GM Volt Forum banner

Can Volt use a level 3 charger?

22K views 21 replies 18 participants last post by  Eletruk 
#1 ·
Hi All,
Is there a thread that answers that question: Can our 2011/2012 Volts use a level 3 quick charger? If not, can they be upgraded when these become more available? I like the idea of a 15 to 20 minute charge!
Thank you.:confused:
 
#2 ·
Hello,

The answer is no ... unfortunately. By level 3, you mean CHADEMO 400V DC charge ... this requires a totally different connector.

So no, it can't be upgraded ...

Cars like the Leaf and the Mitsubishi i, need 2 connectors ... one for the regular level 2 charger, and one for the level 3 Chademo.

I know that they are working for a new standard that support both level 2 and level 3 charging with the same connector ...

Sly
 
#3 ·
While the Nissan Leaf has the connector on some models, the manual says that frequent use voids your battery warranty. Especially for the Volt which has an extended range generator, I can't see a single good reason to risk battery damage and support a Level 3 charge.
 
#4 ·
Mike, just to be clear, Nissan is talking about multiple charges in a day. Not using it once a week or even once a day. The charge BTW is only to 80%. (And the reality is that there aren't any DC chargers out there so it's all a mostly a moot point anyway).
 
#5 ·
The Volt does not even use the full capacity of a level 2 charger. The Volt can only draw 20 amps at 240 VAC. Many Level 2 Chargers can supply 30 or 40 amps... But the Volt will only charge at a 20 amp rate. (Takes about 3-4 hours.)

A level three charger is intended for much larger battery packs. A level three charger uses a completely different plug. And lastly... Why would you need it on a Volt? You have extended range mode... You don't need to charge any faster.
 
#16 · (Edited)
Wow... unless I'm completely confused, so many wrong answers in so short a space in one thread...

Three defining constants here:

  1. Constant current draws are only allowed to draw 80% of the rated capacity of a circuit (a 12 amp draw needs a 15 amp circuit breaker, a 32 amp draw needs a 40 amp circuit breaker)
  2. The Volt has a 3.3 kW charger, so that's the most it'll draw no matter what the wall voltage is
  3. The J1772 standard defines the max current available at 120V (or there abouts) as 12 amps (see item 1 - the most allowed by a 15 amp circuit)

OK, that said...

The Volt does not even use the full capacity of a level 2 charger. The Volt can only draw 20 amps at 240 VAC. Many Level 2 Chargers can supply 30 or 40 amps... But the Volt will only charge at a 20 amp rate.
Kind of true. The Volt should draw ~13.75A at 240V (3.3kW/240V). It should draw up to ~15.87A at 208V. It can't draw 20 amps at any reasonable voltage. Most level 2 EVSEs (they aren't chargers, the charger is in the car) can supply 30 amps (a limitation of the current J1772 connectors available), even though they're installed with 40 amp breakers. The SPX Voltec EVSE is rated to 15 amps (enough to supply the Volt's 3.3kW@220V). It's not clear to me what the SPX Voltec does at 208V, but I suspect it limits charging to 15 amps and 3.12kW since the documentation I've seen says it has a 15 amp max. Then again a 20 amp 208V circuit could support 16 amp charging (20*.8=16), and I haven't heard of anyone actually measuring it.

Actually the volt only draws 13 amps, not 20 amps ... its the wimpiest onboard charger of all the EV's in the wild
Agreed it never draws 20 amps, but in the 200V range it should never draw less than 13.75 amps either. However, it's not the wimpiest onboard charger of all the EV's in the wild. The Leaf has a charger that's exactly as wimpy too (the Leaf's charger is also 3.3kW).

Level 3 is obsolete. Now it is called QC (quick charge or QCDC).
I believe the SAE is just coming out with fast DC charging, and in the past they always called that Level 3 charging. So my understanding is it's not obsolete. Whether anybody adopts it in an EV remains to be seen, but it appears the SAE DC charging will be in competition with CHAdeMo (and whatever Tesla calls their quick charge interface) in the near future.

OK... Again. The 120 volt Voltec charger, manufactured by General Motors of America, supplies 1250 watts (10.4 amps) maximum to the Chevy Volt. The 120 volt Voltec charger, manufactured by General Motors of America, also has a reduced output mode that charges at 960 watts (8 amps) if desired. (Buttons on the front of the Voltec charger, manufactured by General Motors of America, select the charge rate.)

