[UsayingBolt]

I live in Berkeley and work in San Francisco. I can't swing a dead cat without hitting an EV charger. Came home (which I rent btw) on Tuesday with an LT (with DC charging option). My initial resistance to the home charger was the dealer telling me it's $700 and my thinking installation might be an additional $500. This site has been great in letting me know about cheaper solutions. Thanks, but I'm still going to try not to buy one and am open to any advice. I'm new to the EV world. There happens to be a charger in a lot across the street from my office that is easily accessible. I don't typically drive but will now at least once a week and get charged. There are chargers in Berkeley near movie theaters and cafes I frequent. I've got easy 110 access from the house which I've use to top off each night.

I know that the ideal scenario is to mostly drain the battery but that's unlikely to work in my situation and I'm leasing for 3 years.

Any advice? Anyone else doing something similar?

 

[Cardyin]

I'm in a similar boat as you. I own an LT with a fast DC charging option, and currently am using only 120 V charging at home. My commute daily uses about 50 miles or so of range, and find that my nightly 12 hours or so of charging is enough to meet my needs with full charge occurring on the weekend sometime.

I actually purchased a ChargePoint Home charger, but it's currently sitting in it's box. I'll need to upgrade my 220V plug in my car to 50 Amp to handle the charging, but find that I'm not in a rush to do so. I've identified a free Fast DC charging station in my area, along with a low cost one near my work ($0.04/min) which I've used when I need to add a few more miles of range quickly. I find that those options seem to meet my needs. Maybe, if the cost of the nearby fast chargers goes up, or if it seems to eat up too much time, I may be motivated to get the charger installed sooner than later.

I think you will be good in terms of your situation without a charger, since you only drive occasionally. If possible, I would suggest engaging "hilltop" mode to stop charging around 90% so that your battery doesn't stay 100% full for a whole week at a time without usage. As long as you don't have the possibility of needing to drive 200 miles in any given day without charging, it shouldn't be a problem for you.

 

[eops]

You will be in the same boat as many buyers. I bet if the majority of owners were to be polled on if they followed best practices for the battery to the T, most would fall in the NO category.

Working in a dealership taking in vehicles to certify them as CPO, you start to see this stuff a lot. Fortunately you won't see any of the negative effects if any

 

[V7i7c]

I've posted this info before, but in case you missed it the folks at EVSE Upgrade (https://evseupgrade.com) in Berkeley upgraded my stock Nissan Leaf EVSE to 220 for around $300 and it's worked like a charm for almost four years.

They do Bolts too, but the stock Bolt EVSE cable limits the amount of energy that can pass through to less than that of my Leaf cable. They suggested I just hang onto my Leaf cable and use it- they said there's no problem with that and my charging will continue to provide about 20-25 miles range per hour just as in my Leaf, so that's what I'm gonna' do when my Bolt arrives (hopefully next week.)

They charge $199 for the Bolt cable upgrade and it will more than double the delivery rate of power. However, my Nissan cable delivers twice the energy of that Bolt cable modification.

I've learned to trust these folks- they know their stuff.

 

[reeler]

EVSE Upgrade is great and the cheapest option for sure. I have had a LEAF charging off 110V for over a year without issue now. My commute is never more than 60 miles in a day and there are no issues. The Bolt will make that even easier.

 

[Sean Nelson]

I've posted this info before, but in case you missed it the folks at EVSE Upgrade (https://evseupgrade.com) in Berkeley upgraded my stock Nissan Leaf EVSE to 220 for around $300 and it's worked like a charm for almost four years.

The EVSE that comes with the Bolt EV is apparently the same one that comes with the Volt, and that charger is already 240V capable. You just have to make an adapter that lets you plug it into a 240V wall socket (and never, ever use the adapter for anything else!). It will still max out at only 12A, but at 240V that's 2.88KW and will charge you up twice as fast as 120V.

 

[phil0909]

The EVSE that comes with the Bolt EV is apparently the same one that comes with the Volt, and that charger is already 240V capable. You just have to make an adapter that lets you plug it into a 240V wall socket (and never, ever use the adapter for anything else!). It will still max out at only 12A, but at 240V that's 2.88KW and will charge you up twice as fast as 120V.

But the OP would still need to pay a few hundred bucks for installation of a 240v outlet.

 

[Sean Nelson]

But the OP would still need to pay a few hundred bucks for installation of a 240v outlet.

