WTB car for my 15 yr old daughter

[zilla68]

From ChargePoint

• Level 1 chargers: These are the 120-volt charging cords that come with your vehicle. You can connect the three-prong plug into any standard wall socket and the other end into your car's standard charging port. Level 1 charging provides the slowest charge.
  
• Level 2 chargers: These are 240-volt charging systems with cables that connect to the standard charging port in your car. Most public charging stations have Level 2 chargers. Many electric vehicle owners also upgrade their dedicated home charging system to a Level 2 charger. Level 2 charging systems are at least twice as fast as Level 1 chargers and allow you to fully recharge your battery in less time.
  

Charging a plug-in hybrid at home is not much different from charging your cell phone or laptop. Just plug the cord that comes with the car into a regular wall outlet to add about 4 miles of Range Per Hour. It will take about 12 hours to recharge your Chevy Volt this way.

One difference to note is that many plug-in hybrids like the Volt have a slower onboard charger (what converts AC power from an outlet to DC power for the battery) than battery electric vehicles, meaning these hybrids can add only about 12 miles of Range Per Hour with even a 32-amp Level 2 charger (that’s compared with the 25 miles of Range Per Hour most battery electric vehicles can add). Still, getting a faster Level 2 charger will prepare you get an all-electric vehicle eventually, like I did.

my old neighbor that just moved had a volt, he had the 220v plug in his garage also, never had issues with charging overnite, I think he told me he could drive a month on a tank of gas/charging daily, as the base was just out of range daily for his charge.

 

[tjZ06]

Well, second day with this Volt and still trying to figure it out.  It runs and drives fine but it's the little stuff like the Bluetooth not synching unless I go into settings and pair my device (annoying AF) every time and the battery takes FOREVER to charge on 110v.  I plugged it in last night at work to the only 110v plug nearest my office at around 1 am.  By 5:45 am it said it was charged enough for me to drive 18 miles.  Perfect I'm 15 miles one way, but it's mostly uphill.  I was about 3 miles from home when it switched to the gas engine which was fine.  Plugged it in to a regular 110v source at my house at 6 am and checked it at 2pm and it said 20 miles of driving on the battery, full charge at 10:15 pm.  Huh?  6 am to 10 pm was 16 hours for a full charge?  Can't be correct.

My daughter found a reason to drive it so we went to the grocery store and were back home within an hour.  I plugged it back in as soon as we parked and at 9:15 pm I unplugged it to go to work.  The car said it had 28 miles of battery availability.  Good enough for me.  While driving, mostly downhill the battery climbed to 31 miles of driving.  OK.  Got to work and it had dropped back down to 27 miles of driving.  Odd, I just drove 15 miles.  I plugged it into the same 110v at work and will let it sit until 5:45 am tomorrow when I'm ready to head home.  

I already put a call in to my electrical buddy about pulling a 220v source out to the RV parking specifically for the Volt.  I already have 50amp RV service but it's on the opposite side and 50' away.  While he's there I'll have him look at adding a generator plug for my house for all these dumb azz CA power outages.

Pretty normal for an electric car on regular home 110V.  If you want semi-fast charging, you need the right 220V setup.  A quick g00gle tells me a Volt will take about 12hrs to achieve a full charge on 110V.  Once Fallon is driving on her own, if you're not borrowing it to get to work that will be great... but if she uses it during the day and then you take it to work it's never fully going to catch up unless you have the right charger at work and/or home.

-TJ

 

[CHRIS J]

Well, second day with this Volt and still trying to figure it out.  It runs and drives fine but it's the little stuff like the Bluetooth not synching unless I go into settings and pair my device (annoying AF) every time and the battery takes FOREVER to charge on 110v.  I plugged it in last night at work to the only 110v plug nearest my office at around 1 am.  By 5:45 am it said it was charged enough for me to drive 18 miles.  Perfect I'm 15 miles one way, but it's mostly uphill.  I was about 3 miles from home when it switched to the gas engine which was fine.  Plugged it in to a regular 110v source at my house at 6 am and checked it at 2pm and it said 20 miles of driving on the battery, full charge at 10:15 pm.  Huh?  6 am to 10 pm was 16 hours for a full charge?  Can't be correct.