The Volts internal charging inverter is capable of charging the battery at the MAXIMUM rate of 4800 watts.
OK... And again. The 120 volt Voltec EVSE (see prior comment), manufactured by an OEM (rumored to be Lear Corporation, for General Motors of America) supplies 12 amps (between 1260 watts@105V to 1440 watts@120V) maximum to the Chevy Volt (or any other EV out there you care to plug it in to). I agree it also has an 8 amp mode, which will deliver 840W-960W@105-120V.

The Volt's internal charger is capable of a MAXIMUM capacity of 3300 watts. How much of that gets to the battery is up to the BCM, and whatever other power draws there are in the car while charging.

ED: And I see that ChuckR and Joule Thief have posted similar comments, while I was editing mine. Thanks!
 
#10 ·
Pretty sure it's the same as all the EVs in the wild. AFAIK, everything except the Ford Focus electric (is it really in the wild yet?) and the Tesla use 3.3kW level 2 chargers, designed for a 20 amp circuit and a 16 amp maximum draw.
 
#11 · (Edited)
Driverguy01,

You're using the wrong number in your formula. You say 240 volts but use 120 volts in the formula to justify your claim of 20 amps (which is clearly wrong).

Here is the correct calculation to backup the 13 amp max value at 240 volts.

240 volts x 13 amps x 4 hours x 0.8 (80% charging efficieny) = 9984 KWh (to the battery)

From the wall socket it will be about 20% more (KWh).
 
#13 · (Edited)
OK... Again. The 120 volt Voltec charger, manufactured by General Motors of America, supplies 1250 watts (10.4 amps) maximum to the Chevy Volt. The 120 volt Voltec charger, manufactured by General Motors of America, also has a reduced output mode that charges at 960 watts (8 amps) if desired. (Buttons on the front of the Voltec charger, manufactured by General Motors of America, select the charge rate.)

The Volts internal charging inverter is capable of charging the battery at the MAXIMUM rate of 4800 watts. (The charge rate is limited by the Volt's onboard charging inverter to protect the battery.) It does not matter if your 240 volt charger is rated at 20 amps... 30 amps... or 40 amps... The internal charging inverter onboard your Volt is only capable of charging the battery at the MAXIMUM rate of 4800 watts. (About 20 amps at 240 volts.) OK? Is that clear?

I hope that makes it clear.
 
#14 ·
The Volt's charger is located in the car and is rated at 3.3 kw maximun. The 120v EVSE charge cord can supply either 12 amps ac (12a x 120v = 1.44kw) or 8 amps ac (8a x 120v = 0.96kw). A 240v rated EVSE can supply the maximum 3.3kw to the Volt by allowing 13.75 amps at 240v, 15 amps at 220v, or 15.87 amps at 208v.
 
#15 ·
Agreed. Fulgerite, where did you get 4800W from? The continuous load is 3300W. Besides ChuckR's calculations, many here have measured the amperage during 240V charging using a kill-a-watt to verify these numbers, see http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread.php?5610-How-Many-KWh-to-Charge-the-Volt/

Or consider that the Volt fully charges in about 3hrs45min on 240V depending on temps. At 3.3kw, that works out to 12.4kWh matching what folks have measured on their kill-a-watts. That's about 84% efficiency with the battery giving back 10.4kW. If the Volt were pulling 20A, you would charge faster and folks would be seeing it on their kill-a-watts. Plus the NEC requires the circuit to be at least 125% of the max anticipated continuous load, which means on a 20A breaker you can't pull more than 16A continuous. So if the Volt were pulling 20A continuous, you couldn't get away with the 20A breaker.

I'm not sure, did I miss something here?
 
#21 ·
Thanks for all of your replies. I just wanted to see if our Volts could somehow be adapted to take advantage of the level 3 or Quick chargers that will be available in the future. I use public chargers during mid-day here in SoCal and it takes 3.5 hours to recharge from 0 miles on the battery. It would be awesome to recharge completely in 20 to 30 minutes, it's just a matter of convenience. I am still extremely happy with my Volt and it's been a "spoiler car", as now if I drive a ICE car, it's noisy and does not have the technology.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top