Any advantage to choosing to do a slower 120V charge that a quicker 240V charge?
I thought I read somewhere that fast charging (240V) may be "harder" on the HV battery.

Not from a battery life perspective. A 4 hour charge is still "slow".

There are other advantages to 240V including better preconditioning in cold weather.

True fast charging (IMO) is anything above 1C charge rate. 4 hours = C/6 rate, or 1/6 the capacity of the cells (about C/(4*.65)) where .65 is the total capacity actuall "recharged". Which is a "very mild" charging rate. I also don't think Leaf "fast charging" at 6.6KW is that fast since it takes about 3-4 hours to fill their capacity.

True fast charging (IMO) is anything above 1C charge rate. 4 hours = C/6 rate, or 1/6 the capacity of the cells (about C/(4*.65)) where .65 is the total capacity actuall "recharged". Which is a "very mild" charging rate. I also don't think Leaf "fast charging" at 6.6KW is that fast since it takes about 3-4 hours to fill their capacity.

6.6kW is the Leaf on a 220V line with the rumored upgrade (or the FFE on 220.) Chamedo(sp?) Fast Charging is another thing altogether - the external fast charger pushes power onto the DC High voltage bus directly, and achieves an 80% charge in 30 minutes, with over 20kW of raw power.

Many Volt Owners and Leasers are getting along just fine with their 120V arangement. Some like myself are getting outstanding results-

I know what I discribe below is NOT typical for some Volt Owners and Leasers, however, I want to give many of you newer volt drivers some great ideas-

I drive what the majority of the drivers do in this country, 40 miles or so a day. When I unplug in the morning, I am averaging 46- 50 Miles per Charge- With massive Deceleration Regeneration ( Regenerative Breakiing ) by driving in L most of the time, upshifting to "D" for long D.R. Opportunity Glides I usually Manage 55- 60 real Miles Per Charge-

http://twitter.com/AmazingChevVolt/status/227432695729360896/photo/1/large


My Volt is plugged in at work and after the 12 mile or so run in, is fully charged in 2 1/2 hours. I may unplug while at work, or any time to run erands, go to lunch or show off the Volt. Plug back in when done. This takes about 16 seconds per plug/ unplug event as I carry the charge cord cleanly looped and in a Duffel Bag in the trunk.

Again, using L1 charging, short periods of time, charging at work, using heavy Regenerative Deceleration has reduced my net cost for driving my 1250 miles or so a month to less then 15.00 a month electricity cost.

They beat our brains out in 2008 as the cost of a gallon of gasoline surpassed $3.00 in March of 2008 and moved on to $4.00 there after, staying there till late December of that year. This unexplained, and unopologised for economic crippling that destroyed many businesses may be happening again.

We were then, totally unprepared. Then I stated, NEVER AGAIN! We are ready for it now- If it happens again!


-Finally, be advised to remember to reset the Amp flow charge button on your new MY2013 Amazing Chevy Volt EREV when 120V ( L1 ) charging.

Located on the center stack, this new prompt resets the Volt charging to 12Amp from the now concervative 8Amp default.

http://p.twimg.com/Ax-e6BzCQAAiD1C.jpg:large

Once in park, with the parking break set, ( Always recomended whenever you are done driving- ), tap the Leaf button, tap charging, tap change charge level, tap Maximum 12 Amp button so that it glows green- Good To Go!

Note, you can switch this setting at any time. Turn radio on to access most center stack promps even whev the Volt is not booted up- ( Running ).

This is an easy habit to get used to.

Best, Thomas J. Thias-

110 volt charging works great and the cost of a 220 will never be recovered for most volt drivers.
HOWEVER, the 2013 aggravating 4touch reset requirement for 8/12 amps is a blunder and should be reversed or at least made a one-touch adjustment. I guess sometimes owners have been blowing circuit breakers, but t The ease of daily plug in is important. Also, no flashlight? I have no convenient light in my garage, am I the only one?
My volt is near perfect, don't mess it up

I agree that the 8/12 amp change would be a major annoyance. I don't care if it is an "easy habit", any extra steps I have to take to do the thing I do every day (or multiple times per day) is an annoyance. Let the user set a default at least! I already have the annoyance of turning off the park assist and switching to sport mode every time I start driving. Now we are going to add something extra I would have to do every time I stop? No thanks.

The flashlight isn't a big deal for me. Never needed it with the Leaf, I usually have a garage light (or the car headlights are still on) when I'm messing with the charger anyway.

My one way commute is exactly 39 miles. I charge at home 120 and at work 220. I arrive each way with about a 1-2 miles of EV range left.

After doing this almost daily for about 4 months; I've noticed no difference in range/capacity when charging either way.

