EV Help (what kind of public charge port is this?)

[bennelson]

Originally Posted by vpoppv

the last thing we need is some dolt plugging in his Leaf and driving off while dragging a charging station behind him!

All of the manufactured EVs (even Ryland's Citicar) are designed so that if they are plugged in, you can't turn them on and drive off.

On a homebuilt electric vehicle, it's easy to leave that circuit out of your design! (My Electro-Metro has that feature, but it's not actually hooked up right now.....)

Also, the charging plug on pretty much all EVs will always be on the front, or the driver's side. That way you can't help but see and notice it.

One my car, I have to unplug it just to squeeze between the car and the wall of the garage!

VPOPPV: I think many of us feel the same way as you. We don't really want these big expensive charging stations, but people don't want to put up due to cost - we really just need an outlet! I'll have to double-check that ChargePoint station, and see if the 240V version also has a 120V jack hidden inside.

MPaulHolmes' link above goes to a web page where a guy is making adapters. They are not horribly expensive. Still, it would be nicer not to have to use one.

Also, keep in mind that "Charging Stations" are NOT CHARGERS. The charger is built into the car. The Charging Station is simply a glorified electric outlet. I only mention this because I often hear non-EVer's getting confused over that.

[Ryland]

a normal 120v 15 amp outlet will work for most people anyway, plug in at work for 8 hours and a 12 amp charger will give you 4-6 miles per hour of plug in time or 40 miles of range while at work, drive less then 40 miles to work and you get done with work with a full charge every day.

[123]

How long would it take to charge an EV like the leaf with a charger like the one I posted if it had 50% or less battery?

[bennelson]

Looks like Chargepoint DOES have a charging station that includes both 120V AND 240V charging. LINK

These stations supply 240V and 30 amps. They call that level two charging.

Nissan says that the car will take a full charge in 8 hours through the onboard 3.3KwH charger.

So, if the battery is half run down, it would be four hours.

Also, if the car is designed for a 100 mile range, and they say it recharges in 8 hours, you can ballpark calculate how many miles you can go per hour of charging. Divide 100 miles by 8 hours, and you get 12.5. So, if you are the movie theater for two hours, and charge while you are there, you can go another 25 miles after that.

[Tweety]

Originally Posted by bennelson

Looks like Chargepoint DOES have a charging station that includes both 120V AND 240V charging. LINK

These stations supply 240V and 30 amps. They call that level two charging.

Nissan says that the car will take a full charge in 8 hours through the onboard 3.3KwH charger.

So, if the battery is half run down, it would be four hours.

Also, if the car is designed for a 100 mile range, and they say it recharges in 8 hours, you can ballpark calculate how many miles you can go per hour of charging. Divide 100 miles by 8 hours, and you get 12.5. So, if you are the movie theater for two hours, and charge while you are there, you can go another 25 miles after that.

Actually Ben, looking at your link it looks like they are ALL level II stations... Ie the J1772 plug that fit's the Leaf gives Level II power and the Level I is a standard plug... Ie they should be usable for all EV's even homebrew... Not as fast as using the 240V power, but just the same...

[HPEV]

Hey nice to see some actual Level 2 Stations sprouting up! Which College in Oregon are they at and specifically where in the parking lot?

Thanks for sharing!

[bennelson]

The link I provided was specifically for one of their stations that provide BOTH level 1 & 2 charging with the standard outlet AND J1772.

Look here at their other products.

Most of their products provide something OTHER than 120V.

I was just glad to see that they had one that could quickly charge a Volt or Leaf and also a simple homebuilt or an NEV.

[123]

The school is LBCC. I was thinking of realistic driving scenarios its 52 miles from where I live to the coast, a drive I have done many times. Its another 23 miles to get to the closest chargepoint station that's an extra 2hrs of charging just so you could charge. How do you explain to the family they need to go to the "gas station" for the next 6hrs just so they can go home?

[Tweety]

Originally Posted by bennelson

The link I provided was specifically for one of their stations that provide BOTH level 1 & 2 charging with the standard outlet AND J1772.

Look here at their other products.

Most of their products provide something OTHER than 120V.

I was just glad to see that they had one that could quickly charge a Volt or Leaf and also a simple homebuilt or an NEV.

Ah... That explains it then... Unfortunately for me, the chance of getting publicly available charging around here in Sweden is as likely as a free Leaf...

[123]

What! no public EV charging in Sweden. I thought your country was trying to be petrol free?