Which cable ??

[Ray]

Hi
I've asked a few questions in here and I've been helped alot. My question this time is about charging cables. I have a 69 plate PHEV and I charge her overnight with my granny charger using a 3 pin outdoor socket. What I'd like to do is use public charging points when I'm out and about. I've read that I can get 80% in about 30 mins , but I'm not sure which charging cable to buy ........ can anybody advise me please ?? Also I'm not clear on payment ...... which card should I use or aquire please ?? Many many thank you for any advice offered. Cheers

Ray

 

[ThudnBlundr]

The PHEV maxes out at 3.6kW on a type 2 AC charger (like your granny), so it's at least 1½ hours to charge back to 80%, possibly longer depending on the state of your battery. The PHEV uses a type 1 connecter, so you'd need to buy a type 1 to type 2 cable for ~£100 new or~£50 secondhand. For comparison, your granny maxes out at 10A (~2.5kW) as that's the sustained load for a normal plug. A normal household type 2 socket can typically deliver 7.2kW, or double what the PHEV can draw

The alternative is to use the Chademo DC charger (cable always included), which will give you 80% in around 20 minutes. That would be great for a stop on a long journey if the prices charged nowadays weren't significantly more than it costs to run the car on petrol. At 30p per kWh, it was just about worth doing. Now it's double or triple that, it's just not worth it.

 

[Ray]

Thanks again Thud. It's the CHAdeMO cable that I'm looking to buy. Are all CHAdeMO cables the same ? ... I mean , CHAdeMO at one end but what sort of plug is on the other end ?? Cheers mate.

 

[Hasenphever]

You can't buy a Chademo cable. The other end is connected to a 350V supply, which is a level 3 charger and is beyond what most household or commercial outlets can supply. You are limited to using what Chademo chargers exist out there to get you 16kW of charge within 38 minutes. But in the real-world, the cost of of obtaining 80% of charge is currently the most expensive way to do it because of what the companies charge per charge time.

 

[Ray]

Ahh I'm beginning to understand now , thank you. So if all I've got in the way of cables is my charger with a 3 pin domestic plug on the end ......... what other cable should I buy please ?? Thank you.

 

[ThudnBlundr]

You don't need to buy any other cables.

You could buy that type 1 to type 2 cable, but is it really worth it? Unless you get cheap/free charging away from home and are able to charge for over 2 hours at 3.6kW, you gain very little. Don't forget that while you add less than 10 miles of range per hour, you'll be blocking cars that could potentially charge at 60 miles per hour or more - you won't be popular! To use it at home, you'd have to install a type 2 (EVSE) charge point, which is many hundreds to install. We have an EV, so already had a charger at home: so buying a cable wasn't too difficult a choice.

 

[Ray]

Cheers Thud. Thanks for all your advice. It sounds like you've saved me wasting my money. I don't need any help wasting my money as I have a wife who's already busy doing that. LOL

Ray

 

[Hasenphever]

I bought an extra level 1 EVSE (used on ebay is the cheapest I found) to plug into a regular wall outlet when I am away from home. That way I can leave one at home and one in the car for convenience. The one in the car I plug into friend and family houses that are further away. I even found a regular outlet in two parking garages when I was staying overnight in nearby hotels so its handy to have one in the car.

The other commercial charging stations (like the ones you see on the side of the street or in a parking lot) all have their own cables to connect to so you don't need worry about a cable for those situations. But consider the cost of connecting to these stations; most will charge per hour and b/c the Outlander does not have a fast charger on-board it can be more expensive to charge to 80% with these chargers than setting it to Charge and have the ICE recharge the battery to 80% in 90 minutes (so charges at about 10-11 kWh vs 3.3 kWh with the electric charge port). Some of these are free for the first 2 or 4 hours. It helps to have an app that tells you what chargers are available where you are and what the cost for charging per hour is. You can usually filter what types of chargers you want to see too.