Living with a car from the present - 2019 Bolt EV

I got the conduit run today. It was non trivial. The hardest part was getting the conduit out of the box and onto the sheetrock. I had it in my mind that it would be easier and more compact to use several 90 degree elbows, but even with the little hatch they have, it was impossible to thread this big #6 gauge wire through the 3/4" elbows. 

Once I figured out that I had to use the bender and give up on stacking fittings, things went better. I utilized some help from each older kid, and it was genuine help. 

I had a four prong outlet, which was wrong, and worth one of the three trips to home Depot. I ran the fourth conductor anyway, because it was there and not returnable. 

All in all, a successful day. It charges. I realized that I never took a picture of the actual charger, but it's out there. I don't love the outlet cover, especially because it's upside down (all of the chargers use a tiny cable to plug into, out the bottom, so the in-use covers are all backwards) but it worked, I didn't burn my house down, but I spent more time than I thought I had to. 

More pictures to come. 

That's a much more serious wiring job than I had to do just due to simple geography of your circuits. But now you can run a welder :)

I wonder what percentage of new house construction now has a 220v circuit in the garage? Seems like it would be good futureproofing.

Well, builders are all about square foot of livable space per dollar for marketing reasons so i wouldn't be surprised if half or more of new homes have the laundry hookups in the garage anyway.  

As for me, i like hallways. 

I did the 220 wiring to my shop. I ran 125ft of cable to get to it, which included going through a house and down underground and back up inside the shop, installing the panel etc etc. My 23000btu window unit runs on 220 because Texas.  I have no idea what code says. I just know how electricity works. 

I need a better in use box. Ideas?

That thing is big! 6.6kW? I like the integrated cable management. 

Keith Tanner said:

I wonder what percentage of new house construction now has a 220v circuit in the garage? Seems like it would be good futureproofing.

Very low, you'd imagine builders would be thinking about it these days but I've never seen it on a spec house. I had to specify a 40 amp 220v garage outlet as a custom request on my last house (built 2016). I'm getting ready to start construction on our forever home, and I'm certainly going to have two, if not three 220v outlets in the garage on two to three separate circuits. 

Can you turn that receptacle upside down and have the cable come up from the bottom? That way the water will run away rather than directly into the receptacle as it is now. Otherwise that cover should work alright provided it closes nicely and seals with the cord plugged in.

Adam

adam525i said:

Can you turn that receptacle upside down and have the cable come up from the bottom? That way the water will run away rather than directly into the receptacle as it is now. Otherwise that cover should work alright provided it closes nicely and seals with the cord plugged in.

Adam

Ditto. 

I think what he meant by this is that the cord for the charging station was too short...

" I don't love the outlet cover, especially because it's upside down (all of the chargers use a tiny cable to plug into, out the bottom, so the in-use covers are all backwards)"

Can you crack open the charger and change out the cable for something longer? Otherwise the only way I see is to cut off the plug and hard wire it with a proper gland connector into the side of the electrical box (making sure once again that water on the cable runs away from the box and not into it), but then you might need a disconnect and you lose that receptacle which could be handy for the welder or something else. I

Adam

In reply to adam525i :

Or move the charger to the left and down? 

The cable which the charger plugs into is not only very short, and not only very direction downward, but also very stiff. I tried a few ways to bend it facing upwards, but I was unhappy from a long-term strain relief perspective. I don't love the idea of cracking it open, in case something goes wrong, since it was pricey.

I am considering just using that as-is, but sealing the box with silicone, especially around the cable.

I hate it, but every other in-use box stinks also. The only ones I have ever liked are made by Arlington (I have two of them for 110V use already) but their best efforts are boxes with integrated covers which go into the wall. I would have to undo a lot to make that work, and there is a stud right there, so it would be ugly.

Yes, the charger is big. I also don't really care that it is. Other than the ugly cord looping my son did, it's nice because it allows you to wrap the cord around it loosely. It's also robust. The biggest issue I have is that someone could cut two screws, unplug it and walk off with it. That would be an unlikely, but big theft. I could always get a cover with a padlock, but then it's only a bolt cutter away again... oh well.

