[notaguru]

We're mostly happy with our 2012 Volt, but are now seriously torn between the new Bolt and a new Volt.

Will our original BLINK charger be compatible with either/both of those later cars?

Thanks!

 

[ghostgs1]

Sure, it would work with either car. May take a long time to fully charge the Bolt, depending on the charging rate.

 

[canehdian]

All J1772 chargers are compatible. That's the point of a universal standard (unless you're Tesla or Apple, then you're cooler than the rest)

 

[llninja]

As others have stated, it will work with either car, but you just need to tell us the amperage rating on the EVSE so we know whether it is ideal for the Bolt. Bigger is better, which will translate into shorter charging times. I think 30-32 amps is ideal for the Bolt.

 

[Raymondjram]

All J1772 chargers are compatible. That's the point of a universal standard (unless you're Tesla or Apple, then you're cooler than the rest)

Tesla Motors and others sell an adapter to allow the Model S and X to charge at a J1772 EVSE. Apple, on the other hand, doesn't allow or sell a microUSB-to-Lightning adapter. The Apple interface does have a "chip" intergrated in the charge plug, BTW, making that cable much more expensive. Only a few OEMs sell these adapters, and some sell a dual head USB charging cable, with both Lightning and microUSB plugs..

Tesla Motors may be cool but Apple is greedy and stupid!! I have worked with both Android and Apple products, and the Android are better, cost less to own, and are easier to repair.
Read more about the Lightning adapter and tell me who is "cool" now:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightning_(connector)
"Apple wishing to maintain control over the ethics of the supply chain of accessories and the ability to charge a licensing fee".

 

[Raymondjram]

We're mostly happy with our 2012 Volt, but are now seriously torn between the new Bolt and a new Volt.

Will our original BLINK charger be compatible with either/both of those later cars?

Thanks!

If your BLINK EVSE is a Level 2 , set it at 30 Amps, or its maximum, because the Chevy Bolt EV can charge at at Level 2 rate of 7.2 kW, which can recharge the complete battery in less than 9 hours overnight. My JuiceBox Level 2 which I built and installed in 2014 is ready for the Bolt EV.

 

[llninja]

Tesla Motors and others sell an adapter to allow the Model S and X to charge at a J1772 EVSE. Apple, on the other hand, doesn't allow or sell a microUSB-to-Lightning adapter. The Apple interface does have a "chip" intergrated in the charge plug, BTW, making that cable much more expensive. Only a few OEMs sell these adapters, and some sell a dual head USB charging cable, with both Lightning and microUSB plugs..

Tesla Motors may be cool but Apple is greedy and stupid!! I have worked with both Android and Apple products, and the Android are better, cost less to own, and are easier to repair.
Read more about the Lightning adapter and tell me who is "cool" now:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightning_(connector)
"Apple wishing to maintain control over the ethics of the supply chain of accessories and the ability to charge a licensing fee".

Users don't care about supply chains and licensing. The big deal is that lightning cords can be plugged in either direction. With microUSB you have a 50% chance of guessing wrong then having to flip the cable around and try again. There's a lot of satisfaction in not having to worry about cable direction. A lot of people moan every time Apple makes a connector change citing that they are greedy, but every single connector change has been to take up less real estate as devices have become thinner and thinner. Do you really want to be carrying a phone with the original 25 pin serial cable plug and a db15 vga plug on it? People moaned when Apple went USB only with the original iMac, now everybody has USB. People moaned when Apple went to Mini DisplayPort, and now Many lenovo laptops have minidisplayport while HP has stuck to full sized DisplayPort. Apple is just ahead of the pack, and will continue to do so. Just like tesla is ahead of the pack and seems to continue to do so.