My daughter found a reason to drive it so we went to the grocery store and were back home within an hour.  I plugged it back in as soon as we parked and at 9:15 pm I unplugged it to go to work.  The car said it had 28 miles of battery availability.  Good enough for me.  While driving, mostly downhill the battery climbed to 31 miles of driving.  OK.  Got to work and it had dropped back down to 27 miles of driving.  Odd, I just drove 15 miles.  I plugged it into the same 110v at work and will let it sit until 5:45 am tomorrow when I'm ready to head home.  

I already put a call in to my electrical buddy about pulling a 220v source out to the RV parking specifically for the Volt.  I already have 50amp RV service but it's on the opposite side and 50' away.  While he's there I'll have him look at adding a generator plug for my house for all these dumb azz CA power outages.

Down hill bro, regenerative braking charging the battery it’s Bitchin, making energy

 

[L.R.S.]

Pretty normal for an electric car on regular home 110V.  If you want semi-fast charging, you need the right 220V setup.  A quick g00gle tells me a Volt will take about 12hrs to achieve a full charge on 110V.  Once Fallon is driving on her own, if you're not borrowing it to get to work that will be great... but if she uses it during the day and then you take it to work it's never fully going to catch up unless you have the right charger at work and/or home.

-TJ

Need to do some research on a 'better' charging cord of there is such a thing. Regardless I need a spare cord to leave at home and one to keep in the car. 

At 5:45 am the Volt was at full charge. I unplugged and headed home.



My drive is 15 miles and mostly uphill, doing around 70mph. 



This is what I had when I got home.

Not complaining about the car whatsoever. I really like it, just want to maximize the benefits of owning it. 

 

[tjZ06]

I assume the batteries are original?  I think I might have mentioned looking into that... 

-TJ

 

[L.R.S.]

I assume the batteries are original?  I think I might have mentioned looking into that... 

-TJ

Yes you did and I'm sure the battery is original. I can't 'TJ' this car and rip it apart and replace errythang though. It is what it is. I've never owned an EV, never had one on my radar and did zero research on them until Tony offered it up. 

The charger cord that came with it will do 120v/240v via a NEMA6-20 plug (it has a NEMA5-15 adapter for 120v now) so just need to get that socket wired up at the house. A few articles claimed 4 hour charging on 240v power. 

I'll check out the free charging station in the off-site parking structure at work, which is a 10 minute walk from my office each way. Not bad, but it's Boyle Heights in East LA and not a place for a guy like me to be on the streets at 9:30 pm and again at 5:30 am. The things I'll do to live green and save the planet...

 

[tjZ06]

Yes you did and I'm sure the battery is original. I can't 'TJ' this car and rip it apart and replace errythang though. It is what it is. I've never owned an EV, never had one on my radar and did zero research on them until Tony offered it up. 

The charger cord that came with it will do 120v/240v via a NEMA6-20 plug (it has a NEMA5-15 adapter for 120v now) so just need to get that socket wired up at the house. A few articles claimed 4 hour charging on 240v power. 

I'll check out the free charging station in the off-site parking structure at work, which is a 10 minute walk from my office each way. Not bad, but it's Boyle Heights in East LA and not a place for a guy like me to be on the streets at 9:30 pm and again at 5:30 am. The things I'll do to live green and save the planet...

Yeah, I'm not saying replaced it... I'm just saying don't expect brand new Volt EV-only range.  It's perfectly fine, and functioning as expected IMHO.  It's a great car for Fallon (and a great commuter for you), no reason to stress on the range and all that every time you drive it (that's the nice thing about a Volt over a pure EV).  

-TJ

 

[Lord of the Dunes]

Google lists the range of a new 2013 Chevy Volt as 38 mi. You're getting a reported 36 mi of range out of this one, so this one is only 2 mi lower than when it was brand new, assuming the display is correct. 

