[inee]

loving it so far, black with black/tan interior. just really annoyed that 15hrs for a charge so when i get home at 7pm (33mi drive from work) and have to leave at 7am it is not fully charged yet. then i have to convince my work to allow me to plug in otherwise im using gas 80% on the way home coupled by the fact that i wasnt 100% charged in the morning. annoying. i want full 100% electric operation back and forth so i am looking into level 2 charging.

with my stock evse i should be able to go 220v but have to do some wiring stunts.

some weird thing: i hear cackling/popping/cracking sounds somewhere around the windshields sometimes-- dont know if its the speakers from whatever im listening to or if some debris just happens to hit my windshield once a week or so driving in the freeways of los angeles.

love the remote start. love the safety features (lane watch, blindspot radar, adaptive cruise control, etc...). the 1 car distance is too far still though lol. that annoying red light for near collissions is hella annoying but a welcome feature.

when i first got it i was freaked out-- i could not detect whether the damn thing was on or not. im used to feeling the rumble of an engine starting so just pressing the brake and on/off switch was weird.

other thoughts: i wish they had put electric seat adjustment-- its the one thing missing, as well as fog lights. a sunroof wouldn't hurt, either. also, the rear hatch opens to expose the heads of the rear seat passengers-- kinda weird to me. so when its raining they can get wet.

havent tried the auto parallel parking but i will soon. love the acceleration on this thing, faster than my 14 civic ex. whenever i try to "race" some cars at a stoplight though, my wheels skid the pavement-- i wonder if its because im too fast and my wheels couldn't take the initial speed?

anyways, more thoughts soon.

 

[hellsop]

Level 2 EVSE will solve your biggest problem. You won't regret it.

 

[I'mElectric]

Welcome to our group, glad you're here.

 

[mbsmd]

loving it so far, black with black/tan interior. just really annoyed that 15hrs for a charge so when i get home at 7pm (33mi drive from work) and have to leave at 7am it is not fully charged yet. then i have to convince my work to allow me to plug in otherwise im using gas 80% on the way home coupled by the fact that i wasnt 100% charged in the morning. annoying. i want full 100% electric operation back and forth so i am looking into level 2 charging.

with my stock evse i should be able to go 220v but have to do some wiring stunts.

some weird thing: i hear cackling/popping/cracking sounds somewhere around the windshields sometimes-- dont know if its the speakers from whatever im listening to or if some debris just happens to hit my windshield once a week or so driving in the freeways of los angeles.

love the remote start. love the safety features (lane watch, blindspot radar, adaptive cruise control, etc...). the 1 car distance is too far still though lol. that annoying red light for near collissions is hella annoying but a welcome feature.

when i first got it i was freaked out-- i could not detect whether the damn thing was on or not. im used to feeling the rumble of an engine starting so just pressing the break and on/off switch was weird.

other thoughts: i wish they had put electric seat adjustment-- its the one thing missing, as well as fog lights. a sunroof wouldn't hurt, either. also, the rear hatch opens to expose the heads of the rear seat passengers-- kinda weird to me. so when its raining they can get wet.

havent tried the auto parallel parking but i will soon. love the acceleration on this thing, faster than my 14 civic ex. whenever i try to "race" some cars at a stoplight though, my wheels skid the pavement-- i wonder if its because im too fast and my wheels couldn't take the initial speed?

anyways, more thoughts soon.

I've had mine for less than a month, too.

If the wiring in your house can handle it, you can set the car to charge at 12 amps instead of 8 amps. It'll charge in approx. 10 hrs. You can set this on a per-charge basis or set a geolocation to automatically set it for 12A at home.

But, as said above, a 240V 16A EVSE will charge the car from empty to full in just 4.5 hrs. Many companies sell them but I'd recommend the ClipperCreek LCS-20 at $379. It's very worth the investment (plus any electrical work to run the 240V line to your garage). Will totally change the way you feel about the car.

You can also convert the included charger to run at 240V at 12A for just a few bucks. That'll charge from empty to full in 6 hrs.

While the included 120V portable charger is useful, trying to charge a car from a simple household outlet is something that will take a while to do.

As for spinning the tires at a stoplight, don't forget the tires are low-resistance tires made for electric vehicles. Not going to be great for maximum traction. You could theoretically put higher performance tires on it, but at reduced efficiency. But the 0-30 torque in the Volt is great.

I agree about the power seats though.

 

[bentbiker]

With my stock EVSE, i should be able to go 220v, but I have to do some wiring stunts.

