Any negative effects from charging @ lower Amperage? (level1)

the slower the better my friend, tho not much.

 

I would check the charging loss is higher than the stock charger.

 

Why do you use that EVSE rather than the stock one that comes with the car? Just to be able to charge even slower?

 

if this unit's paltry 1,400watts stresses your wiring - then there's a bigger concern than 120v being more loss-ie than 240v.

 

Totally agree

 

This is anecdotal evidence, but I used to only use the stock EVSE until the past few weeks when I started using a Level 2 charger here and there. Since I started using the L2, my fully charged range has slightly decreased (on the dash reading and in actual performance).

The weather hasn't really changed, so the only thing I can chalk it up to that changed was use of a L2 charger.

So maybe low and slow is better for the battery somehow.

 

there may be something to that, but i'm not sure. when you get near the end of the charging cycle, it slows way down. perhaps it then tops up a bit more on L1 than L2? i have also noticed that if you unplug near the end of the charging cycle, if you plug it back in, it may not resume.

 

No.

If you sometimes have a lot of other loads on the same breaker it makes sense.

 

Charging the battery makes it heat up. The higher the charging current the more it heats up.
Discharging the battery also causes it to heat up. High internal cell temperatures are one of the main causes of reduced Li Ion battery service life.
This is why it is recommended to let the battery cool after use before charging it again.
If you don't worry about how long the charge is going to take, setting a lower charge current should extend the service life of the battery.
Because the battery temperature is monitored throughout the charging cycle the extra heat generated during higher current charging could be the reason the charging system seems to finish the charge with a lower total charge capacity than when it is charging at the lower current setting.

 

2013 Volts default to 8 amps charging. You have to manually switch to 12 amps every time you plug. GM supposedly made the change to decrease the load on the circuit.

I'm with you on this one. I have older wires in my home. I charge overnight so unless the charge time were double digit hours, I don't mind a slower charge time to put less load on my circuits. I found out my space heater in the living room was on the same circuit as my car when the fuse blew last winter. My space heater is built into the chimney so I can't just move it. I may install a dedicated circuit in my garage in the future but not for 11 EV miles.

 

Also supposed to be better to not leave battery at high States of charge for too long, so slow charging right before use is good.