New at Home Charging Concerns

[maxcalvada]

Just got my 2017 Kia Soul this past weekend. Had some problems figuring out the proper procedure for doing a home charge - Type 1. I think I finally figured it out.

Yesterday I had the charge on for maybe 6 hours. When I started the charge, I had about 29 driving miles left. After all that time it went up to about 50(about 40 with the heat on here in the cold northeast). Not using extension cord(salesman told me that would lengthen charging time).

As I'm still suffering first time EV owner anxiety, is this right or is it charging kind of slow. Temps in the 20s here this week, maybe cold weather is slowing it down?

If your battery has around 30 miles of driving left, how long should it take, approximately for a full charge with Type 1.

 

[notfred]

Level 1 charging is slow. Before I had my level 2 installed then I sometimes had charge times of over 24 hours. If it gets cold enough that it needs to run the battery heater, you end up putting very little electricity in the battery, most of it is going to run the charging electronics and battery heater. The extra power from a level 2 makes a huge difference in charging times.

 

[JejuSoul]

-
Given the temperatures where you are right now, maybe never.
Some of the power from the cable goes to heating up the battery.
With an L1 cable the power you are getting may be less than is needed for the battery heater.

But given the data you show it seems more likely that you will be able to recharge the car fully in about 24 hours.
Although maybe the process will speed up later as the battery warms up during charging.

Solutions include:
1/ parking in a heated garage.
2/ using an L2 charger.
3/ start charging straight away after driving when the battery is still warm.

 

[maxcalvada]

Thank you both for the advice. I am defintely interested in purchasing a L2 charger.

2 more newbie questions:

Why the varying prices on L2's. Will a $300 L2 charge as quickly as a $700 one?

I do have a unused 250 volt electrical outlet in my kitchen that would easily reach to my car. Can it be used for this, possibly with an electrician making alterations?

Thanks again.

 

[IanL]

Level 2 chargers range typically from 16A to 32A. See this survey. The higher the current, the quicker the charge. An electrician can determine whether your outlet and wiring could support a particular charger. It may need heavier wiring as well as a different outlet, depending on your choice of charger. As Notfred already said, you may only load to 80%, so a 32A charger would need a breaker, wiring and outlet for 40A.

You also need to determine whether you want a fixed charger or a portable.

 

[EVDee]

Piggybacking off of what IanL said: the difference in price you're seeing is due to the amperage of those EVSEs. I myself have a 16a 120V/240V EVSE that charges at 16A@240V when I'm at home, then 16a@120V when I use it in a normal outlet when I'm on the go. Those go for the $200-$300 you've been seeing.

The more expensive ones are typically 32a or higher and only 240V. Some of them have additional features, but it's the higher amperage that drives up the cost of the unit. As mentioned, these will require proper wiring to handle the amperage they're pulling. Heck, even the 16a charger I'm using now needed a properly wired outlet as I found out over a few months of use, thus why I have a 240V circuit now instead.