Charging at gen1/2 EV stations

[davidrools]

I'm sure you've seen electric vehicle charging stations in parking lots all over California that were mandated back in the EV1 era. My question is: could there be an adapter that uses those paddle-shaped inductive charging devices to charge the Aptera? Or do they have a regular 110V outlet that can be used? (I've never looked at them really closely...but I will next time!). Of course a 1e could park there (another bonus! they just keep coming, don't they?) since it's an electric vehicle, but it would be great to take advantage of the charging, especially if you have one at work.

[palmer_md]

I've found that the ones in Sacramento (the only area close enough for me to get to by EV) offer 120vac outlets right next to the "paddle charger". Its great because the spaces are always empty and I get to park up front and get free fuel to boot. What a deal.

Some of the charging stations have had the paddle chargers removed and there is only the outlet at this point.

I would suggest you take a closer look at the ones in your area beforehand. I did to make sure I would not get stuck in Sacramento.

Michael

[Dubito]

I remember those EV paddles here in Los Angeles when the EV-1 was on the road. Has anyone seen outlets or special EV parking spaces in LA recently? I’ll have to look.

[davidrools]

I'm guessing there were laws/codes/mandates on the books to require EV charging stations whenever a new parking lot was built because while I was in Davis, our church moved and had EV chargers installed in 2004 - long after 99% of EVs were off the roads! So, hopefully, these things will only continue to be more common. I'm curious what the current status of EV charger requirements is.

[KarenRei]

If you want Aptera to support them, drop the company an brief email suggesting that they offer more charger options. I've already done so. A charger should be a relatively easy thing to have options for. The more, the better, I would think.

[davidrools]

Good idea, Karen. I'm not sure if the production Aptera will be like it appears in the youtube video with a simple 3 prong male plug used for charging. That basically means that any extension cord (heavy gauge better, of course) can be used to charge the Aptera from a normal outlet. The charging controller would be built into the vehicle, unlike the Tesla roadster which requires a special external unit for charging which is normally left in your garage with the option of brining along a portable unit if needed for remote charging. If Palmer is right, though, and the EV charging stations have standard outlets, then nothing more would be needed.

[KarenRei]

Well, probably the biggest problem with conventional outlets is that they're only 120V/15A max. That's not a lot of current. To recharge a dead 10kWh battery pack to 100% would take 5 1/2 hours, assuming constant rate. When you're charging "on the road", you generally want to recharge faster than that. One thing I'd love to see is the ability to support the 30A and the split-phase 50A RV outlets; there's a *lot* of juice in them. Even better, a high voltage three phase charger. A123's batteries are supposedly able to charge in 10 minutes or so without serious problems, and so I would assume other lithium phosphates would be similar. But RV outlets are already in place and across the country; you'd just need to call ahead to make sure they'd let you charge (assumedly for a fee).

We know that at least 20kW (30 minute charge from dead to full, assuming constant rate) won't blow a fuse, since the motor is 19kW and they need to have some slack for accessories.