Understanding charging speeds 3.6 vs 7.2kwh 1,2,3 levels

[JoulesThief]

http://longtailpipe.com/ebooks/gree...chademo-ccs-sae-combo-tesla-supercharger-etc/

If, in being cheap and saving on the price up front of your e-Golf, you bought a 3.6kwh charger on a 2016 e-Golf SE, you just penalized yourself, time wise, at public charging stations, since most have a 2 hour limit, and you'll be lucky to add 30 miles of range in 2 hours. Best to charge at home, overnight.

 

[Slomove]

If, in being cheap and saving on the price up front of your e-Golf, you bought a 3.6kwh charger on your 2015 e-Golf Limited Edition, or a 2016 e-Golf SE, you just penalized yourself, time wise, at public charging stations, since most have a 2 hour limit, and you'll be lucky to add 30 miles of range in 2 hours. Best to charge at home, overnight.

That is a bit bit judgmental, I guess...You may call it cheap but it is exactly what I need (and maybe some other folks, too). In the 4 weeks that I have the car (2016SE) I have yet to use a public charging station (some have the charm and cleanliness of a public restroom anyway). I just do my daily commute, charge up twice a week at home and if I have to go beyond 70 miles (quite rarely) I just take another car. I rather take the substantial price difference and invest in good food or wine

 

[johnnylingo]

Yup, really depends on usage patterns. If you're always charging at home or get free charging at work, there's really no reason to drop $6,000 or pay an extra $120/month for the upgraded charger.

 

[miimura]

If, in being cheap and saving on the price up front of your e-Golf, you bought a 3.6kwh charger on your 2015 e-Golf Limited Edition, or a 2016 e-Golf SE, you just penalized yourself, time wise, at public charging stations, since most have a 2 hour limit, and you'll be lucky to add 30 miles of range in 2 hours. Best to charge at home, overnight.

All 2015 USA e-Golf vehicles have 7.2kW on-board charger and SAE Combo Fast Charge inlet. The 2016 e-Golf SE is the first USA e-Golf to come with a 3.6kW on-board charger and without Fast Charging.

 

[JoulesThief]

If, in being cheap and saving on the price up front of your e-Golf, you bought a 3.6kwh charger on your 2015 e-Golf Limited Edition, or a 2016 e-Golf SE, you just penalized yourself, time wise, at public charging stations, since most have a 2 hour limit, and you'll be lucky to add 30 miles of range in 2 hours. Best to charge at home, overnight.

All 2015 USA e-Golf vehicles have 7.2kW on-board charger and SAE Combo Fast Charge inlet. The 2016 e-Golf SE is the first USA e-Golf to come with a 3.6kW on-board charger and without Fast Charging.

I stand corrected, by Mr. Imura. 7.2kW for all 2015 US e-Golfs.

3.6kw starting in the SE model in 2016, to lower the entry price point level, considerably. If it's anything like the early model Nissan Leafs for resale value with the slower charger pack, or the Tesla's without supercharger feature, well, VW dealerships are going to get a whole new bunch of Newbies in 3 years when the leases are up on these 2016 SE's. History repeats itself.

Though it kind of makes one wonder, why VW puts in a SAE charger that will take Level 3, then the owners manual tells you not to use it, except sparingly.

 

[johnnylingo]

VW dealerships are going to get a whole new bunch of Newbies in 3 years when the leases are up on these 2016 SE's. History repeats itself.

Gotta disagree here. Firstly, the "buyer's remorse" on the 1st generation Leafs seemed more due to battery degradation than charging speed. This went hand and hand with many buyers thinking the Leaf could completely replace their gas burner - not really true, of course.

Secondly, there's an option to buy at the end of the e-Golf lease for a reasonable amount, somewhere around $12k if I recall. For many if not most, it will make a lot more sense to go this route rather than turn around and buy/lease a new one. Especially if the $7500 credit is gone. Considering we've got a Republican Congress for the foreseeable future and will have a new President starting 2017, this is entirely possible.

Finally, looking ahead 2-3 years, ranges of 200+ miles may be the new standard. This will drive the market more than anything related to the charging speed. However, demand for used EVs could increase if we go back to $4/gal gas - also entirely possible.

