The Chevy Bolt

[LTC8K6]

The problem with the Bolt is that it charges way too slow.

The DC fast charge is an option, and we have no idea what it costs. It's not standard.

http://www.chevyevlife.com/bolt-ev-...rging#what-are-the-different-charging-options
http://www.chevyevlife.com/bolt-ev-..._mov_charging#how-long-does-it-take-to-charge

The standard charging methods are quite slow, taking 9.5 hours from low to full with the 240V charger.

This higher-voltage system can provide up to an average of 25 miles of range per 1 hour of charge. You can fully replenish your battery from empty to full in about 9.5 hours When using the available 240-volt charger and a 32-amp charge level. Charge time may vary with temperature."

 

[desura]

The Leaf really doesn't appeal to me at all. The design is so bad, like a Marshmallow. And from what I've heard, the battery pack doesn't have a good cooling system unlike the Volt or the Tesla. Meaning that it quickly loses capacity, unlike the Volt.

 

[Brovane]

The problem with the Bolt is that it charges way too slow.

The DC fast charge is an option, and we have no idea what it costs. It's not standard.

http://www.chevyevlife.com/bolt-ev-...rging#what-are-the-different-charging-options
http://www.chevyevlife.com/bolt-ev-..._mov_charging#how-long-does-it-take-to-charge

The standard charging methods are quite slow, taking 9.5 hours from low to full with the 240V charger.

The DC fast charging option is $750 for the Bolt.

https://electrek.co/2016/09/20/chev...ion-reveals-two-trims-starting-at-37500-msrp/

 

[LTC8K6]

The DC fast charging option is $750 for the Bolt.

https://electrek.co/2016/09/20/chev...ion-reveals-two-trims-starting-at-37500-msrp/

That's silly. Just include it.

 

[Brovane]

That's silly. Just include it.

I agree. Considering you are paying to have the capability and then you pay again to use the L3 Charger. Most L3 chargers that are not Tesla Superchargers you are charged for using them. The expectation is that the capability of using a Supercharger will be built into a Model 3 but you will pay extra to use the Supercharger.

 

[Pantoot]

That's silly. Just include it.

I paid around that for my i3 to have it, and never used it once in the almost 2 years I had it, so I wish I hadn't paid for it.
But I agree with you, for the bolt they should include it.

 

[K1052]

I paid around that for my i3 to have it, and never used it once in the almost 2 years I had it, so I wish I hadn't paid for it.
But I agree with you, for the bolt they should include it.

Given the near glacial deployment of CCS fast charging nobody should be spending that money. The few stations around here are pretty much all in areas that already have a ton of L2 chargers anyway...

 

[Pantoot]

Given the near glacial deployment of CCS fast charging nobody should be spending that money. The few stations around here are pretty much all in areas that already have a ton of L2 chargers anyway...

And the odds are pretty good that if its a blink charger that its broken anyway.

 

[Brovane]

And the odds are pretty good that if its a blink charger that its broken anyway.

That is the problem with GM allowing others to handle L3 charging. If a stall is down at Tesla Supercharging station, you have multiple stalls so you just use another station. Usually with L3 CSS fast charging stations their is maybe one our two chargers at a location. Also Tesla makes sure to dispatch a technician quickly to resolve the issue, the response time is measured in hours not days or weeks as it is with 3rd party chargers.

 

[LTC8K6]

I paid around that for my i3 to have it, and never used it once in the almost 2 years I had it, so I wish I hadn't paid for it.
But I agree with you, for the bolt they should include it.

With the smaller battery, you can get along easier without fast charging.

 

[K1052]

That is the problem with GM allowing others to handle L3 charging. If a stall is down at Tesla Supercharging station, you have multiple stalls so you just use another station. Usually with L3 CSS fast charging stations their is maybe one our two chargers at a location. Also Tesla makes sure to dispatch a technician quickly to resolve the issue, the response time is measured in hours not days or weeks as it is with 3rd party chargers.

GM/Ford should have formed a consortium that partners with utilities/retailers to widely deploy both L2 and L3 charging. Even with the Bolt GM is a company that had to be forcibly dragged into this market by Tesla's success and increasing efficiency standards. Fundamentally they still see their business as ICEs (and maybe some hybrids) forever somehow. The Germans seem to be doing a much quicker about face on electrics now that diesel is a fallen star and with Tesla eating into their lucrative luxury lines.

 

[tweakmonkey]

The lack of support from the big manufacturers on charging infrastructure is giving private parties more incentive to get into it and sell their own solutions. If I pull up the Chargepoint map on my phone it's incredible how many L2 chargers they've put in locally.

https://na.chargepoint.com/charge_point
^ Check Santa Clara on that map and zoom out. I can't figure out how to link it.

Luckily I can charge at home so I have only used a public charger once so far.

 

[K1052]

The lack of support from the big manufacturers on charging infrastructure is giving private parties more incentive to get into it and sell their own solutions. If I pull up the Chargepoint map on my phone it's incredible how many L2 chargers they've put in locally.

https://na.chargepoint.com/charge_point
^ Check Santa Clara on that map and zoom out. I can't figure out how to link it.

