Charging Rate on 50kw DCFC vs. 150kw DCFC - Quick pre-trip sanity check

[bellyer]

Before I take a trip up from Chicago to Wisconsin, where it is much colder than it has been here in Chicago, I just want to check and get some quick input on what I can expect from a 50kw EVGo DCFC vs. the 150kw EA DCFC that I am accustomed to using on this trip. It will be down between zero-10 degrees overnight where we will be in Wisconsin and only in the 20s during the day. Our GOM has been showing us about 170 miles range in Chicago when we have been in the 20s and that is for city driving. If we leave our place in WI with a 100% charge, I would *hope* that would get us the 181 miles from our cottage to Electrify America in Milwaukee, but if not, there is a 50kw EVGO in Mequon, WI that is only 168 miles, which still feels a little iffy. If the wise folks on these forums think that 168 miles to get to a 50kw charger is still not wise, I can go out of my way and add a bit of time to my trip to hit a 50kw DCFC about 141 miles from my cottage.

So, if I do have to resort to one of these 50kw DCFC, can anyone comment on how much slower the charge time would be? I would really just be looking to add about 40-50 miles range to ensure I can make it to the EA DCFC that we use, so about how long would I expect to be charging at a 50kw charger to add maybe 50 miles of range?

Just looking to reduce my range anxiety a bit before we head out on our trip later today.

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[RickMachE]

50 miles of range, in very cold weather, on a 50kW charger, might take 45 minutes to an hour.

If you cannot precondition because you're not on a charger, and therefore not leaving with 100%, your range is going to be dramatically affected.

Always plan alternatives, keep the heat usage to a minimum, and keep the speed as close to 55 as possible if it shows the range as questionable.

Of course since that is your return trip, you'll have learning from the initial leg.

 

[timbop]

I don't think it will take more than half an hour to 45 minutes. Since you'll have been driving for some time the battery shouldn't be too cold, so you should get more than 30kw. Assuming you'll average between 2 and 2.5 mi/kwh you'll be fine.

 

[bellyer]

Thank you, both!

 

[RickMachE]

Thank you, both!

???

 

[Zassi]

I don't think it will take more than half an hour to 45 minutes. Since you'll have been driving for some time the battery shouldn't be too cold, so you should get more than 30kw. Assuming you'll average between 2 and 2.5 mi/kwh you'll be fine.

Based on the last two weeks trying to charge my SR in -15C, even after driving nonstop for 1.5h with an average speed of 80km/h(50m/h) the first 15min in a 50kw charger will be spend on warming the battery, after that it gets to optimal temp so some real charging starts to happen. So be prepared for 45mins to gain that 50miles of range

 

[Murse-In-Airy]

Normal driving in cold weather isn’t enough to warm the battery for charging. On a 32° F day, after being on the road for 2.5 hours, I plugged into a 350 KW charger. My initial charge rate was 42 KW. After about 15 minutes it sped up to 113 KW. But perhaps on a 50KW charger, it will start at 42kw and continue that way.

 

[Nklem]

a 50 kW EVGO gives me 40 KWh to Start and ramps to 42 KWH after about 25% charging. During the last 25% it hits a max of 46 KW. Be cautious as some of these are not MME compatible. My Select (March Build) was compatible until 1.7.1 then it was not (Cassiopeia Charger). My new July build with the latest everything works fine with it.

If it helps, my last 50 kW EVgo was at 28F. I was at 29% and I stopped it at 71%. I got 39.2 kWh in 54 Minutes. So it averaged 0.73 kWh/minute

 

[kltye]

The EvGO chargers are usually current limited, i.e., the car won't hit 50kW because it can only put out ~100 amps or so. When charging the battery, the total charge power is derived from this formula: battery pack voltage x 100 amps. So if you arrive at a low SoC, you'll start off at a low charge rate, and it'll slowly ramp up as your pack voltage increases.

You mentioned leaving your starting point with 100% SoC; are you able to plug in before leaving? If so, your pack temperature will start off well above freezing, so I wouldn't worry about the pack temperature falling too much while you're driving. The car won't really spend much energy heating up the pack at a 50kW charger, since charging at that rate doesn't really require the battery to be at optimum temperature.