I drove the thing again today to get kiddoes to church a few times. They love it. I love it. Their friends love it. I don't like the shifter - more on that later. I love everything else.

Carvana had neglected to send an inflator kit which is apparently mandatory by their standards. The delivery driver noted this and assured me that they would get back to me. I had my doubts. Yesterday I got a note back, saying go buy one, we'll reimburse you up to $100. A few back and forth E-mails to clarify, and I bought a very nice Vlair compressor, a nice plug kit, anda  can of slime for $73 and they sent a check already. Nice. Point for them.

There is one real scratch which I sent them a picture of, and an anchor for the rear parcel shelf cover which I also documented. There was one item which I thought was a scratch but really was just residue I had since wiped away. I sent that picture before realizing it. I am intruiged to see what happens with those.

So I called Carvana because their handy dandy website showed that the problem was resolved. Well, -it- was resolved. They sent a check for the tire inflator kit. The pictures I sent in of the scratch and the missing parcel shelf anchor were coupled with that same problem and also considered resolved. I had them re-open those two. We'll see how it goes.

I am tempted to say minus one point for that, but really a normal dealer would forget who you were and swear up and down they never promised anything, as-is, where-is, blah blah, so they are still way better than that.

In reply to tuna55 :

And within me writing that post, they sent an E-mail saying to go get an estimate on both from a body shop. That was fast. I'll see if I can do that quickly.

Look really hard here and you'll see something that I love about the Bolt. 

Any guesses?

You can't see the hood from the drivers seat, and I sit fairly high. That feature adds to the airy feeling. Tons of visibility. 

I miss seeing pretty rust-free 70's trucks being used as daily drivers.  

Something I don't love. The super deep center console well. This is not accessible from the back seat passengers, and it's not accessible through the cubby in the front. It's not a great effort.

In reply to volvoclearinghouse :

Thanks to yours truly, it has five lug nuts per wheel now. I gave him a hard time, as each had four when I first saw it. He's a good guy.

The Model 3 has that same sort of design - we have become accustomed to a console between the seats that often covers a transmission bulge or a stiffening rib down the center of the car. But if there's nothing actually there, the console is ridiculously deep. Looks like GM and Tesla came to the same design decision, "floating" trays that give convenient storage and a deep well that is large but inconvenient. I know there are a whole bunch of 3D printed and aftermarket doodads to make it easier to live with, so apparently your feelings are shared :)

Here's why I questioned the size of the charger. This is the 7kW unit that comes with a Tesla, basically Level 2. Note the plug for scale. Absolutely no cord management (again with the aftermarket) but considerably smaller. The extra size of your unit must be by design, I wonder what it is? Better heat control assuming a higher use in a commercial environment?

In reply to Keith Tanner :

It is intended for home use and for commercial use. By weight, it is mostly empty, but quite rugged. Big buttons on the front to allow delay and other such functions.

The console bothers me way more. I would have made it a slot, starting in the front, accessible from the rear, with a tray that can be pulled out with the lid by hitting a secondary button like I have seen in some other cars.

I'll look into the 3D printing options. I'd also be interested in a cupholder fix, they are just too small of a diameter for any cup that isn't tapered.

Commercial use makes sense. 

tuna55 said:

 

I need a better in use box. Ideas?

 

What's wrong with the box? Other than it's installed upside down? (and apparently the receptacle as well).

#6 gauge wire through the 3/4" elbows

I would run #6 through 1" conduit.  Every 4th turn needs to be a pull-box. 

In reply to Ian F :

The hole you are intended to use is solely located in the box rather than the lid. The box itself is designed such that the receptacle is slightly outboard that parting line. What this does is to place the cord partially through the box and partially through the cover. Since it's big and stiff, the cover won't stay closed on it. I may modify it and weatherproof it myself, but it will not make me very happy.