Add ability to adjust charging rate

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aatheus

Active member
Joined
Sep 20, 2012
Messages
26
There are times that I would like to be able to charge at a slower rate on L2 (say, during peak time, or if I'm on a circuit with limited capacity). Now that the 6kW charger is standard on 2 of the trims, can we at least get the option to toggle between 3.3kW and 6.6 kW charging rate? Being able to adjust the charging rate in Amps would be even better.
 
aatheus said:
There are times that I would like to be able to charge at a slower rate on L2 (say, during peak time, or if I'm on a circuit with limited capacity). Now that the 6kW charger is standard on 2 of the trims, can we at least get the option to toggle between 3.3kW and 6.6 kW charging rate? Being able to adjust the charging rate in Amps would be even better.

An EVSE with an adjustable pilot wil do this. My Think had a switch on the dash for this feature. Nissan does not really think things through.
 
This is true, but I don't know of any public EVSEs that can be adjusted. Do you know of any purchasable EVSEs with adjustable pilots?
 
DarkStar said:
aatheus said:
This is true, but I don't know of any public EVSEs that can be adjusted. Do you know of any purchasable EVSEs with adjustable pilots?
The Blink can if you know the maintenance password. :roll:

"1-2-3-4-5"? That's amazing! That's the same as the combination on my luggage!
 
To me it makes more sense to control the charging rate on the EVSE rather than the EV, since it is the EVSE that communicates to the EV what the max charging amps is in the first place.

If I had a 2013 Leaf w/ the 6.6kW on-board charger (instead of my 2011) I would normally only care to be able to adjust the charging rate via my home EVSE (currently a Blink) which I think would be a lot more convenient rather than a Leaf setting. I would change the default charging current from 30a to 16a (I almost always charge to 80%, and it rarely charges more than 3 hr), and if allowed only rarely bump it to something higher (probably 30a) when I was in a hurry. Charging away from a home EVSE I would normally want the maximum charging rate for that Level 2 EVSE (the Leaf will never try to draw more current than it can handle), so that someone else could more quickly use that EVSE when my Leaf finished (and to reduce any charging costs to me based on time).

What are the available amp settings on the residential Blink? Is it 12a, 16a, 24a, and 30a as mentioned in the Blink Installation Manual specifications?

For safety reasons I do not recommend anyone routinely changing their Blink's "Installation Max Amps Input" via a password they shouldn't have access to! I would not be surprised if Ecotality enhances their Blink software to allow a "User Selected Max Amps Input" (but allowing no higher than the "Installation Max Amps Input" set for the installation circuit specifically for safety), but if they don't a default 16a "Installation Max Amps Input" setting seems a good compromise that some 2013 Leaf owners may wish to consider.
 
aatheus said:
This is true, but I don't know of any public EVSEs that can be adjusted. Do you know of any purchasable EVSEs with adjustable pilots?
SPX Power Xpress has adjustable pilot setting (it may need it, having a REMA J1772 connector). But this does not let you throttle current down from EVSE advertised rate from the car.
 
FYI, Tesla has this feature, you can streach your charge over the low rate period or anytime you want. They can also cut it down so they can use a BLINK that only handles 30 amps or even lower at a friends home that may only have a 20 amp ckt. Someday all EV's will have basic features like that. My 2013 has a few extra options than my 2011 had and each year I expect more.
 
It's my understanding that our favorite ingineer at evseupgrade.com now offers a selectable charge rate on the conversions he does. I just learned about this a few days ago. Here is a quote from the site:
You also get easily programmable amperage settings, so you can "dial it down" if you are on a limited power outlet, or you really want a "trickle" charge, say for example; in airport long-term parking.
That's what I've been waiting for, and I plan to finally get my charge brick upgraded.