 

[unhandled]

Here are a couple of charges on 50kw chargers at -12C and -5C. Note that my car has CS21P22 updates applied.

 

[@kWhpony]

I’ve taken similar trips from suburban Chicago to Oshkosh and using both the Milwaukee DCFC and a Greenlots 50 kW charger in Fond du Lac reaching 42 & 44 kW rates in the springtime.

Besides using ABRP for a second opinion, keep a close eye on your MME trip performance since it will reflect real time consumption. Also check charging stops in PlugShare to read the “checkins” for other EV owner experiences, noted delivery issues, and availability.

Don’t recall if EvGO is part of our network, but I used the corresponding phone app to initiate charging with locations other than EA.

Good luck on your trip and share your chargping experience.

 

[@kWhpony]

Before I take a trip up from Chicago to Wisconsin, where it is much colder than it has been here in Chicago, I just want to check and get some quick input on what I can expect from a 50kw EVGo DCFC vs. the 150kw EA DCFC that I am accustomed to using on this trip. It will be down between zero-10 degrees overnight where we will be in Wisconsin and only in the 20s during the day. Our GOM has been showing us about 170 miles range in Chicago when we have been in the 20s and that is for city driving. If we leave our place in WI with a 100% charge, I would *hope* that would get us the 181 miles from our cottage to Electrify America in Milwaukee, but if not, there is a 50kw EVGO in Mequon, WI that is only 168 miles, which still feels a little iffy. If the wise folks on these forums think that 168 miles to get to a 50kw charger is still not wise, I can go out of my way and add a bit of time to my trip to hit a 50kw DCFC about 141 miles from my cottage.

So, if I do have to resort to one of these 50kw DCFC, can anyone comment on how much slower the charge time would be? I would really just be looking to add about 40-50 miles range to ensure I can make it to the EA DCFC that we use, so about how long would I expect to be charging at a 50kw charger to add maybe 50 miles of range?

Just looking to reduce my range anxiety a bit before we head out on our trip later today.

After rereading your post, I realized that I didn’t answer your question.

I logged into Greenlots to get the charging information that I believe you are interested in.

April 24, 36 min, 25 kWh
April 25, 12 min, 7 kWh
May 4, 41 min, 29kWh

For the April trip, left hone with 100%, charged in FDL to 80% and finished first leg. Stopped in FDL again to charge enough plus buffer to make it home.

For the May trip, drove nonstop to Oshkosh, stopped in FDL on return leg to make it to EA charger by Brewers stadium to have enough to get home.

 

[bellyer]

After rereading your post, I realized that I didn’t answer your question.

I logged into Greenlots to get the charging information that I believe you are interested in.

April 24, 36 min, 25 kWh
April 25, 12 min, 7 kWh
May 4, 41 min, 29kWh

For the April trip, left hone with 100%, charged in FDL to 80% and finished first leg. Stopped in FDL again to charge enough plus buffer to make it home.

For the May trip, drove nonstop to Oshkosh, stopped in FDL on return leg to make it to EA charger by Brewers stadium to have enough to get home.

That is exactly what I was looking for. Thank you!

 

[taikajim]

I think the bottom end max DC charging power is 30kW with a cold car, while pulling around 35-36 to run the heater as well. If you keep the cabin heated with e-heat toggled on, the car won't use the aux resistive heater to heat the powertrain liquid. I believe that latter detail is supposed to be fixed in Service Pack 1 (21P22). (this can be observed from the total power draw dropping to accomodate for a hot cabin switching to maintaining the temp rather than actively heating)

Or, at least that's what my car does in -15 celcius. Takes about half an hour to warm up the battery to ramp up to 50kW.

 

[cesar]

oddly I get the same results and I preconditioned for an hour but with a 45 minute break before charging. on a 50kw charger I'll only pull 42kw. it does ramp up to 45 by 80%.

A 2026 bZ with only a little precondition then 1.5hour rest was able to get 48kw.

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