110 volt charging

[tronpr]

[CITA="islandboystan, publicación: 1148509, miembro: 5007"]
Compré un SPLITVOLT que usa mi toma de 220 V (la de la secadora) en el garaje. Esto me da un nivel 2, aunque un poco menos potente debido a un margen de seguridad, pero mejor que el nivel 1. Así evito gastar miles de dólares en que un electricista instale una toma de 220 V adecuada. Espero que esto les sirva.
[/CITA]
If I have it, that's perfect—no problem.

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[jmcbrew]

I purchased a SPLITVOLT which uses my 220 (dryer plug) in the carport. This gives me a level 2 but slightly less due to a buffer but better than level 1.

That is definitely L2 charging. 240V is L2... doesn't really matter what the amperage is. I carry a 16 amp L1/L2 EVSE with me when I travel. I could get away with 16 amp L2 charging at home almost all the time, even though I drive between 150 and 200 miles per day. On a dryer circuit, you can (and probably do) charge even faster (up to 24 amps).

Most people can plug in for about 12 hours a day at home. At 16 amps, that's about 40 kWh into the battery. Even in the winter, that should be over 100 miles in a Mach-E unless you're really hauling on the highway. In the summer, I could go about 180 miles on 40 kWh.

There are some other solutions for L2. For instance, if you have a dedicated 20 amp 120V receptacle (which is common in a garage or on the outside of a house), you can usually just connect it to a 20 amp 240V breaker and put a NEMA 6-20 receptacle in. The wiring is the same for 20 amp 120V and 20 amp 240V. You don't need a neutral for EV charging. You should wrap the last few inches of the white wire in red electrical tape so it is obvious that it is now a hot line. If you are not comfortable doing this, I would certainly get an electrician to do it. FYI, a dedicated receptacle means that it is the only receptacle/device on that circuit. Don't do this unless you are certain.

 

[Maquis]

This has been said before, but worth repeating:
120V charging will cost you 15 to 20% more in electricity usage compared to 240V charging of 32A or more.

 

[jmcbrew]

This has been said before, but worth repeating:
120V charging will cost you 15 to 20% more in electricity usage compared to 240V charging of 32A or more.

That is true, but for someone who drives few enough miles that 120V charging works for them, it would take forever for the savings to equal the average cost of an L2 installation.

Let's say they drive 20 miles per day, average 3.5 miles per kWh, and pay $0.20/kWh for electricity. After five years, that would be 36,500 miles. They would have used 10,428 kWh. That would cost $2,085 in electricity. So, if they spent 15% more on wasted energy to charge on 120V, that would be an extra $312 over those five years.

EDIT: Don't get me wrong -- L2 at home is ideal. If it doesn't cost too much to install it, that's what I would recommend. However, not everyone needs it, and the cost doesn't always make economic sense. When I was doing L2 installations, my favorite part was figuring out how to make a difficult home installation work for the least amount of money. In most commercial installations, they didn't care about any of that. Those installations were boring to me.

 

[Maquis]

That is true, but for someone who drives few enough miles that 120V charging works for them, it would take forever for the savings to equal the average cost of an L2 installation.

Let's say they drive 20 miles per day, average 3.5 miles per kWh, and pay $0.20/kWh for electricity. After five years, that would be 36,500 miles. They would have used 10,428 kWh. That would cost $2,085 in electricity. So, if they spent 15% more on wasted energy to charge on 120V, that would be an extra $312 over those five years.

EDIT: Don't get me wrong -- L2 at home is ideal. If it doesn't cost too much to install it, that's what I would recommend. However, not everyone needs it, and the cost doesn't always make economic sense. When I was doing L2 installations, my favorite part was figuring out how to make a difficult home installation work for the least amount of money. In most commercial installations, they didn't care about any of that. Those installations were boring to me.

Correct. I wasn’t trying to say that no one should use L1 charging due to it‘s lower efficiency. Only that should be one of the factors to consider.

 

[NY_Cade69]

LOL I'd be lucky to break 10,000 mi in 5 years. City Condo, everything is nearby.
I typically do an 80% DC Fastcharge when down to 20% - about 4-5 weeks apart.

