Power available at terminals of 12V battery

[aknies66]

In a gas-powered car, the alternator charges/powers the 12V battery when the engine is running. Depending on the speed of the engine, the alternator can deliver 100's of Watts to the 12V battery.

The Bolt has a DC-2-DC converter from the high voltage battery to the 12V battery. Question, how many Watts of power are continuously (e.g., until the high voltage battery is depleted, at least) available from the DC-2-DC converter at the terminals of the 12V battery when the car is ON and parked with all lights off, A/C and heat off?

Thank you,
Allan

 

[drdiesel1]

Read the data card on the battery and you should have your answer :idea:

 

[SeanNelson]

Read the data card on the battery and you should have your answer :idea:

The battery specs will show how much energy the battery can store, not how much power the DC to DC converter can supply to it.

 

[drdiesel1]

Read the data card on the battery and you should have your answer :idea:

The battery specs will show how much energy the battery can store, not how much power the DC to DC converter can supply to it.

The battery data gives you amp hour rating information :roll:

 

[SeanNelson]

Read the data card on the battery and you should have your answer :idea:

The battery specs will show how much energy the battery can store, not how much power the DC to DC converter can supply to it.

The battery data gives you amp hour rating information :roll:

Yeah, but that's not what the OP is asking for. He wants to know how much power the car's battery charger can put out. The "charger" is the DC-DC converter that steps down the high voltage from the traction battery to the 14V or so that's used to charge the 12V battery. That's probably because he's thinking of running something (like an inverter) from the battery terminals with the car turned on so that he doesn't drain the 12V battery.

 

[drdiesel1]

The battery specs will show how much energy the battery can store, not how much power the DC to DC converter can supply to it.

The battery data gives you amp hour rating information :roll:

Yeah, but that's not what the OP is asking for. He wants to know how much power the car's battery charger can put out. The "charger" is the DC-DC converter that steps down the high voltage from the traction battery to the 14V or so that's used to charge the 12V battery. That's probably because he's thinking of running something (like an inverter) from the battery terminals with the car turned on so that he doesn't drain the 12V battery.

And that's gonna be based on battery amp hours/reserve power data.

 

[wwhitney]

And that's gonna be based on battery amp hours/reserve power data.

Nope. In the use case proposed by the OP, the 12V system is being powered by the DC-DC converter from the main traction battery. The 12V battery should only come into play when the car is off, to provide standby power to the always-on loads.

Cheers, Wayne

 

[user 1034]

Nope. In the use case proposed by the OP, the 12V system is being powered by the DC-DC converter from the main traction battery. The 12V battery should only come into play when the car is off, to provide standby power to the always-on loads.

Cheers, Wayne

I'd be interested in the answer to this/OP's question myself. If I know that I can run things without putting undo strain on the charging system, I'll know what options I can act on.

 

[LeftieBiker]

FWIW, the Leaf's DC-DC converter delivers up to 1800 watts.

 

[JeffN]

In a gas-powered car, the alternator charges/powers the 12V battery when the engine is running. Depending on the speed of the engine, the alternator can deliver 100's of Watts to the 12V battery.

The Bolt has a DC-2-DC converter from the high voltage battery to the 12V battery. Question, how many Watts of power are continuously (e.g., until the high voltage battery is depleted, at least) available from the DC-2-DC converter at the terminals of the 12V battery when the car is ON and parked with all lights off, A/C and heat off?

The Bolt EV's DC-2-DC converter puts out a maximum of 1,600 Watts at ~14V, according to a GM engineer.

Of course, even with the heater, lights, etc. turned off the car's computers and other various components still draw a few hundred Watts. I wouldn't draw more than 800-1000 Watts continuously via a 120V inverter attached to the battery with the car turned on in "Ready" mode so the DC converter will be operating.

 

[aknies66]

Thanks to JeffN (hopefully Chevy will verify your numbers) and also to Wayne, and Sean for correctly interpreting my question.