 

[canehdian]

Users don't care about supply chains and licensing. The big deal is that lightning cords can be plugged in either direction. With microUSB you have a 50% chance of guessing wrong then having to flip the cable around and try again. There's a lot of satisfaction in not having to worry about cable direction. A lot of people moan every time Apple makes a connector change citing that they are greedy, but every single connector change has been to take up less real estate as devices have become thinner and thinner. Do you really want to be carrying a phone with the original 25 pin serial cable plug and a db15 vga plug on it? People moaned when Apple went USB only with the original iMac, now everybody has USB. People moaned when Apple went to Mini DisplayPort, and now Many lenovo laptops have minidisplayport while HP has stuck to full sized DisplayPort. Apple is just ahead of the pack, and will continue to do so. Just like tesla is ahead of the pack and seems to continue to do so.

The universal USB standard rev. C can be plugged in either direction.
Will we see apple drop their closed standard in favour of it? I'm guessing not..
At least not on their cash cow (phones). Their macbooks have it.

There's far more satisfaction in knowing you can use any charging cable out there vs having to flip it around once in a while to make it fit.
One situation means you can't get a charge at all, the other means you look like an idiot for 2 seconds.
And the latter has been solved in the latest standards.

 

[ssl92677]

As others have stated, it will work with either car, but you just need to tell us the amperage rating on the EVSE so we know whether it is ideal for the Bolt. Bigger is better, which will translate into shorter charging times. I think 30-32 amps is ideal for the Bolt.

Don't you need 40-amp circuit breakers and rated wiring to maintain safe charging at 30-amps?

 

[saghost]

Tesla Motors and others sell an adapter to allow the Model S and X to charge at a J1772 EVSE. Apple, on the other hand, doesn't allow or sell a microUSB-to-Lightning adapter. The Apple interface does have a "chip" intergrated in the charge plug, BTW, making that cable much more expensive. Only a few OEMs sell these adapters, and some sell a dual head USB charging cable, with both Lightning and microUSB plugs..

Tesla Motors may be cool but Apple is greedy and stupid!! I have worked with both Android and Apple products, and the Android are better, cost less to own, and are easier to repair.
Read more about the Lightning adapter and tell me who is "cool" now:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightning_(connector)
"Apple wishing to maintain control over the ethics of the supply chain of accessories and the ability to charge a licensing fee".

Unless I'm very confused, Apple is still shipping a Micro-USB to Lightning adapter (the one you said doesn't exist?) with every phone they sell in Europe - EU regulations used to (still do?) require all phones to charge by micro-USB; that's why all the hundreds of odd custom chargers went away a decade ago.

 

[llninja]

The universal USB standard rev. C can be plugged in either direction.
Will we see apple drop their closed standard in favour of it? I'm guessing not..
At least not on their cash cow (phones). Their macbooks have it.

There's far more satisfaction in knowing you can use any charging cable out there vs having to flip it around once in a while to make it fit.
One situation means you can't get a charge at all, the other means you look like an idiot for 2 seconds.
And the latter has been solved in the latest standards.

I actually own a MacBook and a MacBook Pro with touchbar, both with USB Type C. Yet, to charge my phone from the laptop, I need a USB Type C to type A adapter, then a regular USB to lightNing cable. It would have been nice to have everything use USB Type C, but even with that, Raymond would still complain that his microUSB cables won't work with it.

Given the additional power that can pass through USB type C, I'd love to see household outlets switch to type C to eliminate the rats nest of transformers that go to all the electronic devices in the house. Keep gen 110V plug for microwaves, space heaters, and refrigerators, but also build in USB Type C with plenty of current where the transformer is in the wall outlet and change everything electronic to this new standard.

 

[wws]

...Given the additional power that can pass through USB type C, I'd love to see household outlets switch to type C to eliminate the rats nest of transformers that go to all the electronic devices in the house. Keep gen 110V plug for microwaves, space heaters, and refrigerators, but also build in USB Type C with plenty of current where the transformer is in the wall outlet and change everything electronic to this new standard.

Such receptacles have been available for some years now. For example, here is one from Leviton - available at your local Home Depot: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Leviton-...and-USB-Charger-White-R02-T5632-0BW/205092277

 

[Steverino]

The charger is mounted behind the passenger side bumper. The EVSE is what is plugged into the car as many here know.

