Electrician says I should find out what EVSE Nissan recommends

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ByeFO

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 4, 2017
Messages
69
Location
Philadelphia area
I have my electrician coming out tomorrow to see if I can have a 240v EVSE installed in my garage. Today he stated that he has heard of car manufacturers not honoring warranty on battery if an EVSE that is being used is not on a list of recommended ones.

Is this true with Nissan? Is there such a list of recommended EVSE? Or is there a list of specifications that an EVSE must have in order to avoid voiding a warranty?

Thanks!
 
Don't worry about that... Nissan apparently had some deal with the "Aerovironment company" to push their chargers... They cannot MAKE you get any brand.. That would be a monopoly. And also, is Nissan going to come into your house to see what brand you use?? Also, in the life of the car you could charge thousands of times at all public chargers... Are they implying they can get a history of what brands they are? It is actually ridiculous, like trying to tell you what brand of extension cord to buy..

I would recommend any name brand charging station that is UL listed. I am sure that they are all the same.. I have a Schneider Electric EVLINK. I am sure that GE, bosch, charge point, clipper creek, or other brand are fine.. they all do the same thing. I would shop by price because you really don't need a million features. the car turns itself off when it is fully charged anyway.
 
I'd avoid a GE Wattstation if anyone still stocks them, but otherwise get any station with J-1772 plug. Clipper Creek makes nice, simple, inexpensive ones with a 3 year warranty.
 
You didn't say what year/model Leaf you got but if a '14 or older I might suggest getting your OEM Leaf charger upgraded at EVSEupgrade.com
For ~$300 you'll get 20a @ 240v and either 16 or 12a & 120v, depending on what adapter cable you get.
If you want a wall mount full amp charger(assuming you have the 6.6kw Leaf charger) I'd suggest any of the slightly >$400 30a EVSE off Amazon, occasionally you might be able to find the GE Durastation @ $399(also check Home Depot.com) or Siemens(kind of skimpy 14' cable but if it works it works) for $429. If you want a "smart" or internet connected EVSE Juicebox has them for $549 and includes a nice 24' cable.
As has been said, Nisssan recommends the Aero EVSE but no reason to spend the extra for overpriced EVSE.
 
I was wrong on my price, the $549 is for the dumb Juicebox, the smart Juicebox is $50 more or $599. At that little difference personally I'd go with the smart model, even if not currently planning on enabling the smart features. Back when it was $100 or more for the smart option(like it was when I got mine) I saved the money as I didn't think I'd ever hook it to the internet.
 
LeftieBiker said:
I'd avoid a GE Wattstation if anyone still stocks them

But (for the OP and anybody else wondering) AFAIK the current GE Durastation works fine with the Leaf. It also has a feature most others don't, and that is the ability to dial down the current if your circuit is less than 40 amps.
 
ByeFO said:
Today he stated that he has heard of car manufacturers not honoring warranty on battery if an EVSE that is being used is not on a list of recommended ones.

Is this true with Nissan? Is there such a list of recommended EVSE? Or is there a list of specifications that an EVSE must have in order to avoid voiding a warranty?

It doesn't void the warranty per se, and the Leaf gets along well with just about every J1772 EVSE in existence. But as an eGolf owner, I can tell you that my car doesn't always interface well with every EVSE, and that includes the well-regarded Clipper Creek line. Specifically, if you use the timer setting (necessary if you want less than full charge), the car does not successfully communicate to the EVSE to start charging. If you don't use timers, it works fine.

It's ironic as the OEM L1 that comes with every new eGolf sold in the US is a Delphi-branded Clipper Creek unit and works fine.

The issue with warranty is when you complain to your local VW service center about the problem, they plug the car into the VW recommended Bosch unit and it works fine, so they won't "fix" the problem which on the 2015 models at least means replacing some parts.
 
I found a Nissan USA website - https://www.nissanusa.com/electric-cars/leaf/charging-range/charging/ - that simply says you can use a Level 2 EVSE that are sold by various retailers, with a link to Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=ev+level+2+charger.
 
I remember that the JUICEBOX chargers were not UL listed.... Which for me was a deal breaker because if they want to make money, they need to spend some money with that certification like every other good quality electrical device. Otherwise I wont buy it... YES! I just checked the website, and the famous "JuiceBox" only has CE, nema, and sae compliance... NO UL compliance...

Basically, this level of certification appears to be the same as the cheap Harborfreight or "POWERFIST" Canadian power tool brands..

Here is a link to this issue discussed.::

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?t=16705

Apparently this is a very small company, staffed by a few guys. They may be top notch, buy why would I buy from a tiny business that does not have the certifications that that other BIG NAME items have.... Especially since they are not giving them away. They are the same price or more than the top names... Personally, I think that too many people are attracted by the cool name... "JUICEBOX"... two of men's favorite things..
 
powersurge said:
I remember that the JUICEBOX chargers were not UL listed.... Which for me was a deal breaker because if they want to make money, they need to spend some money with that certification like every other good quality electrical device. Otherwise I wont buy it... YES! I just checked the website, and the famous "JuiceBox" only has CE, nema, and sae compliance... NO UL compliance...

Basically, this level of certification appears to be the same as the cheap Harborfreight or "POWERFIST" Canadian power tool brands..

Here is a link to this issue discussed.::

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?t=16705

Apparently this is a very small company, staffed by a few guys. They may be top notch, buy why would I buy from a tiny business that does not have the certifications that that other BIG NAME items have.... Especially since they are not giving them away. They are the same price or more than the top names... Personally, I think that too many people are attracted by the cool name... "JUICEBOX"... two of men's favorite things..
UL Cert is no panacea for quality manufacturing, and it is expensive. The big companies tow the line because they want to sell commercially, and that usually requires certifications. So it works out that a leading quality company will certify ... <<shrug>>

I bought a Clipper Creek because they are a quality company. The UL cert only meant something to me because it was required for my 2016 tax credit. As a counter example, I will probably buy a mobile EVSE from EVSEupgrade.com and could not care less that his work is not UL certified.
 
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