Question about Leaf S charging options

Hi all,

I'm new to this forum. I'm considering buying a 2015 Leaf S, possibly without quick charge upgrade and I am confused about charging times. The car comes with a 110 charging cord which, if I understand correctly, will charge the vehicle in 20 hours or so. If I get a EVSE Level 2 charging cord (220V, 30 amp) can I use this and will this decrease charging time even if I don't have the quick charge option installed in the car? What kind of charge times can I expect? Also, can I use level 3 charging stations on the Leaf S without the quick charge option?

Thanks in advance for any assistance. I'm super excited to go electric!!!

Cheers

I have a 2016 S
The 240v EVSE allows me to charge Twice as fast. I also have no quick charge which means you cannot use the full capability of a 30 amp ESVE, a 16 amp would charge the same speed. That being said I bought the JuiceBox 40 because it was only $200 extra and has cool features I use. If I get a new EV in the future with the QC it will charge 4 times faster than the EVSE that came with the car.

An S w/o the charging package has a 3.6kW charger onboard. So, charging on an L2 EVSE will result in a max charging rate of 3.6kw no matter what L2 charger you use. With the charging package, that max rate jumps up to 6.6kw

For L3 charging, you must have the charging package, which includes the CHADEMO charging port

I like this chart. if you can get the DC fast charge. just the 6.6 KWH charger over the 3.6 kwh, would be nice.
https://www.clippercreek.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/TIME-TO-CHARGE-20170706_FINAL-LOW-RES.pdf

Thanks for the responses! That chart is super helpful. Maybe I'd be better off looking for a Leaf with the QC at the very least, or maybe the SV or SL.

I'd really want(and have) the charge package on a S model Leaf. If your OK with ~5hr L2 charge times(as opposed to a max of 20hrs with the factory 12a L1) and your OK without the QC port(I probably would be, although it never hurts to have it). you could probably forgo the charge package. Another unadvertised bonus of the charge package is 30a(actually 27.5a) L1 charging at say a campground outlet. Without the charger package 12a is the max you can charge at 120v, no matter how high your EVSE goes to.
If you just want the faster L2 charging(between 3-3.5 hrs max charge time) then you might want to look at a SV model w/o the QC package. You also get the more efficient heatpump heater on the SV and above models(after '12).

speedski97 said:

I like this chart. if you can get the DC fast charge. just the 6.6 KWH charger over the 3.6 kwh, would be nice.
https://www.clippercreek.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/TIME-TO-CHARGE-20170706_FINAL-LOW-RES.pdf

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Charging rate is measured in kW, not "KWH". Also see http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=497654#p497654.

https://www.clippercreek.com/charging-times-chart/ may help the OP.

To be clear, 2013 to 2015 base S trim only have 3.x kW OBC. Charge package adds CHAdeMO inlet for DC fast charge capability (often colloquially and incorrectly called "level 3") and upgrades the OBC to 6.x kW, which increases the vehicle's acceptance rate over J1772.

'13 to '15 SV and SL include 6.x kW OBC, however CHAdeMO inlet is optional on the SV. If you want that, you'd need to get the quick charge + LED headlights package.

OP, can you update your location info via your user name in the upper right > User Control Panel > Profile tab? That way, we don't need to ask in future posts/threads or do sleuthing to deduce it.

What are your daily driving needs in terms of miles? How much city vs. highway? Will you have the ability to charge at your work/destinations?

I have updated profile with location. I am in northern California (Humboldt County....the bay area is NOT northern CA unless you are from LA!!! ) We are coastal so lots of rain and cold down to 30-40 degrees F in winter and max high temp of mid 80's in summer but the vast majority of the time it is between 50-65 F. I will really only be using the car to drive to and from work (about 10 mi. each way) and to run kids around after school. I plan on installing a 220V outlet at my house and I own my own business so I will be able to charge the car at work with either 110 or I may install a 220 outlet. Probably the included 110V charging cable will suffice 90% of the time but I'm just getting into this and trying to understand all the options. I found a 2015 S model without QC in perfect condition with only 12K miles for $12,500. I was just about to buy it when I started reading up about the different charging options and now I'm not so sure about this one.

I really appreciate all your help and comments!

I know it is like 5 hours to get out of town. ( I like the red woods ) You may want the 30Kwh battery and dc fast if you want to get out of town. to make Redding it would be easier with the 30 KWH battery. A lot of us think we would only drive to and from work, after getting the car we find it to be used for most of our driving. keep your options open... There is money from PG&E so look at that. and a few lease deals here..

http://ev-vin.blogspot.com/

You should be able to buy a leaf new for 12k if you can use the write off..

eprevide said:

I have updated profile with location. I am in northern California (Humboldt County....the bay area is NOT northern CA unless you are from LA!!! ) We are coastal so lots of rain and cold down to 30-40 degrees F in winter and max high temp of mid 80's in summer but the vast majority of the time it is between 50-65 F. I will really only be using the car to drive to and from work (about 10 mi. each way) and to run kids around after school. I plan on installing a 220V outlet at my house and I own my own business so I will be able to charge the car at work with either 110 or I may install a 220 outlet. Probably the included 110V charging cable will suffice 90% of the time but I'm just getting into this and trying to understand all the options. I found a 2015 S model without QC in perfect condition with only 12K miles for $12,500. I was just about to buy it when I started reading up about the different charging options and now I'm not so sure about this one.

