We have just bought our new 2018 Volt and are learning the ropes. We have already installed a L2 charger in our garage but were surprised to learn that the Volt does not support L3 charging.
Brand new Volt
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You are misunderstanding the use case for the car. It has a small battery for commutes. Smaller batteries also can not take faster charges (technical/chemical reasons). Need to go further you use the gas engine/generator.
L2 should charge in 3-4 hrs.
L2 should charge in 3-4 hrs.
G
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·Congratulations on your purchase. I just bought mine yesterday so I know your euphoria 
What did you end up purchasing?
As for the DC Fast charging (i.e. L3) the Volt doesn't need it given its small capacity battery. As Scott has stated the L2 charging should be sufficient. If you head over to a Bolt forum you'll discover the Bolt, with its much larger capacity battery, won't accept the full L3 charge rate for an entire charge for the same reasons a Scott mentioned.
What did you end up purchasing?As for the DC Fast charging (i.e. L3) the Volt doesn't need it given its small capacity battery. As Scott has stated the L2 charging should be sufficient. If you head over to a Bolt forum you'll discover the Bolt, with its much larger capacity battery, won't accept the full L3 charge rate for an entire charge for the same reasons a Scott mentioned.
G
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·The Gen 2 Volt has a larger battery than my iMiEV - 16 Kw in the Mitsu which does have L3 capability. 80% recharge in 20 minutes. Only 60 or 70 miles of range, but one person I know of drove his iMiEV the full length of Route 66 from Chicago to Santa Monica (and back). My Volt doesn't have L3 only because it adds to the cost of the car and GM decided not to include it - There is no 'technical' reason
Don
I understand the argument that a small capacity battery doesn't need L3 charging, but I am looking ahead to then there will be a network of thousands of L3 chargers across North America. As the number of electric vehicles increases there will be a commensurate demand of these, probably beginning with widespread installations at service centres along expressways/interstates. Looking back at the turn of the 19th/20th Century, it only took a few years for the demand for gasoline to cause the building of the service station network we now take for granted. It should quickly become routine to stop for a coffee and in 15-20 minutes fully recharge, but this can only happen with widely available L3 chargers.
It seems to me that all electric vehicles should have the capacity to utilize L3 charging, whatever their battery size. If we want to get off fossil fuels that's the way we need to go.
It seems to me that all electric vehicles should have the capacity to utilize L3 charging, whatever their battery size. If we want to get off fossil fuels that's the way we need to go.
Thanks for that; it is as I suspected, a cost/marketing decision. As a general comment, I suspect that a lot of Volt (and other electric car owners) would be interested in a modification kit which would permit access to L3, providing it could be done at reasonable cost. The charging port issue is a bit of a red herring because an additional port could be added under the hood.
It's a different car. The iMiev doesn't come with a generator. The Volt does. Ergo the Volt doesn't need quick charging, because you just let the generator come on, transition seamlessly from battery supplied power to generator supplied power, and don't worry about it. If you *want* a quick-charge, small-battery BEV, you'd buy something other than a Volt, because a Volt isn't one.
Our 2016 Volt Premier take 4 hrs 10 mins for a full complete charge from empty battery with a level 2 (Clipper Creek HCS 40). This morning as I type this the electric range with a full battery is reading 69 miles. I have heard there is a possibility that the 2019 Volt will have a 7.2 KW charging ability, nearly double what it is now, I believe 3.6 or 3.8 KWH is for the current 2016-2018 Volt.
I don't see where the issue would be with a 7.2 KW charging rate as when you regen I see well over 7 KWH usually well over 10 KWH at times going down a steep grade for a couple of miles...
I don't see where the issue would be with a 7.2 KW charging rate as when you regen I see well over 7 KWH usually well over 10 KWH at times going down a steep grade for a couple of miles...
There is no issue with the Volt being able to support Level 2 charging at 7.2kW, only the additional cost of swapping the 3.6kW on-board charger for a 7.2kW unit plus wiring, fuses, maybe more ventilation/larger cooling fans and programming. Level 3 DC fast charging charging is not practical or needed in the Gen 2 Volt. Level 3 charging starts at 25kW and is more commonly available at 50kW and higher power levels. Even the now obsolete 25kW DC fast charging rate is in excess of 1C for the Volt's 18.4kWh battery. With few exceptions you won't see level 3 charging for batteries less than 24kWh typically only for 30kWh and larger capacity batteries. Even the Chevy Bolt with its 60kWh battery starts to taper off level 3 charging from a charging rate of ~50kWh when approaching 80% SOC. In full size EV sedans and SUVs 90 - 100 kWh or larger battery capacities will become the norm as battery costs continue to drop. An important consideration will be the ability to quickly recharge to 80% SOC using DC fast charging and being able to get back on the road without waiting for the battery to charge the last 20% and still reach your destination or at least the next DC fast charger.
That's for a minute or two. Not two hours.
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No, battery chemistries are all different. GM engineers chose no DC Fast charge because that is not the use case of the car.
How’s that range extending engine on the iMiEV? Oh, it doesn’t have one. 😛
Instead of a fast charger the Volt has a full performance engine to create all the electricity you need beyond the battery’s range without needing to stop and charge.
The battery is designed to limit or eliminate gas use for daily commuting. The engine is there so, beyond that, you can go cross country if you want non-stop without ever needing to charge. Just plug in if you can when you arrive at your destination.
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If a Volt had a fast charger, you’d have to wait an hour for it to charge, drive 50 miles, and repeat. Nobody would do that in practice for any long trip.
It’s not a cost cutting decision, it’s a practical one that helps reinforce why the engine is there.
It’s not a cost cutting decision, it’s a practical one that helps reinforce why the engine is there.
G
Guest
·Probably not on long trips, true. But for a business man, or a delivery man, or an Uber running around town all day it would be nice to spend your breaks getting an 80% charge in only 20 minutes and have the ability to do 200 or 250 miles per day totally on electricity
Not including it is a cost saving measure and one that made sense because few owners would use it of it was standard on every car . . . . but there is no technical reason they couldn't do it. In 6 years, I've never used it once on my iMiEV
Don
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Why did you buy a Volt? The Bolt has L1, L2, and L3. Seems like that would have been a better fit based on your L3 desires.
G
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·Would it make financial sense to use DCFC?
G
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·It will charge the battery up to 40% of capacity, I have done it, but why would you? It is inefficient to charge the battery by that method. Its purpose is to charge the battery on the downhill parts so you have battery power to help you up the steep uphill parts on longer drives. I's cheaper to 1)charge at home, 2) charge at a away station (especially the free ones), or drive on engine or hold mode (if you have it). You don't get "free" charging when in Mountain Mode, the engine races to charge the battery with resultant hit on fuel economy. The reason I did it was I had just gotten the car and had not sorted out the outlet for the L2 charger that came with it and wanted more EV driving once I got off the highway and to experiment with it (I had it one day).
G
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·The recommendation is (if the battery is depleted) to go into Mountain Mode twenty minutes before hitting the mountains (they come up quite suddenly in the Rockies and the Cascades, not sure about the East Coast) so you get enough charge in the battery before the first big grade. It won't charge beyond 40% because it's inefficient for "just charging" and that's all you need for longer steep sections on "The Smasher" on the Coquihalla (there's a YouTube video), don't know if there are longer/steeper areas in US (Pikes Peak?) but probably.
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