[iTalkV60]

Hi, noob here. Thinking about jumping from my 2nd v60 lease to a XC40 Recharge.

The whole "which charger works with which car and slow/rapid this and that" discussion is a pain. I've already spoken to my electrician and he said that he would install a "Level 2 240v 50amp outlet". Is that all I need to charge this thang at home?

And then there's also the charge ports in and around town...how will I know what works? Plug type is obvious? Go there, see, and if not...SOL?

Thanks, and don't go too hard on my charging knowledge!

 

[arijaycomet]

1- You will be supplied a cable with the car that has an industry standard NEMA 14-50 plug on it. Your electrician is 100% correct that the 50A outlet they would install, plus the cable with the car, is all you need. Chances are likely that 99% of the charging you'll do is at home, overnight, plugged in there.

2- Download the app called PlugShare to your phone. Create an account and enter the year/make/model of your vehicle. In that automatically filters what chargers work for you. This app (or going to their web site, logging in, with the same "vehicle filter") works great and shows you what you are asking.

With that said-- once inside the car, if you use the built in navigation to find a charging station, by default it filters only locations that will work with your car, and even shows slow-vs-fast charging.

 

[BainbridgeIsland]

Everything the previous poster said - but in general the XC40 Recharge is compatible with almost every charging station out there except for proprietary Tesla Supercharger stations.

 

[arijaycomet]

Everything the previous poster said - but in general the XC40 Recharge is compatible with almost every charging station out there except for proprietary Tesla Supercharger stations.

...and we cannot fast charge at a CHAdeMO charger. But most of those are coupled with CCS (typically)

 

[Cuelaw57]

And then there's also the charge ports in and around town...how will I know what works? Plug type is obvious? Go there, see, and if not...SOL?

There are 2 types of charger plugs at DC Fast Chargers (DCFC)(usually 50kW or higher, 150kW and higher are less common but growing.). CHAdeMO, which is only Nissan and being phased out and CCS, which is what the P8 uses.

You have to remove the lower cover to use a CCS plug. Otherwise, use a level 2 charger uses the J1772 plug.

 

[blitzswede]

he said that he would install a "Level 2 240v 50amp outlet". Is that all I need to charge this thang at home?

Don't forget to have your electrician install a matching NEMA 14-50 receptacle as the "outlet" if you decide to use the Volvo unit supplied with the car.

 

[iTalkV60]

Don't forget to have your electrician install a matching NEMA 14-50 female plug as the "outlet" if you decide to use the Volvo unit supplied with the car.

That's a good statement. It appears that the car side is female, so is the supplied cable male to male?

 

[iTalkV60]

That's a good statement. It appears that the car side is female, so is the supplied cable male to male?

Better yet, anyone have a pic of both ends of the cable?

 

[DeaneG]

Better yet, anyone have a pic of both ends of the cable?

The end that plus into your house is a NEMA 14-50P (p for "plug"). The end that plugs into your car is called a J1772 connector.

Charging cable | Charging the hybrid battery | Electric operation and charging | XC40 Recharge Plug-in Hybrid 2021 Early | Volvo Support

The charging cable with its control unit is used to charge the car's hybrid battery.

www.volvocars.com

 

[iTalkV60]

The end that plus into your house is a NEMA 14-50P (p for "plug"). The end that plugs into your car is called a J1772 connector.

Charging cable | Charging the hybrid battery | Electric operation and charging | XC40 Recharge Plug-in Hybrid 2021 Early | Volvo Support

The charging cable with its control unit is used to charge the car's hybrid battery.

www.volvocars.com

So a form of crossover cable. Thanks!

 

[sbixby]

I don't know the full details, but I've gotten some indications that a 50A circuit with a 14-50 socket is required to have GFCI breaker. But -- the chargers themselves have GFCI built in and supposedly stacking GFCI isn't a good idea.

So, I'm wondering how "code" my setup is with no GFCI breaker on that 50A socket. Maybe if it's dedicated to the charger and nothing else, it fits, I dunno.

 

[DeaneG]

The J1772 end has additional pins that let the car communicate with the charging adapter (called an "EVSE") that tell the car how many amps it can pull from the circuit. And it has GFCI built in to cut off the power instantly if there is a conductive path to ground (a person's finger for example). Many people use the cable supplied with the car to charge from a NEMA 14-50 outlet (receptacle) mounted in their garage. The supplied cable is a little short though. Many also use a third-party EVSE like the Chargepoint Home Flex, which is wall-mounted and has a 25-foot cable, a little neater and more permanent. ChargePoint Home Flex | ChargePoint

 

[DeaneG]

...So, I'm wondering how "code" my setup is with no GFCI breaker on that 50A socket. Maybe if it's dedicated to the charger and nothing else, it fits, I dunno.

