Can I buy an extra level 1 charger?

[smkettner]

My post was not toward anyone. Just saying if I spent money on an emegency portable I would want the additional flexibility of 120v & 240v charging for whatever is available to get me home the fastest. I would probably make up some additional adapters to fit most NEMA configurations. Maybe even a pigtail with wire to go right into a panel. The only other alternative is to get by on 120v or carry separate 120v & 240v EVSEs. 240v may still need some adapters.

 

[davewill]

Poor design for the stock L1 not to be 13/16 amp switchable, it seems to me. What would that have increased manufacturing costs, maybe $10 or $20?

Am I correct to assume Ingineer would include 13/16 amp in his retrofit, of the stock EVSE, if practicable?

A 16a model would have had to have the 20a plug with one horizontal blade. They would have had to have two pigtails, one for each amperage, (and probably use the pigtail itself to signal the capacity).

 

[planet4ever]

$700 for a power supply from a dealer! When you could buy AV Dock for same price... Anyone knows if Volt's L1 cheaper and will work with Leaf?

I'm surprised nobody else answered this, but I'll try:

• The AV dock is now $900
• It's much lower quality than Ingineer's
• It's not designed to be portable; you'd have to add your own outlet connectors, and you would end up with a bulky ugly looking mess
• It should never be connected to anything less than a 40A circuit

As for Volt's L1, it will work, and I think it's cheaper, but they won't sell it to you unless you have a Volt.

[Edit: Oops, sorry I misspelled it, Phil.]

 

[Ingineer]

We've been trying to get a Volt unit to evaluate to see if we can upgrade them as well.

We had a unit on order for a while now using a volt VIN, and GM finally refused the order. They stipulate you must have your car at the dealer, and a Volt qualified tech must place the order with GM. A VIN is useless.

Why they are making it so difficult is a mystery.

If anyone knows a volt owner, we would give them a discount on the upgrade if possible once we evaluate their unit.

-Phil

 

[mike85233]

I can't seem to find the answer with a couple of searches so posting a new topic.

I'd like to buy a spare Level 1 charger to leave at my office in a ready to use state. Is there an option yet to buy one?

FYI, Leafs in UK come with 220v 10A portable units, double the US charge rate, part# 296M1-3NA3A , ~$600 (no vat)+ shipping.

 

[Bassman]

You can also just do the original upgrade to the supplied L1 EVSE. It will do 120volt at 12 amps and 240 volt at 12 amps. This allows you to use 15 amp, 120 volt circuits and a Quick 220 adapter.
This way you're not limited to 20 amp circuits for 240 volt, which may be hard to find in older homes.

 

[mikek]

How long would it take to charge at 240 volts and 12 amps?

 

[davewill]

How long would it take to charge at 240 volts and 12 amps?

Using Nissan's quoted numbers (and basing the 12a number on them) you get 21 hrs at 120v, 7 hours at 240v 16a, and 10 hours at 240v 12a for a 0-100% charge. Real world experience (where you almost never run down to 0%) is typically one-half to one-third of those numbers. Unless you're charging 0-100% often and come home late, the difference between 12a and 16a is pretty meaningless...you'll still be charged long before morning comes. Besides evseupgrade.com can mod it for 16a if you want.

 

[Ingineer]

FYI, Leafs in UK come with 220v 10A portable units, double the US charge rate, part# 296M1-3NA3A , ~$600 (no vat)+ shipping.

This is not quite true. The default US charge rate on L1 is 120v @ 12a, which is 1.44kW. The UK spec is 230v in mainland UK or 220v in Northern Ireland. That's 2.3kW or 2.2kW for the UK. "Twice" the US rate would have to be 2.88kW.

We sell 2 models for 240V charging here in the US:
Revision 1 which allows charge at 2.88kW (12A), or Revision 2 which charges at the full maximum rate the LEAF can charge at of 3.84kW (16A).

Both revisions charge at 1.44kW when used on a standard 120v outlet.

-Phil

 

[tps]

FYI, Leafs in UK come with 220v 10A portable units, double the US charge rate, part# 296M1-3NA3A , ~$600 (no vat)+ shipping.

I wonder what the UK unit would do in the US, if the ground detection would work right? In the UK one pole of the 230V is a grounded neutral, whereas in the US, neither pole is grounded, the ground is half-way between the 240V poles. I assume Ingineer's modified unit would work in either case, but would the UK unit work with the US split 240V system?

 

[Phoenix]

We've been trying to get a Volt unit to evaluate to see if we can upgrade them as well.

We had a unit on order for a while now using a volt VIN, and GM finally refused the order. They stipulate you must have your car at the dealer, and a Volt qualified tech must place the order with GM. A VIN is useless.

Why they are making it so difficult is a mystery.

