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What are you charging at home with?

9030 Views 105 Replies 55 Participants Last post by Markgregh, 6 mo ago

JDPaskal

Discussion Starter · 7 mo ago

So we just got our 2023 EUV last week and just started the process to get the 220 outlet installed. Are people using the supplied 220 charge cord supplied with the car or are you buying a charging station and using that?

Our utility company has 250.00 rebate program and I am wondering if we should take advantage of the offer or just use the supplied charge cord?

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1 - 20 of 106 Posts

cwerdna

· #2 · 7 mo ago

Nothing. I almost never charge at home due to Pacific Gouge & Extort. Almost all my charging is for free from L2 at work.

PG&E is so expensive, so that besides a couple free L2 EVSEs ~6 miles from home, I can DC fast charge for cheaper than the cheapest marginal rate on their EV plan (EV2-A) which I'm not on anyway. It's 19 cents per kWh vs. over 24 cents.

I had the L1 120 volt EVSE that my former '19 Bolt came with. Went back when the car was bought back. My '22 Niro EV has a L1 120 volt EVSE as well. I think I've used it once or twice. Once was to top off the car to 100% due to a road trip, so I didn't put in much juice.

Martin D

· #3 · 7 mo ago

The dual level charge cord will do the job.

I think I would definitely consider getting a wall mount EVSE and take advantage of that $250 rebate. Then you can keep the OEM cord in the trunk for an emergency and away charger. You can get a 40A wall mount to go with that 50A circuit, for a bit faster charging at home, and a wall mount is very convenient in the long run. It’s not good to be plugging and unplugging any charger on a regular basis if it’s a 240 volt. The 120 volt will take the wear much better. And it’s nice having the comfort of a charg cord with you at all times. It’s like the comfort of having a spare tire for example.

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michael.rottinger31

· #4 · 7 mo ago

I'm using a Lectron 32 amp portable adjustable charger: SAE J1772 Adapters & Chargers For EV Owners - Lectron So far so good. No problems.

Jerry Duke

· #5 · 7 mo ago

Tesla UMC Gen 2. LOVE IT!!

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Rainystateguy

· #6 · 7 mo ago

I am using a Clipper Creek HCS-40. It's a 32 Amp heavy duty model that I was lucky enough to find on the CC website refurbished, at a good discount a couple of years ago when I got my 2020 Bolt. You would probably want to buy the 40 or 50 amp model these days.

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KennesawTom

· #7 · 7 mo ago

My advice is to make sure whatever you get is UL listed. The cheap, crap chargers can overheat and start fires.

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MurrayM

· #8 · 7 mo ago

We planned on getting a 240 volt home charger, but balked at the $3,000.00 installation cost after the rebate. Seems our panel is full, needed a sub panel, etc, etc, etc...

We're both retired and it takes a whopping 5 minutes to drive across town, so the OEM 120 volt charger at 12 amps is fine. The next town down the road (58 Km / 36 miles away) has a fast charging station, so we can top up there if going on a road trip.

There is supposed to a fast charging station here next summer.

Our plan is to take the $750.00 Flo card and use it on an upcoming road trip across Canada.

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KennesawTom

· #9 · 7 mo ago

MurrayM said:
We planned on getting a 240 volt home charger, but balked at the $3,000.00 installation cost after the rebate. Seems our panel is full, needed a sub panel, etc, etc, etc...

We're both retired and it takes a whopping 5 minutes to drive across town, so the OEM 120 volt charger at 12 amps is fine. The next town down the road (58 Km / 36 miles away) has a fast charging station, so we can top up there if going on a road trip.

There is supposed to a fast charging station here next summer.

Our plan is to take the $750.00 Flo card and use it on an upcoming road trip across Canada.

One of the EV chargers on the market hooks up outside the home to your power meter. I don't know if that might help you. You might also consider charging at 110 volts. That is what I was doing initially until I was able to get a 240-volt outlet installed.

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BoltEUV

· #10 · 7 mo ago

I'm using the free dual level EVSE. The only thing I hate is the stiff wire insulation. It's diffcult to wind it back up on the hanger.

Electrical wiring Electricity Gas Cable Machine

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Electric Personality

· #11 · 7 mo ago

Emporia 48 amp capable wifi ul unit is on sale for $399 at amazon right now. I paid 500 6 weeks ago, very happy with it except it is not supposed to be mounted in sunny locations (which I did).

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accelerus

· #12 · 7 mo ago

22 EUV here -- I'm using the OEM 32A dual voltage cord for home charging, roughly 25/mi an hour worth of range. Extra fun bit is I got to re-use my drop down charge tube that I built for my Volt. Love being able to push a button and make it all disappear : )

I keep a Tesla Mobile connector (and J1772 adapter) with the NEMA pack in the underfloor storage. I use it when I travel to parents to visit as they are pretty remote, can just hook it up to dad's 50A welder outlet and be good to go. The EVSE that came with your EUV is more than adequate for 99% of people's needs, UL listed, and rock solid. Unless you are super techy and want a charger that has fancy wifi or bluetooth energy tracking there's really no reason to buy another one.

