[sokoloff]

Looking for charging stations for a trip where one charge may not do it. Found a Greenlots charging station that has this type of a charger. Can I use it? BTW, it's a free station that our electric company installed.

Ports
CHAdeMO DCFC, CCS DCFC

Len
2014 EV Coupe 12,500 miles
2014 EV Cabriolet 1,700 miles

 

[JayEV]

All those are DC fast charge ports so no. Needs to be SAE J1772.

 

[DowneasTTer]

Sorry, but hence the need for ICE machines..... too bad the mother ship doesn't get it! This country LOVES choice.

 

[sokoloff]

All those are DC fast charge ports so no. Needs to be SAE J1772.

Thanks for the clarification Jay. For some mistaken reason I was under the impression that there were two types of charger connectors, i.e. one for the Tesla and one for everything else. I thought that every electric car but the Tesla had a standard connector just like our Smarts. I saw some photos on the Greenlots site of the various types of connectors that exist and what cars they go to.

So my only choice for my Smarts is the J1772 right? We aren't the only electric that has that type of a connector are we?

Len
2014 EV Coupe 12,500 miles
2014 EV Cabriolet 1,700 miles

 

[Mister_smart_LA]

Thanks for the clarification Jay. For some mistaken reason I was under the impression that there were two types of charger connectors, i.e. one for the Tesla and one for everything else. I thought that every electric car but the Tesla had a standard connector just like our Smarts. I saw some photos on the Greenlots site of the various types of connectors that exist and what cars they go to.

So my only choice for my Smarts is the J1772 right? We aren't the only electric that has that type of a connector are we?

Len
2014 EV Coupe 12,500 miles
2014 EV Cabriolet 1,700 miles

Tesla has its own charge connection, but they usually also give their buyers the J1772 adapter as well. Tesla needs its own connector because of their supercharging network being exclusively for Tesla. The J1772 is the only connector for the smart and MOST other EV vehicles, as that has been universally adopted. There is also a Chademo (no I am not going to mix the upper and lowercase) connection that is unique, but the smart EV doesn't really need that anyway. Level 2 suits the car just fine for performance reasons.

There are technically other chargers out as well, but most of those are for older electric vehicles such as the old Saturn EV1 and other older EV vehicles from well beyond 10 years ago at this point.

 

[JayEV]

The Level 2 J1772 seems like the standard for short range EV's. Where I live (Fremont, CA home of Tesla Factory) there are a ton of Leafs, Bolts, Fiat e500's, e-Golfs, Kia Soul EV, Mitsubishi i-MiEV's and Rav 4 EV's. (Not to mention so many Volts, Prius Prime, and other plug in hybrids) All of these take the J1772. Only the Leaf, Rav 4 EV, i-MiEV and Kia Soul EV have the option of fast DC Charging using CHAdeMO but it's extra, not standard equipment! As Mister_smart_LA said the Tesla's are proprietary and come with a J1772 adapter.

Interestingly the 2017 Smart can fast charge in Europe on a Level 3 AC connection. Like with so many things all our connectors are US only. They have totally different connectors internationally.

And for DowneasTTer. Volvo has also pledged to go Electric/Hybrid only by 2019. More will follow. Most will not until the last drop of oil is burnt so choice will prevail at most car companies especially if our gas prices remain so low in the US. But EV's have other perks in addition to not using gas so keep an open mind.

 

[sokoloff]

Some of the charging outfits have photos and comments by users for a particular charging station. I was always under the impression that if a photo or comment showed something other than a Tesla, I could use it. Apparently that's not necessarily the case.

Len
2014 EV Coupe 12,500 miles
2014 EV Cabriolet 1,700 miles

 

[MB DNA]

Apparently that's not necessarily the case.

True that!

Remember ED is truly a CITY CAR with a very small capacity (footprint) HV battery pack thus the J1772 connector at Level 2 is as "robust" a charge as you can expect - in the U.S.A. :shrug:

 

[Jo e Lefors]

Sorry, but hence the need for ICE machines..... too bad the mother ship doesn't get it! This country LOVES choice.

Yes we do.

Remember ED is truly a CITY CAR with a very small capacity (footprink) HV battery pack thus the J1772 connector at Level 2 is as "robust" a charge as you can expect - in the U.S.A. :shrug:

Yep. Even more so than the ICE.