"EVSE Upgrade" upgrade charges in 2 hours on 120v.

Discussion in 'Gen 1 Prius Plug-in 2012-2015' started by DadofHedgehog, Oct 9, 2012.

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  1. DadofHedgehog

    DadofHedgehog Active Member

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    Folks,

    I am getting a secondary meter installed to gain ToU night rates for the PiP and future electric cars (see "Free Electricity in Virginia" thread for details"). hence, for the 1st time since April when I purchased the PiP, I am charging every night on the OEM EVSE from a 120v line, until the utility plops in the new promised secondary meter. With the electrical work to add a 2d meter base and the inspections and now waiting for the final utility action, my Level 2 charger has been out of order for just over a week.

    Punchline: My EVSE Upgrade - upgraded OEM EVSE now charges routinely in 2 hours whereas the pre-upgrade OEM EVSE routinely took three hours to charge during a multi-state PiP trip last May & June. I got it pEEf-upgraded this August but never got around to testing it until now, as the L2 charger is so much easier.

    How do I know the charging times: Entune "Start" and "Completion" e-mail notifications. For the Level 2 charging, they were routinely 80 - 90 minutes apart. Now they're 120 - 130 minutes apart.

    I know I am using a 120v line in the basement via a window, because I installed said line myself some years ago.

    I run the traction battery down during my commutes and errands to as low as it will go - that's the point of PiPping, right?

    So - anyone else with an EVSE upgraded by pEEf have a similar result?
     
    #1 DadofHedgehog, Oct 9, 2012
  2. John H

    John H Senior Member

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    The EVSE advertises it's max amperage to the vehicle when you plug it in. I always assumed that the EVSE that came with the PiP was matched to the PiP but maybe it is not and only provides 11 amps. The EVSE upgraded by pEEf may advertise 12 or 13 amps and result in faster charging.

    Another possibility is that your home's circuit is a 20 amp circuit and the new EVSE is advertising as much as 16 amps.

    The EVSE that came with 2012 Volts has a setting on it. 6 amps, 8 amps, and 12 amps, in case you have to plug into an old electrical system or a shared circuit.
     
    #2 John H, Oct 9, 2012
  3. DadofHedgehog

    DadofHedgehog Active Member

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    John, I appreciate the info.

    I do understand that the PiP internal charger will regulate the incoming charge so that only 12 amps can come in, hence pEEf's Rev2 upgrade option to 16 Amps is useless for the PiP owners (I got Rev1 for 12 amps). However, your point that my OEM EVSE perhaps wasn't allowing all 12 amps through in its original state might account for the 1/3 quicker charging time. No way to test that theory now because of the EVSE upgrade.

    In any case, I'd love to hear from fellow EVSE Upgraders to see whether their experience matches mine. If so, then pEEf's EVSE Upgrade would be even more worth it than advertised, especially for those without a home Level 2 charger.
     
    #3 DadofHedgehog, Oct 9, 2012
  4. John H

    John H Senior Member

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    mitch672 might know what is going on.
     
    #4 John H, Oct 9, 2012
  5. mitch672

    mitch672 Technology Geek

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    Did someone summon me? :)

    The onboard charger built into the PiP appears to be limited to roughly 2.2KW (based on what's displayed on the ChargePoint network display, 2.236 of course that was likely at 208VAC), which divided by 240V comes out to about 9AMPs at 240Volts. Therefore, anything greater than the 12A evseupgrade is not going to charge the PiP any faster, as the internal charger can't take advtange of the additonal power, even if availble.
     
    #5 mitch672, Oct 9, 2012
    cwerdna likes this.
  6. devprius

    devprius /dev/geek

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    I'm a little confused here. Is the issue that the upgraded OEM EVSE is taking 2 hours at 120V, which would be a nice improvement? Or that it's taking 2 hours at 240V, which is a problem, since it should cut the time in half to 1.5 hours. It's not clear.

    The OEM EVSE has no way of knowing whether it's plugged into a 120V 20A or 15A capable circuit.
     
    #6 devprius, Oct 10, 2012
  7. DadofHedgehog

    DadofHedgehog Active Member

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    The post-"EVSE Upgrade" Toyota EVSE is taking about 2 hours (2 hours 1 minute early this morning) to charge the PiP off a 120v line, whereas before pEEf's upgrade it took 3 hours.

