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Length of Charging Cord?

35K views 48 replies 22 participants last post by  greendave 
#1 ·
I’m likely taking delivery of new Bolt next week and have been scoping out 110v power options before my Level 2 charger is installed. What’s the length of the charging cord that comes with the vehicle? Thanks!
 
#9 ·
yeah, I ordered my Bolt before I knew anything about charging one. So I thought an extra charger was a good thing. Then when I thought I might actually get close to getting my Bolt, I started looking into charging options. My first google search was like "what does level 1 mean for charging an EV?" Then I felt sick to my stomach that I had put the spare Level 1 charger on my order. Feel like a sucker now. Thanks GM. I'll probably convert it to 240V and not care if I ruin it. Right now, it just stays with the car. But at least I can just leave the other one in the garage. But unless I stay a weekend somewhere, I can't imagine ever ever using the one in the car for anything. I take that back. It is useful when someone asks about how one charges the car. I can show them the one in the car. Makes great show'n tell. But that's about all it's good for.
 
#31 ·
ClipperCreek, 40 AMP, which is beyond the 32 present limit imposed by the Bolt itself.
I hear less complaints about them, than any other mentioned.

I have one and it has worked constantly, charging a Miev and our Bolt.
 
#8 ·
:)Twenty five feet is the best length unless you have a small garage or a set parking spot. Normally, any EVSE with a shorter cord is about 18'.
 
#12 ·
[/QUOTE]I've wired up a standard 120V "NEMA5-15" socket to 240V from my breaker panel so I can plug the EVSE that came with my Bolt into it. It's a temporary arrangement until I can get a proper 240V wall-mounted EVSE that can charge at higher currents, but it works just fine - no problems at all. [/B][/I] 240V in a pinch.[/QUOTE]

Thanks, this is good to know! I'm thinking the 240 volts would be 24 amps?
 
#13 ·
Thanks, this is good to know! I'm thinking the 240 volts would be 24 amps?
If you mean the EVSE supplied with the car connected to 240volt circuit, it doesn't double the amperage. The electronics in the EVSE maxes out at 12 amps, whether you supply it with 120 or 240 volts. You get a faster charge because you've doubled the watts put out by the EVSE (Volts * Amps).
 
#15 · (Edited)
I've wired up a standard 120V "NEMA5-15" socket to 240V from my breaker panel so I can plug the EVSE that came with my Bolt into it. It's a temporary arrangement until I can get a proper 240V wall-mounted EVSE that can charge at higher currents, but it works just fine - no problems at all.
Thanks, this is good to know! I'm thinking the 240 volts would be 24 amps?
No, it's 12 amps at either voltage. Power (in watts) is Volts times Amps, so the EVSE that comes with the Bolt gives you:

at 120V - 120V x 12A = 1440 watts (1.44 kW)
at 240V - 240V x 12A = 2880 watts (2.88 kW)

At 120V, the car may use only 8 amps depending on the charging settings. At 240V the car will use whatever the EVSE tells it to, and the one that comes with the Bolt tells it to use 12A. That means that whichever way you choose to get 240V into the EVSE, you need to make sure that it's safely capable of a sustained 12A draw.
 
#19 ·
The OEM EVSE that comes with the Bolt is the same as the Gen 2 Volt: Part #24280118 . I could've sworn the J1772 end was 15' long. A 25' cable doesn't feel right but I'm too cold to go outside and measure.
 
#23 ·
I recently just made the adapter for my charger. I bought this
https ://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B000PGVZ30/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
and this
https ://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00004SQGJ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Cut the 240 end off the coleman cord and wired it into the 14-50 plug and worked perfect.

Edit. since I can't post links you will have to take spaces out of the above.
 
#25 ·
I bought a 14-30/50 male plug, a foot of three conductor cable, and a female 5-15 from Lowes. It came with two neutral prongs, an I shaped one, and an L shaped one, for 50 amp, and 30 amp outlets. I didn't use either of them, as the EVSE is three wire using the ground, and no neutral.
 
