Is an eGolf for me? Don't have 240v in garage yet...

[GeneralMothball]

My (parked!) car was totalled recently, so I'm in the market for a new one.

I was thinking of an eGolf.

Questions:
1. My garage only has 110v plugs. My circuit breaker panel supports 100A, but the inspector pointed and laughed at how old it was when I bought the place. I was planning to redo the electrical mid-next year. How many amps does the car draw while charging?

2. On the VW website, the base model doesn't have an onboard charger. What does this mean from a practical level?

3. Half the week my daily driving is 5 miles. Half the week my daily driving is 30miles (San Mateo, CA area to SF) - where there are no charging stations. Will I be able to round trip?

Thanks!

 

[Bmwtech]

1) You will need to upgrade your panel. Period. 30-40 amp charger should be installed.
2) The current base model, the SE, doesn't support 7.2 kwh charge level. That means many, many hours to charge your car up. The SEL does support it and takes 30 minutes with DV fast but more likely, 2-4 hours at most charging stations. Highly recommend the SEL Premium e-Golf.
3) Download the Plugshare app. There are stations ALL OVER SF! In fact, here in the Bay Area the infrastructure is pretty awesome and getting better.

Whether this car is for you or not is a personal decision. I love mine. Yes, there is an adjustment: You can not just hop in the car and drive to Los Angeles. But it drives like a dream, doesn't stand out like a sore thumb, and is really quite a deal after you take $10,000.00 off the gov't gives us

 

[JoulesThief]

My (parked!) car was totalled recently, so I'm in the market for a new one.

I was thinking of an eGolf.

Questions:
1. My garage only has 110v plugs. My circuit breaker panel supports 100A, but the inspector pointed and laughed at how old it was when I bought the place. I was planning to redo the electrical mid-next year. How many amps does the car draw while charging?

2. On the VW website, the base model doesn't have an onboard charger. What does this mean from a practical level?

3. Half the week my daily driving is 5 miles. Half the week my daily driving is 30miles (San Mateo, CA area to SF) - where there are no charging stations. Will I be able to round trip?

Thanks!

The 120V 1.3kwh charger that comes with the car will work fine for your current usage. If you get the 7.2 Kw onboard charger and quick charging, in the SEL model, you'll probably want a 40 amp circuit added with a 30 amp outlet. If load calculations don't allow it, a 25 amp circuit for a 20 amp Clipper Creek unit will still give you 4.8kwh, enough to charge your car in 4 or 5 hours. A 20 amp circuit breaker and 15 amp Clipper Creek 240V unit would fine if you got the SE model with the 3.6kw charger pack, but it will charge slower in all circumstances, and the SE model does not even have the level 3 SAE quickcharge option outlet yet, that can charge you to 80% in 20 minutes, and close to 90% or more in 30 minutes, useful if you have a 150 160 mile day of driving to do.

It all depends on your usage. I insist on being able to charge at level 2 charge rates with 6.0 to 7.2 kw being taken on board at a public charger if I am already there. Your needs may vary. A quick charger feature and 7.2.kw charger make for more options to expand the range of your vehicle, for emergency or other purposes.

 

[JoulesThief]

Whether this car is for you or not is a personal decision. I love mine. Yes, there is an adjustment: You can not just hop in the car and drive to Los Angeles. But it drives like a dream, doesn't stand out like a sore thumb, and is really quite a deal after you take $10,000.00 off the gov't gives us

No, but you can hop on a plane, fly to Los Angeles, buy a new SEL for a smoking deal, jump in the car, and drive from Valencia to Nor Cal in a 24 hour period with an SEL model. You can't do that with the current SE model. Know anyone that's done that recently, say in the past week? :twisted:

 

[Bmwtech]

Whether this car is for you or not is a personal decision. I love mine. Yes, there is an adjustment: You can not just hop in the car and drive to Los Angeles. But it drives like a dream, doesn't stand out like a sore thumb, and is really quite a deal after you take $10,000.00 off the gov't gives us

No, but you can hop on a plane, fly to Los Angeles, buy a new SEL for a smoking deal, jump in the car, and drive from Valencia to Nor Cal in a 24 hour period with an SEL model. You can't do that with the current SE model. Know anyone that's done that recently, say in the past week? :twisted:

LOL, LA kicks ass on so many levels!

