Charging Question from a new Leafer

[MtWalt]

I just got a 2015 this week, and yesterday foolishly, and providentially (out of my control) ran it almost a 0 charge. I stopped at a blink station and after 45 minutes it was at 11%. I drove directly home and put it on the charger and it was only at 75% this morning (5PM to 7AM). Is this unusual? Any suggestions on what I am doing wrong? I will charge overnight again tonight, but want to make sure I am being as smart as I can be.

Walt

 

[mctom987]

It will greatly help if you update your profile, and provide some model information.

Without that, here's my best guess: You have an S with the 3.3kW charger. This means on an L2 EVSE, it will take approximately 8 hours to recharge from 0.

As for charging at home, it sounds like you used the emergency L1 EVSE, which only supplies ~1.2kW to the batteries. This normally takes ~22 hours to complete.

 

[finman100]

a bit more info may be needed. 120V charging (using the supplied Nissan charger that plugs into a regular household outlet) will take over 20 hours from empty to full. So using that assumption, your timeframe seems about right...

If you have 240V charging (an actual EV charging station installed...30A or higher), then it's roughly half that time, perhaps closer to 8 hours from empty to full, depending on the on-board charger (S model has 3.3kW, SV and SL have 6.6kW).

I have a 30A, 240V outlet with the upgraded EVSE (http://evseupgrade.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false that will charge at 20A, so it does things much faster than a normal 120V outlet.

That's about what I know so far. I'm 3 months in and learning! What a great ride and I love figuring out all this new terminology. No more gallons. it's kwhr now.

Please correct any of the above, those who can fill things in for us new Leafers.

 

[MtWalt]

THANKS for your help! I have an S, and yes, I was plugged into a 120. I will not make the mistake of going to 0 again.

I will also make it a point of getting by and topping off at a fast charger at a dealership a couple of times per week.

 

[MtWalt]

By the way, are any of the charging accessories worth the money? I am going to have a buddy who is a master electrician run a 220 for me, but otherwise, are there any other items I can buy that make life simpler for an EV owner?

 

[keydiver]

You should also seriously consider either upgrading your factory charger to 240 volt with evseupgrdae.com or getting a home 240 volt charging station. Last I heard, Home Depot have the Schneider EVSE on sale for only $499, and that would charge your Leaf MUCH faster.

 

[mctom987]

You should also seriously consider either upgrading your factory charger to 240 volt with evseupgrdae.com or getting a home 240 volt charging station. Last I heard, Home Depot have the Schneider EVSE on sale for only $499, and that would charge your Leaf MUCH faster.

Upgrading the charger is a seriously difficult task. Only a select few have done it.

Upgrading the EVSE, which does nothing more than tell the charger how much power to use, can be done relatively easily, and a lot cheaper.

The bottleneck will be the charger on the S. It only charges at 3.3kW, so something like the EVSE Upgrade will give you full-rate charging. Other candidates are the $395 LCS-20 from Clipper Creek.

 

[bbrowncods]

Also look at OpenEvse and Juicebox. Watch the For Sale section of MNL for EVSEs for sale.

 

[gsleaf]

Also look into Clipper Creek. They have inexpensive models that are supposed to be very solid.

http://www.clippercreek.calls.net/?_vsrefdom=p.4019" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[TimLee]

... I am going to have a buddy who is a master electrician run a 220 for me ...

Be Extremely careful and cautious about using the 120V EVSE.
Although some people have used it for two or three years without problems, some have had seriously dangerous results.
See http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=15784&hilit=+fire#p352567" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.
MOST garage outlets are not really suitable for safe use with the 120V EVSE.
Better to have it checked before use, or upgrade it to a new single outlet single breaker feed with a a high grade outlet.

 

[Graffi]

THANKS for your help! I have an S, and yes, I was plugged into a 120. I will not make the mistake of going to 0 again.

I will also make it a point of getting by and topping off at a fast charger at a dealership a couple of times per week.

Please confirm that you DO NOT have the quick charge option, and do not have the Quick Charge port next to your J1772 socket on your Leaf. In this case you are limited to 3.3kw. With the Quick Charge option you are able to charge at a 6.6kw rate, plus you can use the DCQC that can give you from Zero to 80% in half an hour.

