DANandNAN
Well-known member
Wow, that's a good looking garage! We'll probably end up with a Leaf that's similar in color to our Volt since I don't want to put the effort into caring for the black.Pipcecil said:
Two car plug-in family failure (volt problems)
- Thread starter Pipcecil
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Pipcecil
Well-known member
We are trying new charging mechanisms to see what works best. Currently we own one Level 2 by eVgo (no free blink chargers since we are not considered part of Dallas-Fort Worth...so bogus we are a 25 minute drive from downtown vs others they cover that are 45 minutes away), we hope to get their full electricity paid plan when they get it set up this year, which will make this current arrangment sweeter.
The current plan is when I get home (I get home first) I plug in and charge to full (80%), which takes me about 2-2.5 hours. When I am done, she takes the level 2 and we just keep her plugged in. A few reasons for this:
1) If we need both cars she can still run without the electricity the leaf is limited so its charged first
2) Her one-way commute is 52 miles! Pre-cooling or pre-heating helps extend her range to use less gas...this morning she used none!
3) I have a level 2 available (and level 3 two miles away!) to me at work so besides just being comfortable I can spare the extra battery to turn on climate control without being connected or having it work overtime for the first few miles and eat battery. Range is not an issue for my work commute.
4) Having her use the 120 outlet means hauling out the level 1 and winding up everyday, something that takes time. Plus she has RA, so I try to be concious of anything that could be harder on her hands (poor girl has RA at such a young age)
5) The garage outlets connect to the outside outlets on the same circuit, using something like our electric grill outside blows the circuit, we would have to be mindful of other usage of that circuit.
We are considering other situations, if eVgo decides to make a dual plan so we can have 2 chargers I would consider if the price was right (right now they really don't support the volt since they are mostly about the Level 3's). We also considered buying the Volt SPX charger, which is cheap, $550, but our electrical panel is full, we would have to make a subpanel and I got estimates on those, which would cost $800-$1000 just for the subpanel alone (let alone a few $200-400 for the EVSE installation), even though the subpanel would be adjacent to the main panel.
If we feel we want another level 2 the SPX is cheap enough that we would most likely go that route, so it may be something to save up for or use the tax credit on. But if this swaping system works out, then it would just be more of a luxury type thing.
The current plan is when I get home (I get home first) I plug in and charge to full (80%), which takes me about 2-2.5 hours. When I am done, she takes the level 2 and we just keep her plugged in. A few reasons for this:
1) If we need both cars she can still run without the electricity the leaf is limited so its charged first
2) Her one-way commute is 52 miles! Pre-cooling or pre-heating helps extend her range to use less gas...this morning she used none!
3) I have a level 2 available (and level 3 two miles away!) to me at work so besides just being comfortable I can spare the extra battery to turn on climate control without being connected or having it work overtime for the first few miles and eat battery. Range is not an issue for my work commute.
4) Having her use the 120 outlet means hauling out the level 1 and winding up everyday, something that takes time. Plus she has RA, so I try to be concious of anything that could be harder on her hands (poor girl has RA at such a young age)
5) The garage outlets connect to the outside outlets on the same circuit, using something like our electric grill outside blows the circuit, we would have to be mindful of other usage of that circuit.
We are considering other situations, if eVgo decides to make a dual plan so we can have 2 chargers I would consider if the price was right (right now they really don't support the volt since they are mostly about the Level 3's). We also considered buying the Volt SPX charger, which is cheap, $550, but our electrical panel is full, we would have to make a subpanel and I got estimates on those, which would cost $800-$1000 just for the subpanel alone (let alone a few $200-400 for the EVSE installation), even though the subpanel would be adjacent to the main panel.
If we feel we want another level 2 the SPX is cheap enough that we would most likely go that route, so it may be something to save up for or use the tax credit on. But if this swaping system works out, then it would just be more of a luxury type thing.
DANandNAN
Well-known member
52 miles all EV on her first day of ownership! That's awesome 
She needs to post that on the gm-volt forum.
I'm a big advocate of asking about the feasibility of EVSE at places we frequent. Has your wife asked about an EVSE or 110 outlet? I know you said she has RA ( ) so the 110 cord wrapping might be painful, but L2 or even an L1 that's left there would be great.
She needs to post that on the gm-volt forum.I'm a big advocate of asking about the feasibility of EVSE at places we frequent. Has your wife asked about an EVSE or 110 outlet? I know you said she has RA (
) so the 110 cord wrapping might be painful, but L2 or even an L1 that's left there would be great.Wow. 52 miles on charge on the first day? She must be an expert at driving efficiently to get that one day 1! That or her trip is mostly down hill
Make sure you get her onstar account registered on voltstats.net and join the appropriate groups.
Make sure you get her onstar account registered on voltstats.net and join the appropriate groups.
DaveinOlyWA
Well-known member
i dont see an issue with sharing a single charger. granted you will not be able to do all the charging during off peak, but time wise, you have way more than enough even if both cars arrived home nearly empty.
remember, the average car is in the garage a minimum 14 hours a day. charging the Volt would take 3-4. the Leaf 5-6. that is 10 hours. plenty of time left over.
remember, the average car is in the garage a minimum 14 hours a day. charging the Volt would take 3-4. the Leaf 5-6. that is 10 hours. plenty of time left over.
Herm
Well-known member
Thats one reason why there should be a wireless charging setup in the market.. plus I'm sure all those new Cadillac owners will want one
DANandNAN
Well-known member
The Infinity plans on inductive charging and I'm sure the Cadillac will have it as well. Inductive charging will be great for folks that either cannot plug in, or simply don't want to.Herm said:Thats one reason why there should be a wireless charging setup in the market.. plus I'm sure all those new Cadillac owners will want one
There's an ad for a commercial unit that shows their inductive charging unit on a Volt and a Leaf. http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread.php?13588-My-Volt-stars-in-a-video" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;!
gbarry42
Well-known member
At the risk of stating the obvious, you would want to go back and have them go through the list, which has a lot of little detailed stuff (like removing the styrofoam peanuts from the glovebox) and a few relevant ones (like making sure there's water in the radiator).Pipcecil said:
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