Buying a used LEAF - should I buy and install a 240V Charging station for home charging?

[JuliaSj]

I'm buying a used LEAF 2015 - should I buy and install a 240V Charging station for home charging? If so is there a specific brand or model that is recommended? Can I also charge it in regular 110V? Do I need any special charger or connector for that?

 

[mljhnr]

Depends on your travel needs. I just bought my first leaf, used but new to me, a month ago and have only been using the 120v charger. We haven't put more than a few dozen miles, at most and usually less, each day so it's worked well. I'll eventually put a 240v charger in for convenience. I've also read posts which state the 240 is more efficient but that's just hearsay and have no knowledge regarding it. I just love the car!

 

[LeftieBiker]

Using the portable EVSE gets tiresome fast. I'm only still using L-1 after almost four years, despite having a L-2 Clipper Creek unit ready to install (after some rewiring), because I have an actual L-1 outdoor charging station. My housemate also uses it for her Prius PHEV. You'll spend a lot of hours plugged into L-1 if you drive more than a little. OTOH, with no charge to 80% option on the 2015, it's easier to time unplugging it to get that approximate charge level if you have L-1. Just figure 5% charge added per hour.

 

[kwong7]

It really depends on your travel needs. You can easily get by with a level 1 under the following conditions:

1) You have access to another car in case you don't have the range.
2) You have access to a level 2 station at your destination
3) You daily driving is less than 40 miles

We've had our 500e for about 3 weeks now and have put on over 1K miles already. We've been using level 1 at home, level 2 at my wife's office (45 miles away), and free to low-cost public Charge Point stations around the area. We have about 20 free charging stations in a 4 mile radius and about 60 that charge $1/hr…there are 4 across the golf course from our house. Even with all these convenient public charging stations, I'll be installing a 4.8kWh charging station to our 10-30r in the garage. I know there will be days when we're going to want to charge faster than 5 range miles per hour.

 

[jjeff]

I'm buying a used LEAF 2015 - should I buy and install a 240V Charging station for home charging? If so is there a specific brand or model that is recommended? Can I also charge it in regular 110V? Do I need any special charger or connector for that?

You don't need to spend a ton on a L2 EVSE, portable ones start ~$299 for a 16a and 30a models ~$400 and up. Now wiring 240v to your garage or wherever you plan on plugging your Leaf can be a different story and varies greatly depending on the situation. If you already have a 240v outlet then just try and find a EVSE with the correct plug or find and purchase a converter plug to go from your outlet to whatever EVSE you end up with. Converter plugs are anywhere from $25 and up.
For a cheap 16a portable I'd suggest the Ebusbar from Amazon thats currently out of stock but should?? be back within a week or two.
For a 30a wall mount unit I'd suggest the GE Durastation for ~$399 from Home Depot.
For a 30a portable maybe a Juicebox(starts ~$500) or OpenEVSE(starts ~$400).
For many different sizes and a MNL favorite get a Clipper Creek which are ~$100 more than above EVSEs but well made and the brand name EVSE. Search Amazon or Clipper Creek's website for more info. They are kind of price fixed so you'll see the same price everywhere.

 

[powersurge]

No question... You must get the 240v charger. Otherwise, the car is dead in your driveway charging for 1/2 of the day...

 

[gshepherd]

Having a proper L2 charging station (EVSE) at home also allows you to keep the OEM L1 "trickle charging" unit safely stowed in its bag in the trunk. You won't be tempted to leave it at home, and instead it is there for those opportunities/emergencies when you need it.

I had to rely on my L1 charge cord for a couple weeks due to street work preventing access to my garage. Glad I had it, but also an inconvenience compared to my OpenEVSE unit mounted in the garage.

Not sure if the 30% Federal tax credit for installing a home EVSE is still available. However, it is true that depending on your electric rate per kWh, charging at 240V can add up to significant savings to help pay for some of the cost of the equipment and install. At my rate of $0.10 / kWh I calculated a savings of about fifty cents per full charge on my 2016 SV.

 

[GRA]

Depends on your travel needs. I just bought my first leaf, used but new to me, a month ago and have only been using the 120v charger. We haven't put more than a few dozen miles, at most and usually less, each day so it's worked well. I'll eventually put a 240v charger in for convenience. I've also read posts which state the 240 is more efficient but that's just hearsay and have no knowledge regarding it. I just love the car!

See http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=8583&hilit=charging+efficiency for early LEAF charging efficiency on both L1 and L2. Ingineer (Phil) is the EE behind EVSEupgrade.

 

[cwerdna]

No question... You must get the 240v charger. Otherwise, the car is dead in your driveway charging for 1/2 of the day...

Nonsense. I’ve had a Leaf since end of July 2013. Between my former leased one + the miles I’ve put on my current used one, I’ve driven ~41K EV miles.

I have no L2 EVSE since i don’t need it and wasn’t keen on spending $5K to get a “free” L2 EVSE installed. End of my saga on that is at http://www.myrav4ev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=8264&sid=034d102a4676dd61164e4d129dd9b6ea#p8264. And, no, there’s no 240 volt outlet in my garage either.

I have free L1 and L2 charging at work. On Fridays evenings and weekends, I sometimes use public free L2 charging. I also have an ICEV but it’s almost never driven w/me usually getting gas once every 3-6 months for it. It has only moved about 5K miles since around the time I got my 1st Leaf (end of July 2013).

On workdays, I almost never charge at home. It's probably happened 2-3 times, tops. There’s no point esp. at Pacific Gouge & Extort rates. Work is under 13 miles away. Even on weekends, I almost never charge at home.

 

[Nagorak]

I'd suggest starting out with L1 and seeing how it goes. If you find you're driving too much for an overnight L1 to have you fully recharged the next day, or you find it causing you to have to leave the car parked, or otherwise inconveniences you then go ahead and put in a L2. I plan to eventually put in a L2 myself but mostly as an extravagance as I probably don't really need it.

 

[RonDawg]

No question... You must get the 240v charger. Otherwise, the car is dead in your driveway charging for 1/2 of the day...

Nonsense. I’ve had a Leaf since end of July 2013. Between my former leased one + the miles I’ve put on my current used one, I’ve driven ~41K EV miles.

I have no L2 EVSE since i don’t need it and wasn’t keen on spending $5K to get a “free” L2 EVSE installed. End of my saga on that is at http://www.myrav4ev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=8264&sid=034d102a4676dd61164e4d129dd9b6ea#p8264. And, no, there’s no 240 volt outlet in my garage either.

I have free L1 and L2 charging at work. On Fridays evenings and weekends, I sometimes use public free L2 charging. I also have an ICEV but it’s almost never driven w/me usually getting gas once every 3-6 months for it. It has only moved about 5K miles since around the time I got my 1st Leaf (end of July 2013).

On workdays, I almost never charge at home. It's probably happened 2-3 times, tops. There’s no point esp. at Pacific Gouge & Extort rates. Work is under 13 miles away. Even on weekends, I almost never charge at home.

But the ability to charge at work at L2 is the reason you don't need a 240 volt EVSE at home. Not everybody has that at their workplace, and many don't even have access to L1 at work for whatever reason.

Whether one can survive on L1 basically hinges on two factors:

1. How much mileage you drive everyday; assuming you can get 5 miles of range for each hour of charging, more than 50 miles per day will mean the car is charging for over "1/2 of the day" as mentioned earlier. In winter your "fuel" economy will go down especially if you don't live in California or Florida.
2. How long you can afford to let the car sit and charge; if you share a car with a spouse/driving age child, or have a second job, you may only have a few hours' opportunity for charging.

 

[powersurge]

+1