The only "stunt" you need to do is get an adapter for the plug, so you can plug into your 240v receptacle; you don't change a thing on the EVSE. If you don't want to make the adapter (about $25 in parts), you can buy one ready-made from ChrisTX for about $60.

Actually, if you finally resort to reading the manual and set up the car to charge at 12a at home, it sounds like you could probably get by without spending a penny.

 

[llninja]

havent tried the auto parallel parking but i will soon. love the acceleration on this thing, faster than my 14 civic ex. whenever i try to "race" some cars at a stoplight though, my wheels skid the pavement-- i wonder if its because im too fast and my wheels couldn't take the initial speed?

anyways, more thoughts soon.

I went for 18" wheels and a set of Yokohama Avid Ascends. Grip is much better, but there is a hit to ev range. Be sure to take on any and all challengers, chargers, mustangs, and camaros as well as fart can donning ricer boys.

 

[DonM]

Checked my outlet for 12 amp capacity

I use 12 amp charging in my garage, but have 3 sets of outlets that are all on 15 amp breakers. Just used one that was part of a set that was not used for any heavy loads. Also checked to see if it was getting too warm after connection. Felt all around the outlet and plug right after connecting and every few minutes for a while. It gets warm, but not hot. I've used it ever since to charge at 12 amps by setting the house as the home location. Makes big difference in charge time.

 

[inee]

If the wiring in your house can handle it, you can set the car to charge at 12 amps instead of 8 amps. It'll charge in approx. 10 hrs. You can set this on a per-charge basis or set a geolocation to automatically set it for 12A at home.

You can also convert the included charger to run at 240V at 12A for just a few bucks. That'll charge from empty to full in 6 hrs.

the guy at the dealer warned me about 12A charging, he said it trips some breakers. i mustered the strength to switch to 12A a week ago and while it IS faster, its still 10 hours painful-- I would still have to start charging my car at around 9pm (right about when I get home) to leave at 7am.

i didnt know about the geolocation thing-- that's awesome. I'll give it a try. It was one of my biggest gripes-- "dammit, I'd have to switch to 12A EVERY time i want to charge? cant this stupid thing remember my setting?!"

I know about Chris's thread but here's my question-- assuming I wire a 6-20 outlet with 220V, use 10/3 wire rated for 30A, and then get Chris's adapter to go 6-20P to 5-15R (so that the stock EVSE can plug into it), can the 5-15R take 220V? I thought it was only rated for 110?

 

[inee]

The only "stunt" you need to do is get an adapter for the plug

Actually, if you finally resort to reading the manual and set up the car to charge at 12a at home

i have been using 12A for a week now. and i do need to do some wiring stunts as my 220V subpanel is in the backyard and my car is in the front yard.

i was thinking of just buying a 10/3 heavy duty extension cord to plug into 5-15R at the back and run it all the way 50' to the front of the house. i know 5-15 isnt 220v rated, but even if i use 6-20r into the stock evse, that adapter will still be 5-15.

any ideas?

 

[16513]

Spend a little more and run conduit to the front.

 

[caronjeff]

In regards to the OP concern about voltage rating. It's not the Voltage it is the Amperage which determines wire size.

 

[marcusm]

My 40 amp 240 outlet is about 50 feet from the end of the driveway. I use a 25 foot 10/3 heavy duty 5-15 regular 3 prong extension connected to Chris TX's 240-5-15 adapter. I plug the EVSE in at the end of the extension cord with the regular 5-15 end. No issues. There are 50 foot 10/3 extension cords that should work. Just be sure no one plugs anything into the extension cord other than the EVSE. I have mine locked in a shed near the driveway so no one can fool with it. I also got a 16 amp dual voltage 120/240 charger to plug into it (similar to the stock dual voltage charger in that it has a regular 5-15 3 prong end but draws 16 amps, so it feeds the Volt internal charger at 15 amps (volt internal max) at 240. Charges empty to full in about 4 hrs 15 mins. Makes the car a lot more useful. The charger is a Duosida. I was able to get it for about 180 shipped direct from the factory. It is about 290-300 on eBay or Amazon. You can search for the forum for a specific thread on it. I've had absolutely zero issues with it.


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[Kraven]

OP, if you drive a lot and don't have the idle time to wait 10 to 12 hours to charge a fully drained battery, consider getting an L2 charger (of course making sure you have a 240V outlet with proper electrical specs/breakers to support it). I have a Clipper Creek and there are various models you can get. You can decide to buy just enough power to charge your Volt, the CC support team will be happy to help you make the right decision there. Or if you think you may want to future proof, you can get one that will handle more robust charging for a full BEV down the road. CC team will help you there too.

