Is the evse upgrade ul approved ?

[QueenBee]

TonyWilliams: On page CH-37 of the 2013 Leaf Owner's Manual it states in the "EVSE CONTROL BOX
INDICATOR LIGHT table": For flashing READY and FAULT indicator lights -- under "Status and action to be taken": "When the temperature of the electrical plug [I take that they are only talking about the 120v Nema 5-15p input plug] is too hot, or the EVSE is unable to detect the temperature of the electrical plug, check that the electrical plug is connected correctly. If it is connected normally, stop use immediately and contact a NISSAN certified LEAF dealer."

This appears to be new to the 2013 EVSE, as the 2011 and 2012 Owner's Manual makes no mention of it.

Wow, that's a very neat feature. So I wonder how this works? Would be near if it used PLC so you implement it into adapters. I'd love to add this to my OpenEVSE. I'll have to see if I can find more information on how they implemented this.

I also wonder if Phil re-implements this?

 

[z0ner]

In an unrelated note, the Add Foe feature to automatically ignore posts from a certain troll works quite nicely.

 

[QueenBee]

Tony needs help ...


I won't bother you don't worry ..

As for ul yes it does bring its financial backing of it approved products and back in 1994 it was 5 million in coverage in damages . I will try to google more just for you.

I have no beef with you or any of you .. I just don't see how someone who asked a question of electrical safety should be treated in this way .. I hope your happy with yourself every night ...

Im sorry for your children , pets, co workers, family and most of all your parents for not helping you sooner with your inability to have proper reading comprehension and manners to the real world.

Being retired at age 28 you become to understand whats important and now that i haven't had to work a day in over 10 years why should i care if my million dollar house burns from a non ul approved device ... Huh makes sense to me.. Ive got nothing else better to do .. Maybe ill just drive my range rover instead

Classy, instead of hiding behind anonymity of the Internet why don't you let us know your name. With your millions you should hire a typing tutor and English teacher.

You just don't get it. Had you come here and asked "Is this UL listed?" and when told no responded with a simple. "Thanks for the quick response. I'll probably look elsewhere as I value UL testing." you would have gotten some responses like what Tony said above about not wanting to pay extra for testing. This would not have caused any problems. Instead you starting saying things that are not true, spreading FUD, making threat(s), and just generally being worthless.

Apparently you've decided it's important to continue to troll here.

I'd trust my personal safety to Phil or Tony over any big manufacture any day.

BTW: has anyone checked the 2013 manual to see if it still carries the big scary warnings about using the L1?

 

[TonyWilliams]

TonyWilliams: On page CH-37 of the 2013 Leaf Owner's Manual it states in the "EVSE CONTROL BOX
INDICATOR LIGHT table": For flashing READY and FAULT indicator lights -- under "Status and action to be taken": "When the temperature of the electrical plug [I take that they are only talking about the 120v Nema 5-15p input plug] is too hot, or the EVSE is unable to detect the temperature of the electrical plug, check that the electrical plug is connected correctly. If it is connected normally, stop use immediately and contact a NISSAN certified LEAF dealer."

This appears to be new to the 2013 EVSE, as the 2011 and 2012 Owner's Manual makes no mention of it.

Interesting. It's not part of the J1772 standard, and it makes sense that they would have some internal overheat protection, I honestly don't see how they are doing that at the plug.

On my OPENevse, I intend to use just the 50C thermistors and proximity signal interrupt for temperature overheat at the connector. I guess I could also put that in the unit itself.

 

[bigt]

Makes a lot of sense to me now, those who are bashing have the most to gain using the product..

Thats fine , save your $700 bucks or be a home engineer. Im sure there is more than one dead burnt love one from it somewhere in this world. You all believe that someone has their jerry rigging on and call it a product without certs go right ahead... more power to you.. And yes my typing skills suck. english is my second language.

 

[KJD]

Makes a lot of sense to me now, those who are bashing have the most to gain using the product..
Thats fine , save your $700 bucks or be a home engineer. Im sure there is more than one dead burnt love one from it somewhere in this world. You all believe that someone has their jerry rigging on and call it a product without certs go right ahead... more power to you.. And yes my typing skills suck. english is my second language.

Welcome to my delete list Troll.

 

[LoungeFlyZ]

Hey bigt,

(PS: does the "t" in your nickname stand for troll? sorry couldn't help myself. hah)

If having UL (or other) makes you feel safer then you shouldn't buy this. Simple. I like many others here don't think it makes any difference to safety. And lets be honest, who really cares about the insurance money if your family dies? I don't.

