Wagan ePower Cub for charging 2 Leafs

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maui1

Member
Joined
Mar 1, 2013
Messages
24
Location
Maui, Hawaii
I was wondering whether anyone had looked into the ~$760 Wagan Solar ePower Cube product at Costco as an option for charging your Leaf. We have 2 2013 Model S 3.3kw Leafs and live in an area on Maui that is highly saturated with PV and thus the local electric company requires each home PV application to go through a $3-4k InterConnection study. I plan on sitting out on that until the regs get changed. We increased our electric bill ~$200/mo with the 2 cars but had been spending ~$400 / mo in gas. Wondering if this eCube could support us with our 3.3kwh Level 1 chargers. We presently share our extra 110 garage door opener outlet and have actually never paid for a charge in the 7 months of our leases. We have one car plugged in daily ~4p-8a.

Here is the link on the ePower Cube. http://www.wagan.com/index.php/2546-solar-e-power-cube-1500.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I am by no means an electrician and have no idea what the capacity of this pv ePower Cube has and whether it could charge our cars – so I am looking to the forum for assistance.
Thank you all ahead, Paul
2546 • Solar e Power™ Cube 1500


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Features:
2 Universal AC Outlets
2 DC Outlets with auto-reset, circuit breaker
2 USB Power Ports to charge cell phones, MP3 players, tablets & e-readers, and laptops
Digital voltmeter for checking battery status
AC recharging adapter
DC recharging adapter (fused)
Has terminals for solar panel expansion
Collapsible handle & wheels for easy transport
Hidden storage compartment
Charging Times
Initial AC charge: up to 24 hours
Solar panel charging time: 16 hours peak sunlight
Specifications
Dimensions: 53 × 53 × 37 cm
Weight: 38.2 kg (84 lbs
Warranty (excluding battery): 2 years






Product specifications and appearance may differ slightly from pictured. Operating times assume a fully charged battery and may vary based on model/brand of appliance used. Actual performance may vary depending on load requirements. Sample wattages are estimates only. China Design Patent: ZL 2010 3 0642300.2
• Additional solar panels can be connected for more power.
• Additional batteries can also be connected.
• Includes AC & DC chargers.
 
You must have a very high electric rate.200.oo per mo of electric.Mine seems to use $20 for the 1000 miles traveled per mo.
 
Hawaii has some of the highest electric rates in the country. http://www.heco.com/portal/site/heco/menuitem.508576f78baa14340b4c0610c510b1ca/?vgnextoid=ff3a4e2fcf6f8110VgnVCM1000005c011bacRCRD&cpsextcurrchannel=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

epic said:
You must have a very high electric rate.
 
maui1 said:
I am by no means an electrician and have no idea what the capacity of this pv ePower Cube has and whether it could charge our cars – so I am looking to the forum for assistance.
2546 • Solar e Power™ Cube 1500

Not very usable for charging a Leaf.

Solar output is 5 panels * 16 watts or 80 watts. L1 charger needs about 1400 watts. Assuming it would work at all, as the inverter might not handle the load, and the charger in the Leaf might not like the inverter output.

Battery is 55 AH 12V storing about 660 Wh. Ignoring inversion and charging losses, that is about enough to move the Leaf 2-3 miles. Not ignoring losses, maybe 1 mile. Then you can wait 16 hours or so for the battery to recharge.
 
Two specs jump out at me:

1. 80w feed as noted above, so you won't be charging the leaf straight from the panels, it will have to build up energy in the battery.
2. The microwave takes less than the leaf charger. And at full capacity, it will only run the microwave 10 minutes. So the leaf charger won't run more than about 6 minutes, then your solar battery is dead. 6 minutes of level 1 charge won't take you very far.

Sounds like the real issue is the utility has duped/paid off the politicians to require you to buy out of indentured servant status.

Another option you may be able to consider is rooftop solar and an off grid inverter. If you can charge at least one leaf during the day, this may make since given the amount you are paying for electricity.
 
maui1 said:
I was wondering whether anyone had looked into the ~$760 Wagan Solar ePower Cube product at Costco as an option for charging your Leaf. We have 2 2013 Model S 3.3kw Leafs
...
Wondering if this eCube could support us with our 3.3kwh Level 1 chargers.
You have the 3.3 kW OBC. When you charge at level 1, the Leaf only draws about 1.3 or 1.4 kW (at least that what's the Chargepoint EVSEs at work say when I use their 120 volt outlets).

If you look a the sample AC appliance times, a 1000 watt microwave oven would run only for 10 minutes. If you were to charge a Leaf (and it didn't have trouble w/the modified sine wave outpuet), this thing would be able to charge a Leaf for under 10 minutes, which isn't real helpful.

I'm also confused by your statement "We presently share our extra 110 garage door opener outlet and have actually never paid for a charge in the 7 months of our leases." but earlier mentioned your electric bill went up $200/month.

Charging at 120 volts == higher charging losses (more energy thrown away) than charging at 208/240 volts. Perhaps you should get a L2 EVSE (see diagram at http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=262630#p262630" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) installed or use evseupgrade.com to upgrade one of the L1 EVSEs to supoprt L2 charging. You'll reduce the charging losses, which will cut down on your charging costs a bit.

