Another i3 Purchase - with Questions!

[mtd240]

Background on me: Mechanical engineer, love working on my 2 Volvo 240s. Wife and I live in Brookeville, MD.

The company I work for (engineer) supports DOE's Vehicle Technologies Office, so I have been eyeing EVs for a few years. The deals kept getting better. Did an extended test drive last weekend, and my wife loved the car (artist..). Figured out how to use Owner's Choice Flex, coupled with an already heavily discounted vehicle, to get the monthly payments ~$200. It was an obvious choice

Picked up the i3 BEV last night. Laurel Gray ext. color, mega-style interior, upgraded wheels (19", don't need 20s :lol: ).

I have a few questions:

• 1. My wife's commute is <30 miles round trip, so we plan to stick with L1 charging. No garage, so it will always be charged outside, in a 20A 120V outlet (with a flip cover to keep water out). I plugged it in last night, in the pouring rain, and got a message early in the morning that there was a charge failure. Went outside, unplugged the connector, plugged it back in, and it failed again. Pulled the connector again - this time blew into the J1772 socket to ensure all connections were dry, and plugged it back in. Worked fine for the next hour or so until she left for work. Question: Is the included L1 charging cable weatherproof? From what I read, it is. From what I just experienced, it's iffy.
  2. As stated, we are using an outdoor 20A, 120V socket. I read that the car won't go over 1.4 kWh (nominal) with 120V. Is this true, even if it is on a 20A-fused circuit?
  3. We are renters, renting out half of the landlord's home. She would like us to get a kWh meter of some sort, so that we can accurately pay the additional $$ to charge the car. Any suggestions? A Kill-A-Watt meter won't work, since it is not rated for outdoors. I found this, which we could connect to the wiring inside leading up to the outlet. There must be an easier, cheaper way..
  4. Is there a way to extend the length of the existing charging cable? It explicity states that an extension cord should not be used, but perhaps that warning is just for folks who think a 16 gauge wire "ought to do it"? Perhaps a 12 gauge extension cord, rated for outdoor use, would do the trick.

All advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Michael

 

[jadnashuanh]

The EVSE (the level 1 thing that comes with the car) is maxed out at 12A, regardless of what it is plugged into. That is because most places have a 15A receptacle, and code requires 125% of a load like the EVSE. That EVSE, and all of them for that matter, send out a signal telling the vehicle how much power it can provide, and the car adjusts to accept only up to that amount.

With a 20A circuit available, you could buy another one, but it would only be 'proper' to use one that was a max of 16A (125% = 20A), and not all that much more for the expense.

If that receptacle is the only thing on that circuit, or could be made to be, you could buy a 2-pole circuit breaker, change the plug and make it a 240vac outlet at the same current - power=volts*amps, so you could double your power going into the i3 if you bought a plug-in 240vac EVSE. NOte, there are some that are 120/240, so you could still use them elsewhere.

The EVSE has a built-in GFI circuit, it is waterproof, but the connector could experience enough current leakage to trip it if the water isn't perfectly clean (rain never is!). So, sort of depends. You might find the same issue with any other unit. SO far, with mine (a Clipper Creek hard-wired unit), I've not had it 'trip' because the plug got wet. I've only used the unit that came with the car once to see if it worked.

Charging with a level 1 EVSE isn't as efficient as using a level 2 unit...it is more efficient to start with a higher voltage in the vehicle when making the 400vdc needed to charge the batteries. NOte, the charging circuit is IN the car, the EVSE is just a fancy switch.

 

[paule23]

If your land lord is only bothered about the extra electricity from charging the car, does the i3 have some sort of history of charging you could use to work out how much electricity you have used? You won't get a print out but I'm sure you could just show the screen to your landlord if they were really untrusting.

 

[ultraturtle]

Re #2

The included Occasional Use Cable is a 12 Amp EVSE. It will limit charging amperage to no more than 12 amps regardless of the ampacity of the circuit wiring and circuit protection supplying the charge.

Re #3:

Cost of a separate meter is typically extreme. Better to prove to your landlord that you typically drive less than X miles per year, which costs less than $Y in electricity, and simply add that to your monthly rent. As an example, driving 12,000 miles per year at the national average of about $0.12 per KWh would cost roughly $392 in electricity per year (EPA wall to wheel measurement of 272 wH per mile), so you could simply ask her to add $33 per month to your rent.

Re #4

12 ga extension cords work fine for the 12 Amp Occasional Use Cord. I would advise against anything thinner than 12 ga. While the behind-the-wall wiring for a 15 amp circuit can be as thin as 14 ga, it has been calculated to handle only the installed length of circuit by the installing electrician. Stretching the length of the code compliant circuit with an extension cord would only be prudent if stepping it up a gauge or so in thickness.