Installed kit from Plug in Supply getting 28 miles!

Jim,

Besides cost, Toyota didn't add a larger battery because of weight.
Have you driven WITHOUT charged batteries on Gas-only for 50 miles, to check if your Gas-only MPG have changed due to the added weight of the 2nd battery?

 

Apologies for belaboring the point, but I just want to make sure I understand. My interpretation of this reply seems to conflict with your earlier post about charging both batteries with the level II charger.

So is it possible to charge the add-on battery with the level II charger? It doesn't matter (to me at least) whether both batteries are charged in parallel; it could charge the OEM battery first, then the add-on battery, hopefully with an automatic switch over. Also, if the add-on battery charges at level II, it should take less time to charge both purely on level II instead of the OEM on level II and the add-on on 120V.

From a use perspective, needing to plug in another cord reduces the ease of use. Also, it is less likely to find a setup away from home that allows to charging both in parallel. The total cost of the system seems to be a little less justified with this restriction.

Also, what exactly does the $1500 control board do? In the Liftback PHEV conversion kits, I understood it reported the additional charge available. But my understanding of your explanation is that it doesn't need to do this anymore, in which case, what is its function?

 

I agree with ryogajyc. Jim, it looked as if from one of your earlier posts that one could charge both packs from the OEM charger location? Are you saying now that you cannot charge both packs from the OEM charger port?

This said, it would be very difficult if you cannot charge both. If I'm around town and want to rechange, if I can only charge the OEM battery pack, it would be somewhat useless to have the additional pack and not able to charge it on a public L2 charger.

 

IMO- charging both batteries in parallel from one 120/240v port is a necessity- it's a deal-breaker if you need to charge both separately.

 

ChargePoint charging stations have both L2 and 120 volt charge ports, you just need two ChargePoint cards to activate both ports. Of course the 120 would take longer to charge.

 

It seems to me that if you are going to have a second plug, you should go ahead an integrate a timer with 120V block heater and perhaps a cabin pre-heater to further leverage the plug, providing more driving comfort as well as bringing the add-on battery up to optimal temperature when appropriate.

 

I would be pretty unhappy if I found one car using both outlets (120 & 240v) from a ChargePoint station.... especially if there's only one station in the area.

 

yeah, but you'll get over it, right?

 

Life's too short to hang on to the minor negatives...
We have pretty thick skins here in NY!

 

The Volt has an eletric heater, tied into a heating/cooling loop that can heat the cabin, the battery or both.
It can warm up pretty fast. 2011/2012 alway have an Engine Running Due to Low Temp setting of 25F.
The 2013s have setting for how cold it must before the ICE starts (Forget the numbers, something like 10F, 15F and 25F). The Ice mostly to heat the cabin, not the battery). If the outside temp is below the reshold time the ICE starts and runs for about 2min to provide heat to the cabin (and defrost the windows if needed). takes aout .07 gallons per cycle. If the temp is below threshold and the coolant temp drops below 150F, it will restart. If at a stop sign the ICE ERDLT may slightly rechage the battery.

I consider it a waste if I'm ony going 5 miles and it does this.. a number of us will likly add a resistor to a key circuit to change the temp setting on our 2011/2012. Its not about protecting the battery. The battery is thermally managed while plugged in and charging so its already warm when I leave in the dead of winter. It does sit all day at work but temp is still a good much higher than ambient.

 

That's unfortunate. That means there would not be a way to charge both when using the L1 EVSE. Actually, what happens if the EVSE cannot supply enough power for both chargers? Do they both charge slowly or is there something like a voltage drop that stops both chargers?

How much power is the charger that comes in the kit? Or does tapping off the level II power require buying another battery charger?

 

While charging the two packs in parallel is potentially faster, doing it in a serial fashion might be more practical. I don't know enough about the internals of the PiP to know what would work but I would explore having the two chargers share the J1772 plug. Let the PiP's internal charger take priority and charge the internal battery first, have a circuit that monitors current to the internal charger and when it drops off, take over the pilot signal and switch in the add-on charger.

If the EVSE advertises 30+ amps, you could optionally switch in the add-on charge in parallel with the internal charger.

Here is a link to an AVC1 and AVC2 for pilot signal and proximity signal functions.

modularevpower.com/Active_Vehicle_Side_Control_development.htm

 

I'm not sure what sort of checks are involved in the J1772 standard, but it seems like this might trigger some sort of fault that would cause the L2 EVSE to disconnect power. I would think the built-in charger would signal that it is pulling 12A, and if there's a parallel charger pulling more, it's possible the L2 EVSE would detect this, trigger a fault, and disconnect power.

 

Here is a good reference point.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAE_J1772