#27 · (Edited)
I went to my local Lowes and they didn't have the breakers I needed, or a 50A receptacle. Drove to Home Depot and they had everything I needed. My panel was full so I needed to swap out several breakers from full size to half size to make room for a 40A breaker. I started to go 50A but I got tired of waiting for someone to cut me a piece of 6 AWG wire. Saw a 5 foot piece precut of 8 AWG wire so I just switched to a 40A breaker. After wrestling with the 8 AWG late last night, I was glad that I didn't have to deal with the 6 AWG. I still closed my eyes when I plugged in the EVSE. I've done lot's of electrical work thru the years, but I have tons of respect for it. Really like that the car assumes 12A on 240V. Got tired of having to change the amp setting every blasted time on 120V. Pretty sure I could have programmed my home location to keep it at 12 amps, but I hate programming settings like that. So I've about tripled my charge rate from the default 120V rate. Car showed 3kW charge and was full (hilltop) this AM.

Now I can fix my garage GFCI (wires hanging out of electrical box in photo). As to OP's question, the cord is 22 feet long. 25 foot includes the EVSE w/pigtail and J1772.

Along with the NEMA 14-50 connectors I used a NEMA 5-20R lighted locking connector (Serpentec).
 
#36 ·
Yes, it does. Will fill up a Bolt over night, if you're not too low on a charge to begin with. My OEM Bolt charger is good for around 8 miles an hour of charge. Use the below pigtail to connect to the 240v outlet:


https://shop.quickchargepower.com/My240-MY240.htm


(Call the company and tell them what you are looking for. Lots of options and they can be confusing.)





 
#32 ·
On my maiden long voyage (Eugene,OR-San Francisco) I was not able to use a 12 guage/15 AMP/yellow extension cord with the charge cord. A friend who owns a 2017 Bolt encouraged me to buy the extension cord for times when the charge cord was too short as that is what she has used successfully. My Bolt would not charge with that extension cord attached. Your comments please? Difference between 2017 and 2019 models? Extension cord not "robust" enough? What exactly is an "overkill cord"?
 
#34 ·
I used a 50' 12/3 oil and water resistant cord for about 5 month with no problem then all of a sudden I started getting a fault on my EVSE. Leaving it plugged in would eventually clear the fault and start charging but sometimes it was over an hour before it cleared. There's a warning label on the EVSE not to use an extension cord but it's strange that it worked for all that time with no problem. I'm now able to get close enough to a 120V outlet without the need for the extension cord.
 
#37 · (Edited)
As a new car buyer I got called by Chev for a feedback customer check-in very recently.
I mentioned the charger thing about people using it at 240V no problem. My feedback was that they should send a letter to all newer-Volt and Bolt owners approving and accepting this practice for the sake of warranty and insurance. Even better would be to send a replacement sticker for the brick saying it can do 110 - 250V. Call it a recall or whatever. I remember a previous new car I once had where they sent new stickers for the visor about airbags or something. So it's not unheard of.

For those nervous-nellies (sheepishly raises hand) that don't like warranty and insurance risk.
 
#41 ·
I am a patient man (sometimes) and if it would be 8-10 miles per hour charged, no biggie, but yes, slow.....
I also like to use the "tools at hand" and would likely use this vehicle on long RV trips where I would need to charge it at campgrounds in this fashion.....
Is there any "downside" to using lower charging rates more frequently, i.e., is there any impact on the battery function/life doing it this way?
 
#44 ·
Is there any "downside" to using lower charging rates more frequently, i.e., is there any impact on the battery function/life doing it this way?
120V is a little less efficient than using 240V. I made my own adapter (5-20R to 14-50P using 10 gage wire) to use my Bolt's provided EVSE on 240V. Have been using it that way for over two years. For my use, it allows me to charge overnight. I usually charge from 7 bars to 18 bars. Takes about 12 hours. I get about 150 miles range between charges as I stay off the highway.

You can buy this two part adapter instead of making one.
 
#42 ·
If you're just doodling around at the RV site and out to town for groceries or whatever then you should be fine with even just the plain old 110V EVSE.
I seem to think some campgrounds might also have TT-30. That's still only 110V but 30 amps. The car would still only use 110V.
I think I would trust the car to take care of the charging needs. However it gets fed electrons I don't think really matters.
But remember...the range is something like 240 miles. You don't need to always charge it up.
 
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