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Now with $6 a gal gas coming pals i am getting rid of my 2021 Camaro that gets 8mpg. Any tips on EV's?
Maybe the Bolt? I only drive 50 miles a week and the included charger does 4 miles per hour charge. A 220 volt charger is $600 and then you gotta pay someone big money to have it installed and do the 220 amp breaker thingy.
Now with $6 a gal gas coming pals i am getting rid of my 2021 Camaro that gets 8mpg. Any tips on EV's?
Maybe the Bolt? I only drive 50 miles a week and the included charger does 4 miles per hour charge. A 220 volt charger is $600 and then you gotta pay someone big money to have it installed and do the 220 amp breaker thingy.
Level 1 charging is lame. Chevy will be offering a special deal on the Level 2 charger for the new 2022 Bolt EV that will include installation of the Level 2 charger through a 3rd party service - that's a big sweetener for the deal.
Now with $6 a gal gas coming pals i am getting rid of my 2021 Camaro that gets 8mpg. Any tips on EV's?
Maybe the Bolt? I only drive 50 miles a week and the included charger does 4 miles per hour charge. A 220 volt charger is $600 and then you gotta pay someone big money to have it installed and do the 220 amp breaker thingy.
A 220V charger can be had for under $400 and your electric company will often rebate the cost of the charger AND most of the installation. Mine was free after the rebate from my electric company. And yeah, the deals on new Bolts right now are great. If you are a Costco member, you can get $3000 off the already low sale price of them, meaning you can buy a new 2021 Bolt for under $20k, or lease it for under $200/mo.
BTW, the 220V breaker is simply a double breaker on your existing box. If you have a dryer in your house, or an AC unit, you already have 220V breakers in there.
A 220V charger can be had for under $400 and your electric company will often rebate the cost of the charger AND most of the installation. Mine was free after the rebate from my electric company. And yeah, the deals on new Bolts right now are great. If you are a Costco member, you can get $3000 off the already low sale price of them, meaning you can buy a new 2021 Bolt for under $20k, or lease it for under $200/mo.
BTW, the 220V breaker is simply a double breaker on your existing box. If you have a dryer in your house, or an AC unit, you already have 220V breakers in there.
But you have to make sure you have the right amperage service coming into the service panel. You can’t have a electric stove and electric dryer and electric hot water heater and central A/C and a new 220v charger on a 100amp service. Make sure you have a 200 amp service and a additional sub panel for the new EV charger. Just because you have a 220v breakers in your breaker box doesn’t mean that you’re electrical service can operate a new 220v EV charger. So that rebate won’t cover the cost of upgrading your electric service if needed to have a EV charger installed. I know my home only has a 109 amp service and i also have a electric hot water heater, a electric dryer and central A/C. I know if i wanted a EV charger i would have to upgrade my electric to handle the extra load of a EV charger. Look on the main breaker and see how many amps it says.
But you have to make sure you have the right amperage service coming into the service panel. You can’t have a electric stove and electric dryer and electric hot water heater and a new 220v charger on a 100amp service. Make sure you have a 200 amp service and a additional sub panel for the new EV charger. Just because you have a 220v breakers in your breaker box doesn’t mean that you’re electrical service can operate a new 220v EV charger.
The charger tends to pull a mere 30 amps or less, closer to 5 amps above 80% charge. In actual usage, many people have been fine on a NEMA 40 amp outlet, even on a 100 amp service. My 1932 home, however, was upgraded to a 200 amp service almost two decades ago, and most homes built after the '80s have had a 150-200 amp panel already. Of course, a lot of the country has gas water heater and dryers, so that may not be as much of an issue as first seems.
Here's an example, from someone on the Bolt forums:
Quote:
My water heater closet shares a wall with my garage. So I installed a NEMA 14-50 RV receptacle in the garage for my portable EVSE, and built a smart switch for the water heater’s 30-amp circuit that provides continuous power to the NEMA 14-50 (via a very short run through the wall), and disconnects power to my water heater any time the NEMA 14-50 draws an amp or more. I set my Zencar adjustable EVSE to 24 amps.
(I used an RV receptacle because it is built to withstand repeated plugging and unplugging. I have yet to label it as “30a circuit — EVSE only”.)
When power is available to the water heater, red and orange LEDs are lit on the smart switch and NEMA 14-50 respectively. When power to the water heater is disconnected (the EVSE is charging the car), blue and green LEDs are lit.
(I used 4 different colors instead of 2 to save a couple of bucks. A bag of 6 assorted-color LEDs was cheaper than the cost of 2 reds and 2 blues.)
Total cost for the smart switch: ~$100.
This EVSE solution has been functioning flawlessly for five months. I’ve never once run out of hot water, nor did I expect to. The shared water heater circuit has functioned just as if it were a dedicated EVSE circuit.
And his setup:
Last edited by cvetters63; 03-12-2021 at 08:04 AM..
Location: Formerly Pleasanton Ca, now in Marietta Ga
10,352 posts, read 8,578,998 times
Reputation: 16698
Quote:
Originally Posted by LKJ1988
Now with $6 a gal gas coming pals i am getting rid of my 2021 Camaro that gets 8mpg. Any tips on EV's?
Maybe the Bolt? I only drive 50 miles a week and the included charger does 4 miles per hour charge. A 220 volt charger is $600 and then you gotta pay someone big money to have it installed and do the 220 amp breaker thingy.
If I only drive 50 miles a week I would not let 8 mpg stop me unless you hate the 2021 camaro. That’s only 50. bucks a week. Not sure how your mpg is so bad.
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