 

[bojesphob]

If we only had my MME, I'd probably stick with the 120v charger, to be honest. I had the F150 before this for a year and a half and only had 7000 miles on it. I don't really foresee driving the MME much more than that. But, since my wife got one too, and we both got the rebate for not getting the Ford charger, we were able to justify the cost of the install of the level 2 we got for both of us. Of course, the money for the install came from me selling the Camaro we had that was fully paid off, so it didn't even really technically come out of our budget at all.

 

[dtkindler]

Just piling on. I've had my Mach-E for two years with only Level 1 charging. With minimal planning, I can easily manage my charging needs. Not everyone drives 80 miles a day. With so many people working from home, the notion that it is a mistake to get an EV without 240 is a fairly parochial view. There are probably more use cases for successful ownership with Level One than there are reasons not to. It is entirely doable and, in my case, preferable to spending $5,000 - $8,000 to upgrade service to my garage.

 

[Tampamike]

Level 1 is fine for a daily commuter, as long as the round trip isn’t too long - 30 miles or less. Just plug it in every night. If there’s a fast charger nearby, you don’t really need to worry if it’s your only car.

 

[matwlev]

Level 1 is fine for a daily commuter, as long as the round trip isn’t too long - 30 miles or less. Just plug it in every night. If there’s a fast charger nearby, you don’t really need to worry if it’s your only car.

I think my big issue here is setting an arbitrary barrier like “30 miles or less.” It frames EV ownership as far more restrictive than it actually is, just like the idea that you must have a gasoline “safety net” if it’s your only car. If everyday utility were the only metric, the Corolla would outsell the F-150 by a mile.

Every driver has a completely different set of variables to consider and reasons for looking into or owning an EV. Instead of telling people what won't work based on a hard mileage cap, we should help them audit their own routines. If you drive a lot or don't have Level 2 charging at home, consider your proximity to fast chargers, workplace options, or your willingness to plug in during a grocery run. The Tesla bros that lived in the same apartment complex I did ten or so years ago didn’t have any at-home charging. They made it work because they had other reasons to love their cars. I wouldn’t be surprised if most of them went back for another Tesla even after they knew the “hassle” of not having at-home charging.

A modern EV is a fully capable primary vehicle. A lot of people come to this forum for advice before they make their first EV purchase (I know I did). Let’s stop gatekeeping with rigid numbers and start helping prospective buyers figure out if the real-world trade-offs align with what's important to them.

 

[matwlev]

Level 1 is fine for a daily commuter, as long as the round trip isn’t too long - 30 miles or less. Just plug it in every night. If there’s a fast charger nearby, you don’t really need to worry if it’s your only car.

I think my big issue here is setting an arbitrary barrier like “30 miles or less.” It frames EV ownership as far more restrictive than it actually is, just like the idea that you must have a gasoline “safety net” if it’s your only car. If everyday utility were the only metric, the Corolla would outsell the F-150 by a mile.

Every driver has a completely different set of variables to consider and reasons for looking into or owning an EV. Instead of telling people what won't work based on a hard mileage cap, we should help them audit their own routines. If you drive a lot or don't have Level 2 charging at home, consider your proximity to fast chargers, workplace options, or your willingness to plug in during a grocery run. The Tesla bros that lived in the same apartment complex I did ten or so years ago didn’t have any at-home charging. They made it work because they had other reasons to love their cars. I wouldn’t be surprised if most of them went back for another Tesla even after they knew the “hassle” of not having at-home charging.

A modern EV is a fully capable primary vehicle. A lot of people come to this forum for advice before they make their first EV purchase (I know I did). Let’s stop gatekeeping with rigid numbers and start helping prospective buyers figure out if the real-world trade-offs align with what's important to them.

