Public Charging my 2014 Chevy Volt

I took delivery of my new (to me) 2017 Chevy Volt on Saturday. That spawned a whole bunch of time googling "level 1 charger", "level 2 charger", "ev charge maps", and a host of other topics.

I'm stilling trying to navigate the different connectors and charge types. A stop at a EVGo yielded confusion as neither of the connectors fit the Volt.

So far, ChargePoint seems to be the best source of Level 2 charging stations with J-1772 connectors. I found one not too far away and tried it out for kicks. The Volt doesn't have DC fast charge capability - 4.5 hours via Level 2 is what I'm reading.

I'm hoping that more charging stations with AC J-1772 charge compatibility will be popping up but I'm not holding my breath.

JStauffenger said:

So I have a Level 2 charging plug but I'm not finding any near me --

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You don't bring your own equipment to a level 2 public station (well, in Europe you sometimes do). Just go on plugshare and look for J-1772 (this standard covers level 1 and 2 but almost all commercial stations will be L2) and you can plug in fine. If you have your own L2 equipment (note this is called an EVSE), you can install a 240V outlet at home to use it there.

flyingsherpa said:

You don't bring your own equipment to a level 2 public station (well, in Europe you sometimes do). Just go on plugshare and look for J-1772 (this standard covers level 1 and 2 but almost all commercial stations will be L2) and you can plug in fine. If you have your own L2 equipment (note this is called an EVSE), you can install a 240V outlet at home to use it there.

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thank you, i don't know why this is so confusing to me but thank you, i understand now.

Plugshare.com and filter on J-1772.

I've often found that many of the Level 2 public chargers are broken or inoperable. You may also need a membership account like Chargepoint, Blink, or similar to activate them, depending on the network.

Your Volt should have been sold with at least the OEM EVSE that you can plug in to any 120V outlet. Your garage, a friends garage, some outlet on the outside of your house, some light poles have outlets etc. It’s best to charge a Volt overnight on a L1 or L2 EVSE. ChargePoint used to be free most places. I bet it’s not anymore.

moved to Use, Care...

At most of those charging locations, at least in the north east, its cheaper just to use gas if needed and charge at home.