On the fire department side of things. What did you honestly expect them to say? "Sure! go ahead! we will endorse the use of something we have never heard of!" ... seriously? That would be like asking a brick layer if they would be ok saying a nuclear power plant was safe. Fire depts are not experts in electronics ... they put out fires. I just don't see how you could have expected any other answer from them. You obviously like to ask permission to do something first, vs. do something and then ask for forgiveness later. I couldn't live like that having to ask for permission to do anything i please.

So back to the OP. No it's not UL. Make your own decision ... don't judge anyone else based on theirs.

 

[Stoaty]

I would like to suggest that a moderator lock this thread (the question posed was answered in the second post of the thread). Then we can see if Bigt can cool off and perhaps offer something of value to the forum in future postings.

 

[bigt]

Just a fyi for those that care... after talking with my insurance about a ul product thats been modified that causes a fire they say they are off the hook.. google yourself how some insurance companies are not covering house fires caused by the new non ul smart meters.There are more than a few.

and washington state in 1938 would not aloud the sale of non ul products or a nrlt. And i couldn't find anywhere on evseupgrade web site any info about ul or R O L statements.

Bash away

 

[apvbguy]

fwiw: I received my upgraded unit today. it's been charging for about 2 hours and my garage has not burned to the ground :lol:

 

[QueenBee]

Just a fyi for those that care... after talking with my insurance about a ul product thats been modified that causes a fire they say they are off the hook.. google yourself how some insurance companies are not covering house fires caused by the new non ul smart meters.There are more than a few.

Hah, I'm sure all the FUD you are reading about smart meters are from the same people that are against smart meters because they cause EMF which is impacting their health. Do you also wear a tinfoil hat? Instead of reading websites of paranoid people how about you read the response from an insurance broker?
http://wiseinsurancegroup.com/am-i-covered-if-the-smart-meter-causes-a-home-fire/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
"I’ve talked with a number of claims adjusters from several different insurance companies and the short answer is, “No.” I’ve never seen a fire claim denied on that basis whether an item is UL certified or not.
In addition, the insurance company will still pay the fire claim whether it’s determined,
the meter caused the fire
or it resulted from being improperly installed"


Did your insurance company reference a section in your policy that excludes "a ul product thats been modified that causes a fire", not likely since I'm sure such an exclusion does not exist. With all your millions you could hire someone to read your homeowners policy to see if that exclusion actually exists.

If I actually had any doubt that UL listing or lack of listing of the products in my house exposed me to any additional risk as a result of my insurance company denying a fire claim I would contact the insurance commissioners office for an official response from them. But since I've read through my policy and am confident anyone saying this rubbish is just spreading FUD I have no doubt that the UL listing of any product in my home is not going to impact my insurance coverage.

Since you are not going to buy this product why to continue to waste others times asking them questions that others have pointed out are certainly going to garner the response you want?

 

[QueenBee]

fwiw: I received my upgraded unit today. it's been charging for about 2 hours and my garage has not burned to the ground :lol:

Congrats! I should probably get around to selling mine since I've replaced it with the non-ul certified OpenEVSE I made. You should check to make sure you don't have the same insurance company as bigt.

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

Against my better judgement I will add one observation here, if a technicality like ul listing were sufficient cause to deny an insurance claim lenders would have freaked out long ago.

 

[RonDawg]

I thought I should mention that otherwise well-regarded Schneider EVLink charging station, a UL-certified device, had to be recalled (to the point of the company pulling unsold ones off of retailer shelves) due to a defect. This defect, which per another thread could have caused a fire, was discovered by the manufacturer, and not UL themselves.

So even UL doesn't catch everything.

 

[Pushpak]

So even UL doesn't catch everything.

While I share neither OP's peculiarly tone-deaf expression nor his fixation on UL certification, we should note that his concern seems to be with insurance implications in case of a fire. I don't think he's suggested that a UL mark is a cure-all.

 

[RonDawg]

So even UL doesn't catch everything.

While I share neither OP's peculiarly tone-deaf expression nor his fixation on UL certification, we should note that his concern seems to be with insurance implications in case of a fire. I don't think he's suggested that a UL mark is a cure-all.

He justifies the need for UL certification for product liability reasons, but in the end he takes issue with the fact that it is modified, and why would people (and lots of them) buy such a thing.

I also mention the EVLink's recall as an example of how even a product from big company (they own Square D) with a UL cert can still be hazardous.

 

[greenleaf]

UL listed just means that there is another pair of eyes to review the product. A subsequent defect discovered by the manufacturer does not diminish the requirement for UL listing.

The EVSE upgrade is $350 after you add two-way shipping and the ability to still maintain 120V charging. If you lease, add another $40 for two-way shipping if you planned to have it downgraded at the end of the lease. Since OP is worried about UL listing, perhaps OP should consider the alternative -- the Clipper LCS-25 which retails at $595 + tax (with free shipping) instead. If OP joins a group buy, the price can be lowered further.

