Tell me if this works.

Nissan suggested buyers should have a 240V charging station installed at home and it cost $2000 to get it done so I was thinking of another solution, a home made one to cut cost.

The spec of the car is here: http://www.nissanusa.com/leaf-electric-car/tags/show/specs#/leaf-electric-car/specs-features/index

The battery that came with the car is 24kWh and the on board charger is 3.3Wh so the charging time is 24/3.3 is about 8 hours. So the key is to provide a electrical circuit to the charger that is 3.3Wh. So I was thinking of getting a step up transformer that coverts 120V to 240V and that is 5000Watts and see here: http://www.220-electronics.com/Transformers/trans/simranreg.htm#Step%20up%20and%20Step%20down%20Voltage%20Converter%20Size,%20Weight,%20Model%20and%20Prices

To support this 5000Watts transformer I'll have a electrician install a dedicated circuit from my electrical meter at home that is 120V with 40A breaker so that is (120 x 40)4800W. So from this new circuit I'll connect to a step up transformer and then from that connects to the on board charger in the leaf. Does this solution work? If not, what's the problem?

Thanks a bunch.
John

Two Methods:
1. 120v 40A breaker, wire, transformer, wire or wire-and-plug ...
2. 240v 20A dual-breaker, wire or wire-and-plug ...

That gives you a source of 240v.

Then, for both cases, connecting that 240v to the EV requires purchasing and "connecting" a L2 (240v) EVSE.

So, the first method is ... more work and more expensive (also requires safely "mounting" and "containing" the transformer), but is certainly a possibility if you ONLY have 120v available.

For starters its just better to buy an affordable EVSE from another supplier like leviton, have you read any of the EVSE threads yet? You are not going to get more power form stepping up the voltage, run a dedicated 240V line.

There is already 240 volts at the panel so stepping up with a transformer is a waste
You will need to pull wire anyway so just pull a 240v circuit
If you go with a 16a 240v charging dock (such as Leviton) you just need #12 wire, double 20a breaker and NEMA 6-20 outlet

I think the point the original poster missed is that just "plugging in" 240v with appropriate ampacity to the LEAF will not work. The charger in the car will not accept electricity until it sees the control signal that an EVSE generates. There are huge amounts of information on charging on this board. See http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewforum.php?f=9

A recent thread on why you need an EVSE and what's available is: http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=753

If you dig, you can find discussions on building your own, but most people shouldn't even think about going that route.

yes, "yadac123" is put off by the AV $2200 or more bids on the 240V EVSE, so he thinks he can do it himself...

Well, it's not the voltage that's the issue, it's generating the "pilot" signal and meeting all of the UL saftey requirements, then its a government contractor looking for a large cash grab, because its %50 reimbursed on peoples taxes, and it's the greedy AV ripping people off, casue that's what "government contractors" do best.

Just wait until there are 3 or 4 EVSE's out, and watch the prices tumble so quick, your head will spin.
The Leviton, and the SPX promise to be very price competitive.

I agree that as soon as there are a few choices this will be very affordable.

Leon , is there any news on L2 chargers at your store?

does nissan have a standard requiring dealers to install a L2 charger to be "certified"

you would think the install would be november, early december at latest

1) 240 requires lower current therefore cheaper wire, so you are best to bring 240 right of out the panel. if an electrician does not attempt to talk you out of your plan, get another electrician

2) if you honestly think that most of us will pay $2,000 for a charger you are...well, trust me on this. within 6 months, there will be a dozen options out there and will probably go for $500 especially the 3.3 options. the 6.6 chargers might be spendy for a while, but not much more than a 1000 i am betting

Exactly. I will live with L1 until a few of the EVSEs are available. I am thinking it should cost around $500 installed with my own electrician.

I wanna thank everyone for the awesome replies. Running a 240V 40A circuit from the pannel seems to be the best choice and from there to a L2 charger.

Thanks
John

... to an L2 EVSE (charging dock, or "e-hose" if you wish).
The charger itself is inside the LEAF.