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Originally Posted by DannoXYZ
There's extreme rape going on due to large demand and little supply. L2 DC converter is nothing more than typical battery charger. All those little extra line-items is just padding the bill without changing underlying functionality. Implementing at manufacturer's level is least costly, really minimal parts needed (same as regular 12v battery-charger).
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That's a lot of hyperbole. Yes, an AC charger for an EV is the same basic concept as an AC charger for a 12V battery. However, my 12V charger puts out 10A, or 120W. The slower chargers in older EVs are 3300W, 28x as much. 7200W has been pretty standard for a few years now, so 60x as much. They're the same thing just like taking your Ninjette with a K&N and some carb tweaks to the drag strip is the same thing as a top fuel drag bike.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DannoXYZ
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None of those are AC-DC chargers though. That's just the EVSE - the "extension cord with some safety features" that I mentioned earlier. It connects the power in the wall to the $2900 onboard charger that I linked above.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DannoXYZ
Problem is not many homes have required outlet. Most, if present would be 20a circuit for dryer, but not much more. Perhaps H-D was playing into this. I made sure when I ran 240v for my welder, I installed 2nd 40a line for EV charging.
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240V L2 is everywhere. There are 2 charging stations in the theater parking lot near work. There are 2 in the parking garage where I used to work. There are 2 in the parking garage next to the arena. There are 2 in the little town of 4,000 next to me. I have one in my garage. The 120V EVSE that comes with the Volt actually supports 240V charging (undocumented feature), so I made an adapter that fits the welder outlet in my dad's garage (I store it in the trunk cubby with the EVSE). 240V L2 is the only fast charging available at home. Even just a 20A 240V outlet turns a 120V charge of 20-30 hours (10-15A outlet) into a 7.5 hour charge. Even if people don't have an "EV charging outlet" in their garage, many do have some sort of 240V outlet, and I'd bet that most EV buyers would be willing to spend a few hundred bucks to have one installed.
Completely removing L2 ability from the Livewire has only two benefits that I can see. It means the bike doesn't need an onboard 240VAC charger. It does have a 120VAC charger, meaning it's still got an AC charger, just smaller/simpler. It saves some weight from the bike, and it saves some cost. I feel like the weight savings is a tiny gain compared to every charge not at a L3 charging station being 10 hours instead of 2. Charging at home, work, or any other random spot is now hugely inconvenient. On the Volt, it's annoying; on a pure EV, it's a major hindrance to using the vehicle.