    No complaining at all :) - just a pleasant surprise and I wanted to compare notes with other pEEf EVSE Upgradees out there to see how they are doing on time.

    Reason Level 2 charging came into the discussion: I normally charge at level 2 at home, and because of a utility meter upgrade the L2 charger is temporarily inop, hence I'm back to using the Toyota EVSE and noticed the 1/3 quicker charging as a result.
     
    #7 DadofHedgehog, Oct 10, 2012
  8. chesleyn

    chesleyn Active Member

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    I'm also a bit confused. I did the EVSE upgrade. My home plug is a 240 outside. Takes roughly 1.8 hours.
    If I'm in a hurry, I rarely wait for that last 20 or 30 minutes of trickle charge. It does a great job at filling up the battery fast.

    At work we have old paddle chargers, but they added 120v plugs to the side of them so we can use our personal EVSE's to plug in. That takes 3 hours.. or so I assumed.
     
    #8 chesleyn, Oct 10, 2012
  9. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i thought the upgrade was supposed to reduce charging time to 1.5 hours on 240v? as far as reducing it to 2 hours on 120v as op suggests, i would like to know how that is possible?
     
    #9 bisco, Oct 10, 2012
  10. chesleyn

    chesleyn Active Member

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    I will time it one day and see. As I have a base model I will have to go outside and look at the light on the charge inlet to time how long it is illuminated. The car says 1.8 hours when the battery is at about 23% soc (HV mode). It also says it's pulling down 1.9kw
     
    #10 chesleyn, Oct 10, 2012
  11. John H

    John H Senior Member

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    Another possibility, pure speculation, is that your 3 hour charge times on the roadtrip were at a lower voltage than you have at your home. Your observations during your roadtrip may have been at 105V while you home charging at night might be getting a full 120V or more.
     
    #11 John H, Oct 10, 2012
  12. priuskitty

    priuskitty PIP FAN

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    I don't completely understand what this thread is about but my charging situation at my apartment is my voltage at my outlet is 104 volts and with .1 miles left in EV my charge time is 2 hours and 34 minutes.
     
    #12 priuskitty, Oct 10, 2012
  13. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    104 volts? are you in a third world country?:confused:
     
    #13 bisco, Oct 10, 2012
  14. John H

    John H Senior Member

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    Be Nice!
     
    #14 John H, Oct 10, 2012
  15. priuskitty

    priuskitty PIP FAN

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    parking lot lights on same circuit:cry:
     
    #15 priuskitty, Oct 10, 2012
  16. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    amazing it only takes you that long to charge, mine takes around the same time @ 120v.
     
    #16 bisco, Oct 10, 2012
  17. John H

    John H Senior Member

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    what triggers the PiP to finish charging at the lower amperage toward the end of a charging session? Is it triggered by battery temperature, a timer, state of charge, ???

    That could be the reason for different charge time experiences.

    The Volt kicks in a thermal management system, if needed, to keep the battery within temperature range rather than ramping down the amperage and slowing down the charge rate.
     
    #17 John H, Oct 10, 2012
  18. CharlesH

    CharlesH CA HOV Decal #5 on former PiP

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    The optimal charging pattern for Lithium Ion batteries is complicated. Do it wrong, and you can get an explosion. Even the charger in your cell phone has to modulate the charging rate in a non-trivial way. I would think that all of the mentioned factors come into play.
     
    #18 CharlesH, Oct 10, 2012
  19. Andyprius # 1

    Andyprius # 1 Guest

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    it's not unusual for the voltage to vary a lot. From 100 V to 130 V, especially older buildings. The casino, near us only reads 107 V.
     
    #19 Andyprius # 1, Oct 11, 2012
  20. Coyotefred

    Coyotefred Member

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    'Just received my EVSE upgrade. I see no change in charging time on 120v, and about 1.5 hours charging on 240v. I've charged at several different locations with slightly varying voltages and the charging times are quite similar. 'Nice upgrade, and the optional 110v plug converter is a worthwhile add-on.
     
    #20 Coyotefred, Nov 7, 2012
    cwerdna and lensovet like this.
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