I really appreciate all your help and comments!

Click to expand...

In that climate I would try to step up to an SV trim even if it means getting an older or higher mileage car. The reason is that the resistive style heater in the S will significantly decrease your range. SV and SL use a more efficient heat pump that is ideal for your local temps.

With a 10 mile one way drive an S will work but the car's usefulness will be limited. Once you drive a pure electric you will find yourself using the car more than you expected.

Thanks for that tip. It's been hard to determine exactly what the differences are between all the models and years of the Leaf. Is there a chart anyone can recommend?

I'll try to super-simplify it:

2011-2012 Leaf: poor heater, slow onboard charger in all cars.

2013-2015 Leaf: heatpump in all but the S, faster onboard charger in all but the S without Charge Package. The S has resistance heat only for all years, but it's a better heater than the Gen 1.0 cars. (2013 Leafs built before April of that year have the older, fast-degrading battery.)

In 2016 all the SV and SL cars have the 30kwh pack, while the S got the same pack about August.

got it...thanks.

I just went through the same thing you are about 3 months ago. My commute is about 8 miles each way and I live in Washington, but the weather sounds similar; although we probably get more rain!
I wanted the best Leaf I could find for the most reasonable price, and I ended up with a 2013 SV with 32K on it for $7000.
Everyone has touched on the major points, but like you I thought it would be nice to have a chart that spelled out all the differences.
The best thing about the 2013+ SV and SL models is the 6.6KW charger and the navigation package, IMHO. The charger for obvious reasons, like I can charge my car from 40 to 100% in about 2 hours. The navigation for the Nissan Connect/ Carwings remote capability. I really don't use the navigation much. I plan to use the Nissan Connect quite a bit come winter since I can remotely turn the climate control on while it's still plugged in and not have to scrape ice or deal with a fogged up windshield during the rainy season (September to June). I have to take everyone's word on the heatpump since I haven't had the car long enough to know how well that works, or any prior experience with EV's.
I was a little surprised to find that the 2013 SV did not have the backup camera as standard equipment, because that would be really nice, but I'll learn to live without that. In 2014 that became standard with all models. Of course.
If you get an S model, make sure that it has the QC package. I think that would be probably the most important option to make sure you have.

Thanks for sharing all that. I've found a couple of 2014 S models w/QC and around 27K miles going for $11,999 (lease returns). Tempted to just pick one of these up but the heat pump difference is holding me back. I'm not at all familiar with Nissan Connect or Carwings...I'll start researching that before making a purchase. Thanks again.

For that price, I would try for a 2015 with less mileage. Don't worry about the heater on the S.. It is not bad compared to the other one. If you lived in Canada, and needed to have the heat on all the time, and drive long distances, it may be an issue...

I live in NY, and even in 0 degree winters, it has been fine, and it uses about 1 mile of range for every 10 that I drive, which is reasonable. OF COURSE, that is with reasonable heat to warm the car, not to blast it... I set the heater to 66-68 degrees, on one or two bars of fan speed...

In Arcata, CA or Tacoma, WA I would not worry about the heat pump system in the SV/SL. In Portland, OR I have owned an SV and an S. Because the climate is relatively mild here, I found that the heat pump offered little advantage. I do agree that the fast charge package is an important plus on the S model.

Another thing to consider, S models before 2015 do not have cruise control. When I took a 2013 S model out for an overnight test drive, I found it way too easy to speed without cruise because there is no drive train noise to let you know how fast you are going.

If you are looking at 2016 S models and want to know if it has the 30KWH battery, look at the 4th character of the VIN. If it is an A it has the 24 KWH battery, and if it is a B it has the 30KWH battery.

QC is only important if you want to go beyond the range of your car. For the most part you should be doing your charging at home or work and it will take about 20 seconds of your time, 10 seconds to plug in and 10 seconds to unplug when you leave. There are times that I wish I had QC because then I could do long distance trips in my Leaf but my family just rents a car for long trips. Never having to go to a stinky gas station and waste 5 to 10 minutes of your time to fuel up is one of the best benefits of any BEV.

More great tips! Glad I inquired on this forum...there's nothing like real life experience!!! Thanks to all.

Dooglas said:

In Arcata, CA or Tacoma, WA I would not worry about the heat pump system in the SV/SL. In Portland, OR I have owned an SV and an S. Because the climate is relatively mild here, I found that the heat pump offered little advantage. I do agree that the fast charge package is an important plus on the S model.

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There are two ways to look at this. If you don't need maximum range and don't mind losing range to heat on most trips, then an S is fine. If you run the heat for defrost/defogging a lot, and would like to occasionally be able to drive more than 50 miles while doing so, then an SV with heatpump is still a better bet.