Which charger to choose?

[cwerdna]

You talking about a step up transformer? That's already inside the car's on-board charger.

I'm not sure how that'd help. If you fed 400+ volts AC into the car's on-board charger that's only supposed to accept 240 volts at max, you'd probably let out the http://www.catb.org/jargon/html/M/magic-smoke.html.

Almost but not quite.I meant with a combo charger so it would be dc not ac

BTW, your posts are real confusing when you don't leave the quoted text from others within the quote tag (see below). Is there a reason why you delete them or you don't use the quote button?

[quote] 
[/quote]

There was at least one other guy who would make posts just about as confusing due to not using the quote tags, copying and pasting irrelevant stuff besides just confusing posts.

 

[NickM]

Just what the doctor ordered.Now just bring the price down and away I go.Maybe have chevy dealerships have this at there service depts might help sell sparks quick.

I think what you're looking for is something like this:http://ecomento.com/2014/06/02/portable-electric-car-fast-charger-launched-by-designwerks/

" It works by converting the strong three-phase (AC) power from many charging stations to CHAdeMO and CCS standards , enabling appropriately-equipped cars to charge up using direct current at their true potential.

Currently, a Nissan Leaf plugged into a three-phase charging station will only pull a maximum of 6.6kW of power due to the limitation of it’s onboard charger. This despite the supply being as much as 43kW.

The ChargeBox portably converts this power into direct current, allowing the LEAF to recharge at full capacity. This would take around 30 minutes (at least to reach an 80 percent state-of-charge) instead of four hours."

Great Idea and could be awesome but it runs at $20,400 dollars right now.

 

[Chocula]

So I'm well aware of the differences between EVSE charging and using a DCFS system, I've read plenty of your posts in the past and am well informed :lol: ; I know that I cannot put more than 240v/15 amps into my onboard charger. That's not my question. My question is if it is possible to transform the AC to DC via an external charger (like mimicking a DCFS station) but do it at a lower voltage/amperage than a typical fast charging station. I'm not concerned about cost, this is a hypothetical; has anyone to your knowledge tried this using ChaDeMo?

In theory, you could charge at very low amperage, but your voltage would still have to be higher than the voltage of the battery you are charging.

The chargers I am familiar with use constant current until the battery is mostly charged, then switch to constant voltage. The higher the voltage is above the batteries voltage, the more current flows into the battery. In the constant current phase, the charger adjusts the voltage as needed to keep the current flowing at the specified rate. Once the charger reaches a certain voltage, the charger switches to constant voltage where it keeps the voltage constant allowing the current to slowly taper off as the battery gets closer and closer to that voltage. The charge rate continuously slows down as the battery gets closer to fully charged. This is why you see the "up to 80% charged" specified for the DCFC as they are still operating in constant current mode, taking the best advantage of the higher powered charger.

Electric Motor Werks has DC chargers which can be connected via CHAdeMO, I suspect is is just a matter of time before these are available using SAE Combo.

 

[buickanddeere]

"Strong three phase power" is a miss leading phrase.
An European 380V, 3 phase system drawing 16 amps would be 10.5KW . Same amount of power as single phase 240V at 44 amps.

 

[nj1266]

I like my AeronVironment dual voltage Turbo Cord. It's the smallest and lightest unit out there and it allows me to take it with me wherever I go. It is a 16 amp charger and costs $649.

Mike

Hi Mike. I am also interested in the TC dual. How is it holding up with usage? Give us your impressions after extended use.

 

[Pawl]

Electric Motor Werks has DC chargers which can be connected via CHAdeMO, I suspect is is just a matter of time before these are available using SAE Combo.

I am interested in this outcome as well and have written to them about when/if they will offer the unit(s) with the SAE Combo. Really little reason they would not.

BTW, I'm new to the forum, and have not quite yet gotten my first ev. I'm planning on the Spark EV, but may wait until January since my tax bracket for 2015 will better use the full credit.

Really excited to get this car!!! I drive 20 miles each way to work (3000 ft difference in elevation).

Pawl

 

[bkissel]

OP, the charger is on-board the car. You're looking for an EVSE. See http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=14728&p=332668#p332668.

From what I understand because the Spark EV only has a 3.3kW charger onboard, there will be no difference between charge time at a unit above 16A. That's part of the reason I got the Power Max 16A. Most people get the 30A because they're thinking ahead and want to be somewhat future proof for their EV once their spark lease comes due and because they want more than 12 feet of cord. I think the difference between 15A and 16A would be negligible, especially if you're just plugging in at night.

Correct on all of the above. The bottleneck here when charging at 240 volts is the car's on-board charger. 30 amp EVSE will not increase charging speed of the current Spark EV at all. It will help w/other vehicles w/greater than 3.3 kW OBCs (e.g. just about all other pure BEVs currently sold except the '13+ Leaf S w/o charge package (comes w/charge package and on standard w/'13+ Leaf SV and SL), Smart ED and i-Miev).

Does anyone know if there is an aftermarket on-board charger you can retrofit into a Spark to increase the charging rate beyond the 3.3KW capacity of the existing charger?

 

[cwerdna]

^^^
None exist for the Spark EV, AFAIK.

The threads found by http://www.mychevysparkev.com/forum/search.php?keywords=brusa&terms=all&author=&sc=1&sf=all&sk=t&sd=d&sr=posts&st=0&ch=300&t=0&submit=Search may help.

 

[ezryder]

Hello - I took a look at the AeronVironment dual voltage Turbo Cord, but, being new to EV's, (about to pull the trigger on the Spark EV), I'm wondering if something like this could easily get ripped off. Seems to me that most people would not be using this in a locked garage. does the part that plugs into the car actually lock?