I believe that not all localities have adopted the national revision that requires GFCI on all garage outlets. Call your city's local planning/permit dept to find out. But GFCI could save someone's life, code or not. It's easy enough to convert a non-GFCI 14-50 outlet to a hardwired connection to a charger - just a little conduit from the outlet's junction box to the charger, then no worries about missing GFCI protection.

 

[sbixby]

I believe that not all localities have adopted the national revision that requires GFCI on all garage outlets. Call your city's local planning/permit dept to find out. But GFCI could save someone's life, code or not. It's easy enough to convert a non-GFCI 14-50 outlet to a hardwired connection to a charger - just a little conduit from the outlet's junction box to the charger, then no worries about missing GFCI protection.

I want to keep the 14-50 receptacle as-is; it will be dedicated to EVSE (which has GFCI built in). If/when I decide to not use it for EVSE, I can/will swap the breaker out for a GFCI one. Hopefully this will avoid any future inspection concerns.
<knock on wood>

 

[DeaneG]

My Chargepoint Home Flex - I hardwired it yesterday to a circuit that was being used on a 14-50 outlet at the other end of the garage.

 

[206KZ]

We have a newly-installed NEMA 14-50 outlet with 4 gauge wiring and a 60 amp non-GFI breaker. The car is set to 48 amps, and it draws only 39 amps thru the included Volvo cable. This is what I expected, based on what others have said: The car can sense the resistance of the NEMA 14-50, which is only rated to flow 50 amps, and then it draws 80%, has some losses, and rounds down to 39.

When the Chargepoint Home Flex arrives, we will plug it into the outlet. I still expect to draw only 39 amps. Next time the electrician is here, the Chargepoint will get hard-wired and the NEMA 14-50 outlet will be removed and turned into a junction box. Then, I expect to draw 48 amps, but we’ll see.

 

[DeaneG]

We have a newly-installed NEMA 14-50 outlet with 4 gauge wiring and a 60 amp non-GFI breaker. The car is set to 48 amps, and it draws only 39 amps thru the included Volvo cable. This is what I expected, based on what others have said: The car can sense the resistance of the NEMA 14-50, which is only rated to flow 50 amps, and then it draws 80%, has some losses, and rounds down to 39.

When the Chargepoint Home Flex arrives, we will plug it into the outlet. I still expect to draw only 39 amps. Next time the electrician is here, the Chargepoint will get hard-wired and the NEMA 14-50 outlet will be removed and turned into a junction box. Then, I expect to draw 48 amps, but we’ll see.

The car isn't sensing resistance at all. The EVSE (Volvo cable) tells the car exactly how much current is safe to draw. NEC code allows maximum continuous current draw of 80% of the breaker rating, or 0.8*50 amps, or 40 amps.

The Chargepoint unit comes from the factory configured to allow the car to draw only 16 amps max. You use the mobile phone "Chargepoint" app to connect the Chargepoint flex to your home wifi when you power it on, set how much current is safe to draw (what size circuit breaker it is connected to), and tell it what hours are permissible to charge.

 

[iTalkV60]

My Chargepoint Home Flex - I hardwired it yesterday to a circuit that was being used on a 14-50 outlet at the other end of the garage.
View attachment 902

Seems really cool, but for $1k??

 

[DeaneG]

Seems really cool, but for $1k??

Amazon is scalping - I paid $699 from Amazon just a few days ago. Wait until the price comes back down. The Juicebox 40 or 48 are great choices too. For me it's worth it to have a clean permanent installation with maximum charging speed. This won't be my last EV. We have this and a Model 3 - all electric now - no more gas except in fly 'n' drive trip rental cars.

 

[sbixby]

I don't know what/when/where the offer was in other areas, but my purchase in Sacramento in May included either a $500 Chargepoint credit or a free Chargepoint Home Flex unit, so I took the home unit. I don't expect to charge on the road too much.

So while I might have qualms at spending $5-700 for a wall-mounted unit, I did/do want what it provides -- wifi control, time-of-day windows, a longer cable, and I can/will carry the factory unit in the car for use elsewhere.

Works For Me.