[Rick Altman]

What a bizarre set of circumstances we have when buying an EV today: 1) you have to comb the entire country; 2) be ready to pivot on a moment's notice; 3) accept any color; 4) no bargaining; and 5) oh yes, be ready to retrofit your garage.

Our washer/dryer is right next to our garage, so I am hopeful that an electrician can make easy work of adding a charger, but I don't know the first thing about how to make this happen. Can I hire any old qualified electrician or is this specialized expertise? What do I need to make sure to ask? What do I watch out for? And what's up with the Level 1/2 cables that most cars come with but the EV6 does not? Do I need to buy them? And what does Level 1 and 2 mean, anyway?

As you can see, I have lots of questions. As I wait. And then might get on a plane to who knows where to buy a car yesterday...

 

[ELUNO]

Level 1 = Regular wall plug you plug your TV on. Super slow charge.
Level 2 = The dryer plug. Faster charge.

 

[ELUNO]

 

[lukez]

To start, if you want something wired specifically for the charger it would need to run from your electric breaker panel. Where that is will depend on how hard/how much it will cost.
If you want to unplug your dryer or have a free dryer outlet there already, you can plug in a portable charger and no electrician needed

 

[ELUNO]

To start, if you want something wired specifically for the charger it would need to run from your electric breaker panel. Where that is will depend on how hard/how much it will cost.
If you want to unplug your dryer or have a free dryer outlet there already, you can plug in a portable charger and no electrician needed

Just be aware that the dryer probably only has a lower (20-30?) amp fuse at the panel, so it would still be a slower charge than he can get with a proper install.

 

[Rick Altman]

Thanks to those who have already responded. What about this cable that most cars come with but the Kia does not? Is that a separate purchase, apart from the installation? Do most of you own a Level 1 and a 2 cable? How is it used? Where does one buy it?

 

[lukez]

Correct it does not come witn and it depends what you want to do. Hardwire/not removable or something portable you can plug in and unplug to take with you on a trip?
Search for hardwired or portable evse, lots of options but charge point is probably most popular.

 

[ELUNO]

I have a hardwired chargepoint. I kept my level 1 charger from my old plug in hybrid, but I have never ever used it since I installed the chargepoint. I only carry it in case of emergencies.

 

[Rick Altman]

Here’s the thing I’m not clear on: why do I need to buy a cable at all? Won’t the charger that I install in my house have a cable? And if I go to an Electrify America station, won’t it have a cable? Why do people buy a cable? Is it just for the odd times when you might need to charge at someone else’s home? Is it like owning jumper cables?

 

[lukez]

Correct the hardwired charger will come with a cable. You keep saying "cable" but there is no such thing. You can't just buy a cable by itself. All the cables are attached to a charger, either hardwired at home, hard wired publicly or portable. Your only decision is which charger you want, not what cable.

 

[Reacher]

I believe so. My Grizzl-E charger came with a 24 ft "cable". The charging stations obviously have a cable. There was a level 1 charging plug in my trunk so I plan on keeping an extension cord in there as well for use in an emergency. Will any outdoor extension cord work?

 

[Rick Altman]

Thank you for correcting my bad syntax! So the type of charger that doesn’t come with the Kia is a portable charger that is optional if one has a charging station at home, is that right?

 

[ELUNO]

Thank you for correcting my bad syntax! So the type of charger that doesn’t come with the Kia is a portable charger that is optional if one has a charging station at home, is that right?

That is correct.

 

[Cnsheets]

Heres a simple chart that shows typical charge rates and range gains based on charger level type, level 1 is obviously super slow. Various factors will impact these numbers, actual breaker size/charge current, temperatures, etc.

 

[EV61ED4ME]

Here’s the thing I’m not clear on: why do I need to buy a cable at all? Won’t the charger that I install in my house have a cable? And if I go to an Electrify America station, won’t it have a cable? Why do people buy a cable? Is it just for the odd times when you might need to charge at someone else’s home? Is it like owning jumper cables?

Yes. People carry the level 1 or travel charger if they are away from home and need a charge. I have one with 3 adapters for different wall plugs so that it can also act as a Level 2 charger. I also bought a Tesla to J1772 adapter if I encounter a Tesla destination charger at a hotel and need to charge. It does NOT work on the Tesla superchargers. Also, I admit that I am the King of Overkill and may rarely need any of these. Better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.

 

[tonester]

OP--if you find that your driving needs/habits are such that you don't see yourself driving more than ~40 miles daily and/or between charges, then you can probably get by with a Level 1 charger that plugs into your average 120V outlet; if OTOH you find that you'll typically drive way more than 40 miles between charges and/or you're the type who doesn't like having to wait more than 8 hours for their EV to charge up (while plugged in at home) and give you enough range to cover you until the next time you charge, then go with a Level 2 charger. There are portable Level 1/2 chargers that can plug into both 120V and 240V sockets (may need a plug adapter)--there are a few that can do 32A or higher but the majority of the portable Level 1/2 ~$200 chargers offer up a max of 16A charging.

Folks go with wall-mounted Level 2 chargers because those can do 40A or 50A, as well as offer remote monitoring (via Wifi or BT); needless to say, these types of chargers are not portable (i.e., not meant to be used as "travel" chargers).

If Kia had included a charger with the EV6 (here in the U.S.) it would most likely have been a Level 1 charger meant to be plugged into a 120V outlet. If you don't see yourself driving a lot of miles each day then you could get by with a portable Level 1/2 charger, in which case just make sure that it is UL (or CE)-listed.(the Shell one is a pretty decent compromise in that it can do 40A, although IIRC there is some debate as to whether it is UL-listed), Dunno if you have a budget when it comes to chargers but let's just say that wall-mounted Level 2 chargers will cost more than portable Level 1/2 chargers, and that chargers capable of higher amperage will cost more than those that offer fewer amps.

 

[KiaevCan]

Heres a simple chart that shows typical charge rates and range gains based on charger level type, level 1 is obviously super slow. Various factors will impact these numbers, actual breaker size/charge current, temperatures, etc.


View attachment 3969

Nice graphic. That DCFC needs to be updated though. <90kW is now <350kW and <125A is now <500A

also, 11kW is more than 20 miles an hour (that’s 32A/6.6-7kW right?)

 

[jeffh]

I have a level 2 ChargePoint (240V, 50A) charger in my garage and just bought a Webasto Charging Systems TurboCord Dual 120/240V Plug-In portable cord that I will keep in the car to use when I travel to visit family. The TurboCord can plug into a regular 120 outlet or a 240 dryer outlet if one is available.

 

[antnida]

My dryer 30 amp max with NEMA 14-30, I bought a Splitvolt unit to manage the auto switching when drying my clothes and charging the car, bought a Juicebox 32 (my utility company gave $500 rebate for this unit). Super simple plug and play. I can only charge max at 24 amp but not a problem because I only drive about 100 miles per day.

 

[dc30307]

If you want a quick/easy way to calculate charging times & range per charge hour, there's a handy calculator here.