Level 2 Charger versus Level 1

Good Afternoon Forum!

I been mostly a lurker on this forum and been learning a lot throughout all of the discussions. When I purchased my LEAF in Dec '15, I was promised a Level 2 charger would come with the car.. :| well as of today they are still working on fulfilling that deal but that is another story another time.

Next week I should have some tread on it and finally getting my Level 2 Charger (https://www.amazon.com/Siemens-VC30...4?ie=UTF8&qid=1469643187&sr=8-4&keywords=evse) but I have always been using my Level 1 charger at work. I mostly have my battery around 50% during the week and finally Friday my car can finally hit 100% to use for the whole weekend.

I been reading a lot about 80% SOC versus 100% and so forth, but since I am going to start using the Level 2 Charger, what is the real suggestion on how to use this method the most efficient/correct way? Just plug the umbilical cord to the car and forget about it for tomorrow? Set up timers to dodge out high electric cost during the day?

I am only leasing my car, so I am not fully worried about my LEAF losing bars since my work is only 12 miles round time (lucky me), but I do want to still leave the option to purchase the car if it makes sense.

Thanks and looking forward to the discussion!

Nissan removed the 80% charge option after the 2013 model year. Leaving the battery at 100% SOC for extended periods, especially in high temperatures, does the most damage to the pack. I would suggest setting a timer to charge between 2am and 6am. If you can get the SOC down around 75% by the time you reach work, that would be ideal.

If you want to have the SOC closer to 80% when you leave for work, you can shorten up the charging window on the timer setting. Just remember to charge to 100% at least once every 10 days to keep the cells balanced in the battery pack.

Keep in mind that leaving the car plugged in, but not charging, can kill the 12 volt battery after an undetermined (more than 3 or 4) number of hours. Your best bet is to plug it in and set an end timer so you can unplug it right before leaving for work.

LeftieBiker said:

Keep in mind that leaving the car plugged in, but not charging, can kill the 12 volt battery after an undetermined (more than 3 or 4) number of hours. Your best bet is to plug it in and set an end timer so you can unplug it right before leaving for work.

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Wait what? Why would being plugged in but not charging kill the 12 volt battery?

LeftieBiker said:

Keep in mind that leaving the car plugged in, but not charging, can kill the 12 volt battery after an undetermined (more than 3 or 4) number of hours. Your best bet is to plug it in and set an end timer so you can unplug it right before leaving for work.

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+1

GiantTortoise said:

Wait what? Why would being plugged in but not charging kill the 12 volt battery?

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It's true. It's a weird design flaw. If you want a dead 12-volt, leave the Leaf plugged into a working EVSE then come back in a few weeks, possibly as few as 2.

cwerdna said:

LeftieBiker said:

Keep in mind that leaving the car plugged in, but not charging, can kill the 12 volt battery after an undetermined (more than 3 or 4) number of hours. Your best bet is to plug it in and set an end timer so you can unplug it right before leaving for work.

Click to expand...

+1

GiantTortoise said:

Wait what? Why would being plugged in but not charging kill the 12 volt battery?

Click to expand...

It's true. It's a weird design flaw. If you want a dead 12-volt, leave the Leaf plugged into a working EVSE then come back in a few weeks, possibly as few as 2.

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Good to know...but the previous user said after a few hours? Is that really a danger, or are we talking about a period of at least a week before its a problem?

Good to know...but the previous user said after a few hours? Is that really a danger, or are we talking about a period of at least a week before its a problem?

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The unknown number of hours is due to another Leaf design flaw: chronic undercharging of the 12 volt battery under many if not most driving scenarios. If the 12 volt battery is nearly full, then a few hours plugged in but not charging is ok. Do it regularly, though, and you may find one morning (as did I) that the last few hours drained an already low battery to the point where it wouldn't boot up the car. If you use a 12 volt battery maintainer, you can leave the car plugged in but nor charging while it's connected to the maintainer. If you don't, avoid doing that regularly.

^^^
I've left my car plugged into an L2 EVSE for more than 8 hours after charging complete (e.g. done by noon, leave work at 8 pm, sometimes later ) and have never had a dead 12 volt at work.

Then again, the 12 volt on my used '13 Leaf (built 5/2013) died in Oct 2015 at home: http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=440106#p440106 then http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=440419#p440419. It got replaced under warranty. No idea of its condition or how it was treated before.

I now roughly every week or so charge it up using a Tecmate Optimate 4 (http://tecmate.com/products/optimate4dp/).

LeftieBiker said:

Keep in mind that leaving the car plugged in, but not charging, can kill the 12 volt battery after an undetermined (more than 3 or 4) number of hours. Your best bet is to plug it in and set an end timer so you can unplug it right before leaving for work.

Click to expand...

It needs to be emphasized that this CAN be a problem for some, not that it is a problem for all. My car is always plugged in at home (so I can start the A/C before driving). It can sit for days without being driven, depending on my schedule. It has never been a problem for me.

Another potential 12V battery drainer is the blue-tooth dongle used for LeafSpy being left connected to the OBD port. I only connect it periodically to take readings. Others have LeafSpy running whenever they are driving.

I had issues with the 12V battery when I first got the car. Checking the cells (all were low), and topping them off with distilled water fixed that problem. I periodically check the battery to see if the cells need topped off. When the 12V battery does eventually die, I plan to replace it with an Optima Yellow Top maintenance-free battery.

cwerdna said:

I now roughly every week or so charge it up using a Tecmate Optimate 4 (http://tecmate.com/products/optimate4dp/).

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I'll jump in and offer an alternative to cwerdna's suggestion that I really like, the CTEK US 0.8, which is a small 0.8 amp charger, which I leave connected to the Prius 12V battery, and on occasion plugging in overnight, to keep it in excellent shape. dhanson865, in another thread, mentioned the CTEK Multi US 3300 charger, which is slightly higher priced but does have the option to charge at the low setting of the CTEK US 0.8 as well as 3.3 amps, which if I had known at the time I might have chosen the 3300.

I will also agree completely with those who say that high heat and 100% charge will kill the battery, as I believe that is why my 2011 LEAF that sat on a dealer's lot in Florida in high heat at 100% charge has lost 7 capacity bars now, at just over 59K miles. It is more than just a combination of the two, it seems to result in an exponential increase if both high heat and high charge percentage are present.

In the case of a 6 mile each way trip, I'd be leaving the LEAF down at 50% or so the entire week, only going back to 80% or so on the weekend, and only to 100% if I knew I was going to be going a substantial distance. Also, for the number of miles driven, I don't know if I'd even bother with a home L2 EVSE. I got by with just L1 for many months, although I did eventually put the L2 in for the convenience, and I just hated the extra inefficiency of the L1. The L2 EVSEs are also more prevalent now then back in 2012, so it might be possible too without much inconvenience to use a public L2 charger when needed.