I currently live in Germany, and I was hoping I could take advantage of the 220v power grid over here. I haven't seen specs for the Hz rating, does anyone think this might matter? US is 110v/60Hz and Europe is 220v/50Hz. Should I be worried about amperage? And can I use a standard, German type-F plug, or do I have to have something different wired? I've been trying to find info for this, but have come up short everywhere I look.

Sorry about all the questions, but I would like to drive a Volt now, and bring it back to US when I come back in a couple years. I don't want to buy an Opel Ampera on the German economy that I can't take back with me.

As an Electrical Engineer, I can explain that the Volt uses an electronic converter (with no transformers) to charge the battery. This type of converter is common for laptops. The AC voltages can vary between 90 and 250 , and it doesn't depend much on the frequency (both 50 HZ and 60 Hz will work). So you can use in Europe the 220 VAC charger cable that GM supplies. This will charge the Volt much faster than with the 120 V charger cable.

Raymond

As an Electrical Engineer, I can explain that the Volt uses an electronic converter (with no transformers) to charge the battery. This type of converter is common for laptops. The AC voltages can vary between 90 and 250 , and it doesn't depend much on the frequency (both 50 HZ and 60 Hz will work). So you can use in Europe the 220 VAC charger cable that GM supplies. This will charge the Volt much faster than with the 120 V charger cable.

Raymond

Well, the converter has transformers but they operate at a much higher frequency than the power line. Power line is rectified to DC, then drives an oscillator to convert to high-frequency AC. This goes through a much lighter, more efficient transformer than would be needed at lower frequencies. It's then rectified back to DC to charge the battery, run the laptop, etc.

The transformer is needed for safety isolation.

Optical isolators from the output side send control signals to the input side to regulate the output voltage regardless of wide variations in input voltage.

It is indeed possible that the "120-volt" cord supplied with the Volt is really a "12-amp" cord. If the control electronics in it are made with the technlogy described by Raymondjram, then there's no reason one couldn't use it in Europe with a simple plug change. If this is the case, then it should be easy to swap the plug for an L6-20, plug it into an air conditioner outlet, and get a 5-hour charge in the USA. Guess what there's one of next to the outside wall in many ground-floor hotel rooms in the USA. :-)

CAUTION: Don't plug this or any USA-marketed device into 240 volts without verifying that the nameplate on that device shows that it is capable of operating on 240 volts.

http://www.gizmag.com/opel-amera-pricing-announced/16916/

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The Ampera’s battery pack can be fully recharged in about three hours at 230v via a standard European outlet, which is much faster than the 10 to 12 hours the Volt takes to charge via a standard U.S. outlet. However, it’s comparable to the roughly four hours the U.S. Volt takes to recharge using a 240-volt fast charge station.