The thing is, 120V charge was fine to me at the beginning but it's too confining. For me, the 240V charge meant freedom for my schedule. I go home for lunch, pick up the kids after school, go to the store. My house is like an airport hub, I charge every time I get home. I don't have to worry about waiting an hour for an average of 4 mile per charge.

For me, it does make a big different on my "freedom". Yes it cost a bit more for the 240V set up, but for me - I don't know about most users, but since I have the Volt, I'm obsessing about "EV only" mode :) - it worth every penny.

Yeah the 240 charger is really for a convenient charge time. Grab an hour and get 10 miles. It lets you run all electric much more.

That said it would be interesting to compare the effect on total cost for a range of driving styles. I suspect for a lot of people, if the 240V chargers we not subsidized, the return would not be worth it.

That said it would be interesting to compare the effect on total cost for a range of driving styles. I suspect for a lot of people, if the 240V chargers we not subsidized, the return would not be worth it.

Well I think it depends Pete. I did both of mine out of pocket, no subsidy, total install cost well under $2K. If I can charge off solar for virtually free, drive all electric and totally avoid gasoline then there is a pretty fair return.

Most weekdays I charge at night after 8:00pm because I have a TOU meter and it saves me money. On weekends I tend to drive more. Since weekends are not "peak periods" I find my self running errands and then recharging for a while and running more errands. It is not uncommon for me to put 80 EV miles + on the Volt on a Saturday. I like the flexibility 240 volt charging gives me.

True fast charging (IMO) is anything above 1C charge rate. 4 hours = C/6 rate, or 1/6 the capacity of the cells (about C/(4*.65)) where .65 is the total capacity actuall "recharged". Which is a "very mild" charging rate. I also don't think Leaf "fast charging" at 6.6KW is that fast since it takes about 3-4 hours to fill their capacity.

Great answer. So even with Level 2 at 240V, it is still a mild charging rate. SPX is going to do their free estimate in a week. 240V sounds like the way to go, with 120V as backup on the road. Not much access to 240V stations. There is one at school, but it seems to be offline all the time.

mmmmmm! anyone could explain what is the purpose of driving on L

mmmmmm! anyone could explain what is the purpose of driving on L

L remaps the deceleration curve to generate regen without hitting the brake pedal. You can achieve the same by lightly using the brake pedal in D. Lots of people like the one foot driving of the L setting.

Driving in "L" is way more fun!!
I use a 120V charger at home and it takes forever to charge!
It's a company car and they haven't contacted me yet-3 months now- to install the 220V charger......

I use a 120V charger at home and it takes forever to charge!Shouldn't ever take more than about eight hours. Is that what you mean by "forever"? Only asking because if it's taking longer you may be charging at 8A rather than 12A. If that's the case you can speed up the charging considerably by changing to 12A.

Shouldn't ever take more than about eight hours. Is that what you mean by "forever"? Only asking because if it's taking longer you may be charging at 8A rather than 12A. If that's the case you can speed up the charging considerably by changing to 12A.

In this hot summer weather in a hot garage, it might take longer because the car has the use the TMS to drag the battery temp down - the power used to do that comes from the same 1.4kW that is charging the battery. This (and similar heating in winter) is why they say '8-10 hours' in the documents.

In this hot summer weather in a hot garage, it might take longer because the car has the use the TMS to drag the battery temp down - the power used to do that comes from the same 1.4kW that is charging the battery. This (and similar heating in winter) is why they say '8-10 hours' in the documents.

That may explain the fan that runs during charging. Keep the intverter cool?

Shouldn't ever take more than about eight hours. Is that what you mean by "forever"? Only asking because if it's taking longer you may be charging at 8A rather than 12A. If that's the case you can speed up the charging considerably by changing to 12A.

is there a hidden switch on the 2012 120v charger for 8 versus 12 amp?

is there a hidden switch on the 2012 120v charger for 8 versus 12 amp?

On a 2012 (or 2011, but not 2013,) it's not hidden - that's the sole function of the main button on the EVSE, and it'll show half the green lights if it's in 8 amps instead of all of them in 12. I believe it has to be plugged into the wall but can't have a car plugged into it to change.

In this hot summer weather in a hot garage, it might take longer because the car has the use the TMS to drag the battery temp down - the power used to do that comes from the same 1.4kW that is charging the battery. This (and similar heating in winter) is why they say '8-10 hours' in the documents.Thanx for this.


is there a hidden switch on the 2012 120v charger for 8 versus 12 amp?FYI there is a diagram in the manual. If you're using an electronic version the manual refers to the 120V EVSE and a "charge cord". Helps to know what magic words you're looking for. LOL