[lpisarski]

Hi. I have a few questions. My boyfriend has a Tesla 3 and can charge in our garage in a 220 outlet he had installed. We also have a 110 outlet on the outside wall of our garage that we used to charge our 2015 Prius. (Sold yesterday).

Do we need to buy an adapter for the cord that we use to charge the Tesla, in order to use it on the new Volt? If so, where do you suggest we buy it and what is it called? It would be nice to charge the volt at a faster rate.

If we go to the mall and want to charge the VOLT while shopping, do I need to bring my charge cord I received with the volt or will the cord on the charge port be sufficient?

 

[scottf200]

Some things are unclear. If your 220v charge is specifically a Tesla charger then there is quick/cheap adapter for your Volt. Volt charging is very slow even on 220v. ie. ~4 hrs.

If you 220v charge is list most it just has a standard J1772 plug that works on many EVs (Volt, LEAF, Tesla with adapter which comes with car).

Is your concern daily charging or weekend charging?

Depending on who travels farther daily for their commute could mean who may want to use the 220v nightly and who wants to use the 110v nightly.

Standard J1772 plug.

Normal J1772 adapter that comes with a Tesla to allow it to utilize J1772 private/public chargers.

 

[jcanoe]

Hi. I have a few questions. My boyfriend has a Tesla 3 and can charge in our garage in a 220 outlet he had installed. We also have a 110 outlet on the outside wall of our garage that we used to charge our 2015 Prius. (Sold yesterday).

Do we need to buy an adapter for the cord that we use to charge the Tesla, in order to use it on the new Volt? If so, where do you suggest we buy it and what is it called? It would be nice to charge the volt at a faster rate.

If we go to the mall and want to charge the VOLT while shopping, do I need to bring my charge cord I received with the volt or will the cord on the charge port be sufficient?

There are many different types of 220 outlets depending on the application and maximum amperage rating. If your BF's Tesla Mobile Connector is plugged into the 220V outlet it is not recommended to repeatedly plug and unplug as these outlets are not designed for that type of service (think plugging in an electric oven and leaving it plugged in for years.)

That leaves the 110 outlet; it can be either a 15 amp or a 20 amp circuit. The Volt will charge using the 110 outlet using the charging cable (properly called electrical vehicle service equipment (EVSE)) that came with the Volt at either 8 amps (default) or 12 amps. For the 15 amp circuit you should only select the 12 amp setting if there are no other devices on the same circuit otherwise this will overload the circuit and trip the circuit breaker. Check the main electrical panel and figure out if the 110 outlet by the garage is on 15 or 20 amp breaker; you will more likely to not trip the breaker if this is a 20 amp circuit. The difference is that the Volt will only charge at 2.7 miles per hour using 110 and 8 amps but will charge at 4 miles per hour if you can use 110 and 12 amps setting.

If you were to purchase an EVSE designed for 220 you could charge the Volt at 12 miles per hour using 220 and 16 amps but that would require a separate 220 circuit since as previously noted you don't want to be continuously plugging/unplugging from the 220V outlet.

You could purchase a Level 2 EVSE for the Volt that would plug into the 220V outlet and then the Tesla could be charged using the 220 EVSE used for the Volt when the Volt was not being charged by using the Tesla Charging Adapter (see photo in earlier post) but only one vehicle could be charged at a time.)

If there is physically room in the electrical panel and there is adequate additional electrical capacity available you could add a second 220 outlet for the Volt (it only needs to be a 20 amp circuit.)

 

[Juniper49]

I have a 2019 LT also and use the Chevy supplied charging cable with an adapter sold by the EV Doctor. It connects to a 50amp outlet and doubles the charge normally with the supplied charger. Since Chevy supplied chargers are 120\240 for international use, the $59 adapter is a bargain!

 

[jcanoe]

Yes, you can use the supplied EVSE with a non-standard power cord adapter. Many do this but GM does not recommend using the supplied EVSE other than with 110. In this case the Volt will charge as 220 at 12 amps. This not change the fact that there is only a single 220 outlet available in the garage.

If cost was not an issue you what you would want to have is a sub panel installed in the garage (100 or 125 amp) and then you could run 2 separate 220 circuits (one for the Tesla and one for the Volt.)

 

[scottf200]

I have a 2019 LT also and use the Chevy supplied charging cable with an adapter sold by the EV Doctor. It connects to a 50amp outlet and doubles the charge normally with the supplied charger. Since Chevy supplied chargers are 120\240 for international use, the $59 adapter is a bargain!

You must be talking about this: https://evdoctor4earth1.weebly.com/
and this section within "The Amazing EVDOUBLER"

CAUTION - this EV Doubler only works with specific 2016 - 2019 EVSE Chargers. Check the model # on the label.
Chevy - 2016-2019: 23254904, 23254905, 24277224, 24280118, 24288872, 24291478, Older Chevy 22967199, 22940501:

EXTREME CAUTION - The EVDOUBLER is not compatible with the following (* Get a LOW COST UPGRADE Instead!)
[Chevy Volt] Voltec L1 - Models 23487635, 23145307 and others . *upgrade available

 

[Juniper49]

Scott, I was wondering if there is an efficiency on using 110 volt charging vs 220 V? Of course it may take 10-12 hours but does it draw less power over the term vs a 220 V Station charging, say at 32 amps?

 

[mjones21]

Scott, I was wondering if there is an efficiency on using 110 volt charging vs 220 V? Of course it may take 10-12 hours but does it draw less power over the term vs a 220 V Station charging, say at 32 amps?

I'm not Scott, but I can answer the question. A 220/240V station will actually be slightly more efficient than a 110/120V EVSE because there is less resistance in the wiring. However, the difference is pretty negligible. We're talking something like 82-85% efficient on Level 1 versus 87-90% efficient on level 2.

