2015 Leaf S... New Owner with A Few Questions.

Hello All! Last week I bought a 2015 Leaf S w/ 15k miles and 12 bars! It is clean and quiet and wonderful! As per the norm I have a couple of questions and your help would be appreciated!

1. I want to buy a Level 2 EVSE and don’t really want something that’s a wall unit like the JuiceBox. I’m leaning towards the Ebusbar BEV-H02A10. It is simple, easy and compact. My questions is, as I have an S without the Nav, the charge timer situation seems difficult to use at best. My question is, is it worth it to get an EVSE with some level of intelligence, such as the Juice Box 40, that I can operate from an app, set a timer, delay, etc.? Or, is the Leaf’s built in charge timer workable and the basic Ebusbar BEV-H02A10 will suffice?

2. Is the following setup sufficient, assuming I go with the Ebusbar. My garage subpanel is currently wired with 10-2 Romex. From there I can run a 30amp 220v breaker with the same 10-2 Romex to a 220v NEMA 10-30P outlet. This would satisfy the Leaf and Ebusbar requirements, correct? Could I run a 50amp 220v breaker with 8-2 Romex from the subpanel to the outlet to future proof?

3. How can I charge my Leaf to only 80%? It sounds like a full charge is not a good idea for the batteries. Is there a way to stop the charging at 75-80%? I’m driving a 10-15 mile commute everyday so I don’t need a ton a battery life. Is this a charge timer issue that I just need to play with to figure out? E.g. set the timer for later than I plan to leave? Is an 220v outlet timer a good / bad idea?

PS. I was pretty excited to get her home

NewGuy said:

Hello All! Last week I bought a 2015 Leaf S w/ 15k miles and 12 bars! It is clean and quiet and wonderful! As per the norm I have a couple of questions and your help would be appreciated!

1. I want to buy a Level 2 EVSE and don’t really want something that’s a wall unit like the JuiceBox. I’m leaning towards the Ebusbar BEV-H02A10. It is simple, easy and compact. My questions is, as I have an S without the Nav, the charge timer situation seems difficult to use at best. My question is, is it worth it to get an EVSE with some level of intelligence, such as the Juice Box 40, that I can operate from an app, set a timer, delay, etc.? Or, is the Leaf’s built in charge timer workable and the basic Ebusbar BEV-H02A10 will suffice?

2. Is the following setup sufficient, assuming I go with the Ebusbar. My garage subpanel is currently wired with 10-2 Romex. From there I can run a 30amp 220v breaker with the same 10-2 Romex to a 220v NEMA 10-30P outlet. This would satisfy the Leaf and Ebusbar requirements, correct? Could I run a 50amp 220v breaker with 8-2 Romex from the subpanel to the outlet to future proof?

Click to expand...

The basic Ebusbar or Clipper Creek LCS-20 will give you 16A charging and could easily run on a 20A two pole breaker with 12/2 or larger. I can't speak to the charge timer issue as it's moot for me.

If you've only got 10/2 supplying your whole garage subpanel (with a 30A main breaker), there's no safety or point in future proofing with something like 8/2 which would be good for 40A. You would need 6/2 for 50A, but would also need at least that feeding from your main panel to garage subpanel.

NewGuy said:

Hello All! Last week I bought a 2015 Leaf S w/ 15k miles and 12 bars! It is clean and quiet and wonderful! As per the norm I have a couple of questions and your help would be appreciated!

1. I want to buy a Level 2 EVSE and don’t really want something that’s a wall unit like the JuiceBox. I’m leaning towards the Ebusbar BEV-H02A10. It is simple, easy and compact. My questions is, as I have an S without the Nav, the charge timer situation seems difficult to use at best. My question is, is it worth it to get an EVSE with some level of intelligence, such as the Juice Box 40, that I can operate from an app, set a timer, delay, etc.? Or, is the Leaf’s built in charge timer workable and the basic Ebusbar BEV-H02A10 will suffice?

2. Is the following setup sufficient, assuming I go with the Ebusbar. My garage subpanel is currently wired with 10-2 Romex. From there I can run a 30amp 220v breaker with the same 10-2 Romex to a 220v NEMA 10-30P outlet. This would satisfy the Leaf and Ebusbar requirements, correct? Could I run a 50amp 220v breaker with 8-2 Romex from the subpanel to the outlet to future proof?

3. How can I charge my Leaf to only 80%? It sounds like a full charge is not a good idea for the batteries. Is there a way to stop the charging at 75-80%? I’m driving a 10-15 mile commute everyday so I don’t need a ton a battery life. Is this a charge timer issue that I just need to play with to figure out? E.g. set the timer for later than I plan to leave? Is an 220v outlet timer a good / bad idea?

PS. I was pretty excited to get her home

Click to expand...