 

[Ingineer]

Wow, what a thread!

First off, let me say that the Nissan EVSEs that I upgrade are originally made by Panasonic kitchen Appliances division, and are UL listed in their original form. Of course as soon as the case is opened, the listing is invalidated. But if I were to submit the upgraded unit for re-certification testing, I have full confidence that it would pass, as nothing critical to the basic design has changed, and all new components are indeed UL listed. I was very careful to do extensive high-stress testing before I ever shipped the first unit, and I'm confident that it is a safe and reliable unit. I back this up with my reputation, and obviously with my bank account as well! (non-impressive as it may be!)

We have many thousands of customers around the globe using the upgraded EVSE every day, and have had zero reports of any dangerous problems. If I were to get the unit re-listed, it would likely double the cost, and the goal here was to leverage the EVSE a LEAF owner already has in order to provide a low-cost, safe, and reliable charging solution. As I see it, the current cost and hassle of having a permanently installed EVSE is a major impediment to EV adoption, so my efforts were focused on how to reduce these barriers and get more people into EV's with less expense and hassle. So I decided to not get the upgrade re-listed, as I have full confidence that it is not necessary to achieve the end result. So far after over 2 years and thousands of satisfied customers, I have been proven right.

I fully believe that I have made the upgraded EVSE actually safer by vastly improving it's software and using high-quality UL listed upgrade components. The overwhelming majority of our customers get the unit upgraded for use on 240V, and this almost always means the outlet and wiring is usually superior to the crappy contractor-grade 120V outlets one normally finds in their garage. This alone is a major safety concern, even though these cheap outlets are all US listed, they still are known to cause dangerous problems when subjected to high-power continuous use. This is another reason why Nissan (as well as I) discourage daily charging on 120V. UL listed or not, a bad outlet is still a major hazard!

I have bet my livelihood on my decisions, and I stand behind my products. As everyone has already pointed out; If you aren't comfortable with the upgrade, then by all means, STAY AWAY! In fact, If I ever receive an order from someone like BigT, I will promptly cancel their order and refund their money. We don't need any fires, and just as importantly, we can do without all the FUD and scare-mongering.

-Phil

 

[TonyWilliams]

Wow, what a thread!

...I have bet my livelihood on my decisions, and I stand behind my products. As everyone has already pointed out; If you aren't comfortable with the upgrade, then by all means, STAY AWAY! In fact, If I ever receive an order from someone like BigT, I will promptly cancel their order and refund their money. We don't need any fires, and just as importantly, we can do without all the FUD and scare-mongering.

-Phil

Well said Brother.

 

[QueenBee]

If I were to get the unit re-listed, it would likely double the cost, and the goal here was to leverage the EVSE a LEAF owner already has in order to provide a low-cost, safe, and reliable charging solution. As I see it, the current cost and hassle of having a permanently installed EVSE is a major impediment to EV adoption, so my efforts were focused on how to reduce these barriers and get more people into EV's with less expense and hassle. So I decided to not get the upgrade re-listed, as I have full confidence that it is not necessary to achieve the end result. So far after over 2 years and thousands of satisfied customers, I have been proven right.

I fully believe that I have made the upgraded EVSE actually safer by vastly improving it's software and using high-quality UL listed upgrade components. The overwhelming majority of our customers get the unit upgraded for use on 240V, and this almost always means the outlet and wiring is usually superior to the crappy contractor-grade 120V outlets one normally finds in their garage. This alone is a major safety concern, even though these cheap outlets are all US listed, they still are known to cause dangerous problems when subjected to high-power continuous use. This is another reason why Nissan (as well as I) discourage daily charging on 120V. UL listed or not, a bad outlet is still a major hazard!

I have bet my livelihood on my decisions, and I stand behind my products. As everyone has already pointed out; If you aren't comfortable with the upgrade, then by all means, STAY AWAY! In fact, If I ever receive an order from someone like BigT, I will promptly cancel their order and refund their money. We don't need any fires, and just as importantly, we can do without all the FUD and scare-mongering.

I don't think you could have summed up this discussion any better. I for one am very grateful for the work you have done and it certainly has had a big positive impact on the EV world, plus sharing your experience and knowledge has certainly helped many of us be safer with our DIY projects. I was really hoping the success of your product would cause Nissan to include a 120/240v EVSE standard with the LEAF.

Hopefully this success will spawn other products. I'm still waiting to see the IngineerEVSE and of course the LEAFScan will sure to be a hit when it's ready