[HuskieJohn]

Fortunate enough to have the extra funds to purchase a portable back up generator. The intent of this purchase was an emergency backup for my home refrigerator and a space heater if the power were to go out for extended periods. We were ready to go solar this year but with CoViD we do not want contractors in the house. I purchased a 1800-2300watt (Two 120v 20amp plugs) generator. After the purchase my wife asked in conversation if this would work for my Bolt. This all got me wondering what the minimum specs are for charging my Bolt on either 12amps or 8 amps? At this point I am thinking I COULD (not that I would ever do this unless an absolute emergency) charge my vehicle at the 8amp setting so I am under 2kWh. Roughly working out the numbers this would net me about 8 MPG 😅 so definitely only an emergency option. I do wonder how many watts are needed for the 12amp option? 2200? 2500? 2999? This would likely never actually be done but since I haven't opened the first generator I may exchange it for a more powerful unit so I have the option if ever needed.

 

[GJETSON]

I purchased a 1800-2300watt (Two 120v 20amp plugs) generator.

I do wonder how many watts are needed for the 12amp option?

120 V x 8 A = 960 watts
120 V x 12 A = 1440 watts. You may be good already. But is complicated.

Can the Bolt be charged with a generator?

Ok, I have not run my Bolt to zero energy left yet, but I often wonder what I'll do if that happens. I'd prefer to not have to call a tow truck to haul me home. So I got to thinking, can the Bolt be charged from a generator? The generator itself is an inverter style with a 240 volt output to...

www.chevybolt.org

Charging from a portable generator

Is it possible to charge one's Bolt from a portable generator? If so, what rated generator would one need for such? All this talk of hurricanes and long-term power outages got me to thinking about getting a generator "just in case" so I could keep the refrigerator and freezer cold, plus have a...

www.chevybolt.org

 

[TFPDrive]

Wattage wise it will work fine. Two things to keep in mind:

1 - If it's not an inverter generator then the power output might be a bit dirty. That could cause the EVSE or Bolt to stop charging intermittently.

2 - The EVSE will look for a path to ground. If the generator isn't grounded it might fault out. I've seen videos of people trying to do this with a generator just sitting in a parking lot and the EVSE refused to charge. Once they grounded the generator it started working.

 

[Sean Nelson]

The EVSE will look for a path to ground.

I'm not going to ever do this, but I'm curious: how does the EV "know" that the generator is grounded? The car itself is well insulated from ground by sitting on its rubber tires.

 

[MisterJJ]

I'm not going to ever do this, but I'm curious: how does the EV "know" that the generator is grounded? The car itself is well insulated from ground by sitting on its rubber tires.

Hmm... This made me curious so I did some googling.

Normally for AC wiring the "common" wire is tied to the ground wire. For home generators the common wire is not connected to ground, only the frame is (Differences Between Bonded and Floating Neutral Generators). So I think the EV is not looking for a connection to ground but is instead looking for no voltage difference between common and ground, indicating a properly wired circuit. When you ground the frame of the generator you are connecting the EV ground to the AC common because the AC common is connected to ground.

 

[The Other Tom]

 

[redpoint5]

My anecdote is that the solar installers never entered our house to complete the install. They accomplished everything on the roof, in the garage, and in the attic in 2 days.

 

[GregBrew]

My anecdote is that the solar installers never entered our house to complete the install. They accomplished everything on the roof, in the garage, and in the attic in 2 days.

Most often around here (So. CA), the attic access is somewhere within the residence. Usually in a bedroom closet or a hallway.

 

[GJETSON]

Most often around here (So. CA), the attic access is somewhere within the residence. Usually in a bedroom closet or a hallway.

Same here in Virginia.

 

[sundog]

The charger in the bolt is very expensive. Since our Bolt isn't under warranty, I wouldn't feed it from a generator, except maybe an inverter generator. Or a Xantrex inverter hooked to our ICE.

