So many questions - so little time. :)

[Robbert]

Hi everyone,

As I mentioned in a previous post, it's been tremendously helpful reading through this forum to finalize my EV selection. But as I dig deeper, I'm wondering about a few things that I'm sure some of you owners know or have experience with, and I haven't been able to find in the manual for the Kona or on here.

1. My workplace doesn't have any official charging posts (yet!), so if I get an EV, what would the best way to charge be? There is 3 Phase power in the building with outlets for 208 and 480V, as well as 120V single phase. Obviously I can run an extension cord into the building for 120V, but that's a really slow charge. It might make up the 50 mile commute I have in an 8-9 hour workday. But it wouldn't allow me to not charge at home and just charge at the office with a 100 mile roundtrip. What 240V level 2 charging solution (portable) do you guys recommend in this situation?
2. If I charge at 120V, can you still remotely turn on the pre-warm climate control in the car and not use any of the battery? Or is the 120V supply simply not enough for that? Would it still allow you to do that though?
3. For the Bluelink, what provider is used in the US? I live in rural NH, and I know that certain providers, such as T-Mobile and Sprint literally have no service at my house. Verizon is the best, and AT&T a close second. They should be able to pick up a signal at my house. Also, if I understand other posts correctly, the US BlueLink only connects through cellular, not Wifi, right?
4. Does anyone have any real-world experience with winter range in NH? Worst case, should I be concerned about driving 100 miles in one day (if I couldn't charge at work) with climate control on with, say, 0F outside?

I'm sure these are all newbie questions. I just didn't find any clear answers to these on the forum.

 

[Esprit1st]

Hey Robbert,

1: so, going 100 miles round-trip should be possible with a level 1 charger on both ends. However, you won't have a lot of wiggle room if you need extra miles for some reason. I charge only on Level 1 at home and I get about 50 miles in 10 hours over night. If you cannot charge enough for some reason you will lower your buffer through the week and then rely on charging the whole weekend to get it full again. A little bit risky especially during winter.
It also depends on terrain and your driving style of course, but I'd go the safe route and have a level 2 charger at least at one end, or portable.
I personally don't have any experience with Level 2 chargers, but there is a thread here about it where a lot of people have posted their equipment and experiences ("What do you use to charge at home")

2: yes, you can. I always do that with cooling. I live in Las Vegas and it's 110+ here right now. Preconditioning with and without being plugged in and charging works great through the app. However the climate uses usually about 0.6kW. A Level 1 charger can keep up with that but charge rate is basically halved. But you only need it for 5-10 minutes before you leave, so really nothing to worry about.

3: Unfortunately I don't know. Hopefully somebody else has figured that one out.

4: No worries, you'll get 100 miles no problem, even with heating, if you charge it fully. Round trip I would be cautious.

Sent from my moto x4 using Tapatalk

 

[Robbert]

Hey Robbert,

1: so, going 100 miles round-trip should be possible with a level 1 charger on both ends. However, you won't have a lot of wiggle room if you need extra miles for some reason. I charge only on Level 1 at home and I get about 50 miles in 10 hours over night. If you cannot charge enough for some reason you will lower your buffer through the week and then rely on charging the whole weekend to get it full again. A little bit risky especially during winter.
It also depends on terrain and your driving style of course, but I'd go the safe route and have a level 2 charger at least at one end, or portable.
I personally don't have any experience with Level 2 chargers, but there is a thread here about it where a lot of people have posted their equipment and experiences ("What do you use to charge at home")

That's awesome. I am mostly curious if any of the EVSE solutions out there (portable ones) like 208V as well as 240V. I read something in the Nissan Leaf+ manual that the 240V EVSE they give you with that car specifically doesn't like 208V from a 3-phase connection. So that's why I was wondering... Before my workplace installs actual chargers (still at least a year off), I figured maybe I could charge with a portable L2 EVSE and plug it in there as well as at home.

2: yes, you can. I always do that with cooling. I live in Las Vegas and it's 110+ here right now. Preconditioning with and without being plugged in and charging works great through the app. However the climate uses usually about 0.6kW. A Level 1 charger can keep up with that but charge rate is basically halved. But you only need it for 5-10 minutes before you leave, so really nothing to worry about.

I figured it could handle the AC portion, but I think the heater in this car is not a heat pump, but a resistive element, right? So heating up here in NH in the winter will use a lot more juice than AC. In any case, as long as the car doesn't care about turning on preconditioning on 120V, even if it uses a little bit of battery, that should be fine!

Thanks for your insights!

 

[FloridaSun]

Hi everyone,

As I mentioned in a previous post, it's been tremendously helpful reading through this forum to finalize my EV selection. But as I dig deeper, I'm wondering about a few things that I'm sure some of you owners know or have experience with, and I haven't been able to find in the manual for the Kona or on here.