 

[DeafEyeJedi]

First post here...

Happy Owner of 2016 eGolf SE and it has come to my conclusion that it may be more wise to stick with the 3.6 charger that came with my car because I had just returned my nice looking Bosch Level 2 charge system (which costed me over $600) only because my Power Panel in the house that I live in happened to be too old and had to be replaced. Which costed too much for me to invest at the moment.

So far with owning this car for 3 weeks and have been driving 60 miles round trip daily. Fully Charged at home I get about 99 miles and drive on freeways to work in Eco Mode 2 (sometimes #3 if traffic) with Recuperation at Stage 3 (which I love) since it basically keeps the estimated milages afloat as high as possible. I try to avoid driving in Regular (Power) mode just because it can be quite addicting... It is indeed pretty quick for an electric car! :mrgreen:

By the time I get to work after driving 31 miles I usually get about 55-60 miles left on my battery and usually takes about 7-8 hours to fully charge it back up to 99 miles (which is perfect after a whole day of work) and then by the time I get home it's usually about the same more or less and charge it overnight for another 6-7 hours or so which seems to work out so far on my end.

If timing persist then I would just go to a Fast 2 charging station (usually Metro Stations are the cheapest) being $3 for however long I leave my car in while charging per session.

Hope this helps!

Happy Driving...

 

[bizzle]

First post here...

Happy Owner of 2016 eGolf SE and it has come to my conclusion that it may be more wise to stick with the 3.6 charger that came with my car because I had just returned my nice looking Bosch Level 2 charge system (which costed me over $600) only because my Power Panel in the house that I live in happened to be too old and had to be replaced. Which costed too much for me to invest at the moment.

So far with owning this car for 3 weeks and have been driving 60 miles round trip daily. Fully Charged at home I get about 99 miles and drive on freeways to work in Eco Mode 2 (sometimes #3 if traffic) with Recuperation at Stage 3 (which I love) since it basically keeps the estimated milages afloat as high as possible. I try to avoid driving in Regular (Power) mode just because it can be quite addicting... It is indeed pretty quick for an electric car! :mrgreen:

By the time I get to work after driving 31 miles I usually get about 55-60 miles left on my battery and usually takes about 7-8 hours to fully charge it back up to 99 miles (which is perfect after a whole day of work) and then by the time I get home it's usually about the time and charge it overnight for another 6-7 hours or so which seems to work out so far on my end.

If timing persist then I would just go to a Fast 2 charging station (usually Metro Stations are the cheapest) being $3 for however long I leave my car in while charging per session.

Hope this helps!

Happy Driving...

I set carnet up to stop charging about 15 minutes before my wife leaves for work and set it up so that it only charges to 80% to preserve the battery.

I also drive the car like a bat out of hell and I don't know what she does when I'm not around but the stock charger has been fine for us. If you've got extra range to spare each day you're not doing the battery any favors by keeping it completely topped off so no reason to gimp your driving style

 

[JoulesThief]

s before my wife leaves for work and set it up so that it only charges to 80% to preserve the battery.

I also drive the car like a bat out of hell and I don't know what she does when I'm not around but the stock charger has been fine for us. If you've got extra range to spare each day you're not doing the battery any favors by keeping it completely topped off so no reason to gimp your driving style

How well do you understand equalize charging Lithium ion battery packs? You might want to Google that.

 

[JoulesThief]

If, in being cheap and saving on the price up front of your e-Golf, you bought a 3.6kwh charger on your 2015 e-Golf Limited Edition, or a 2016 e-Golf SE, you just penalized yourself, time wise, at public charging stations, since most have a 2 hour limit, and you'll be lucky to add 30 miles of range in 2 hours. Best to charge at home, overnight.

That is a bit bit judgmental, I guess...You may call it cheap but it is exactly what I need (and maybe some other folks, too). In the 4 weeks that I have the car (2016SE) I have yet to use a public charging station (some have the charm and cleanliness of a public restroom anyway). I just do my daily commute, charge up twice a week at home and if I have to go beyond 70 miles (quite rarely) I just take another car. I rather take the substantial price difference and invest in good food or wine

How much dividends or interest income does that food or wine generate for you?