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Vinson

· #13 · 7 mo ago

I have a JuiceBox 40 at one house and a Lectron V-box 40 at the other house.
I charge at work also. They have strings of 120v plugs for diesel vehicles on the fence line at every plant parking lot. What I found was I really disliked using the evse that came with the bolt because of changing it from 120 to 240 and pulling it out of the car way to much. After I decided that I really like electric vehicles and I plan on using them from now on I started to make everything that involves ev's convenient and easy to use as well as plan for future ev vehicles.
The JuiceBox I purchased because I can adjust the amps in single digit numbers from 6 to 40 from my JuiceBox app to charge with my solar output. GM installed this 50 amp circuit.
The V-box 40 can only be adjusted by taking it off the wall and turning a screw in the back and it has pre set amounts like 16, 24, 32, and 40 amp settings which works great at that house. I do like the digital readout and it has no wifi capabilities.
The evse that came with the car will do everything you want just not conveniently in my use.

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PLP

· #14 · 7 mo ago

JDPaskal said:
Our utility company has 250.00 rebate program and I am wondering if we should take advantage of the offer or just use the supplied charge cord?

The two key words here are REBATE and DIY.

I am capable of running cables and doing the install myself, hence the cost is only in material and beer I will have after the work (ok, sometimes I will start before I am done - makes total sense, right?)

However, the cost of L2 (good quality) EVSE is prohibitive.

Hence, in my initial live with BEV, I was charging 120 V via OEM EVSE. That was for 2014 500 e.
It was OK for a while... and limited trips.
Then, I did the 240 V trick via OEM (2.88 kW)
And that was completely satisfactory for me. I could replenish the battery within 8 hours. Normal everyday charging was less than 5 hours. But then again, that was 24 kWh pack.

That worked great for many months until my energy company offered me a $400 rebate plus $100 for sharing the data with them via ChargePoint.
I got 32 A ChargePoint, plug in, 25 ft cord, for 460+tax. Materials less than $100.
So effectively it was about $60 cost to me (give or take a couple dollars here or there).

Having said that - it all depends what you need to accomplish. I am sure 500e would be fine with 240 V OEM charging.
Bolt - most of the time would be fine as well, except a few trips when I need to get the 55 kWh back quickly and via OEM 2.88 kW EVSE it would take too much time.
Now, I am in a better position due to proximity of a 50 kW DC station. I drive up there, park, plug, walk to HomeDepot, come back in 45 minutes and I have more than half battery back. For free.
Thank you Chevy GRAFF.

My approach is - if you think you might need it, do it such way you can expand. Do not do the minimalist version.
What I am saying is that - it take 8 AWG for 32 A load. That is fine now.
But in say 10 years, you may have two EVs, or a one that has much larger battery or the EVSE is say 9 kW. You will need to then run new wires... so run 6/3 AWG with ground now.
I did it in my previous and current house.
Sure, it is still on 40 A, but can be swapped to a 50 A in no time.

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bartimusmaximus

· #15 · 7 mo ago

My '22 EV didn't come with the dual voltage charger, so I had to get something. I got a JuiceBox 32, because it had good reviews for reliability and it was on sale. It's probably overkill because I don't need it's wifi connectivity (although the charging history graph is nice, because I can see when it's conditioning the battery in the winter). I've had it 15 months now and it's worked fine. (The Qmerit installation process was somewhat of a pain, but once I got it all worked out the cost for the circuit was all covered by Chevy.)

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Voldar

· #16 · 7 mo ago

Clipper Creek LCS-20 I bought 8.5 years ago. Still going strong.

Fluid Gas Automotive tire Cable Cylinder

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2019EVLT

· #17 · 7 mo ago

I use the OEM Bolt EV charger at 120V. I work from home, and it's all I've needed for the past 3 years. I make a 180-mile round trip to a lake cabin on some weekends. It takes a couple days to recharge at home afterwards, but that works fine for me. There have been a couple times in 3 years where I've needed to make back-to-back long trips. I take my car to a garage with L2 charger about a mile from home and walk home. It's a nice walk. I do carry a second 16A L2 charger with me in the car.

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SpicyBolt

· #18 · 7 mo ago

Voldar said:
Clipper Creek LCS-20 I bought 8.5 years ago. Still going strong.
View attachment 49979

That's exactly what we have too. We bought it nearly 5 years ago for our 2018 Volt. Still fast enough for our needs. Just a dumb, simple, reliable, and US made, EVSE.

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NortonCommando

· #19 · 7 mo ago

KennesawTom said:
One of the EV chargers on the market hooks up outside the home to your power meter. ...

Say what?

It would still need a circuit breaker in there somewhere.
Can you post a link to this system?

Voldar

· #20 · 7 mo ago

SpicyBolt said:
That's exactly what we have too. We bought it nearly 5 years ago for our 2018 Volt. Still fast enough for our needs. Just a dumb, simple, reliable, and US made, EVSE.

When I bought it, there weren't many EVSE providers at the time and Clipper-Creek was a "powerhouse". They've been bought recently, but still great products.

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