I'm sure you'll be much happier when you get the 240v chargers installed at home and work.

 

[Kraut_n_Rice]

I'll check out the free charging station in the off-site parking structure at work, which is a 10 minute walk from my office each way. Not bad, but it's Boyle Heights in East LA and not a place for a guy like me to be on the streets at 9:30 pm and again at 5:30 am. The things I'll do to live green and save the planet...

What?!  Wikipedia makes it sound like a great place to visit.

Boyle Heights, historically known as Paredón Blanco,is a notable and historic Chicano/Mexican-American neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, located east of the Los Angeles River. Boyle Heights is known as a bastion of Chicano culture, hosting cultural landmarks like Mariachi Plaza and events like the annual Día de los Muertos celebrations.

 

[L.R.S.]

What?!  Wikipedia makes it sound like a great place to visit.

Boyle Heights, historically known as Paredón Blanco,is a notable and historic Chicano/Mexican-American neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, located east of the Los Angeles River. Boyle Heights is known as a bastion of Chicano culture, hosting cultural landmarks like Mariachi Plaza and events like the annual Día de los Muertos celebrations.

All of that is accurate. But they left out people sh!tting on the sidewalk, trash cans constantly flipped over by food treasure hunters, garbage everywhere...

 

[URCLEVER]

Need to do some research on a 'better' charging cord of there is such a thing. Regardless I need a spare cord to leave at home and one to keep in the car. 

At 5:45 am the Volt was at full charge. I unplugged and headed home.

View attachment 14055

My drive is 15 miles and mostly uphill, doing around 70mph. 

View attachment 14056

This is what I had when I got home.

Not complaining about the car whatsoever. I really like it, just want to maximize the benefits of owning it. 

So it is all about how you charge the car 2amp or 10 amp switch on the leaf button. generally I can charge it at home at 4pm and be fully charged by 5am and I drive 27 miles every day to work. I would plug it in at work (630am) and it would be fully charged by 3pm. it is also how you drive. 80- mph will drain your battery faster vs 65 to 67 mph and up hills will make a difference as it is more power required to pull. quick charge is the way to go. 

 

[L.R.S.]

So it is all about how you charge the car 2amp or 10 amp switch on the leaf button. generally I can charge it at home at 4pm and be fully charged by 5am and I drive 27 miles every day to work. I would plug it in at work (630am) and it would be fully charged by 3pm. it is also how you drive. 80- mph will drain your battery faster vs 65 to 67 mph and up hills will make a difference as it is more power required to pull. quick charge is the way to go. 

I'm learning all that stuff and more each time I drive it and charge it.  I thought I set it for the higher 12amp charge but it defaults to the 8amp every time I plug it in.  Tonight was another new one- Left my house at 9pm and it said 34 miles available.  While driving, mostly downhill, at 75-80mph the miles climbed to 38.  I hit a drive-thru and got to work and it was down to 34 miles available.  So my drive to work basically cost me nothing, and now it's charging outside my office.  

My daughter absolutely loves the car man!  She took her laptop out there and sat in it for an hour going over stuff on the internet so she can learn more about it.  She wanted to get a few things for it- phone mount, trash can, etc. and I told her to go on Amazon and get whatever she wanted for the car to make it 'hers'.  I really appreciate the deal, taking it to the dealer for an inspection and how upfront you were about the little things it needs.  We'll catch up this weekend at the show.

 

[Crusty]

Boyle Heights is a great place to eat :crusty: food, visit family in the cemetery, hire Mariachis, etc.

:dunno:

My old neighborhood....I would not live there though...It's not THAT bad @L.R.S. your a big enough guy to not be messed with.

:focus:   :lol:

 

[South Bay]

Boyle Heights is a great place to eat :crusty: food, visit family in the cemetery, hire Mariachis, etc.

:dunno:

My old neighborhood....I would not live there though...It's not THAT bad @L.R.S. your a big enough guy to not be messed with.

:focus:   :lol:

Home of the OG El Tepeyac Cafe.  Highly recommended . . .