 

[mjones21]

Scott, I was wondering if there is an efficiency on using 110 volt charging vs 220 V? Of course it may take 10-12 hours but does it draw less power over the term vs a 220 V Station charging, say at 32 amps?

I'm not Scott, but I can answer the question. A 220/240V station will actually be slightly more efficient than a 110/120V EVSE because there is less resistance in the wiring. However, the difference is pretty negligible. We're talking something like 82-85% efficient on Level 1 versus 87-90% efficient on level 2.

 

[JRRF]

Depending on your driving habits, all you need for the Volt is the 120v charger that came with it. Assuming you drive more than 50 miles/day, and unless you frequently come home less than 12 hours before you leave in the morning, you'll have no trouble fully charging your car every night. And the best part about your Volt is that even if you occasionally come home at midnight and have to leave by 6am, you can still drive 50 miles the next day (25 EV and 25 ICE). You can't lose, and don't have to spend anything else on charging infrastructure. And if this unusual scenario only happens infrequently, the little bit of gas you burn won't matter because after a while the EMM system will burn it for you even if you don't.

 

[Juniper49]

Thanks to both mjones21 and JRRF: Sometimes we all get hung up on having the BEST, most EFFICIENT, the LATEST, when we can just enjoy the ride! Heck with "faster charging"...saves me about $1000 for a Level 2 charger and installation for a new 50 amp circuit!

 

[JRRF]

Thanks to both mjones21 and JRRF: Sometimes we all get hung up on having the BEST, most EFFICIENT, the LATEST, when we can just enjoy the ride! Heck with "faster charging"...saves me about $1000 for a Level 2 charger and installation for a new 50 amp circuit!

And another data point for you: I spent about $100 on gas last year, and fast/slow charging had nothing to do with it.

 

[tfford]

If you have a 2019 Volt Premier or an LT with the fast charge option and an EVSE that will put out 30 amp or more, the Volt will charge at 7.2 kWh which results in a charge time of 2.5 hours or less with a fully depleted battery.

I know now because my wife has the combination above and it works great. This 2019 is our third Volt (2011, 2014) and it’s a fabulous car. Shame it’s been discontinued.

 

[blarpu]

If we go to the mall and want to charge the VOLT while shopping, do I need to bring my charge cord I received with the volt or will the cord on the charge port be sufficient?

I didn't see anybody answer your mall question. Pretty much all public charging stations will have connectors that work with your Volt. You don't need to buy or bring anything special and don't need the charging cord that came with your volt. The only exceptions would be a Tesla-only supercharger or a DC fast charging station. Many DC stations also have regular 220 charging connectors too.

 

[brett_cgb]

If we go to the mall and want to charge the VOLT while shopping, do I need to bring my charge cord I received with the volt or will the cord on the charge port be sufficient?

Tesla chargers are few and far between. L2 J1772 chargers are at most malls, and lots of other places.

You will likely find the L2 charger with the J1772 connector that your Volt uses. These generally require an account with the provider for billing. Plugshare, Blink (and others) offer maps with charger locations and their operators. You will generally need an account for billing to pay for the charging (usually not free).

However, with a Volt, I find that burning gas is lower cost than public charging. I don't have to use the public chargers like I did when I drove my Leaf (2012), so I don't. Even so, I find I don't often burn gas, except on long trips.

It would be nice to charge the volt at a faster rate.

You're already on the fence... I'd suggest added a second 240V circuit and outlet for a second charger. The Volt will always charge about 2.5 times faster from 240V than from 120V (assuming you always remember to tell the car to charge at 12Amps rather than the standard 8Amps).

Brett

 

[Total_Idiot]

Does anyone have 2 outlets that are on the different poles near each other ?

In normal house construction.

I would not think so.

Seems neat but reality may set in.

 

[marcusm]

Does anyone have 2 outlets that are on the different poles near each other ?

In normal house construction.

I would not think so.

Seems neat but reality may set in.

I had twin 240 40 amp lines installed with two outside 14-50 outlets on the side of my house. (Our family had two Volts then, now has three). As it turns out, adding the second line and outlet did not add much to the cost, since the same basic labor was involved.


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[jcanoe]

I had twin 240 40 amp lines installed with two outside 14-50 outlets on the side of my house. (Our family had two Volts then, now has three). As it turns out, adding the second line and outlet did not add much to the cost, since the same basic labor was involved.


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Either you have (2) 30 amp rated lines and something like a 14-30 receptacle for each line or you have (2) 50 amp rated lines. A 14-50 receptacle requires a 240V/50 amp breaker.

 

[marcusm]

Either you have (2) 30 amp rated lines and something like a 14-30 receptacle for each line or you have (2) 50 amp rated lines. A 14-50 receptacle requires a 240V/50 amp breaker.

AFAIK, dual 14-50 outlets. (4-prong neutral straight blade). Our electrician who installed said the lines were rated at 40 amps. Dual double wide 240 breakers each say “40.” 40 is fine with me, as I might get a 32 amp charger someday if we get cars with a bigger battery.

I’m not an electrician, but the code I believe requires outlets rated at amps at least as much as the line. So as long as I stick to 32 amps on those lines all should be fine.

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[Tomt]

Actually, there is more to it than that... There are a number of things in the car that are powered on when it is charging. They run whether or not you are charging at 120 or 240. At 240, you are charging faster so the percentage of the fixed parasitic loads is lower. That is a good part of the reason why 240 is more efficient than 120.

A 220/240V station will actually be slightly more efficient than a 110/120V EVSE because there is less resistance in the wiring. However, the difference is pretty negligible. We're talking something like 82-85% efficient on Level 1 versus 87-90% efficient on level 2.