If you are limited to the 3.3kw then the best you could do is that rate, no matter how powerful a circuit or EVSE you have.

 

[MtWalt]

One final question- can I use an extension cord with my EVSE? I dont want to burn the house down, but I also need to charge every day or 2. This is the one I got:

http://evseupgrade.com/?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[mctom987]

Extension cords are not recommended.

There are two main reasons.
1: Many cheap extension cords can NOT support the currents needed for the EVSE. This is a huge fire hazard.
2: The outlet connection is the weakest link in a circuit. Minimizing connections reduces the risk points. Sometimes, you can have a poor/broken connection, and you get the above problem: huge fire hazards.

That said, yes, you can. Just be sure the cable is rated for the power. Usually 14 AWG minimum. I would recommend 12 or 10 AWG. Also, avoid getting excessive lengths. If you only need 10', don't buy a 50' cable.

 

[LeftieBiker]

Make sure any extension cord is plugged in *securely* at both ends. If the outlet is loose, replace it immediately, before you use it with the cord OR the EVSE directly. Make the extension a temporary solution, and get a dedicated 120 or 240 volt circuit installed.

One consolation if you have the 3.3KW charger in your car: all Leafs, regardless of charger, charge at the same rate (5% per hour) on 120 volts.

 

[TimLee]

One final question- can I use an extension cord with my EVSE? I dont want to burn the house down, but I also need to charge every day or 2. This is the one I got:

http://evseupgrade.com/?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Bit unclear whether you are talking about 120V or 240V.
Both are functionally possible, but in general extension cord use is a bad idea.

The 120V EVSE plug on 2013 forward has temperature sensor that will shut it off when plug / outlet gets too hot.
You do not have this protection with extension cord.

Extension cord presents tripping hazard and in one case a bundle of extension cord overheated and caught fire.

Previous info from another thread:

...
Trickle charging should be safe, though, right? I wouldn't necessarily need to have the circuit certified for it or anything, should I? If I were to go to a friend's house, would I be safe plugging into their outlet?

How safe 120V charging is depends on how lucky you are.
Very few garages have the correct properly installed high quality single outlet supplied by a single breaker.
Code only allows using 80% of the circuit rating for a long term continuous load.
So on a 15 amp circuit nothing else should be on the same circuit while the car is charging.
And a lot of 120V gets put in poorly using push in connections.
One person had a bad fire most likely from staples that had damaged the cable in the wall.
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=15784&hilit=+fire#p352567" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

But your link indicates you had the evseupgrade.com done. It uses locking 6-30, and I don't think it has temperature monitoring of the connector.

If using 240V, you can buy 6-30 extension cord.
Bit expensive, $50 12 foot, $70 to $80 25 foot.
If properly made may be OK.
How OK is in the details. Is cord being protected, not bundled up, not tripping hazard, etc.

Similar issues with 120V.
Just more risk unless you put in dedicated high quality single feed outlet.

 

[MtWalt]

Update:: I had to take it to the dealer and they found that one of the connections was bent and was not making contact with the charger AND there is a software problem on some Leafs where It reads the charger/battery wrong and won't take the charge. The connection and SW are fixed and it is running perfectly now.

Thanks for all your input and education.

Walt

 

[Kubla]

I use an extension cord with my 120 charging cord, have no choice as no outlet is close enough, I bought a 10 gauge extension cord just for the leaf, the nissan supplied EVSE cord gets warm while charging, the extension cord does not so there is no problem

finally have all the stuff to hook up my 240 volt circuit for charging

 

[maini]

THANKS for your help! I have an S, and yes, I was plugged into a 120. I will not make the mistake of going to 0 again.

I will also make it a point of getting by and topping off at a fast charger at a dealership a couple of times per week.

Just do this and you will make yourself a 12A 240V L2 charger for $25
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=16948" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Have been using this for a few months.. no issues at all..

 

[TimLee]

^^^
DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK!!
It worked for maini as maini is careful and has a good electrical knowledge and is an Electrical Engineer.

 

[Kubla]

Yay, my 240 volt charging circuit with electric meter is finally hooked up and working