP wasn't manually changing the amperage from 8 to 12 (which you must do at 120vac). When you plug the EVSE into 240vac it always pulls 12 amps, regardless of setting, so if you were previously charging at 8 amps at 120 and you just plug the stock EVSE into 240vac it will increase the charge rate by 3x.

 

[Vertiformed]

Well, not quite. I suspect what is happening is that the OP wasn't manually changing the amperage from 8 to 12 (which you must do at 120vac). When you plug the EVSE into 240vac it always pulls 12 amps, regardless of setting, so if you were previously charging at 8 amps at 120 and you just plug the stock EVSE into 240vac it will increase the charge rate by 3x.

Ah, yes, that would fit! (i.e., we have someone who hangs out on a forum and learns about adapter cables to plug into 240 volts, but doesn't read the car's manual or look through its menus, so never learns basics about the car like the charge-rate setting.)

 

[bro1999]

Ah, yes, that would fit! (i.e., we have someone who hangs out on a forum and learns about adapter cables to plug into 240 volts, but doesn't read the car's manual or look through its menus, so never learns basics about the car like the charge-rate setting.)

Lets try to inform people without being so condescending, eh?