Fiskers charger?

[kevinleaf]

Anyone else using a Fiskers charger? It is made by Lear who mostly makes automotive seats.

I got one at an amazing price so I took the risk. I only tried it briefly but it seems to work well. Only issue is it won't charge my 2013 Leaf at 6.6 kWh. I am not surprised since the Fiskers only has an onboard charger for 3.3 kWh but the higher rate would be nice.

I have it on a 30 amp 220v circuit in my house.

 

[cwerdna]

It's an EVSE, not a charger.

You definitely took a risk. Hope you didn't pay much for it. I've not heard good things about Lear's L1 EVSEs, esp. on the BMW ActiveE Facebook group.

 

[kevinleaf]

Thanks for the reply and the correction. I am a newbee.

I did get it very cheap. What did you hear that was bad about these chargers? What I have figured out so far is I can forget about getting any support from Fiskers...

 

[cwerdna]

https://www.facebook.com/groups/239198747743/permalink/10151655838377744/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; has a bunch of grumbling by multiple folks on the L1 Lear EVSE. I know nothing about their L2.

Supposedly GM used for their original L1 Volt EVSEs and I've heard negative comments about their construction.

The charger is in your car, under the hood and is used for L1 and L2 charging. These are all just EVSEs.

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

The charger is in your car, under the hood and is used for L1 and L2 charging. These are all just EVSEs.

But it says right on the thing "high voltage charger"
I have taken to refraining from correcting newcomers on this technicality in terminology, sometimes I think it may convey a bad first impression that ev owners are a bunch of nerds/douches.

 

[apvbguy]

I think it may convey a bad first impression that ev owners are a bunch of nerds/douches.

Ya think??

someone should make a visual chart showing the different pieces of the chargers and labeling them with the correct names, sort of like this example of labeling parts for neophytes to learn about the various components

 

[davewill]

The charger is in your car, under the hood and is used for L1 and L2 charging. These are all just EVSEs.

But it says right on the thing "high voltage charger"
I have taken to refraining from correcting newcomers on this technicality in terminology, sometimes I think it may convey a bad first impression that ev owners are a bunch of nerds/douches.

I don't think you could be more wrong. It just creates too much confusion to let people call them chargers, especially with the charger options on the 2013 LEAFs.

 

[apvbguy]

I don't think you could be more wrong. It just creates too much confusion to let people call them chargers, especially with the charger options on the 2013 LEAFs.

 

[derkraut]

I don't think you could be more wrong. It just creates too much confusion to let people call them chargers, especially with the charger options on the 2013 LEAFs.

Yup....I think we're missing the point.
1. cwerdna is absolutely corrrect; the "charger" is inside the car.
2. When newcomers ask a question on the forum, we should be as courteous as possible, when correcting their terminology. They are looking for information.
3. Fiskar certainly incorrectly identified their EVSE. That's embarrassing; no wonder they went belly-up.

 

[kevinleaf]

I realized the difference between a "charger" and EVSE when I picked up the Fiskers charger vs an Edison charger for an older RAV4. The Fiskers charger weighs next to nothing and is almost empty on the inside. For a while I thought I bought a demo model they would hang on the wall at a dealer instead of the real deal since it was so empty. The RAV4 charger had big transformers and such in it and weighted a ton.

Anyway the Fiskers charger seems to work well for me so far. No problems of heat as I heard elsewhere. Most complaints I saw were for the level 1 charger anyway. Charge rate is not 6.6 but its still a lot better than my 120v charger that came with the car.

The problem is now that I am hooking it up to a drier outlet in the house that is an uncomfortable distance from the car. Its a stretch to hook it up and I have to leave the door open to the house and garage. I'm renting so I can't do any kind of permanent hookup. I charge for free at work most days during the week so I just need it for an occasional weekend where I drain the battery, so no big deal.

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

Charge rate is not 6.6 but its still a lot better than my 120v charger that came with the car.

I think you mean EVSE :lol:

 

[cwerdna]

^^^
Heh. Planet4ever put up a line diagram long ago showing the OBC (on-board charger) and its role when charging via J1772 L1 and L2 vs. DC fast charging (over CHAdeMO) at http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=262630#p262630" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

In the case of CHAdeMO, the huge bulky unit outside the car IS a charger. But, for L1 and L2, the charger is on-board the car.

And yes, it is important to get it right to avoid confusion do the max input/output of the on-board chargers on the '11 and '12 vs. the two choices on the '13. Many other BEVs also have 6+ kW on-board chargers (e.g. Fit EV, Coda, FFE, Rav4 EV, etc.)

 

[NYLEAF]

Home Depot sells a nearly identical unit, advertised as being made by "Legrand". This is what I use to charge my 2012 Leaf. I regret not getting a 6.6 capable unit, but oh well. I have a couple more years on my Lease, so I'm in no rush to replace it.

FWIW, Home Depot's website lists this product, and lots of similar ones, under the "Electric Car Chargers" category. :roll:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Legrand-...tation-L2EVSE16/203013921?N=c3gj#.UbauketQ1EI

 

[kevinleaf]

Looks like my exact same unit. The two silver side "branding" pieces are actually just velcro'ed on to be swapped out easily. Perhaps I'll take them off and fix their "charger" misnomer with the more widely accepted yet less understood EVSE ;-)

I paid $200 for mine used so I did get an amazing deal.