 

[johnnylingo]

A 20 amp circuit breaker and 15 amp Clipper Creek 240V unit would fine if you got the SE model with the 3.6kw charger pack, but it will charge slower in all circumstances

About what would be the time for a full charge with this setup?

I also have an older 100 amp panel. To complicate things a bit I'm a solar panel owner on PG&E's E-6 plan, so it's in my best interest to delay charging until after 8 PM. I don't leave for work until about 10 AM, so am wondering what kind of range I can expect off that 14 hour overnight charge.

I am planning to go with the SEL as I like the idea of having DC fast charging as an option for when I'm north of Mountain View (not to mention the bigger screen + navigation), but am a bit concerned I'm looking at a costly electrical upgrade to keep it charged at home.

 

[miimura]

15A * 240V / 1000 * 85% * 4mi/kWh = 12.24 mi/hr charging with the 15A Clipper Creek unit mentioned above. 6 hours will fill an SE. Home charging is not the problem with the SE. Charging away from home is the thing that stinks.

 

[JoulesThief]

A 20 amp circuit breaker and 15 amp Clipper Creek 240V unit would fine if you got the SE model with the 3.6kw charger pack, but it will charge slower in all circumstances

About what would be the time for a full charge with this setup?

I also have an older 100 amp panel. To complicate things a bit I'm a solar panel owner on PG&E's E-6 plan, so it's in my best interest to delay charging until after 8 PM. I don't leave for work until about 10 AM, so am wondering what kind of range I can expect off that 14 hour overnight charge.

I am planning to go with the SEL as I like the idea of having DC fast charging as an option for when I'm north of Mountain View (not to mention the bigger screen + navigation), but am a bit concerned I'm looking at a costly electrical upgrade to keep it charged at home.

1. 5 to 8 hours

2. With your stock 1.3kw that comes with the car, figure 4 to 5 miles added per hour, depending how you drive. If you drive gentle, and slower, 35 to 45 mph, the charger will add 5 mile of range per charging hour. If you drive 65 mph, figure 4 miles added per hour. It all depends on what kind of miles per kw of battery charge you end up with. Drive nice and smooth, your range extends, drive rough or choppy on the throttle, your range decreases.

3. I am sure with a 100 amp panel, you can add a 20 amp circuit in 240V, and get a 3.6 kwh Clipper Creek 240V charger. However, if you see yourself going all electric in the future, for your cars, with more range and more efficient batteries, I'd do my best to pull a dedicated, timed, off hour 40 amp branch circuit, and upgrade my lighting in my home to more efficient LED's everywhere else.

http://www.clippercreek.com/store/product/charging-station-lcs-20-level-2/

The hardwired version only requires a 20 amp breaker, the plug in version requires a 30 amp circuit.

http://www.clippercreek.com/store/product/lcs-20p-15-amp-ev-charging-station-22-ft-cable-nema-14-30-with-holster/


Food for thought... if you need to recharge away from home, at a public charger, many have a 2 hour time limit for charging. That's going to not add very much range with your 3.6kw on board charger. It will add double the range with a 7.2kw onboard charger. Remember, you are at a charging station, it's not a parking spot to hog, while you dilly dally to get a full charge. Sit there too long and others will pull the plug on your car, and you won't have enough charge to get home without stopping somewhere else to recharge. Crappy Volts with their 3.2kw chargers are some of the worst offenders of this, their owners don't seem to "get it", even when they have another means of charging their car while driving. A Volt is a hybrid, not a true BEV, and there are a ton of them out there, at least here in Los Angeles, always tying up the charging station like it's their own parking lot, for 4 or more hours at a time, so they don't have to pay to charge at home, and they are dead slow in recharging.

PHEV's can use charging stations, but they don't need to, BEV's NEED to use charging stations, they don't have the option to use the ICE that PHEV's have. BEV's are fully committed, PHEV's are not, they are for people that can't get off sucking on the hind tit when they should be through with nursing. They are nothing more than transitional vehicles for people that can only take baby steps, that won't let go of the old ways and go full electric.