 

[Slomove]

Sorry, this site does not seem to have a tong-in-cheek smiley. What I meant is that I would spend money unwisely for a feature I don't need and can use it for a better purpose. Like saving for retirement or donating to charity. But then, the idea of food and wine is not that bad, after all. May not last long but makes me happy for a great moment

 

[JoulesThief]

Sorry, this site does not seem to have a tong-in-cheek smiley. What I meant is that I would spend money unwisely for a feature I don't need and can use it for a better purpose. Like saving for retirement or donating to charity. But then, the idea of food and wine is not that bad, after all. May not last long but makes me happy for a great moment

True, true and true, all good causes on your part. :thumbs up

 

[DeafEyeJedi]

I set carnet up to stop charging about 15 minutes before my wife leaves for work and set it up so that it only charges to 80% to preserve the battery.

I also drive the car like a bat out of hell and I don't know what she does when I'm not around but the stock charger has been fine for us. If you've got extra range to spare each day you're not doing the battery any favors by keeping it completely topped off so no reason to gimp your driving style

I also asked the VW staffers about properly charging the batteries within cycle charge rather than changing from halfway through everyday and they actually said the battery is "so smart" that it doesn't matter when or how soon you charge it up.

Hopefully that's true.

And yes I do sometimes drive this beast in Normal (power) mode which is electrifying fast! Especially for a Golf (electric or not) straight up but then again the Eco and Eco+ modes do come in handy for certain situations.

The worse flaw so far is the stupid passenger seat seat belt bug (which has been reported in 2015 eGolf) and now this again with 2016?

C'mon VW!

And by the way why do I have to turn off the Auto AC @ 72 degrees every single time I turn on the car. It's so annoying!!!!

 

[mfennell]

s before my wife leaves for work and set it up so that it only charges to 80% to preserve the battery.

I also drive the car like a bat out of hell and I don't know what she does when I'm not around but the stock charger has been fine for us. If you've got extra range to spare each day you're not doing the battery any favors by keeping it completely topped off so no reason to gimp your driving style

How well do you understand equalize charging Lithium ion battery packs? You might want to Google that.

What are you trying to say? Don't charge to 80%? Make sure you let it sit plugged in for a while? The pack certainly has some kind of balancing mechanism but any cell drift is likely to take a long time to manifest based on what the Leaf guys say. Without knowing what VW actually does, random reading about equalization techniques is not very useful.

 

[JoulesThief]

s before my wife leaves for work and set it up so that it only charges to 80% to preserve the battery.

I also drive the car like a bat out of hell and I don't know what she does when I'm not around but the stock charger has been fine for us. If you've got extra range to spare each day you're not doing the battery any favors by keeping it completely topped off so no reason to gimp your driving style

How well do you understand equalize charging Lithium ion battery packs? You might want to Google that.

What are you trying to say? Don't charge to 80%? Make sure you let it sit plugged in for a while? The pack certainly has some kind of balancing mechanism but any cell drift is likely to take a long time to manifest based on what the Leaf guys say. Without knowing what VW actually does, random reading about equalization techniques is not very useful.

Equalizing only occurs when left to top charge or fully charge to 100% state of charge, which is a slow process . Maybe google "equalize charging lithium ion batteries" to learn more.

 

[mfennell]

How well do you understand equalize charging Lithium ion battery packs? You might want to Google that.

What are you trying to say? Don't charge to 80%? Make sure you let it sit plugged in for a while? The pack certainly has some kind of balancing mechanism but any cell drift is likely to take a long time to manifest based on what the Leaf guys say. Without knowing what VW actually does, random reading about equalization techniques is not very useful.

Equalizing only occurs when left to top charge or fully charge to 100% state of charge, which is a slow process.

I suspected that's what you were getting at. You should have just said so. Do you have a reference to VW documentation that says that? Because it almost certainly does not only top-balance.

The Leaf BMS has been shown to activate balancing at any time when plugged in. Consensus is that an occasional multi-hour top-balance is a good idea if you need maximum usable capacity. For those who don't, a few cells not perfectly in sync is a small price to pay for the lifespan improvements found from lower max charge levels IMHO.