 

[Tampamike]

@matwlev , new buyers want numbers. They don’t yet have a love of the EV because they haven’t driven it yet. An enthusiast, say, an Elon fan boy, is going to buy it no matter what and make it work. Then he’s going to tell you how easy it is, even when it isn’t. Most people curious about an EV, that don’t yet own one, are all interested in numbers. How many times have you been asked “How far does it go?” or “How long does it take to charge?” You can’t just blow smoke up their ass and say “Let’s not quibble over who killed who - it’s a happy car.” You need to tell them what the real numbers are and then let them digest that.

My answer of “30 miles or less” wasn’t meant to be a limit on buying an EV, but an idea, that for a certain use case, it works great and no electrical wiring needed. So, if you really want one, then you can make it work, simply. You can always spend more money and change the dynamic, but for “X,” you wouldn’t need to.

 

[RickMachE]

Winter preconditioning of the battery isn't possible without 240v.
Winter warming of the battery, which can happen 1 to 3 times overnight, isn't possible without 240v.
Those that live in warm climates don't have these issues.

 

[matwlev]

I agree that new buyers ask for numbers, but that's usually because they are stuck in an ICE mindset. In a gas car, range dictates your chores. In an EV, the car charges while it sits. A hard limit like “30 miles or less” might be a totally legit rule for your specific lifestyle, but it completely ignores other variables—like a car that sits idle for 20 hours a day and has plenty of time to recover on Level 1.

The same goes for the idea that you can't rely on public infrastructure. Relying entirely on DC fast charging is a perfectly acceptable way to own an EV for plenty of people who live in apartments or park on the street. Suggesting that a lack of a home charger is a dealbreaker just isn't true anymore; it all comes down to what routine a buyer is comfortable with.

The comment about winter preconditioning perfectly highlights how we as forum members should frame our experiences. Instead of declaring “you need Level 2,” it’s much more helpful to say: “In my experience, I need Level 2 because it gets below freezing here and the cold affects my range.” Suddenly, a buyer in a warm climate (or someone who is happy to use a local fast charger) realizes they don't have a problem to solve.

When people come here for help, dropping absolute barriers based on our own habits just scares them away. If we share our personal experiences as context rather than universal laws, we can help buyers break out of old mindsets and figure out what variables actually matter to their lives.

 

[bojesphob]

I agree that new buyers ask for numbers, but that's usually because they are stuck in an ICE mindset. In a gas car, range dictates your chores. In an EV, the car charges while it sits. A hard limit like “30 miles or less” might be a totally legit rule for your specific lifestyle, but it completely ignores other variables—like a car that sits idle for 20 hours a day and has plenty of time to recover on Level 1.

The same goes for the idea that you can't rely on public infrastructure. Relying entirely on DC fast charging is a perfectly acceptable way to own an EV for plenty of people who live in apartments or park on the street. Suggesting that a lack of a home charger is a dealbreaker just isn't true anymore; it all comes down to what routine a buyer is comfortable with.

The comment about winter preconditioning perfectly highlights how we as forum members should frame our experiences. Instead of declaring “you need Level 2,” it’s much more helpful to say: “In my experience, I need Level 2 because it gets below freezing here and the cold affects my range.” Suddenly, a buyer in a warm climate (or someone who is happy to use a local fast charger) realizes they don't have a problem to solve.

When people come here for help, dropping absolute barriers based on our own habits just scares them away. If we share our personal experiences as context rather than universal laws, we can help buyers break out of old mindsets and figure out what variables actually matter to their lives.

Yeah, I get so many people who can't wrap their head around how an EV can actually save you time, overall! I keep having people say to me "well, I can fill up in under 5 minutes when I need fuel". Yes, and you had to drive 1.5-5 miles one way out of your way to then spend 3-5 minutes fueling up. That 3 minute fill up cost you about 15-20 minutes of your time, and then you had to go out of your way to do it. I make sure to plug my EV in when I get home and it needs charge, which it takes me about 3 seconds to do, and when I go to leave the next drive, it's ready to go. No mental calculations to see what day I have to stop and spend over 100 dollars to fuel up, nor any calculations to see if I'm low on fuel and can make it home today and drive again tomorrow, or if I need to stop to get gas. One of my favorite sayings has always been "just because it has always been done that way doesn't mean that it's not incredibly stupid".

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