Luckily I can charge at home so I have only used a public charger once so far.

BMW and VW (to a lesser extent) have made investments in Chargepoint.

 

[fr]

I have DCFC on my Spark and I have never used it. I thought I would, but I don't want to pay $10 or $15 each time to do it.

 

[LTC8K6]

I have DCFC on my Spark and I have never used it. I thought I would, but I don't want to pay $10 or $15 each time to do it.

I had no idea it would cost that much. If so, then I can see that it would not make sense. I pay ~9 cents a kwh here, so I was going from that figure.

 

[fr]

I had no idea it would cost that much. If so, then I can see that it would not make sense. I pay ~9 cents a kwh here, so I was going from that figure.

I have PG&E in CA. These are the residential rates I'm paying. I do all my charging at a public station during work that bills the $0.184/kWh rate. On a hot day above 90 degrees, the active cooling system runs while the car is plugged in so I get charged another 20% more for electricity use not going into the battery.

With the current price of gas, it's actually quite a bit cheaper for me to drive my Prius instead.

 

[Yuriman]

GM/Ford should have formed a consortium that partners with utilities/retailers to widely deploy both L2 and L3 charging. Even with the Bolt GM is a company that had to be forcibly dragged into this market by Tesla's success and increasing efficiency standards. Fundamentally they still see their business as ICEs (and maybe some hybrids) forever somehow. The Germans seem to be doing a much quicker about face on electrics now that diesel is a fallen star and with Tesla eating into their lucrative luxury lines.

I'll add to that.

Most of GM's "hybrids" have been their normal gasoline cars with a small 1-3HP electric motor attached to the crank pulley with a belt, and a 24-36v battery. They get auto-stop and very mild regenerative braking, but for the most part offer little to no better economy than their non-hybrid versions. I suspect they did this so they could put a "hybrid" badge on the back of their cars, and claim that they had hybrid options.

 

[LTC8K6]

I have PG&E in CA. These are the residential rates I'm paying. I do all my charging at a public station during work that bills the $0.184/kWh rate. On a hot day above 90 degrees, the active cooling system runs while the car is plugged in so I get charged another 20% more for electricity use not going into the battery.

With the current price of gas, it's actually quite a bit cheaper for me to drive my Prius instead.

Ouch. I could get on a time of day plan and pay ~6 cents during the night.

 

[Pantoot]

I have PG&E in CA. These are the residential rates I'm paying. I do all my charging at a public station during work that bills the $0.184/kWh rate. On a hot day above 90 degrees, the active cooling system runs while the car is plugged in so I get charged another 20% more for electricity use not going into the battery.

With the current price of gas, it's actually quite a bit cheaper for me to drive my Prius instead.

Can you get on the EV-A schedule? I think that should be around 12 cents per kWh.
In AZ I can charge my cars at 4.2 cents per kWh between 11pm and 5am.

 

[fr]

Unfortunately, I have moderately high daytime household electric use so it would cost me more to be on one of the EV rate plans.

 

[tweakmonkey]

Unfortunately, I have moderately high daytime household electric use so it would cost me more to be on one of the EV rate plans.

You can't charge at night? I think my EV plan makes it so it's about $0.12 per kW while I sleep. It's around $0.03 per mile if I remember correctly to drive my EV.

 

[NutBucket]

I think what he's saying is if he switches to a peak-rate plan, the increased daytime costs would negate any savings at night.

 

[desura]

Hmm, from what I've read, plugging into a standard 120v outlet nets you 4 miles of range per hour.

a 240v outlet gets you 25 miles of range an hour.

Which means that you can plug it in overnight and it still won't be fully charged in the morning.

 

[Pantoot]

Hmm, from what I've read, plugging into a standard 120v outlet nets you 4 miles of range per hour.

a 240v outlet gets you 25 miles of range an hour.

Which means that you can plug it in overnight and it still won't be fully charged in the morning.

That's correct. If you are going to be driving 200 miles a day and are going to be at home less than 8 hours a day, this isn't the car for you.

 

[tweakmonkey]

I think what he's saying is if he switches to a peak-rate plan, the increased daytime costs would negate any savings at night.

Ah okay - maybe he works from work or off-hours. I noticed we don't really using any significant electricity when we're not home. I just checked my PGE and we use 0.1-0.2 kW per hour (probably the fridge and a single LED lamp in the living room) for 10 hours during peak/partial-peak.

In the evening when you get home there are a couple hours that will cost 4x per kW (if you're home by 6 or so) and some that cost 2x per kW, but even then it made perfect sense for us to switch over. I guess it depends on your appliances, work hours (most importantly) and usage which anyone should calculate when looking at the plans and EVs could be pricier for some people who already have 50 MPG cars.

Hmm, from what I've read, plugging into a standard 120v outlet nets you 4 miles of range per hour.

a 240v outlet gets you 25 miles of range an hour.

Which means that you can plug it in overnight and it still won't be fully charged in the morning.

That's if you drive over 200 miles every day. But who does that every day other than Uber drivers? Most people drive like 40-60 per day I think and even 110 should be fine if you plug it in off peak.

And who isn't even home for at least 8 hours a day? Yikes.