 

[Nashco]

Internet says there should be:

http://www.amazon.com/Does-TurboCord-means-theft-prevention/forum/FxE7RWBU3KXYU0/Tx2ZZLUWFVW6HZS/1/

Does the TurboCord have any means of theft prevention?

There is a hole for a lock under the release button on the J1772. It is 3/16" (5 mm) in diameter, and a Master Lock model 8LJ looks like it would fit. Another option would be to loop the cord though a wheel spoke of the car and padlock the cord to itself. If you were in a known area of EV charger theft with no lock and a dead battery, as a last resort you could park with a tire on top of the cord.

The spoke method, if you're not familiar, works with any EVSE on any car, assuming you have enough cable length and the plug fits through your particular wheels. I haven't tried to see if you can fit a typical EVSE plug through the Spark EV wheels, but you can use any object fixed to the car with the same concept (suspension, for example).

Bryce

 

[ezryder]

Great idea - thanks!

 

[ezryder]

I'm looking at a few chargers - mainly the TurboCord Dual. My problem is that it wants a NEMA 6-20 receptacle, but I can see from my landlady's dryer plug that it's a TT-30 - at least I think it is. It's clearly not a 6-20. All well and good - I'll have to hire an electrician to install a 6-20 plug; that's fine. What concerns me is that I'm buying this portable cord because I want to be able to plug it in at friends houses, using their dryer outlets - yet it seems like there's a bunch of different receptacles they could be using! So what good is it to have a portable EVSE? Are there receptacle adapters, or something, out there? I also figure I'll need an extension cord.

 

[Pegasus]

Are there receptacle adapters, or something, out there?

stayonline.com has quie a few but they're easy enough to make yourself using readily available plugs from a local hardware store and the heaviest-gauge extension cord you can find. (12/3 is good.) I did this for my last EV which had just a 50-mile range. I haven't needed to for the Spark yet though since there are plenty of public chargers where I currently live.

 

[ezryder]

I use the JESLA portable 40 amp that can plug into almost anything:


............................................VOLTS / AMPS.......kW
NEMA 5-15 .......Standard Outlet.. 120 V / 12 A...... 1.4 kW
NEMA 5-20 ...... Motel air conditioner 120/16A....... 1.9 kW
NEMA 10-30......Older Dryers...... 240 V / 24 A...... 5.8 kW
NEMA 14-30......Newer Dryers..... 240 V / 24 A...... 5.8 kW
NEMA 6-50 .......Welding Equip.... 240 V / 40 A...... 9.6 kW
NEMA 14-50......RVs and Camps.. 240 V / 40 A...... 9.6 kW

$1,000 for this!! Yikes!! There's got to be a cheaper way than this. This feels like a serious GOUGE. I understand how they can demand this kind of money, given the price of a wall-mounted charger and cables, but c'mon. This feels like being robbed.

 

[Pegasus]

$1,000 for this!! Yikes!! There's got to be a cheaper way than this. This feels like a serious GOUGE. I understand how they can demand this kind of money, given the price of a wall-mounted charger and cables, but c'mon. This feels like being robbed.

It seems like it at first glance, but remember that most of the plugs are $25 apiece, and a 50-foot heavy-gauge cord is at least $125 so if you were to total it all up, while it wouldn't come to $1k, it's still not like you're buying a $10 cord from the neighborhood store. Plus you have to do all the work making the adapters.

 

[ezryder]

$1,000 for this!! Yikes!! There's got to be a cheaper way than this. This feels like a serious GOUGE. I understand how they can demand this kind of money, given the price of a wall-mounted charger and cables, but c'mon. This feels like being robbed.

It seems like it at first glance, but remember that most of the plugs are $25 apiece, and a 50-foot heavy-gauge cord is at least $125 so if you were to total it all up, while it wouldn't come to $1k, it's still not like you're buying a $10 cord from the neighborhood store. Plus you have to do all the work making the adapters.

If this came with a 50 foot cord I'd consider it. 19 feet doesn't do it. I need at least 30 feet. The reality is this is going to be used at places where you need serious length. In peoples driveways. You can't ask them to pull their car out of the garage all night for you. And a lot of times the dryer is in a mud room of the garage. Where I live, the dryer is on the far side of the garage, and then I need to go outside and down a car length. Even with putting an outlet outside the garage, I need 30 feet, minimum. Can I get this made at 30 feet and save me $300 for an extension?

 

[TonyWilliams]

$1,000 for this!! Yikes!! There's got to be a cheaper way than this. This feels like a serious GOUGE. I understand how they can demand this kind of money, given the price of a wall-mounted charger and cables, but c'mon. This feels like being robbed.

... Even with putting an outlet outside the garage, I need 30 feet, minimum. Can I get this made at 30 feet and save me $300 for an extension?

[edited by moderator - commercial post]

 

[ezryder]

I went with the Bosch Power Xpress. It's $994, but with the Spark EV you get a $500 credit from GM applied immediately. It's portable, (14 lbs), or hardwire-able, and since part of the install process (assuming you choose to make it portable) is to literally install the plug inside the unit, I can pick the plug I want and the length of the cord. This gives me a much cheaper option for having a longer reach - over the 18' that it comes with on the J1772 side. Amps are also adjustable from 12, 16, 24, and 30 - though I saw 32 in there somewhere, too. So it should be future proof. It's also rated for serious outdoor weather conditions. For Spark owners, I think it's the right combination, given the $500 off, and it seems like a high quality device.