Just wanted to share my experience using trickle charging. I did a long drive with my Niro yesterday, arrived with 40 miles left, and plugged it into an outdoor socket at my relative’s place. Curious to see how much charge it gains over two days .
I made my first long drive with the Niro yesterday and rolled in with 40 miles to go. My relatives let me plug into an outdoor socket. We’ll see how it looks in 2 days .
Trickle charging has been great for us. I mostly use it and by the end of the week, we’re down to 20-30%. Then we recharge over the weekend. Yours seems faster than ours since we charge at about 0.8 kW. We’ve only used paid chargers twice since getting the car in August.
@Terryanne
I’ve been using the level 1 charger for almost three years now and rarely used anything else—less than 20 times total.
Sloane said:
@Terryanne
I’ve been using the level 1 charger for almost three years now and rarely used anything else—less than 20 times total.
The Kia level 1 charger has a button to switch from 6 amps to 12 amps. It makes the charging speed much better.
@Phoenix
That’s great, but be careful not to overload the circuit, especially around the holidays when other things like decorations might be plugged in.
@Terryanne
Are you sure your level 1 charger isn’t set to a lower amperage? Most have a button to adjust the settings.
Lex said:
@Terryanne
Are you sure your level 1 charger isn’t set to a lower amperage? Most have a button to adjust the settings.
It’s set to the lowest level since that’s all the outlet can handle. We’ll eventually upgrade the panel, but it’s been great to use an EV at home before starting that big project.
I couldn’t manage with slow charging like this. I need 32 amps daily for how much I drive.
Dorian said:
I couldn’t manage with slow charging like this. I need 32 amps daily for how much I drive.
I can see why that’d be tough if you’re driving a lot. It really depends on your usage.
I used trickle charging for the first two years I had my EV. It worked fine but required planning ahead. Having a gas car as backup helped a lot.
Why is your charging so slow? My trickle charger always gives 1.9 to 2.0 kW. I’m in Europe, so maybe that’s why. I only use fast chargers for long trips.
Olin said:
Why is your charging so slow? My trickle charger always gives 1.9 to 2.0 kW. I’m in Europe, so maybe that’s why. I only use fast chargers for long trips.
The difference is probably the plug. European plugs often run at 230V and 10A, while the person who posted this is likely using a 110V outlet with a lower amperage.
@Hayden
110V at 16A? That’s barely any power…
Olin said:
Why is your charging so slow? My trickle charger always gives 1.9 to 2.0 kW. I’m in Europe, so maybe that’s why. I only use fast chargers for long trips.
Yeah, I’m in the US.
I use the official level 1 charger that came with my used EV. It gives me about 1.5 kW, and I used it for a few months before installing a level 2 charger. The level 2 is handy for quick top-ups, but my commute works fine with nightly level 1 charging.
@Haven
If you can, try plugging the EVSE into a 240V outlet like in Europe. You’d get around 3 kW, which is much better.
Has anyone checked charging losses for the Niro or Kona with the 64 kWh drivetrain? I think the losses are about 400W, so you might only get 700W going into the battery. That means about 50% extra electricity is used for a full charge.
@Will
You lose more electricity with slower charging, but it’s not as high as 50%. It’s closer to 25%.
In the UK and many other countries, we use 240V. Our trickle charging usually runs at 2.1 to 2.4 kW. At night, we get cheaper electricity between 12:30 am and 5:30 am, and I can add around 50 miles for just 9 pence per kWh. It’s plenty for my needs.