[Ivan]

Hi everybody,
Anybody familiar with the case, if I take the US Bolt and send it to Europe, can it be used over there. They use 240 V as a standard home voltage. Thanks for your precious comments.

 

[GlenandhisBolt1!]

The standard Level 2 charger port on the Bolt runs on 240V, the same voltage as is standard in Europe. 240V is available in all US homes, but it uses a different socket, such as a NEMA 6-50 socket. It's also possible to charge it from a 'standard' 120V outlet here in the US, but the power level is much lower.

Not only is the 'standard' voltage different in Europe, the frequency is different too: 50 Hz versus 60 Hz in the USA. This may be a problem - but perhaps not. Many devices are designed to work at both frequencies.

http://www.enjoy-europe.com/hte/chap11/electric.htm

Check with Chevy on this, but I suspect you are okay, as the Bolt is sold as the Opel Ampera-e in Europe.

 

[XJ12]

Thought I read somewhere, that the reason people knew that they could use the Bolt EVSE on 240VAC, was that it's the same one used on the Volt. And the Volt EVSE is rated at 240 because it's the same one used in Europe.

 

[beeguz]

I do think they need to do a little surgery on the Bolt esev to make it work on 240, I would check around on youtube someone there should have the answer.

 

[Ampera e]

Hi everybody,
Anybody familiar with the case, if I take the US Bolt and send it to Europe, can it be used over there. They use 240 V as a standard home voltage. Thanks for your precious comments.

It is already being done. Because of the very limited availability of the Ampera E (believe me, much worse than that of the Bolt in the US), this guy decided to import Bolts to the Netherlands:

https://www.renses-online.nl/nieuwe-autos/chevrolet-bolt

I do think they need to do a little surgery on the Bolt esev to make it work on 240, I would check around on youtube someone there should have the answer.

I don't think the EVSE is the issue the OP is concerned with. I think it is the car

 

[GlenandhisBolt1!]

What charger plugs are used in Europe: the SAE J1772 that's used extensively in the USA (including the Bolt) or something else? Will he need an adapter? What plug is on the Opel Ampera e: a SAE J1772? I looked on-line for images of the Opel charger port (opened), but I could not find any.

 

[Ampera e]

The Ampera has a CCS based on a type 2 (Mennekes) plug:

Type 2 is the European standard, but many cars use a type 1 (J1772) plug, for example the Nissan Leaf or the Outlander PHEV (I have one of those as well). The reason for type 2 being the standard is that 3 phase power is quite common over here, and type 1 does not support more than one (real) phase.

Most public AC chargers are non-tethered, so you bring you own type 2 - type 1 or type 2 - type 2 cable with you.

At home, I have a portable 6 / 10 / 16 amps EVSE with a type 1 plug for the Outlander and a fixed 6 - 32 amps non-tethered EVSE that I use for the Ampera. Plus of course the portable 10 amps EVSEs that came with both cars.

 

[ai4px]

It would seem all you’d need to do is make an adapter from the US 110v plug to a shucko plug. Heck, you can buy them on eBay, but be aware the cheap ones aren’t going to carry 16amps or even 12 amps. Probably best to take a 110v us female plug with you and go to a european home improvement store and buy a real shucko male plug once there.

 

[Sean Nelson]

So to summarize:

The Bolt works perfectly well on 240V. The fact that the European power grid runs on 240V is not an issue.

If you bring your EVSE with you, the EVSE will also work on 240V - you just need to get some sort of adapter that lets you plug the EVSE into a 240V European wall socket.

But public chargers use a different plug shape (the end that goes into the car, not into the wall) than in North America - so you won't be able to use a public charger unless you can find some sort of converter that lets you plug the charger into the Bolt's charge port.

 

[Ampera e]

But public chargers use a different plug shape (the end that goes into the car, not into the wall) than in North America - so you won't be able to use a public charger unless you can find some sort of converter that lets you plug the charger into the Bolt's charge port.

I an pretty sure I said most public AC chargers are non tethered and you bring the cable that meets your needs.

There is a quite useful network of DC fast chargers, but to my knowledge these only support type 2 based CCS connectors, not type 1 based CCS connectors. Well, plus ChaDeMo, but that is not going to help.

 

[GlenandhisBolt1!]

But is the 50 Hz power a problem? It sounds like it is not an issue. The Bolt most likely uses a rectifying inverter circuit to turn the AC power into DC power, so it should not matter if the supply is 50 Hz or 60 Hz. It would be nice to hear from Chevy directly on this question.

BTW: If you bring your own EVSE with you, this may be a non-problem. It looks like at least some of them (Aerovironment EVSEs) state that they can handle both frequencies, which means the car can too. The AC to DC inversion is done in the car, not in the charger. So all you may need is an adapter, and you can use any Level 2 charging station.

Speak up, Chevy: make the call on this subject.

 

[Ampera e]

The EVSE does not change the A/C power sent to the car. If the car is not capable of handling50 Hz, using an EVSE that is is not going to make any difference. But for how little it is worth, I am pretty sure the car will be able to handle it.

 

[Boltron]

A bit late. But I took a look at an Ampera-E and the part numbers on everything (charger, junction, etc...) except the plug on the outside were the same. So theoretically the $300-500 Ampera-E part could be installed on a bolt to enable CCS charging in Europe too.