Too bad you went for a 3.3 kW OBC. I'd imagine that if you had the 6 kW OBC and had a 30 amp 240 volt EVSE, the charging losses would be even less as the fixed overhead (of the OBC, the pumps running, etc.) would need to run for less time due to the faster charging.
 
Thanks cwerdna - I meant that I haven't paid for any Level 1 or 2 chargers at the many locations that they are available to the public on Maui. I will look into the 220 Level 2 some more - it requires a permit and electrician so have been avoiding the $ / hassle, but worth looking into if I am wasting electricity / $ on the 120. Maui has a ton of DC fast chargers to use for free due to a partnership with Maui and Japan for the next year or so, but my model doesn't have the dc fast charger port. I will definitely get one with my next Leaf lease in Mar 2015.

Agreed DarthPuppy - it is a political scam with the utility company. tx
 
planet4ever did some calculations for me before using (likely) lower electricity than yours at http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=155519#p155519" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

I suspect that getting a proper 240 volt outlet installed (sorry, I don't know the details, some knowledgeable can chime in about this) and using evseupgrade.com on of your L1 units will be the cheapest means of throwing away a bit less electricity when charging.

The best you can do w/a 3.3 kW OBC Leaf (and AC charging) is 16 amps @ 240 volts. There are faster rates possible w/the 6 kW OBC (http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=301972#p301972" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) and an EVSE that can output higher than 16 amps. (When I charge at my work's L2 Chargepoint EVSEs (free!!!), my '13 Leaf w/6 kW OBC pulls ~5.8 or 5.9 kW, per the display on the EVSE. I think they're running at 208 volts, not 240. I believe at 240 volts, it should pull 6.6 kW.)

Since your electricity rates are so high, what were you typical monthly electric bills in terms of $ and kwh used? You might look into other means of reducing your consumption. A start would be getting http://www.p3international.com/products/p4400.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; or similar to look for vampires and other high consumption devices.
 
My prior electric usage totaled ~$140 / mo, with extra $ for propane water heater, dryer, and range. Running about $350 with the 2 Leafs. I want PV, but waiting out the politics. Glad to hear the 240 would be more efficient. Probably will go there - hard to justify the solar water heater for 2 persons only. Figure I would convert to electric water heater / dryer once I get PV. tx
 
maui1 said:
FYI - was using ~380 kwh / mo prior to Leafs (2) now ~750 kwh / mo. Again 3.3 kw chargers at 110.
That's not too terrible before an EV w/2 people. I just downloaded my PG&E info and for the time I've been back in this house, my average monthly usage is ~293 kwh. It gets highest during winter months (~360 to 404 kwh) as I use electric space heaters during time that.

In the months that cover me having a Leaf, my average monthly usage is ~242 kwh, partly because I started working again and am not at home all day consuming electricity and that it's included no winter months yet. I generally only charge my Leaf @ home on weekends. The rest of the time is via free juice @ work.

Dryer is electric. Furnace and water heater are nat gas. Stove is electric but that hardly gets used. There's no AC here other than a rolling portable unit that I sometimes use when it gets really hot.
 
So what does the feesability study do to your ROI? I'm thinking even with it you'll still have a very short ROI? Are you thinking that the fees will go away in the near term?

I'd definitely run the numbers on the inefficiencies of L1 relative to the cost of 240 volt receptacles and EVSEUpgrades.
 
The OP doesn't want to get a grid-tie PV system yet. His utility wants to nail him $3K-4K just for an interconnection study (read post #1).

The Wagan thingy is useless. 55Ah battery, so if you empty it from full, you'd get 660Wh. The Leaf has a 24kWh battery. Say you drive even just 10 miles every day, you'd need about 3kWh to top up.

I don't think off-grid PV will cut it either - say your Level 2 EVSE advertises 20A. Your PV won't be able to deliver 20A continuous (cloud, weather, time, etc). Dunno how the Leaf's charger will respond to a "Hey the EVSE says I can draw 20A but I'm not getting it" condition.

Best bet would be off-grid PV with battery backup. But that's a hefty investment and will never pay off with current PV battery storage technology (aka flooded lead acid).

Since OP mentioned PV market saturation, it makes sense that the utility needs to be sure the local environment can take another PV install. If you can DIY, another option would be to do a stealth PV install using a small PV system. But you have to only turn it on when you're charging your Leaf or check to ensure you don't have an older utility meter that counts backwards flow as forward/delivered usage. Not worth the risk IMO. Sorry.
 
sitech said:
Best bet would be off-grid PV with battery backup. But that's a hefty investment and will never pay off with current PV battery storage technology (aka flooded lead acid).

Since OP mentioned PV market saturation, it makes sense that the utility needs to be sure the local environment can take another PV install. If you can DIY, another option would be to do a stealth PV install using a small PV system. But you have to only turn it on when you're charging your Leaf or check to ensure you don't have an older utility meter that counts backwards flow as forward/delivered usage. Not worth the risk IMO. Sorry.

Even with the $3-$4k study I think getting on grid PV is the best option. I suspect the ROI is still amazing. Obviously the gamble is the cost of electricity between now and when (or even if) things change the study is no longer needed or is cheaper/etc.
 
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