240 Volt charge cord

[shrikantc]

The USA i3 comes with a 110 Volt charge cord. Is it possible to either get a 240V charge cord in exchange or as an addition? Trying to avoid getting an EVSE for $600 or so.

 

[ryandesign]

"EVSE" means "Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment". The 110V "charge cord" you are referring to is an EVSE. Yes, you can get a 240V EVSE that is also portable. "TurboCord" is one such option. It still costs $600, though.

 

[jadnashuanh]

The ones delivered with the i3 in places where the normal voltage is 220-240vac get a unit designed for there. It is still a 12A unit, but by doubling the voltage, you get twice as many watts out of it. STill not as much as the i3 can take. One of those would work, but you'd have to either cut the plug off, or use an adapter to fit it to where ever you wanted to plug it in, as the various plugs used around Europe and the rest of the world are not the same..

The best thing, is probably to buy your own. SOme will work on either 120 or 240vac, and no, BMW does not make a portable unit for 240vac for sale in the USA, so they would not be able to substitute a different one with a USA sale. FWIW, they will not (currently) do Euro delivery for the i3 to the USA, either.

 

[shrikantc]

My first night of charging on the new I3 I picked up yesterday. Using the 120 V Occasional use cable, and a power meter, I see that the power draw is about 1250 Watts. Have not measured the voltage, but at 120V I should get north of 1400W since the cord is rated at 12 Amp.

Thoughts?

 

[websterize]

I would invest in the L2.

 

[jadnashuanh]

None of these things are super exact...the car's response to the pilot signal, and the generation of the pilot signal itself by the EVSE. Then, the car does taper things off as it reaches a certain charge level, and it depends on the internal heating as well. THen, who knows how accurate the meter is. Some of them are +/- 10%.

In the USA, with the supplied EVSE, it can work if you don't use your car every day, OR you don't drive too far in between charging, OR you don't need to go back out quickly again. It certainly could save some money. What would be nice is to have a free CCS unit nearby, and then come home and top it off...then, no extra money on accessories at all! Still, at least from the available searches I've found, the nearest one to me is about 150-miles away, and they charge $10/hour to connect. Essentially useless. Hopefully, more to come much closer, and free or less, at least.

 

[WoodlandHills]

We have a number of free L2 chargers within a few miles of home and even a free BMW DCFC! But with a car full of stuff after driving around all day, you just want to get home and put the groceries away. Having all your errands done, but being forced to wait until the car is up to 80% before driving the rest of the way home would get old very quickly. It could also get expensive since the DCFC and most of the L2s require you to buy a $4 coffee to get validated access to the parking lot with the charger. That ends up being some expensive electricity compared to the price at home even if you value your own wait time at zero $s.... I would rather charge at home and get on with my day using the stuff I just drove all over the place to get.

 

[TonyWilliams]

If you're interested in getting either a JESLA 40 amp portable charge cable or JLong extension cord, or both, I think you'll like this sale. Yes, our premium products cost more than the main stream ones that are typically built overseas.

Virtually everything is "Made in USA".

This weeked only!! February 27 until March 1, 2015 (extended to March 2)

http://shop.quickchargepower.com

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On check out, use the COUPON CODE OF:

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and

10% off all sales over $100
On check out, use the COUPON CODE OF:

"10percentoff" (lower case letters, no spaces)

and

JESLA and JLong bundle is $50 off
On check out, use the COUPON CODE OF:

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JELSA ships with NEMA 14-50 and NEMA 5-15 plugs, plus a carrying bag. Additionally, you may want to buy the correct plug for your dryer (handy for visiting friends or relatives at their house) or for motel air conditioners:

......................................................VOLTS / AMPS.......kW
*NEMA 5-15 .......Standard Outlet.. 120 V / 12 A...... 1.4 kW
NEMA 5-20 ...... Motel air conditioner 120/16A....... 1.9 kW
NEMA 10-30......Older Dryers...... 240 V / 24 A...... 5.8 kW
NEMA 14-30......Newer Dryers..... 240 V / 24 A...... 5.8 kW
*NEMA 14-50......RV Parks ........... 240 V / 40 A...... 9.6 kW

*included plugs

http://shop.quickchargepower.com/searchquick-submit.sc?keywords=adapter



Be sure to get a 50 amp circuit installed at your charging location with a NEMA 14-50R receptacle. We sell the receptacle here for just $5.99 (cheaper than Home Depot or Lowes):

http://shop.quickchargepower.com/14-50R-Outlet-14-50R.htm


JLong is the perfect compliment for JESLA (or any J1772 charge cable) and can extend the length of the cord by 10 to 60 feet.

It helps when you're at a public charge station and it's blocked (but you can get into a nearby spot) and also for charge stations where the cord won't easily reach the back of the car to plug in. Those visits to Grandma's house to try and reach her dryer outlet are a whole lot easier, and you are fully protected by all the protections of J1772 (proximity disconnect, ground fault, pilot signal, etc).

Fully 40 amp capable, light weight and very portable. One of our top sellers. Patent pending.

http://shop.quickchargepower.com/JLONG-40-Amp-J1772-extension-cable-JL40A.htm

 

[TOEd]

The L1 EVSE that came with your car says how much current it draws. Look on the back label. Mine says 10 amps. At this 10 amp rate my car takes about 20 hours to charge from 5% SOC.

If you want to maximize your charge rate you will need to find a L2 EVSE that puts out 32 amps on 240 volts. That will require a 40 amp breaker.

 

[CARiD]

With such expensive charging points and a 4$ coffee it's no longer economy.

 

[imolazhp]

No