Do I need an EVSE to get fast charging?

[mecdatlanta]

Greetings,

I've been reading posts and get most of what has been said around charging. I plan to buy an adapter from these folks: https://www.etsy.com/listing/384390...charge?from_reg=2&joined=contact-seller&box=1 so that I can used the charger that comes with the Bolt.

My question is this: Is the included charger capable of DC charging? I am guessing not if there is so much discussion on EVSE devices.

Just trying to avoid a $600 expense if all that I really need is a $60 adapter.

BTW, the Bolt I am buying will have DC Fast Charging.

Thanks!

 

[winterescape]

DC fast charging is a good option to have on the car and will be in public areas, take a look at plugshare to get an idea of how widespread it is in your area, filter and look only for CCS connectors, which is what the Bolt has. A DC fast charge will charge @ 90 miles in 30 minutes.

Level 2 charging (AC level 2) is what most everyone has at home. AC level 2 will charge at about 25 miles / hour

I installed a level 2 EVSE and ran a new circuit for it costing a little more than the $600 you quote. The adapter you link, used with the stock Bolt EVSE that comes stock with every Bolt, will provide nearly the charge capacity as what I installed for little cost.

DC Fast charging is not equal to AC level 2 charging
https://www.chevyevlife.com/bolt-ev-charging-guide

Edit:
I assume that you already have a 240V plug in the garage that you can use with the linked adapter?

 

[SmokingRubber]

The included charger is maxed out at 12 amps. So if you use that cord on 110v that's about 1.5 kWh ... that cord on 240v (still 12 amps) is 3kW when using one of the adapters you linked.

Actual Level 2 charging stations put out 6-8 kWh @ 30 amps and Level 3 stations (DC Fast Chargers) put out up to 33 kWh @ lotta amps. Maybe more or less though. 33kWh is the max I've experienced and 11 kWh is the lowest Level 3 I've found.

The Bolt has a 60 kW battery so if you're empty ...
@ 1.5 kWh = 40 hours to charge (Level 1)
@ 3.0 kWh = 20 hours to charge (Level 2)
@ 8.0 kWh = 7.5 hours to charge (Level 2)
@ 33.0 kWh = 1.8 hours to charge (DC Level 3)

 

[mecdatlanta]

Thanks winterescape! Now it all makes sense. So I will never get DC-level charging at home. Good to know.

It's funny, with all the reading I did, I never saw anyone say that. I will almost never visit a public charging station, so I guess I won't see those super fast charge rates. Oh well, 25 miles/hr will be fine for me.

Thanks again!

 

[desiv]

The 120v AC charger that came with it will do 8 or 12 amps (you can change that in the car menus) by default. That is your L1.
L2 is higher voltage 240v AC, and there are several options there. I believe that maxes out at about 4 miles per hour of charge.

As you have found out, that adapter you are ordering will let you use the included charger at 240v, so twice the voltage. Still 12 amps, but twice the speed, so I'm guessing about 8 miles per hour...
Then you move to the EVSEs that you can buy. They usually start at 16 amps (c. 16 miles per hour) at the lower end and most go up to 32 amps.
I believe the 32 amps option gets you about 24 miles per hour.

Then, you get to the DC fast charge options. That is around 400- volts DC. AMPs vary wildly depending...
There are low amperage (25 amp) ones and they go upwards from there to 100+ amps...
Thanx for the point of correction below!!!
Not 25 amp.. 25 kWh (and apparently it's 24kWh) and that's I guess about 100 miles per hour???
Apparently that is about 32amps and 480 volts DC.. From: https://www.chargepoint.com/products/commercial/cpe100/

desiv

 

[SmokingRubber]

When your car is plugged in, you can press the START button and the display will tell you how many kWh you're receiving. I find this handy to see if I'm getting a full dose anytime I plug into an unfamiliar charger. So far, 33kWh is the max I've seen. That was at an EVGo station in Gilroy California. ChargePoint DCFC stations typically output 22kWh.

 

[mecdatlanta]

It seems to me that the EVSE is the way to go for the following reasons:

1) They charge at least twice as fast as the standard provided charger
2) I have read that the faster one charges the batteries, the longer one can stretch the life out

 

[winterescape]

The included charger is maxed out at 12 amps. So if you use that cord on 110v that's about 1.5 kWh ... that cord on 240v (still 12 amps) is 3kW when using one of the adapters you linked.

Actual Level 2 charging stations put out 6-8 kWh @ 30 amps and Level 3 stations (DC Fast Chargers) put out up to 33 kWh @ lotta amps. Maybe more or less though. 33kWh is the max I've experienced and 11 kWh is the lowest Level 3 I've found.

The Bolt has a 60 kW battery so if you're empty ...
@ 1.5 kWh = 40 hours to charge (Level 1)
@ 3.0 kWh = 20 hours to charge (Level 2)
@ 8.0 kWh = 7.5 hours to charge (Level 2)
@ 33.0 kWh = 1.8 hours to charge (DC Level 3)

Scratch my comment that using the adapter "will provide nearly the charge capacity as what I installed" It may be sufficient for your use but as SmokingRubber points out it still falls short of a good level 2 EVSE. Based on my personal Bolt use case, I would plug in every night and would have been just fine with the simple adapter. I currently plug in every few days, when my nominal estimated mileage falls below 80ish miles.

 

[cosmacelf]

Greetings,

I've been reading posts and get most of what has been said around charging. I plan to buy an adapter from these folks: https://www.etsy.com/listing/384390...charge?from_reg=2&joined=contact-seller&box=1 so that I can used the charger that comes with the Bolt.

My question is this: Is the included charger capable of DC charging? I am guessing not if there is so much discussion on EVSE devices.

Just trying to avoid a $600 expense if all that I really need is a $60 adapter.

BTW, the Bolt I am buying will have DC Fast Charging.

Thanks!

Do you already have a 240V receptacle? That would be step one...

 

[joe]

2) I have read that the faster one charges the batteries, the longer one can stretch the life out

This is backwards

 

[LeftieBiker]

A couple of clarifications and corrections:

The charging cable, aka "EVSE" that comes with the car, and the stationary EVSEs, called "charging stations," are NOT "chargers." The actual charger is built into the car, and the EVSE just provides it with either 120 volts (L-1) or 208-240 volts (L-2) of house current to convert to the 400+ DC volts needed to charge the car. DC Fast Charging bypasses the main charging system and directly charges the pack with high voltage, high amperage DC current. A separate port (integrated with the main port in the SAE Combo setup) is needed for DCFC.

There is some evidence that fast charging will temporarily improve the battery health stats in at least some packs like the Leaf's. It is very likely that this is either temporary or illusory. Long term battery pack health is best supported by charging at L-1 or L-2 speeds in moderate temperatures.