I know (well, suspect) the battery can put out a lot of power for short periods of time, but I'm really interested in the (theoretical) ability to place continuous loads at the battery terminals (meaning, that the power must be delivered from the high voltage battery for long periods of time (think hours and hours))

Thx,
Allan

 

[devbolt]

Thanks to JeffN (hopefully Chevy will verify your numbers) and also to Wayne, and Sean for correctly interpreting my question.

I know (well, suspect) the battery can put out a lot of power for short periods of time, but I'm really interested in the (theoretical) ability to place continuous loads at the battery terminals (meaning, that the power must be delivered from the high voltage battery for long periods of time (think hours and hours))

Thx,
Allan

Theoretically, with a full 60 kWh battery pack, you could power a 1000W load for 60 hours. Ideally, you'd probably want to cut that to 30 hours to not excessively drain the battery.

If your aim is to power your house, or part of it, during an extended outage, a better bet would be to get a dedicated generator, preferably a propane or natural gas powered one, and tie it into the house's electrical system with a transfer switch.

 

[SeanNelson]

Theoretically, with a full 60 kWh battery pack, you could power a 1000W load for 60 hours. Ideally, you'd probably want to cut that to 30 hours to not excessively drain the battery.

The thing to watch out for here would be the car turning itself off after a certain amount of time if it thinks it's idle.

 

[devbolt]

Theoretically, with a full 60 kWh battery pack, you could power a 1000W load for 60 hours. Ideally, you'd probably want to cut that to 30 hours to not excessively drain the battery.

The thing to watch out for here would be the car turning itself off after a certain amount of time if it thinks it's idle.

Ooooh, good point!

 

[boltage]

If your aim is to power your house, or part of it, during an extended outage, a better bet would be to get a dedicated generator, preferably a propane or natural gas powered one, and tie it into the house's electrical system with a transfer switch.

In terms of a portable source of power, remember the GM hybrid pickup trucks that came with outlets so that you could plug your power tools into your truck at the job site?

Seems like a company called Via Motors is extending that concept to plug-in hybrid pickup trucks with 240V outlets that they say that you can plug your house into.

http://www.viamotors.com/vehicles/electric-truck/

 

[Pigwich]

What we need is an adapter that plugs in to the J-plug with a 120V power plug on it. There have been "people" saying that some day the chargers could act as inverters and put power back in to the "grid" which of course means that an EV could be configured to be a giant stand-alone inverter as well. This capability might be a software update away already, just awaiting a standard and regulatory approval. I guarantee the power electronics engineer asked if this was going to be a feature they wanted (even if it wasn't implemented)

or maybe one of these with a CCS plug on the input side? (It would probably be a LOT easier with a CHADEMO however)
https://novaelectric.com/product/350-vdc-nominal-input-pure-sine-wave-output-high-power/



OK maybe it's a bit hefty, but still....

 

[aknies66]

Hello Chevy.... it looks like you missed this question... would it be possible to get an authoritative reply to my original post?

Thanks,
Allan

 

[ArthurL]

Good thread. I'll like to see some answers as well. When my Bolt is running with notheing but radio and dash (no headlights) I see a 1 draw. I haven't tested it but based on that it would draw 24 in a day so gotta take that into consideration. As you draw ur dash tells usuage so could give an estimated time.

With camping season here it could be useful but wondering about warranty issues as well as draw.

Sean. I'll set up a thread with screen shots of chargers.

 

[aknies66]

It is quite sad that Chevy just ignores anything other than questions that can be read from the owners manual.

What is the point of a forum where questions are just ignored? I even sent the same question via their corp website. Same thing. No reply. No acknowledgement that a question was even asked.

Glad there will be other options from other companies in a few years.

 

[devbolt]

It is quite sad that Chevy just ignores anything other than questions that can be read from the owners manual.

What is the point of a forum where questions are just ignored? I even sent the same question via their corp website. Same thing. No reply. No acknowledgement that a question was even asked.

Glad there will be other options from other companies in a few years.

There's a reason for the, not answering the question you asked: they don't want you using the car in an unintended manner, one which could break the warranty. If they endorsed such a use of the car in this forum, it opens them up to all sorts of liability and responsibility for misuse of the car.