1. My workplace doesn't have any official charging posts (yet!), so if I get an EV, what would the best way to charge be? There is 3 Phase power in the building with outlets for 208 and 480V, as well as 120V single phase. Obviously I can run an extension cord into the building for 120V, but that's a really slow charge. It might make up the 50 mile commute I have in an 8-9 hour workday. But it wouldn't allow me to not charge at home and just charge at the office with a 100 mile roundtrip. What 240V level 2 charging solution (portable) do you guys recommend in this situation?
2. If I charge at 120V, can you still remotely turn on the pre-warm climate control in the car and not use any of the battery? Or is the 120V supply simply not enough for that? Would it still allow you to do that though?
3. For the Bluelink, what provider is used in the US? I live in rural NH, and I know that certain providers, such as T-Mobile and Sprint literally have no service at my house. Verizon is the best, and AT&T a close second. They should be able to pick up a signal at my house. Also, if I understand other posts correctly, the US BlueLink only connects through cellular, not Wifi, right?
4. Does anyone have any real-world experience with winter range in NH? Worst case, should I be concerned about driving 100 miles in one day (if I couldn't charge at work) with climate control on with, say, 0F outside?

I'm sure these are all newbie questions. I just didn't find any clear answers to these on the forum.

If your 208V outlet is within 25 feet of where you'd park your car and you are sure that you are allowed to use it, you are good to go with a mobile charger. 4 hours of charging should be about what you need to get enough juice for your round trip, maybe 5 hours in winter.

 

[electriceddy]

If your 208V outlet is within 25 feet of where you'd park your car and you are sure that you are allowed to use it, you are good to go with a mobile charger. 4 hours of charging should be about what you need to get enough juice for your round trip, maybe 5 hours in winter.

Best charge rate he could hope for is 2500 W (208V * 12A) with the breaker set @ 2P15A and the appropriate adjustable amperage EVSE. Of course a higher breaker setting with larger wire would yield a faster rate. The mileage (km/kWh) would depend on driving conditions.

 

[electriceddy]

If your 208V outlet is within 25 feet of where you'd park your car and you are sure that you are allowed to use it, you are good to go with a mobile charger. 4 hours of charging should be about what you need to get enough juice for your round trip, maybe 5 hours in winter.

BTW BlueKonaEV hope you have battened down the hatches, make sure you got a"full tank", hope it misses you:
https://www.accuweather.com/en/weat...hurricane-dorian-looms-off-the-coast/70009219

 

[Bugblndr]

That's awesome. I am mostly curious if any of the EVSE solutions out there (portable ones) like 208V as well as 240V. I read something in the Nissan Leaf+ manual that the 240V EVSE they give you with that car specifically doesn't like 208V from a 3-phase connection. So that's why I was wondering... Before my workplace installs actual chargers (still at least a year off), I figured maybe I could charge with a portable L2 EVSE and plug it in there as well as at home.

I put a NEMA 14-50 plug in at my work, it runs 208V, it works just fine for my Level 2 charger.

 

[FloridaSun]

BTW BlueKonaEV hope you have battened down the hatches, make sure you got a"full tank", hope it misses you:
https://www.accuweather.com/en/weat...hurricane-dorian-looms-off-the-coast/70009219

As of right now, there will likely be little impact away from the coast. I'm still without my level 2 EVSE as the package with my replacement EVSE won't get here tomorrow as it is a holiday. Expect it to get here Thursday. Went to Orlando today and charged there at a free level 2 EVSE to 79% but I'm down to 61% from the trip back from Orlando. Up to 63% now.. but it will take 16 more hours to get to 90%. In case that the storm shifts, I'll charge at the local EVgo 50kw DC fast..

 

[Robbert]

I put a NEMA 14-50 plug in at my work, it runs 208V, it works just fine for my Level 2 charger.

Curious -- how did you wire up the Nema 14-50 plug? Just two legs on the outer pins and keep the center open? Or wire a ground to it? I'm not sure if we have a Delta or Wye connection for 208 at the office (will find out this week), but that might mean I have no neutral line. And which charger do you use?

 

[electriceddy]

Curious -- how did you wire up the Nema 14-50 plug? Just two legs on the outer pins and keep the center open? Or wire a ground to it? I'm not sure if we have a Delta or Wye connection for 208 at the office (will find out this week), but that might mean I have no neutral line. And which charger do you use?

https://www.google.com/search?q=14-...BAgCECQ&biw=1415&bih=651#imgrc=WGnaP06ZiqlHZM:
Wire the hots to the outside prongs and ground to the round prong, leave the flat neutral prong in the center open. Most commercial wiring is Wye.
Link for an adjustable EVSE:
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07FV5S3KG...9Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

 

[Bugblndr]

Curious -- how did you wire up the Nema 14-50 plug? Just two legs on the outer pins and keep the center open? Or wire a ground to it? I'm not sure if we have a Delta or Wye connection for 208 at the office (will find out this week), but that might mean I have no neutral line. And which charger do you use?

