Any GTAM'ers own an electric vehicle?

[nakkers]

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Been seeing more of the IDBUZZ around recently so I thought I'd look into it...

Range is 60-90k for a new/demo unit...no thanks. Which is too bad because it's really growing on me and I'd consider it as a viable replacement for the Odyssey (regardless of how my wife feels about the look)...

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EDIT: Look at how sexy that is with those wheels...

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Once I experienced a minivan with sliding doors that allowed the windows to roll down, I couldn’t imagine having a van without.


While the buzz is appealing, that little port window is a let down. And the range for such a large vehicle is also a let down.

If VW is to be the people’s car, it’s should be priced as such. The price tag is Benz territory.

I think even after depreciation and on the used market, it won’t temp me much.

A Ford Lightning might be something to keep an eye open for. I know, different beast. Do I need a pick up? Nope! Do I want one? Yep! Can I afford one? Nope! If I could have one that is cheap and ev? Bring it! I’m not sure how used or at what price point will convince me to buy but, is on my radar.

 

[Relax]

IN or OUT?

Starting to consider an EV, but the big question is whether to install the charger inside or outside the garage. I've been thinning the herd and making room for the possibility of parking it inside, but I may not always do so. Is there a charger that can be installed inside the garage but has provisions for an extension and pass-through port to get outside without leaving the garage door open?

 

[GreyGhost]

IN or OUT?

Starting to consider an EV, but the big question is whether to install the charger inside or outside the garage. I've been thinning the herd and making room for the possibility of parking it inside, but I may not always do so. Is there a charger that can be installed inside the garage but has provisions for an extension and pass-through port to get outside without leaving the garage door open?

Some people pinch the cable under the door. Some people put a proper pass-through into the wall. IIRC, code has something to say about this. I know of more chargers inside than outside. I would be installing the charger inside for lots of reasons (weather, theft of EVSE, no wankers can charge uninvited, plastic/rubber get beat up by UV, etc).

 

[Relax]

It was a great option as an EV...until the real world specs came out.

Low range, low rate of charge, high price....VW reliability...

More negatives than positives.

At 50k one could understand the shortcomings...at 70-80-90k...no thanks.

If I could find an EV currently to replace my Maverick with $0 changing hands...I would consider it. I love my Mav, but in the end outside of a handful of days (more than I expected) I rarely need the bed.

Reliability of an ICE vehicle needs to be considered in context, though. Rightly or wrongly, my impression of Hyundai is that their ICE engines are weak, so an EV should only make it more reliable. Conversely with Jaguar and their history of electrical issues, an EV may not be a better option. Then again these days it seems like every ICE motor is being built to a price point, with traditionally lifetime components being regular service items (timing chains come to mind for Jags and VW/Audi/BMW). And don't get me started on BMW's plastic valve covers.

 

[mimico_polak]

IN or OUT?

Starting to consider an EV, but the big question is whether to install the charger inside or outside the garage. I've been thinning the herd and making room for the possibility of parking it inside, but I may not always do so. Is there a charger that can be installed inside the garage but has provisions for an extension and pass-through port to get outside without leaving the garage door open?

My L2 is inside and I pinch the cable when a friend visits with an EV. Have a coiled cable so just careful with ensuring how the cable lays when the door comes down. I also have a holster for the charger outside so when I used it I didn’t have to open the door in the mornings.

 

[Brian P]

My L2 is outside. In winter when the car gets parked inside, I use the 120V that came with the car. Obviously I can still park it outside and use the L2 if the car really needs a big charge overnight.

 

[GreyGhost]

My L2 is outside. In winter when the car gets parked inside, I use the 120V that came with the car. Obviously I can still park it outside and use the L2 if the car really needs a big charge overnight.

Just for convenience or you think fire risk is higher with L2?

 

[Scuba Steve]

IN or OUT?

Starting to consider an EV, but the big question is whether to install the charger inside or outside the garage. I've been thinning the herd and making room for the possibility of parking it inside, but I may not always do so. Is there a charger that can be installed inside the garage but has provisions for an extension and pass-through port to get outside without leaving the garage door open?

Mine are outside as the cars live outside It's easy to put a 50 amp plug inside and outside and just move the charger where you are using it.

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[GreyGhost]

Mine are outside as the cars live outside It's easy to put a 50 amp plug inside and outside and just move the charger where you are using it.

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I don't love the 50A plugs for ev charging, especially inside. Obviously the commercial ones are better but they seem to build too much heat with the constant power draw.

 

[Brian P]

Just for convenience or you think fire risk is higher with L2?

Car won't fit in the garage during motorcycle season!

 

[Scuba Steve]

I don't love the 50A plugs for ev charging, especially inside. Obviously the commercial ones are better but they seem to build too much heat with the constant power draw.

Mine doesn't seem to heat much at 40 amp and not at all with the charger set to 30 amp. I do have a commercial ev rated socket. I used/use a 15 amp 220 socket for years with the volt 12amp charger and never had an issue.

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[Brian P]

I don't love the 50A plugs for ev charging, especially inside. Obviously the commercial ones are better but they seem to build too much heat with the constant power draw.

Mine is set at 24 amps, well within the rating of the receptacle. I initially planned for moving the EVSE between indoors and outdoors, but actual field experience has found this to be unnecessary. If I were to do it again, I would probably hard-wire it. The Grizzl-E is built inside what looks like a standard electrical enclosure, and it would be easy to remove the cable that comes with it and run a conduit to the box.

 

[Relax]

Mine are outside as the cars live outside It's easy to put a 50 amp plug inside and outside and just move the charger where you are using it.

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Oh, I thought they were hardwired.