Sure, but no need to pay $199 to change the cable on the EVSE. You could probably buy the parts to make an adapter for around $20-30 or so.

 

[UsayingBolt]

240 charge

The EVSE that comes with the Bolt EV is apparently the same one that comes with the Volt, and that charger is You just have to make an adapter that lets you plug it into a 240V wall socket (and never, ever use the adapter for anything else!). It will still max out at only 12A, but at 240V that's 2.88KW and will charge you up twice as fast as 120V.

Thanks Sean, that's very helpful.

 

[TotaledJetta]

I live in Berkeley and work in San Francisco. I can't swing a dead cat without hitting an EV charger. Came home (which I rent btw) on Tuesday with an LT (with DC charging option). My initial resistance to the home charger was the dealer telling me it's $700 and my thinking installation might be an additional $500. This site has been great in letting me know about cheaper solutions. Thanks, but I'm still going to try not to buy one and am open to any advice. I'm new to the EV world. There happens to be a charger in a lot across the street from my office that is easily accessible. I don't typically drive but will now at least once a week and get charged. There are chargers in Berkeley near movie theaters and cafes I frequent. I've got easy 110 access from the house which I've use to top off each night.

I know that the ideal scenario is to mostly drain the battery but that's unlikely to work in my situation and I'm leasing for 3 years.

Any advice? Anyone else doing something similar?

I live in Berkeley and even though it is probably overkill for the amount I expect to drive, I bought a ChargePoint, 25 ft cord, set up for hard wiring, and got an electrician to install it (he charged $225, which is the low end of possible costs). It now works at 32 A and 240 V, or a charging rate of about 7.5 kW. I am switching my PGE service to E-1 service and then before Berkeley's 7.5% tax, the off-peak rate is 12 cent/kW hr (11 pm to 7 am). On peak is 32 cent/kW Hr in the winter and a whopping 44 cent/kW Hr in the summer. So I will be charging at night. Got my Bolt programmed to do that. Will it save money, only if I drive a lot and charge at night, but I like the philosophy of not worrying about getting into the third tier of electric rates. In the first two weeks, it seemed with some care, the 120 V system would suffice for most of my use, but I went Level 2 anyway.

 

[cfspeakman]

I live in Berkeley and even though it is probably overkill for the amount I expect to drive, I bought a ChargePoint, 25 ft cord, set up for hard wiring, and got an electrician to install it (he charged $225, which is the low end of possible costs). It now works at 32 A and 240 V, or a charging rate of about 7.5 kW. I am switching my PGE service to E-1 service and then before Berkeley's 7.5% tax, the off-peak rate is 12 cent/kW hr (11 pm to 7 am). On peak is 32 cent/kW Hr in the winter and a whopping 44 cent/kW Hr in the summer. So I will be charging at night. Got my Bolt programmed to do that. Will it save money, only if I drive a lot and charge at night, but I like the philosophy of not worrying about getting into the third tier of electric rates. In the first two weeks, it seemed with some care, the 120 V system would suffice for most of my use, but I went Level 2 anyway.

Our super off peak rate for EV charging from GA Power is 11-7 year round, around $0.03/kwh. Catch is, that 2-7 pm during the summer it is about $0.19/kwh. So going to look more seriously at a roof solar system to generate more electricity during those times of the day when my wife is hitting the AC pretty hard. Otherwise, my EV charging rates may actually be MORE expensive that the regular rate that is around $.12/kwh 24/7.

 

[TotaledJetta]

Our super off peak rate for EV charging from GA Power is 11-7 year round, around $0.03/kwh. Catch is, that 2-7 pm during the summer it is about $0.19/kwh. So going to look more seriously at a roof solar system to generate more electricity during those times of the day when my wife is hitting the AC pretty hard. Otherwise, my EV charging rates may actually be MORE expensive that the regular rate that is around $.12/kwh 24/7.

