sunnyman
Member
- I don't have a garage to park my Bolt in, once it arrives. I have a carport that keeps the weather off, but the car will live in ambient outside temps.
- I find little value in the included L1 portable charge cord. I have a portable charge cord that i will keep in the car that will do both L1 (120 volts) and L2 (240 volts). I was at a loss as to what to do with the included L1 portable charger.
- I read in the manual that they recommend plugging the car in (or driving) when temps are 32 degrees or colder, or 90 degrees or hotter.
- I like to keep the batteries between 20% and 80% charge level.
- I don't drive a lot during the week. most driving is on the weekends, so the car sits idle in the driveway for 4 -6 day stretches.
with all this in mind, i came up with a use for the included L1 charge cord that might be useful for others without a garage. this past weekend I wired up an outdoor rated thermostat switch with a temp range of -30 to 220 degrees F. the portable charger will plug directly into the thermostat switch. i plan to plug the L1 cord into the car, at 8 amps, during Winter and at the height of Summer. This way, anytime the temps dip below 33 degrees, power will be supplied to the car to warm the batteries until the outside temps rise to 37 degrees. If the temps climb above 89 degrees, power will be supplied to the car to cool the batteries until outside temps go back down to 85 degrees. All the temperature values are easily adjusted as needed. I figure at a mere 8 amps, 120 volts, I can keep the charge between 20% and 80% with relative ease. I thought this might work for others without a garage.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/johnnycee/31516670624/in/dateposted-public/
- I find little value in the included L1 portable charge cord. I have a portable charge cord that i will keep in the car that will do both L1 (120 volts) and L2 (240 volts). I was at a loss as to what to do with the included L1 portable charger.
- I read in the manual that they recommend plugging the car in (or driving) when temps are 32 degrees or colder, or 90 degrees or hotter.
- I like to keep the batteries between 20% and 80% charge level.
- I don't drive a lot during the week. most driving is on the weekends, so the car sits idle in the driveway for 4 -6 day stretches.
with all this in mind, i came up with a use for the included L1 charge cord that might be useful for others without a garage. this past weekend I wired up an outdoor rated thermostat switch with a temp range of -30 to 220 degrees F. the portable charger will plug directly into the thermostat switch. i plan to plug the L1 cord into the car, at 8 amps, during Winter and at the height of Summer. This way, anytime the temps dip below 33 degrees, power will be supplied to the car to warm the batteries until the outside temps rise to 37 degrees. If the temps climb above 89 degrees, power will be supplied to the car to cool the batteries until outside temps go back down to 85 degrees. All the temperature values are easily adjusted as needed. I figure at a mere 8 amps, 120 volts, I can keep the charge between 20% and 80% with relative ease. I thought this might work for others without a garage.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/johnnycee/31516670624/in/dateposted-public/