They can be purchased on Amazon and again, make sure you have the right electrical setup so it's safe and will function properly. You may also qualify for tax benefits for the cost of implementing a L2 charger...just google Form 8911 and check it out. You can get a tax credit of 30% of the costs up to a max of $1K. IIRC, you may not qualify if you are subject to AMT.

 

[Fourdoors]

The 12 amp setting should get you pretty well charged. Just plug it in when you get home and it should be
Ready to go by the time you leave.
Explain the geolocation thing. It's annoying to have to set it every time.
Speaking of which, isn't there some way to set this forum so you don't have to log in every single time?

 

[inee]

My 40 amp 240 outlet is about 50 feet from the end of the driveway. I use a 25 foot 10/3 heavy duty 5-15 regular 3 prong extension connected to Chris TX's 240-5-15 adapter. I plug the EVSE in at the end of the extension cord with the regular 5-15 end. No issues. There are 50 foot 10/3 extension cords that should work. Just be sure no one plugs anything into the extension cord other than the EVSE. I have mine locked in a shed near the driveway so no one can fool with it. I also got a 16 amp dual voltage 120/240 charger to plug into it (similar to the stock dual voltage charger in that it has a regular 5-15 3 prong end but draws 16 amps, so it feeds the Volt internal charger at 15 amps (volt internal max) at 240. Charges empty to full in about 4 hrs 15 mins. Makes the car a lot more useful. The charger is a Duosida. I was able to get it for about 180 shipped direct from the factory. It is about 290-300 on eBay or Amazon. You can search for the forum for a specific thread on it. I've had absolutely zero issues with it.


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This is awesome! This is what I needed. Confirmation that we CAN plug 220v into a 5-15. Okay. So I think what I'm going to do is do a 6-20 or 6-30 just so nobody doesn't accidentally plug anything into that outlet (including me!) and then wire an adapter like Chris's.

Now where do you get the Duosida factory contact details? I've been debating on whether to get one as I've seen some on Craigslist and Ebay for 280.

 

[inee]

In regards to the OP concern about voltage rating. It's not the Voltage it is the Amperage which determines wire size.

awesome. btw thanks guys for all the advice. THIS is the reason why we have community support. to help each other.

another question-- do i need a 30A breaker? if the stock volt evse pulls only max 12A, then 125% of that is 15 so a 20A breaker should work, right? and being that my extension cable is outdoors in the elements i might as well get a 20A GFCI breaker dual pole? im going to put the 6-20 outlet from my subpanel in an all-weather enclosure, plug the extension cable there with a 6-20 outlet on the extension cord end, which will be in another weatherproof enclosure, and then plug the stock evse onto there via a cable adapter like Chris's (6-20 male to 5-15 female).

right now there is no need for me to get a 40A evse since my volt only pulls 12A max, correct?

 

[KenC]

The 12 amp setting should get you pretty well charged. Just plug it in when you get home and it should be
Ready to go by the time you leave.
Explain the geolocation thing. It's annoying to have to set it every time.
Speaking of which, isn't there some way to set this forum so you don't have to log in every single time?

There's a setting in your car so that you can set your home location so it'll charge 12amps, not 8amps. As for your forum login, perhaps, you need to unblock your adblocker or cookies or something.

 

[marcusm]

You don't need a 30 or 40 amp line for the Volt. The volt can only draw a max of 15 amps at 240. BUT if you are going to spend the money to wire for 240 try to future proof it a bit for the higher capacity EV battery and charger you'll likely have in the future. It was only slightly more for me to run a 40 amp 240 line compared to a 20 amp 120 line. I put a 14-50 outlet end on it since a number of the higher amp chargers are defaulted to that it seems.

The Duosida info is in this thread (you may need to look at the Nissan Leaf thread referenced):

Dousida 110/220 charger

https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?sh...com/forum/showpost.php?p=3750577&share_type=t


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[inee]

You don't need a 30 or 40 amp line for the Volt. The volt can only draw a max of 15 amps at 240. BUT if you are going to spend the money to wire for 240 try to future proof it a bit for the higher capacity EV battery and charger you'll likely have in the future. It was only slightly more for me to run a 40 amp 240 line compared to a 20 amp 120 line. I put a 14-50 outlet end on it since a number of the higher amp chargers are defaulted to that it seems.

The Duosida info is in this thread (you may need to look at the Nissan Leaf thread referenced):

Dousida 110/220 charger

https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?sh...com/forum/showpost.php?p=3750577&share_type=t


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thanks! im concerned about the tightness complaints of the duosida though

 

[marcusm]

One I have is the other not. The one that is is gradually loosening up.


Here is the info from the leaf forum

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=22692

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