Super Charging like charging with the Bolt?

[mdfreeman]

Just read this article:
2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV vs. 2016 Tesla Model S 60: High-Voltage
http://www.msn.com/en-ca/autos/revi...2016-tesla-model-s-60-high-voltage/ar-AAjEe98

Filling the battery from near zero

After a few hours spent running the Model S' battery down, we rolled into our local Supercharger—Tesla's bespoke 120 kW-hr fast-charger—with just 9 miles of range remaining, and we plugged in. Most Tesla owners will tell you they only charge up enough to get them to the next Supercharger, but sometimes that requires a full charge. How long did that take? One hour and six minutes.

After draining the Bolt's battery, we plugged it into the fastest available Bolt-compatible charger, a 50 kW-hr Level 3 DC Fast Charger, with 6 miles of range left. Compared to the Tesla, the Bolt took a painfully slow two hours and 34 minutes to be good to go.

Wow! 1hr vs. 2 1/2 hrs.

Is it possible for GM (or a private company) to provide charging at the speed of the Tesla Supercharge to non brand specific EV's? Are there companies with a plan to do this for a reasonable price?

 

[SparkE]

Just read this article:
2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV vs. 2016 Tesla Model S 60: High-Voltage
http://www.msn.com/en-ca/autos/revi...2016-tesla-model-s-60-high-voltage/ar-AAjEe98

Filling the battery from near zero

After a few hours spent running the Model S' battery down, we rolled into our local Supercharger—Tesla's bespoke 120 kW-hr fast-charger—with just 9 miles of range remaining, and we plugged in. Most Tesla owners will tell you they only charge up enough to get them to the next Supercharger, but sometimes that requires a full charge. How long did that take? One hour and six minutes.

After draining the Bolt's battery, we plugged it into the fastest available Bolt-compatible charger, a 50 kW-hr Level 3 DC Fast Charger, with 6 miles of range left. Compared to the Tesla, the Bolt took a painfully slow two hours and 34 minutes to be good to go.

Wow! 1hr vs. 2 1/2 hrs.

Is it possible for GM (or a private company) to provide charging at the speed of the Tesla Supercharge to non brand specific EV's? Are there companies with a plan to do this for a reasonable price?

Please spend a little time looking around this site and reading - this exact topic has been commented on numerous times in the past 2 months.

 

[user 124]

This wasn't a bad article, but the fast charging comparison was really stupid and rather invalid. You / I only charge your car to full with a DC charger very infrequently - only when you need the absolute max range. There is a big drop in charge current from 85-90% to full; that probably took 1/2 an hour for each car.

 

[mitchev]

Charging tapers as the battery pack reaches full capacity (like above poster said).

However, the Model S 60 actually has a 70? kWh battery pack, so when charging up to the 60 kWh mark that the software limits it to, it hardly tapers off because the battery pack isn't reaching full capacity.

So overall charging speed is actually way quicker in the Model S 60 than in the larger battery packs.
ie. a Model S 70 should only take 1/7 longer to charge, but since it is charging to full capacity it actually takes more like 30 or 40% longer to charge to full than the Model S 60

 

[Tessy]

This wasn't a bad article, but the fast charging comparison was really stupid and rather invalid. You / I only charge your car to full with a DC charger very infrequently - only when you need the absolute max range. There is a big drop in charge current from 85-90% to full; that probably took 1/2 an hour for each car.

So you don't need to charge your battery full at all times? I'm going to give away my age here :lol: but I always thought that if you only partially charge a battery the battery itself has a memory and the partial charges will compromise the battery.

This is very good to know this not the case. So EV owners charge their batteries typically as needed? Do you know what you need based on an approximate mileage you are going to anticipate for the next day or the next couple of day? One more question...is it inconvenient to full charge every night even if you have the charging capabilities at home?

 

[BoltyMcBoltFace]

I always thought that if you only partially charge a battery the battery itself has a memory and the partial charges will compromise the battery

They fixed the memory problem long ago, and no EV batteries will have that problem. In fact, it's actually the opposite. EV batteries don't really like being either completely full or completely empty. Completely empty is worse, but the batteries degrade more at the extremes. They build in a bit of a buffer so you're never at exactly 0% or 100%, but keeping it away from those extremes will prolong battery life. Most EVs have an option to charge to less than 100% (either 80% or 90%) if you don't need the full range, and using that option will make the battery last longer.

So EV owners charge their batteries typically as needed? Do you know what you need based on an approximate mileage you are going to anticipate for the next day or the next couple of day?

Every owner is different. Some will charge every night to full. I usually wait until it gets to about half and then charge to nearly full, which for me means plugging in a couple of times a week. If I expect to take a longer trip the next day then of course I'll make sure it's full.

is it inconvenient to full charge every night even if you have the charging capabilities at home?

Not really. If you have a proper charging station installed, it takes a few seconds to grab the cord off the wall and plug in. I've gone three years just using the cord that came with the car, so every time I charge I have to pull it out of the trunk and plug it in. That's definitely more of a hassle, but even that only takes a minute and it has never really bothered me.

 

[devbolt]

This wasn't a bad article, but the fast charging comparison was really stupid and rather invalid. You / I only charge your car to full with a DC charger very infrequently - only when you need the absolute max range. There is a big drop in charge current from 85-90% to full; that probably took 1/2 an hour for each car.

So you don't need to charge your battery full at all times? I'm going to give away my age here :lol: but I always thought that if you only partially charge a battery the battery itself has a memory and the partial charges will compromise the battery.

This was true with NiCad batteries back in the 80's and 90's, but is not true with the Lithium-Ion batteries used in EVs (or even with NiMh batteries that have been used in hybrids).

This is very good to know this not the case. So EV owners charge their batteries typically as needed? Do you know what you need based on an approximate mileage you are going to anticipate for the next day or the next couple of day? One more question...is it inconvenient to full charge every night even if you have the charging capabilities at home?

Your best bet is to plug-in the car every night whether you have gone 10 miles or 150 miles that day. That way you start out with a full battery every morning. It only takes about 15 seconds to plug-in the car, or 15 seconds to unplug the car. Hardly what I would call inconvenient.

 

[Tessy]

Thx for the input

 

[jimmyjon]

Why is charging a big issue for some people. The information given in this thread was thorough and clearly shows charging is not an issue in fact seems much more convenient than stopping for gas