[DonLafferty]

I have a 2016 Leaf and a 2017 Volt. I have a 14-50 plug fed by 6 gauge wire. I already have a Juice Box level 2 that I bought for my Leaf and now I would like to be able to charge the Volt at level 2 at the same time.

I believe I could just buy a level 2 charger for the Volt and a splitter for the 14-50 into a 14-50 and whatever the Volt level 2 would need. I'm looking at the Clipper Creek LCS-20 which can be ordered with several different plugs.

My main concern is if I'm figuring right.

The Leaf can only pull about 27.5A with the 6.6kW charger which should leave 22.5A available for the Volt which I believe will only pull about 16 at level 2.

Is this a valid way to do what I want?

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

I have a 2016 Leaf and a 2017 Volt. I have a 14-50 plug fed by 6 gauge wire. I already have a Juice Box level 2 that I bought for my Leaf and now I would like to be able to charge the Volt at level 2 at the same time.

I believe I could just buy a level 2 charger for the Volt and a splitter for the 14-50 into a 14-50 and whatever the Volt level 2 would need. I'm looking at the Clipper Creek LCS-20 which can be ordered with several different plugs.

My main concern is if I'm figuring right.

The Leaf can only pull about 27.5A with the 6.6kW charger which should leave 22.5A available for the Volt which I believe will only pull about 16 at level 2.

Is this a valid way to do what I want?

Continuous loads (such as charging) on circuits can only be 80% of the circuit rating. So, a 50A circuit allows for 40A charging. 27.5A leaves 12.5A.

You'd need something that will limit the total load.

 

[SharkVolt]

buy or make the adapter to allow your regular 120 volt charge cord use 240 volts, it will only draw 12 amps (you will get about 8 miles range per hour instead of 10), which keeps your amps down to a safe level. This doubles your charging rate for the Volt. And it will be the cheapest solution by far.

There are other threads on this forum about how to make or buy the adapter.

 

[DonLafferty]

Continuous loads (such as charging) on circuits can only be 80% of the circuit rating. So, a 50A circuit allows for 40A charging. 27.5A leaves 12.5A.

You'd need something that will limit the total load.

How about the fact I'm using 6 gauge wire which could handle 60A? Or am I limited by the 50A breaker? Although at 80% the 50A breaker shouldn't pop.

I do understand the issue of 80% of the rated load but what actually drives that limit? Is it the plug, the breaker, or the wiring?

Thanks for the reply.

 

[DonLafferty]

I had heard the factory adapter would use 240V but didn't know how to verify mine will. Do they all handle 240V?

 

[ChiVolt]

http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread...-L2-Conversion-Capable&highlight=EVSE+adapter

 

[Loboc]

One solution is to install a sub-panel and then run circuits from there for the two cars. An electrician should be able to size the circuits for each EVSE.

Sometimes it's best to write a check rather than DIY into a problem.

 

[Barry]

Your circuit is not limited just by the wire, but by the breaker, the outlet and the length of the run. I would not want to plug a splitter into your 14-50 to do what you are asking about. It sounds like you would be pushing it harder than you should for the plug and breaker, at least, plus the splitter might be against code.

As mentioned above, an electrician could probably easily convert your existing line into a 60A sub panel if you have less than 75 feet of run. This would be on a new 60A breaker. Then he could create a 40 A circuit to charge the Leaf and a 20 Amp circuit to charge the Volt using either a new evse or your stock one adapted to 240V. If the electrician determines that is not appropriate for your installation, he may be able to pull another wire from the main panel, which would cost more.

I am not an electrician, so that may not all be exactly right. In any case, the consequences of doing any of that wrong are high and could also affect your home insurance coverage, so you want it done by the book.

A cheaper/easier alternative would be to leave the Leaf on the existing 14-50 and find a different 120V outlet in the garage to use for the Volt. Overnight charging at 120V works well for many Volt owners.

 

[DonLafferty]

My wire is 6 gauge and it's less than 75' so I could easily replace the 50A breaker in my panel with a 60A. I could also replace my 14-50 with a 14-60 and I would then have a 60A outlet.

The wire is capable of 60A so the limiting factors are the breaker in the main panel and the 14-50 plug.

Right?

 

[DonLafferty]

I forgot to mention I'm an Electronics Engineer with 30+ years experience so I do understand electricity.

I am not an Electrician so I know there are lots of things about wiring a house I don't know but I do know electricity.

 

[voganni]

Why use plugs at all? Most L2 evse's actually use a 6-50 welder plug, a neutral is not needed. But if you have 6 gauge wire and a 60 amp breaker you could install a junction box at the end of the run and hard wire two evse's into it. If you wired it with plugs/receptacles (50 amp) it would be possible to have two 40 amp loads plugged into it which would overload the circuit and would not look too good to an inspector. But two hard-wired devices with known maximum loads (a 30 amp evse and 20 amp evse for example) would not be an overload.

 

[Chris TX]

I've made an "extension box" that plugs into a 14-50 outlet, and has a 14-50 outlet on it, along with a pigtail to connect the OEM Gen2 Volt EVSE to (which can handle 240V). Seeing as the Leaf will only pull 27.5A and the Volt will only pull 12A, you would be fine running 39.5A out of a max 40A for that outlet (if you have a 50A breaker at the other end.)

 

[DonLafferty]

These are definitely valid ideas. Thank you for the suggestions.

Of the 2 I think I prefer making the "extension box".