Wow, off peak at $0.03 per hour. You can drive your Bolt almost for free at that rate. At least in Berkeley, we don't need air conditioning. OK, 5 or 10 days a year it would be nice.
Now if I just had a robot to take the wash out of the washer and put it in the dryer at midnight I could score on off peak hours from PG&E.:|

 

[TotaledJetta]

I live in Berkeley and even though it is probably overkill for the amount I expect to drive, I bought a ChargePoint, 25 ft cord, set up for hard wiring, and got an electrician to install it (he charged $225, which is the low end of possible costs). It now works at 32 A and 240 V, or a charging rate of about 7.5 kW. I am switching my PGE service to E-1 service and then before Berkeley's 7.5% tax, the off-peak rate is 12 cent/kW hr (11 pm to 7 am). On peak is 32 cent/kW Hr in the winter and a whopping 44 cent/kW Hr in the summer. So I will be charging at night. Got my Bolt programmed to do that. Will it save money, only if I drive a lot and charge at night, but I like the philosophy of not worrying about getting into the third tier of electric rates. In the first two weeks, it seemed with some care, the 120 V system would suffice for most of my use, but I went Level 2 anyway.

Just a correction. Currently on PGE E-1 and switching to EV-A rate (Electric Vehicle single meter ) at the beginning of the month. That has peak mid and off peak rates listed above.

 

[Sean Nelson]

Now if I just had a robot to take the wash out of the washer and put it in the dryer at midnight I could score on off peak hours from PG&E.:|

Just hang it up. The air dries laundry for free....

 

[prunieprune]

Wow, off peak at $0.03 per hour. You can drive your Bolt almost for free at that rate. At least in Berkeley, we don't need air conditioning. OK, 5 or 10 days a year it would be nice.
Now if I just had a robot to take the wash out of the washer and put it in the dryer at midnight I could score on off peak hours from PG&E.:|

You don't need a robot, just an LG combo washer/dryer (don't have enough posts to provide a link). These are frequently used in Europe and we've had one for 10 years that still works as good as new. We will never go back to having to switch from the washer to the dryer! Just set it for a delay start at 11pm and your clothes are clean, dry, and ready in the morning.

 

[mailman13]

Our super off peak rate for EV charging from GA Power is 11-7 year round, around $0.03/kwh. Catch is, that 2-7 pm during the summer it is about $0.19/kwh. So going to look more seriously at a roof solar system to generate more electricity during those times of the day when my wife is hitting the AC pretty hard. Otherwise, my EV charging rates may actually be MORE expensive that the regular rate that is around $.12/kwh 24/7.

Lucky you in Columbus. In Middle Ga where I'm at, it's Flint EMC. I asked them about those cheap rates that you all have and they said two words, NO and NEVER!

Of course we pay 10.55 per kw, plus only a 2 cents more per kwh in the summer and that's when you use over 4000 each month I think.

 

[UsayingBolt]

$270 total

Thought I'd give an update on my original thread starting post. The attempt at using the trickle cord supplemented with public charging stations did get me by the first three months. However, i did feel I would eventually get into trouble if I needed two long drives in two days. There was also the strain on the houses electrical system as I had to limit it to 8 amps.

So, I took the next step (and the advice in this thread) and installed a 240v 32amp plug. The existing EVSE cord will indeed function at 240v (as suggested above) and I went onto Etsy.com and found a maker of an adapter between my new 240v plug and the EVSE cord. I'm not an electrician and I don't have the time to create it myself. At first I only ran it during the weekend day time so I could keep an eye on it. No additional heat, not problems with the car. It has been working fine for the past 8 weeks.

I believe I get 240v and 12amps out of it and it appears to be more than twice as fast as the 120v plug in.

$200 for a 240v plug in my garage, $70 for an adapter.

This is the cheapest route available (i believe).

Thanks again for the help.

 

[RicksBolt]

Wow, $70 for that adapter is highway robbery.

$20.99 from my favorite online bookstore:
https://smile.amazon.com/DogBone-Electrical-Adapter15A-12inch-10-Power-Cord/dp/B06XTQJVNZ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1499218299&sr=8-1&keywords=5-15p+14-50r

[Edit: Duh. Of course, this goes the wrong way, from 120v plug to 240v EVSE. nothing quite so cheap going your way.]

 

[borkbork]

Just a correction. Currently on PGE E-1 and switching to EV-A rate (Electric Vehicle single meter ) at the beginning of the month. That has peak mid and off peak rates listed above.

Don’t forget the $500 pg&e rebate, if you haven’t applied for it already.

 

[borkbork]

EVSE Upgrade is great and the cheapest option for sure. I have had a LEAF charging off 110V for over a year without issue now. My commute is never more than 60 miles in a day and there are no issues. The Bolt will make that even easier.

does anyone know what the modification is? do they just change the plug from a NEMA 5-15 to a 6-30, or do they make some modifications to the internal circuitry as well? it seems like any modification like this will void the warranty instantly.