Also...
jstack6 said:
FYI, Tesla has this feature, you can streach your charge over the low rate period or anytime you want. They can also cut it down so they can use a BLINK that only handles 30 amps or even lower at a friends home that may only have a 20 amp ckt. Someday all EV's will have basic features like that. My 2013 has a few extra options than my 2011 had and each year I expect more.
The J1772 protocol (and one of the reasons you pay all that money for something that isn't much more than a wall-plug adapter) works in a way that the car automatically knows not to draw more than the EVSE can handle. There may be some variations when Tesla is involved, since they don't use J1772 directly.
 
gbarry42 said:
... The J1772 protocol (and one of the reasons you pay all that money for something that isn't much more than a wall-plug adapter) works in a way that the car automatically knows not to draw more than the EVSE can handle. There may be some variations when Tesla is involved, since they don't use J1772 directly.
The Tesla does it partly because they provide a portable L2 EVSE that can be plugged into most anything. It adjusts to the type of adapter, but sometimes the circuit doesn't match the receptacle type. For instance, a 14-50 with a 40a circuit breaker. They handle these cases by allowing the user to dial the car down. They could have built the dial down into their portable EVSE, but the car has a much better interface, and there are other scenarios as suggested by the OP.
 
You know.. I was thinking. As more vehicles show up on the market with the ability to charge at 6Kw, 10 Kw, or even 20 Kw from a standard J1772 charging station.... One thing that might be a good feature to add is something on the screen and smart-phone app to tell a person how many volts/amps/kilowatts they are charging. Right now it only distinguishes between trickle and normal. But not all charging stations are equal. Some will not handle the higher amps. And it might take people a while to realize that they can charge faster at one station than another. The best way to figure that out quickly is for the vehicle to tell you what the charge rate is. Also it might be a good thing to add to Plugshare and the like too.
 
The evseupgrade is fully adjustable from 6 amps up to 20A, it is easy to do and works via the release button on the charge handle, I often set mine at 3kw when my pack is hot. It will also let you know what the charge rate is during charging.
 
EVDRIVER said:
It will also let you know what the charge rate is during charging.
It only tells you what the EVSE is set to, doesn't it? Not what is currently being drawn. It's asking a bit much of the EVSEUpgrade, but the car, or EVSEs like Blink that have displays could do it. The only place I've seen it are the public Chargepoints.
 
I agree, the EV should display at least the current amperage available via EVSE Pilot. In a perfect world also give you the ability to adjust it. I don't see Nissan doing this because they build the controls for the lowest common denominator. Look how much complaining we had to do just to get a simple SOC display!

Tesla gives you the ability to set the amperage.

There are plenty of times where you might desire to adjust it, which is why I took the time to add this feature to the EVSE Upgrade.

-Phil
 
With the new feature I sent mine back in for V2 upgrade :D
The adjustable charge rate adds value to me as I should be able to get a modest charge from my RV inverter.
Hope to get it back this week ;)
 
Are you going to make the ability to change the charge rate available to us who have a REV 2 upgrade already? I assume it is just a reprogram of the processor (pic?).

Phil H.


Ingineer said:
I agree, the EV should display at least the current amperage available via EVSE Pilot. In a perfect world also give you the ability to adjust it. I don't see Nissan doing this because they build the controls for the lowest common denominator. Look how much complaining we had to do just to get a simple SOC display!

Tesla gives you the ability to set the amperage.

There are plenty of times where you might desire to adjust it, which is why I took the time to add this feature to the EVSE Upgrade.

-Phil
 
At this time we are not offering upgrades for existing customers with a 2011-2012 unit, but we are working on a solution.

For starters, we want to perfect the software and possibly add even more features. But the main problem is if we started accepting them, we would be overrun by hundreds of units and your unit would sit here, possibly for up to months until we could get to it. As it is with the sales records on the 2013 LEAF, we are barely keeping up without having any daily backlog.

In order to keep offering high-quality products and services along with low-costs, we are a small shop, so we simply don't have the resources for a mass upgrade. We are working on a better upgrade system and then we will offer them to customers starting with the oldest customers first in groups so we can handle the load. We will send out an email when we have this ready to go.

I hope everyone understands!

-Phil
 
Personally I want to charge at the fastest rate that the circuit I am plugged into is capable of supporting. The car can take it just fine. If you are using a permanently installed charger, that is already set up by the charger. If you are using a portable charger, it needs to be programmable, like the ones provided by evse upgrade. I know how people like to mess around with things, but really, if it's not broke, don't fix it!
 
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