Battery Charger

[Brickvipe]

Hi,
I am a new Kia Soul EV owner and I'm about ready to purchase a level 2 charger and would appreciate any insights you all have. I am thinking a 7.2 kw, 30 amp system is best, but I want to make sure I am not buying over (or under) the cars ability to take a charge (due to bottleneck issues). We have a daily 62 mile RT commute M-F and want to charge while the car is in our garage.
Thanks!

 

[Skellington]

Built in is 6.6kW; more than that won't help (or hurt.)

 

[irfca]

Congratulations on your purchase!

Yes, the 30A charger is a good fit - it will also allow you to recharge in a reasonable time if you find you need a partial recharge before an evening outing, or multiple weekend outings. I have typically had to re-charge during the day for 1-2hrs every 2 weeks or so because I drive my EV far more than my old ICE car!

Also, it seems from the various readings and suggestions, that charging in the evening, when the car is cooler is better for the battery. If you charge in a closed garage, you want to make sure it has sufficient ventilation that it doesn't get too warm.

 

[mtndrew1]

While Kia lists the on-board charger as 6.6 kW, it seems to pull the full 7.7 kW from my home EVSE (32A). I recently recharged from 3% to 100% in just over three hours at home which would be impossible at 6.6 kW.

Between this and listing the battery as 27 kWh total when it's really 27 kWh usable, they seem to be under-promising and over-delivering with this car.

I'd recommend a 32A unit if your panel can support it. Mine is a Clipper Creek and it was very reasonably priced.

 

[Brickvipe]

Thanks all, great advice!

 

[EV2016]

We have a GE Wattstation that we purchased in 2013 after we leased our Focus Electric. It was a great charger for almost three years. One day it would start a charge and then quit. I called GE and after describing the problem they sent me out a new one overnight. The customer service was great with GE and I now have a brand new charger with a new 3 year warranty. I guess you should expect one to last longer but maybe this one had a problem that took some odd situation to show up but I was really satisfied with how well they responded to my problem. Just wanted to pass my experience along. Oh... it works great with my Soul EV as well.

 

[user 154]

+1 on Clipper Creek. I have the 32-amp HCS-40, which properly maxes out a 40-amp circuit at 80% of the breaker's rating. It's well priced, well built, and simple.

 

[buddha2lotus]

Installed a basic GE 30 amp one from Home Depot, Model # EVDSWGH-CP01, and had intermittent connection problems with the Soul right from the start. The charger would show it was connected but the car refused to connect at times, or would connect and then disconnect. However, the car had no problems with the 110 V charger. So I went and tried a couple of public chargers, again I had connection problems with two GE's but had no trouble connecting to two non-GE one's. After doing some research online and there isn't a lot out there, I guessed it might be due to the GE J1772 plug (some people have found differences in these plugs depending on the manufacturers), so I ordered an extension cord off EBay which came with a receptor on one end and a plug on the other. It came yesterday and after I plugged the GE plug into the receptor and then the new J1772 plug onto the Soul EV, the charger now works perfectly.

 

[tractioninc]

I've had some charging issues when using my Dad's 240v Juicebox (which works fine for his Leaf). Can you post details about the extension cord you've had success with?

 

[buddha2lotus]

Be glad to, what I got was this:

NEW J1772 EVSE CHARGING EXTENSION CORD 32A/250V 10 FT LEVEL 2 UL WITH RECEPTACLE and here's the link:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/161466278231?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

They also have a 5 foot version but I chose this 10 foot version just to make sure I have enough length and not have to stress the original plug. As you can see, there is a standard receptor for a j1772 plug on one end and a j1772 plug on the other, the j1772 plug is made of a better plastic shell and the latch pin is metal rather than plastic. The fit is pretty snug to the Soul but the connection is proper now as the Soul recognizes it properly and let the charger come on as expected. Hope this will work for you as well.