If anyone knows a volt owner, we would give them a discount on the upgrade if possible once we evaluate their unit.

-Phil

Felix Kramer of Plug In America has a VOLT (and a Leaf).

 

[gbarry42]

We've been trying to get a Volt unit to evaluate to see if we can upgrade them as well.

Felix Kramer of Plug In America has a VOLT (and a Leaf).

True, that; but the message was from April, and Phil now has been there, done that, and offers the Volt "fix" for a small additional fee.

 

[thankyouOB]

I have some opportunity charging available at work in 110 volts.
Some of the plugs are the standard, household three-prong type, but some are three-prong with one horizontal blade.

Is that safe to use with the trickle-charge Leaf EVSE?
Any help would be much appreciated.

 

[davewill]

I have some opportunity charging available at work in 110 volts.
Some of the plugs are the standard, household three-prong type, but some are three-prong with one horizontal blade.

Is that safe to use with the trickle-charge Leaf EVSE?
Any help would be much appreciated.

Doesn't sound like a 120v outlet. The regular 3 prong is a 5-15. There's a 5-20 that has a sideways "T" that will accept a plug with a horizontal blade. I would want to identify that plug for certain and measure the voltage before trying to use it. Here's a link to diagrams of just about every straight blade plug.
http://www.stayonline.com/reference-nema-straight-blade.aspx

Edit: OK, there's a 120v NEMA 5-20 that looks like you described, but there's also the 240v NEMA 6-20 that looks the same except it's the OTHER blade. Examine the chart and the outlet to figure it out.

 

[Ingineer]

FYI, Leafs in UK come with 220v 10A portable units, double the US charge rate, part# 296M1-3NA3A , ~$600 (no vat)+ shipping.

I wonder what the UK unit would do in the US, if the ground detection would work right? In the UK one pole of the 230V is a grounded neutral, whereas in the US, neither pole is grounded, the ground is half-way between the 240V poles. I assume Ingineer's modified unit would work in either case, but would the UK unit work with the US split 240V system?

I have yet to test this. People so far have wanted more than 10 amps, so they always order the upgrade instead. Also, the UK unit definitely will not work on 120v.

Even if it works here, $600 + ~$70 shipping, and you only get 10A? Not to favor my own products, but if you are trying to get the most bang for the buck, add only $139 and you get one locally, that works on BOTH 120v and 240v, and charges at 12 amps, with a warranty. Add another $48 and you get the full 16 amps.

You can do cheaper if you shop around or have a friend in a Nissan Parts department, then send us that unit and we'll upgrade it for under $260.

-Phil

 

[Ingineer]

I have some opportunity charging available at work in 110 volts.
Some of the plugs are the standard, household three-prong type, but some are three-prong with one horizontal blade.

Is that safe to use with the trickle-charge Leaf EVSE?
Any help would be much appreciated.

If you have a standard un-upgraded EVSE, and the plug won't fit, DO NOT connect it! You will likely destroy your EVSE.

If you have our upgrade, then you can safely connect it to any outlet in the world under 250 volts, so all you need is an adapter.

-Phil

 

[EVDRIVER]

Where would one take a UK unit for service and support? You could not as it would have no US warranty and there is a HUGE difference between 10A and 16A @ 240 not to mention any other ground concerns, etc.

 

[thankyouOB]

Thanks to Dave and Phil for the quick response.

it matches the configuration with two horizontal prongs, but one has a T to it.
That appears to be this:
NEMA 5-20
T-Slot (1)

so it is 110 volt/125 and 20 amps.

oops, I see what you mean,
the 250 volt 20 amp looks the same--but the left prong is horizontal.
I think it has to be the 5-20

But if it is either one of those (without a voltage test) can the standard LEAF EVSE handle that?
or do I need the upgrade one to use that socket?

 

[davewill]

Thanks to Dave and Phil for the quick response.

it matches the configuration with two horizontal prongs, but one has a T to it.
That appears to be this:
NEMA 5-20
T-Slot (1)

so it is 110 volt/125 and 20 amps.

oops, I see what you mean,
the 250 volt 20 amp looks the same.

so if it is either one of those (without a voltage test) can the standard LEAF EVSE handle that?
or do I need the upgrade one to use that socket?

Two horizontal slots, one being a "T" would be the NEMA 6-20(T Slot). The NEMA 5-20(T Slot) has two vertical slots, one being a "T". They are also actually different sizes, the 6-20 being a good bit bigger (the diagram doesn't really show that)

If it's the 6-20, you'll need the upgrade to use it, but you will have full L2 charging. If it's the 5-20 your stock EVSE can it use with no problem. The 5-20 is very common in commercial installations...most importantly if its the 5-20 (T Slot), your standard 3 prong plug will simply plug right into it. It won't fit in the 6-20.

 

[thankyouOB]

!! thank you !!!