 

[Brian P]

Oh, I thought they were hardwired.

Could be done either way, though max charging amps through a plug and NEMA 14-50 receptacle is 40 amps through a 50 amp breaker. If your car allows a higher L2 AC charging rate and you have enough wiggle room in your distribution panel, it has to be hardwired to make use of it.

Mine is set to 24 amps because at 240 volts, the longest it can possibly take to charge from 0% to full is 11 hours, i.e. overnight is always enough and there is no need to charge faster.

 

[Bobo]

Could be done either way, though max charging amps through a plug and NEMA 14-50 receptacle is 40 amps through a 50 amp breaker. If your car allows a higher L2 AC charging rate and you have enough wiggle room in your distribution panel, it has to be hardwired to make use of it.

Mine is set to 24 amps because at 240 volts, the longest it can possibly take to charge from 0% to full is 11 hours, i.e. overnight is always enough and there is no need to charge faster.

In the US the electrical code requires an EV rated 50 Amp receptacle, it’s got a little green car on it. I’ve never seen one here but I’m sure they are coming. If a receptacle is rated at 50 amps it should be able to safely carry that load whether it’s stove or EV charger, the receptacle doesn’t know the diffference. Also, an EV charger on a 50 Amp circuit should not be drawing more than 40 amps. If your receptacle is getting unusually warm it could be that the lugs holding the wire are loose so you may want to check that.

 

[GreyGhost]

In the US the electrical code requires an EV rated 50 Amp receptacle, it’s got a little green car on it. I’ve never seen one here but I’m sure they are coming. If a receptacle is rated at 50 amps it should be able to safely carry that load whether it’s stove or EV charger, the receptacle doesn’t know the diffference. Also, an EV charger on a 50 Amp circuit should not be drawing more than 40 amps. If your receptacle is getting unusually warm it could be that the lugs holding the wire are loose so you may want to check that.

The major difference is a stove can't draw 50 amps for more than about 30 minutes and then load starts cycling and dropping the average load (and temp). An EV will happily pull full load for hours. There are many many pictures of plugs burned when charging ev's.

 

[Scuba Steve]

Oh, I thought they were hardwired.

They can be but I would go with the plug way easier at 40 amp I could charge from 0 to 100 in less than 9 hours. As Brian said faster is not necessary my car could charge at 20 kw 80 amps but it is not needed. Plug in is easy to change as well if there is an issue. Also the pion charger gives you free charging and is only available in plug in. ( Pion pays you 10c a kw hr while charging.) We are currently using about 1200 kw hrs a month with 2 evs.

This is our plug and car end temps and amps the charger monitors both and will derate if temps get to high.



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[Brian P]

In the US the electrical code requires an EV rated 50 Amp receptacle, it’s got a little green car on it. I’ve never seen one here but I’m sure they are coming. If a receptacle is rated at 50 amps it should be able to safely carry that load whether it’s stove or EV charger, the receptacle doesn’t know the diffference. Also, an EV charger on a 50 Amp circuit should not be drawing more than 40 amps. If your receptacle is getting unusually warm it could be that the lugs holding the wire are loose so you may want to check that.

ESA now requires a 50 amp breaker (with conductor sizing to suit) if you are installing a NEMA 14-50 receptacle, their thinking is that this way people don't need to read instructions or labels. My install with 30 amp breaker and conductor sizing pre-dated that rule change. It wouldn't really change anything; I would still voluntarily de-rate to lower current anyhow.

Interestingly if I wanted to officially install a 24 amp charger on a 30 amp circuit now, I would have to hard-wire to get around this.

 

[Relax]

Also the pion charger gives you free charging and is only available in plug in. ( Pion pays you 10c a kw hr while charging.) We are currently using about 1200 kw hrs a month with 2 evs.

Checked the web site - you make $100 for every 1000 kw/h. So you buy their charger for $300, and in your case you're making $120/month or break even in 3 months on the charger??? Sounds like a no-brainer, but what's the catch and why would anyone not want to go this route?

As for the outlet, if I'm running expensive cable from one side of my house to the other to get to the garage wall, is there anything in the electrical code stopping me from having 2 outlets on that circuit - one for inside, and one for outside? Or do I need two separate circuits?

 

[Bobo]

The major difference is a stove can't draw 50 amps for more than aboit 30 minutes and then load starts cycling and dropping the average load (and temp). An EV will happily pull full load for hours. There are many many pictures of plugs burned when charging ev's.




A lot of stuff is made off shore these days but in a perfect world that receptacle is UL or CSA rated to carry a continuous full load for a specified period of time among other requirements before it can be certified and sold to the public. I’ve actually worked at CSA labs somewhere in the west end years ago where they test this stuff. On top of that anything plugged into a 50 Amp receptacle on a 50 Amp fuse or breaker should not draw more than 80%(40amps) continuously. A motor starting might spike that up way over 50 amps like on compressor for instance but that is just momentary. Like I said that’s in a perfect world, sometimes when things go into production, especially offshore the quality might slip. Sometimes just from prolonged use at maximum load the jaws in the receptacle loose their spring tension from prolonged heat and their ability to grip the pins on the chord cap, the looser they get the hotter they get, it’s a downward spiral.I was a service electrician for years and got all kinds of crazy calls in middle of the night at ashphalt plants,supermarkets, metal foundries etc. Ninety percent of those service calls were from loose wiring going through countless heat cycles, constantly expanding and contracting to the point that they work themselves loose and start arcing and burn themselves up. It’s always a good idea to get an electrician to go through your panel at home and tighten things up every few years before a small problem becomes a big problem. It only takes about 20 minutes.

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