Public charging stations.

[jimball]

I was looking through the plugshare map of public charging stations  and was surprised at the number of charging stations in my part of the country.  (I had no idea!)  On closer examination, I see that there is no industry standard plug.    The EV plug is common, but not ubiquitous.  I could theoretically take my Archimoto just about anywhere I wanted, knowing there would be a charging station available to get me home, but it looks like I would need a trunk load of charging adaptors - not to mention that Tesla Supercharger stations are incompatible.

What was particularly annoying was reading comments from some users about finding EV station parking spots taken by ice vehicles.

https://www.plugshare.com/

[AnimalCage]

Getting "iced" is an issue, and will only get worse as the sales of electric cars outpaces charging station growth.

[SparkE]

I was looking through the plugshare map of public charging stations  and was surprised at the number of charging stations in my part of the country.  (I had no idea!)  On closer examination, I see that there is no industry standard plug.    The EV plug is common, but not ubiquitous.

The problem is NOT that there isn't an industry standard plug - the problem is that there are multiple industry standard plugs. 

More seriously, the "EV plug" *is* the industry standard plug - for "regular" charging (except for Teslas - they always have to do things their own way instead of using a standard). "Fast" Charging has multiple standards - but I don't expect SRKs to have fast charging (except as an after-market add-on). The most common plug for charging EVs in North America (by far) is the EV Plug (SAE J1772).

Now, if you want to use "regular" appliance (welder, dryer, etc.) electrical sockets in order to charge your vehicle, then you *will* probably want to carry around a few 240V adapters - but that is more because there isn't ONE type of 240V plug for electrical appliances, and it has nothing to do with EVs. The most common 240V sockets found in north American garages are probably NEMA 10-30 ("old" electric dryer type, 30 Amp) and NEMA 14-30 or 14-50 ("new" dryer & water heater types, 30 and 50 amp, respectively). Some "campgrounds" will have 14-50 plugs available at the RV sites, if you are really hard up for electrons when out & about.

Here is what most the sockets for ELECTRICAL use in north America look like (none of these are EV specific, and most of them aren't very common in homes):

[Rickb]

It appears Arcimoto is considering the fast charge option:

[paravil]

Glory be! I certainly never knew about the plethora of electric plugs to be found throughout the USA! And how about Canada and Mexico???? This is the first time I´ve considered that EU norms might be an advantage. I´ll have to look into whether EV charging plugs over here might be a bit more complicated. The problem of charging an EV in Europe is that only people in the countryside or in the suburbs can charge at home. Most urban EVs are parked at the roadside, making it difficult to find a charger. Charging points in town are usually blocked by people using them as parking space.

[DanCooper]

I looked up about Level 2 charging stations. They provide 240 VAC to the vehicle, with an automatic disconnect so power is only turned on when the vehicle is plugged in. They can give up to 19.2 kW, but the ones that have been widely installed give 6.6 kW. A 240V 20A residential circuit gives 4.8 kW. The FUV should get about 38 miles on an hour of charge at 6.6 kW.

[dmapes]

So basicallly the widely installed versions have 30 amps compared to your home at 20 amps at 240 VAC. Just remembering the kwatts == amps * voltage / 1000 formula... god it's been too long since I supposedly learned this in my 20's. (grin)

[SparkE]

I looked up about Level 2 charging stations. They provide 240 VAC to the vehicle, with an automatic disconnect so power is only turned on when the vehicle is plugged in. They can give up to 19.2 kW, but the ones that have been widely installed give 6.6 kW. A 240V 20A residential circuit gives 4.8 kW. The FUV should get about 38 miles on an hour of charge at 6.6 kW.

Many level-2 stations provide up to 240 VAC to the vehicle (208V, tri-phase is not uncommon in North America for charging - such as ChargePoint™ 6.6kW stations).

A 240V 20A residential circuit gives 4.8 kW.

Sustained usage (more than, say, 10 minutes) should never exceed 80% of the max rating of a circuit. So a 240V 20A circuit shouldn't be run at over 16A, and would give a max of 3.8 kW. The reason for that is safety (over-heated wires causing fires, etc.).

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So basicallly the widely installed versions have 3amps compared to your home at 2amps at 240 VAC. Just remembering the kwatts == amps * voltage / 1000 formula... god it's been too long since I supposedly learned this in my 20's. (grin)

First, it should have been "30 amps compared to your home at 20 amps".

Second, no, he was giving an example. There aren't (in my experience) many 20-amp 240V sockets installed in U.S. residences - those that are found are generally for air conditioners (inside the home) or welders or compressors (in the garage).

30 amp 240V sockets are much more common : for electric dryers or water heaters (in/near the garage or workshop). There are sometimes 50 amp circuits for electric stoves or spas or such.

[dmapes]

I looked up about Level 2 charging stations. They provide 240 VAC to the vehicle, with an automatic disconnect so power is only turned on when the vehicle is plugged in. They can give up to 19.2 kW, but the ones that have been widely installed give 6.6 kW. A 240V 20A residential circuit gives 4.8 kW. The FUV should get about 38 miles on an hour of charge at 6.6 kW.

Many level-2 stations provide up to 240 VAC to the vehicle (208V, tri-phase is not uncommon in North America for charging - such as ChargePoint™ 6.6kW stations).

A 240V 20A residential circuit gives 4.8 kW.

Sustained usage (more than, say, 10 minutes) should never exceed 80% of the max rating of a circuit. So a 240V 20A circuit shouldn't be run at over 16A, and would give a max of 3.8 kW. The reason for that is safety (over-heated wires causing fires, etc.).

---

So basicallly the widely installed versions have 3amps compared to your home at 2amps at 240 VAC. Just remembering the kwatts == amps * voltage / 1000 formula... god it's been too long since I supposedly learned this in my 20's. (grin)

First, it should have been "30 amps compared to your home at 20 amps".

Second, no, he was giving an example. There aren't (in my experience) many 20-amp 240V sockets installed in U.S. residences - those that are found are generally for air conditioners (inside the home) or welders or compressors (in the garage).

30 amp 240V sockets are much more common : for electric dryers or water heaters (in/near the garage or workshop). There are sometimes 50 amp circuits for electric stoves or spas or such.

Thanks for pointing out the typo. Have edited the post to change 3 to 30 and 2 to 20. The 30 amp for 220 dryers is something that every layman should have probably known. I was just running his numbers directly reviewing my math. I'll still be able to charge my FUV on 110 overnight either way. I suppose thats what matters most to me.

[PAX]

As I am lead to believe- the FUV comes with an extension cord that can be plugged into a regular 120V outlet  and a J1772 plug in..  I am curious as to what amps the cord will charge as 120V circuits are both 20A and 15A.  Is there some way the charger can detect the circuit amps. This set up would work under some circumstances - visiting  a friend, staying at a motel etc.  I will ask Arcimoto about this when I pick up my SS FUV
The EVSE tells the charger the voltage and amps available through the J1772.

I bought a portable EVSE with plug in to outlet (for $350) that can work on both 120 and/ or 220.

As a side note most of the charge sites in my area use the J1772 set up (except Tesla)  some free and some pay.