There is nothing wrong with charging to 100%. It actually needs done on a regular basis to balance the cells. The damage is done by leaving the battery charged to 100% for extended periods, especially in high heat. Try setting the timer so it charges early morning on Monday and Thursday (adjust based on your needs). Just drive and charge as you need.

You didn't say if your Leaf has the charger package(6.6kw charger vs 3.6kw) but if your Leaf had the 6.6kw you might want to think about a 24a EVSE instead of the 16a Ebusbar. If your Leaf is the 3.6kw then the Ebusbar(or similar 3.6kw) is an ideal EVSE for you(if your not thinking of future proofing for another BEV down the line) many BEVs utilize 6.6kw or more. Using a 24a EVSE on a 16a(3.6kw) Leaf isn't a problem, the Leaf will just draw the maximum it's capable of and no more but the same EVSE hooked to a 24+a BEV will draw the 24a.
It sounds like you have a 30a breaker/wiring which will support a maximum of 24a continuous use.
I have a S model and while it's somewhat a PIA to set the timers, you get used to it after a while.
As someone else said going to 8 gauge wouldn't really be nessasary but wouldn't hurt, 8 gauge is also much harder to work with than 10 gauge, which is hard enough.
Having a '15 without the 80% option your easiest method for not charging to 100% all the time is to set your timer departure time for a couple hours later than you actually plan on leaving, this will vary by the SOC% of your battery but after a few times doing it you should get a good idea of what time to set your departure time for.
I guess personally I'd not use an outlet timer but it would be an option if you just couldn't get the hang of the car timer, if you do I'd suggest a timer rated for double?? your load, that is if you get the 16a Ebusbar then maybe a 30a rated timer. I guess if you go with a 24a EVSE going double would be much harder/expensive as >30a timers can get quite expensive.

If you want to charge to about 80% when you know you won't be using the car for a while, you might look into using the portable 120 volt 12A EVSE that (hopefully) came with the car. That will reliably add about 5% charge per hour, so it's pretty easy to time when you plug it in so that it's convenient to unplug when it reaches the SOC you desire. Just make sure the 120 volt outlet you use and its wiring are in good shape and are not already in use for anything more than a light or two.

To clarify on the 80% charging, unfortunately Nissan removed that feature on US and Canadian cars starting with the 2014 model year. The only way to do it is to figure out through trial and error where that would happen.

From having leased a 2012 Leaf that did have that feature, it seems that to go from 80% to 100% takes 90 minutes at 240 volts/16 amps per the display on the dash. So deduct 90 minutes from the total estimated recharging time that is displayed on the dash. My car had the slower charger but I don't think using a higher-amperage EVSE on a Leaf with the faster 6.6 kW charger would make that last 20% go any faster.

To keep it simple, I would just charge it for a couple of hours everyday once you know the battery is less than say 60%; that should be sufficient to replenish the energy used during your stated commute. Adjust as needed. That's what I do with my eGolf since its charge timer is notorious for not playing well with Clipper Creek EVSEs. I don't always get it at 80% (often it's less) but my commute is short enough that it's not an issue.

Thanks everyone! I think I am going to use the supplied 110v EVSE for a while to see if I can get the hang of the timer / longer charge periods. Assuming my range anxiety drops soon, I think it will be smooth sailing from here on out!

PS. I spent hours reading threads over the last two days and this is a really great group of people. I'm glad not just to own a pretty cool car, but to also be part of this community.

Thanks again : )

Hi NewGuy,
My 2013 LEAF arrived this week too, so I understand your excitement

I find the timer games to be easiest by doing the following:
Attaching the EVSE when the SOC is 30-40%; then I know I want about 8 kWh of energy into the battery based on
-- 0.4 * 20 kwh
I have a 6.6 kW EVSE so 8/6.6 = 1.2 hours of charging

The Nissan supplied connector will deliver about 1.2 kW to the battery

The battery will stay cool in the winter so I don't give any thought to when the car charges now, but as the season heats up I'll set the timer to start around 6 am so that most days the car will be driven soon afterwards to bring the battery temperature to ambient sooner.

I have the same car... When I first started with charging with the included 120v charger, I put the charger on a mechanical timer right at the outlet. I could easily sent the start and stop times, and that worked very well. If you can expect to charge at 120v at the rate of 5% per hour. So... If you are at 40% charge and want it to stop at 80%, then you need 40% added. That would be 40%/5%/HOUR = 8 HOURS OF CHARGING ON THE TIMER. FORGET THE DASH CHARGING TIMER..

That worked well for me until I got the 240 charger. The 240v charges at 1% charge every 2 minutes (or 30%/hour).. So if you are at 40%, plug in, and the car will be charged to 100% in 2 hours... I always charge my car overnight to be at 100% in the morning.. On Friday evenings, I don't charge, and leave my car between 50%-70% over the weekend because I don't drive a lot. If you are going somewhere on the weekend, plug the car up to 100% for your trip.