How long is the power cable that comes with the Bolt? I'm trying to plan ahead regarding my current 110v outlet in the garage. If the cord won't reach it will prompt me to do a bit of 220v work before I take delivery of a Bolt. My plan is to 'wait and see' if I can get away with using what comes with the car since I usually drive less than 10mi/day.
GM stock Bolt charger?
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Note that the EVSE that comes with the Bolt can be used on a 220 volt outlet if equipped with an aftermarket socket adapter.
That will provide a much faster charge rate than the 110 volt outlet without the expense of installing a separate EVSE.
You can make an adapter yourself, or buy one online.
Here’s one offer on Etsy:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/384390572/chevy-volt-chevy-bolt-ev-level-2-charge
I have a hard-wired Clipper Creek HCS-40 EVSE, so I’ve never used the standard cord that comes with the Bolt, but there have been many posts on this forum on using the standard cord on 220 with an adapter as a more cost effective option.
Maximum amp draw with the standard cord is 12 amps, so you won’t get the charge speed of a 32 amp EVSE.
I believe the charge speed using this setup is about 3 kilowatts per hour, about 3x what the 110v line will deliver.
That will provide a much faster charge rate than the 110 volt outlet without the expense of installing a separate EVSE.
You can make an adapter yourself, or buy one online.
Here’s one offer on Etsy:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/384390572/chevy-volt-chevy-bolt-ev-level-2-charge
I have a hard-wired Clipper Creek HCS-40 EVSE, so I’ve never used the standard cord that comes with the Bolt, but there have been many posts on this forum on using the standard cord on 220 with an adapter as a more cost effective option.
Maximum amp draw with the standard cord is 12 amps, so you won’t get the charge speed of a 32 amp EVSE.
I believe the charge speed using this setup is about 3 kilowatts per hour, about 3x what the 110v line will deliver.
First, had the advantage in remembering the topic. Second, someone on this forum taught us how to search using google instead of the forum's built in search. In google used the following: 'length site:chevybolt.org' (without the quotes). Google does a nice job searching this forum.
Right, I'm familiar with that form of search but I usually forget the 'site:' identifier since I use it so seldom. I think I used 'charger cord' and came up with 3 pages of hits. I glanced at the first page and decided to post instead because so many of the links I had either read or were obviously N/A. Anyway, the site: key word is good to remember. I just gotta remember.
Right, I've saved a number of comments on this for future use. My thoughts at the moment are that I have a low mileage lifestyle (25-50 mi per week) and the included adapter will probably be suitable. I don't have 'low rate metering' or whatever it is called so don't need to worry about a schedule.
Ultimately I will most likely do 220. I don't have the space in my panel so it will require some half height breakers and some juggling to make sure I keep the load evenly split between the 2 legs of the box. Probably have to move 2 or 3 breakers to accomplish that, not difficult but I'd rather wait until I am comfortable with the vehicle. I have a spare 30A breaker laying around but from what I read here I really need to make it a 40. I'd rather wait until I get settled into the vehicle operation before I move to 220 unless I find that the 110 is just to 'painfully slow' to deal with. It seems that I will obviously benefit from investing in one of those adapter plugs for Tesla charge stations but that is also something else I will put off until later as I don't need to 'take a trip'. There are a lot of Tesla stations in the area that I may travel to in the future. Haven't checked yet to see if they are the one's that are compatible with the Bolt. That is for another day.
Perfect, thanks. That really helps with my planning.
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From 120 Volt outlet to the car, length is 25 feet.
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The Bolt draws 32amps at 240vac during main recharge cycle (less when tapering down at the end of the cycle).
National Electrical Code states you must oversize the conductor by 125% for continuous loads, so you must size the conductor for 40 amps and use a 40 amp breaker.
Of course you can future-proof and go larger, but 40 amp is the minimum conductor and breaker for full power L2 (240vac) Bolt charging.
Agree this is the ideal solution but that would require a $ervice upgrade from the pole. This 60 yr old house would unlikely benefit from such an upgrade. When I moved in I had to run grounds to all the existing outlets. There were no grounded outlets, inside and outside. The next owner of this house is likely to gut it and start over.
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A number of L2 chargers have options on their charging rates. I have attached a screen capture for the EvoCharge charger spec sheet. It has options for using 20, 30 and 40 amp services. The same charger is also available from another supplier under the brand PowerCharge. The PowerCharge was on sale last month for $399 from both the supplier and Amazon. Unfortunately the price is now higher. I have also included photos of both chargers. UPS has my PowerCharge scheduled for delivery in about a week.
If you want more information on these chargers, I suggest you use the EvoCharage web site. The last time I checked PowerCharge was not as complete. I was able to get a full PowerCharge manual from their customer support so I could confirm they are from the same source and, as best as I can tell, except for the decal, the identical products.
Attachments
There's also an internal selector on the Siemens VersaCharge. One can select 100% (30A), 75% (22.5A), 50% (15A) or 25% (7.5A). They often go on sale at Costco for $350. The 75% setting is perfect for an unused 30A 240V electric dryer circuit, with a changed-out plug. The replacement plug hardware can be had at any big-box home improvement store for less than twenty bucks.
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