 

[llninja]

Such receptacles have been available for some years now. For example, here is one from Leviton - available at your local Home Depot: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Leviton-...and-USB-Charger-White-R02-T5632-0BW/205092277

Not quite. The USB ports on such receptacles are usually 2-5 watts and are Type A (the basic serial ports for PCs). USB type-C can go much higher. My 15 inch MacBook Pro has an 87W power supply running juice through the USB type-C cable. I think that's enough for many electrical components around the house (bluetooth speakers, stereo system, Xbox, Nintendo, etc) plus, not only for power, but we can pass data and video through this magical cable using DisplayPort or thunderbolt.

So microUSB is only useful for tablets and phones but not enough for high-end computers or anything else requiring more current. usb Type-C with thunderbolt 3 is the way to go. It's not just an Apple thing, in fact Thunderbolt was invented by Intel, not Apple. Apple just chose to be one of the first (along with Google) to adopt it. So when you need to get an adapter, don't blame Apple for this, it's Intel that you should praise or blame.

 

[NM Volt]

Is this crap related to Volts?? Why not take it to an Apple forum?

 

[llninja]

Is this crap related to Volts?? Why not take it to an Apple forum?

Raymond's the one that brought tesla and Apple into the convo... but OK back to blink chargers.... um, uh, what else is there to say... yes the Blink charger will work... now what? The thread dies.

 

[jcanoe]

I believe you are correct. By code a continuous load such as charging an EV or PIHV should not exceed 80% of the maximum rated load for the circuit. So a 50 amp dedicated circuit (proper wire gauge for the load and wire length and breaker) would be sufficient for charging at a maximum of 40 amps. A 40 amp dedicated circuit would be the minimum circuit needed for charging at up to 30 amps. If your home electrical service and panel will support a 50 amp circuit then this is better investment for future EV charging needs. The additional cost of the larger gauge wire needed for a 50 amp circuit is a minor part of the total cost of installing the circuit.

 

[llninja]

I believe you are correct. By code a continuous load such as charging an EV or PIHV should not exceed 80% of the maximum rated load for the circuit. So a 50 amp dedicated circuit (proper wire gauge for the load and wire length and breaker) would be sufficient for charging at a maximum of 40 amps. A 40 amp dedicated circuit would be the minimum circuit needed for charging at up to 30 amps. If your home electrical service and panel will support a 50 amp circuit then this is better investment for future EV charging needs. The additional cost of the larger gauge wire needed for a 50 amp circuit is a minor part of the total cost of installing the circuit.

50A is fine for most vehicles, but it won't work if you happen to buy a dual charger equipped tesla. Then you'd want 100A to drive the 80A EVSE. I tried to futureproof my charging by getting a 30a EVSE, and I kind of regret that decision. I could have saved the money rather than guessing and possibly missing the target.

 

[jcanoe]

I do not own a Tesla and was not very familiar with Tesla's dual on-board charger option. There is a good article here:
http://www.teslarati.com/tesla-dual-chargers-vs-high-power-wall-connector-hpwc/

The author makes the point that Tesla owners only benefit from having the dual on-board charger option installed in their vehicle when they are charging away from home. Note: this scenario does not apply to using the Tesla Supercharger network. When charging a Tesla at home using a NEMA 14-50 connector/50 amp circuit or the Tesla High Power Wall Connector (yet another home charging option that is unique to Tesla) the dual on-board charger option is not used. They still think that having the dual on-board charger option is a good investment for the future as it ensures their Tesla vehicle will be able to take advantage of higher power away-from-home charging options as these become available.

 

[hellsop]

50A is fine for most vehicles, but it won't work if you happen to buy a dual charger equipped tesla. Then you'd want 100A to drive the 80A EVSE. I tried to futureproof my charging by getting a 30a EVSE, and I kind of regret that decision. I could have saved the money rather than guessing and possibly missing the target.

You just future-proofed it further than you expected. Maybe the person your estate sells the house to buys it because it's got 30 amp service for her welder.