At home I did the wiring myself. At work, I just gave the electrician my corporate credit card and they did the rest.

I use this EVSE: https://www.amazon.ca/Morec-Upgrade...240v+evse&qid=1567481922&s=automotive&sr=1-10

 

[SeanH]

Curious -- how did you wire up the Nema 14-50 plug? Just two legs on the outer pins and keep the center open? Or wire a ground to it? I'm not sure if we have a Delta or Wye connection for 208 at the office (will find out this week), but that might mean I have no neutral line. And which charger do you use?

I think an important point is that the EVSEs don't take 3-phase. They just want 2 of the phases (and sometimes a neutral -- depends on the EVSE). So you're going to want to 2 of the hots from the 3-phase 208V (where the measurement between any 2 hots is 208V).
The NEMA 14-50 is designed to also have a neutral pin. Your 3-phase 208V _should_ have a neutral (at least I've always seen it that way) and it should definitely have a Ground. That makes up the 4 pins.

If it doesn't have a neutral, I wouldn't use a 14-50, I'd use an outlet with no neutral pin.

Another thing to keep in mind when charging from 120V and preconditioning, is that although the A/C usually uses < 1KW, US models don't use that for heat -- they have a resistive heater. I've definitely seen this pull more than 1KW when it starts up, so that could exceed your charging rate.

 

[Bugblndr]

Here's my EVSE currently running on a 3 phase outlet. Showing 191V, the car is showing its receiving 6.0 kW. At home the same unit is usually between 240-248V and shows 7.6 kW.

 

[SeanH]

Here's my EVSE currently running on a 3 phase outlet. Showing 191V, the car is showing its receiving 6.0 kW. At home the same unit is usually between 240-248V and shows 7.6 kW.

View attachment 5953

Perhaps it is a semantics issue, but "3-phase" outlets are pretty uncommon (though they do exist -- NEMA 11, 12, 13, 15 through 23) -- I've never seen one in practice. EVSEs really don't need more current than a "phase" (or hot pair) can deliver. Since most EVSEs are designed for "split-phase" (120V/240V residential), there isn't a lot of benefit of supporting 3-phase 208 instead of just allowing 208 on the single phase.

 

[Bugblndr]

Perhaps it is a semantics issue, but "3-phase" outlets are pretty uncommon (though they do exist -- NEMA 11, 12, 13, 15 through 23) -- I've never seen one in practice. EVSEs really don't need more current than a "phase" (or hot pair) can deliver. Since most EVSEs are designed for "split-phase" (120V/240V residential), there isn't a lot of benefit of supporting 3-phase 208 instead of just allowing 208 on the single phase.

Sorry, should've said on an outlet which is wired to a 3 phase panel.

 

[R P]

Here's my EVSE currently running on a 3 phase outlet. Showing 191V, the car is showing its receiving 6.0 kW. At home the same unit is usually between 240-248V and shows 7.6 kW.
View attachment 5953

Interesting that you can still charge at that low voltage. I thought the spec was 230V + or - 10%.

There is some confusion about the voltage range for this Morec charger. Saw elsewhere that the spec says 110-240, but doesn't say that on mine. Sure would like to use this on a 30A 120V RV outlet (with an adapter) if possible. Apparently this can be done with some other chargers.

 

[Bugblndr]

Interesting that you can still charge at that low voltage. I thought the spec was 230V + or - 10%.

There is some confusion about the voltage range for this Morec charger. Saw elsewhere that the spec says 110-240, but doesn't say that on mine. Sure would like to use this on a 30A 120V RV outlet (with an adapter) if possible. Apparently this can be done with some other chargers.

The back of mine shows Input/Output: 230VAC 50Hz but it's working fine. Not sure if it would work on 120V. Interestingly, the EVSE that came with my Kona shows 120-250V I believe. Might be to 240V, I only opened the bag, tried it for 5 minutes, then put it away, hopefully for a long long time.

 

[electriceddy]

The back of mine shows Input/Output: 230VAC 50Hz but it's working fine. Not sure if it would work on 120V. Interestingly, the EVSE that came with my Kona shows 120-250V I believe. Might be to 240V, I only opened the bag, tried it for 5 minutes, then put it away, hopefully for a long long time.

The Yura EVSE that comes with Kona is rated 12A 120V

 

[Bugblndr]

The Yura EVSE that comes with Kona is rated 12A 120V

I need to stop posting before my eyes are open enough to focus. You are correct of course.

 

[jde2019kona]

I am using a ZenCar charger, 240V 16A with a NEMA 6-20R socket installed by a local electrical contractor. The charger draws 3.6-3.8 kW, so the most recent recharge from 36% to 80% took about 7.5 hours. (I would have had to rewire the entire house to get 32A, or pay about US$2K to get an Automatic Load Sharing addition to my electrical panel to get increased amperage.)