To flip things around, we sold our generator with the plan of using our EV to power the essentials (especially blower on furnace in winter, or fridge + freezer in summer). We can drive the EV to a DCFC if it runs low.

 

[redpoint5]

Most often around here (So. CA), the attic access is somewhere within the residence. Usually in a bedroom closet or a hallway.

Sure, but you don't have to kiss the installer before they enter the attic. You don't need to lick the rafters immediately after either.

I'm all for taking extreme precaution when someone has many risk factors, but solar installs has spread zero covid.

 

[greendave]

Sure, but you don't have to kiss the installer before they enter the attic. You don't need to lick the rafters immediately after either.

I'm all for taking extreme precaution when someone has many risk factors, but solar installs has spread zero covid.

Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. And since the public and the public health establishment have done an abysmal job of keeping track of things, there's basically no solid data to be had on exactly how people are getting sick. Studies suggest that mode of transmission is less likely than others, but at 200k cases/day, even unlikely events will happen with some frequency.

 

[wesley]

I’m a bit confused. Did the thread merge or something? The OP was talking about portable generators but the discussion suddenly shifted to solar panels on the roof half way through.

 

[redpoint5]

I’m a bit confused. Did the thread merge or something? The OP was talking about portable generators but the discussion suddenly shifted to solar panels on the roof half way through.

The OP invited tangent topics by saying they wanted to go solar, but had (unreasonable) fear of Covid. I pointed out the irrationality, because that's what I do in all posts.

Sure, the probability of anything happening is non-zero, but we can't be frozen in fear just because the probability of a bad thing happening is non-zero.

 

[Fivedoor]

Sure, but you don't have to kiss the installer before they enter the attic. You don't need to lick the rafters immediately after either.

I'm all for taking extreme precaution when someone has many risk factors, but solar installs has spread zero covid.

Some people try to live by your signature

Keith

 

[redpoint5]

Some people try to live by your signature

Keith

Any worthy endeavor has a cost. Risk nothing, and receive nothing. Catastrophe is inevitable, but courage is not.

 

[greendave]

I’m a bit confused. Did the thread merge or something? The OP was talking about portable generators but the discussion suddenly shifted to solar panels on the roof half way through.

What happened is our omnipresent contrarian wandered in. The results speak for themselves.

 

[Adventurebolt2019]

Sure, but you don't have to kiss the installer before they enter the attic. You don't need to lick the rafters immediately after either.

I'm all for taking extreme precaution when someone has many risk factors, but solar installs has spread zero covid.

I was a solar installer before I fell off a roof a few weeks ago on a job (I got fired because I couldn't work and Utah is a right to work state). I had to enter a lot of houses and really appreciated it when people wore masks when I was in the house. I always wore a normal medical mask or a KN95 but a mask also don't do much to protect me or my family from the virus. When the virus hit me it was just about the worst thing I have ever experienced. Worse than pneumonia halfway up a mountain, taking a 30 foot fall and decked (on ropes) or more fitting, my currently broken pelvis. Other people on my crew didn't wear masks in houses either. Each exposure compounds your chances of getting it and you can never be too safe during a pandemic.

Responding to the OP: Highly recommend Goal Zero or if you have the technical know how you can build your own solar generator and battery backup. Really easy. GOAL ZERO YETI 1250 W/CART Used ones are cheap.

 

[Sean Nelson]

To flip things around, we sold our generator with the plan of using our EV to power the essentials (especially blower on furnace in winter, or fridge + freezer in summer). We can drive the EV to a DCFC if it runs low.

Ummm.... if the power is off in your house isn't it also likely to be off at the local DCFCs as well....?

 

[greendave]

Ummm.... if the power is off in your house isn't it also likely to be off at the local DCFCs as well....?

Depends how local, but often no. Localized outages are the most common in many regions (and annoying). Here in California for instance, even the PSPSes (Public Safety Power Shutoffs) tend to limit themselves to the neighborhood or region. Ditto legitimate outages due to downed lines etc. Now if you live in hurricane country, that’s probably a different story.