Is there a portable (like the OEM) EVSE that will do 30 amps.

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webeleafowners

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Joined
Oct 5, 2015
Messages
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Location
Okanagan Valley British Columbia
Hey folks. Looking to throw something in the Nissan EVE bag that can handle more than the DUOSIDA 16 amp jobs. I want to leave my juice box mounted on the wall. It would be nice to have something quicker than a 16 amp 220 unit. I don't see anything out there and from what I gather my original can only be modified to a 16 amp 220 unit. I see my juice box pull around 27 amps. I don't suppose there is a portable out there. Any suggestions??

Thanks in advance.
 
It's possible to make any 30 amp EVSE "portable" by simply adding a plug to the end. Many already come with the plug.

Now if you're talking about a 30 amp portable EVSE that also works with a wide variety of outlets including 120 volt, the only one I'm aware of is the one that come with Teslas. There's a version that comes with a J1772 handle. Rather pricey at $899: http://shop.quickchargepower.com/JESLA-is-THE-40-amp-J1772-portable-charging-solution-JESLA.htm
 
If you don't care about 120-volt charging and adjustable charging current, look at Clipper Creek LCS-30P (30-ampere circuit, 24-ampere charging) or HCS-40P (40-ampere circuit, 32-ampere charging). The housings are lightweight and fairly compact. The charging cord and J1772 plug are the heaviest parts. You can get the LCS-30P with L6-30, 14-30, 14-50, or 6-50 plug and then make your own adapters for the other receptacles. You can get the HCS-40P with either 6-50 or 14-50 plug and make an adapter for the other receptacle type. Since you probably have a 14-50 "RV" receptacle, the HCS-40P with 14-50 plug might be your best bet.

I have an HCS-50P (50-ampere circuit, 40-ampere charging) for my workshop/garage to take full advantage of the "RV" receptacle provided by the builder and allow charging the LEAF at full rate on 208 volts nominal. It has a much heavier cord and J1772 plug to get the 40-ampere continuous charging current rating so it would be a little heavy for portable use, but the housing is very lightweight and rugged. I mounted it on a pedestal so I can move it around the garage and purchased a 15-foot RV extension cord to plug it in because it was not possible to mount it within reach of the receptacle (supply cord is only 12 inches from enclosure to farthest point on plug). The HCS-50P is on sale now so it is almost the same price as the HCS-40P if you don't care about the weight of the cord.
 
GerryAZ said:
If you don't care about 120-volt charging and adjustable charging current, look at Clipper Creek LCS-30P (30-ampere circuit, 24-ampere charging) or HCS-40P (40-ampere circuit, 32-ampere charging). The housings are lightweight and fairly compact. The charging cord and J1772 plug are the heaviest parts. You can get the LCS-30P with L6-30, 14-30, 14-50, or 6-50 plug and then make your own adapters for the other receptacles. You can get the HCS-40P with either 6-50 or 14-50 plug and make an adapter for the other receptacle type.

I did look at that one but now will look a little closer. I have all the adapters for my juice box but I want to leave that on my wall. Its a little bulky too. Thanks for the response.

John
 
I just took a quick look and see that it is not adjustable. If I am on a 20 amp circuit that will pop the breaker. Hmmmm. Maybe I need to rethink this. Is there an adjustable out there? That 220 dollar DUOSIDA is starting to look good for a backup mobile.
 
John,

I edited my post with some more information so you might want to read it again. I can send you a photo of mine if you want to get an idea of the size. I am not aware of a conveniently-adjustable unit except the JESLA so you might want to look at that one also.

Gerry
 
GerryAZ said:
John,

I edited my post with some more information so you might want to read it again. I can send you a photo of mine if you want to get an idea of the size.

Gerry

I see that Gerry. Thank you. I am thinking I better get something that is either adjustable or is small enough for a 20 amp breaker. I wonder if the 220 dollar DUOSIDA is 120 volt compatible. It would also be easy to throw in our smart ED for travelling emergencies. The smart is only a 3.3 charger anyway. Thoughts?
 
My thoughts: If you don't care about fast charging, obtain an older Nissan EVSE and have it upgraded by EVSEUPGRADE. They are rugged, reliable, and work on any voltage with suitable adapters. I have a 12-ampere fixed output unit I could sell you if you don't need faster charging. It could even be sent back for the newest upgrade to get adjustable output from 6 to 20 amperes on 208/240 and 6 to 12 amperes at 120 volts, I bought it soon after I got the 2011 to have a backup for 208/240 charging. I kept the original from the 2011 after the crash and sent it in for upgrade so it is faster and adjustable. Since I now have the Clipper Creek at the workshop, I could probably sell the 12-ampere one. I would not recommend sending the one from your 2016 for upgrade because it has a temperature sensor in the plug which makes it safer for 120-volt charging.

Gerry
 
Details here on what I paid for the portable Zencar EVSE:

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=22196&p=490115&hilit=Zencar#p490115
 
GerryAZ said:
The ZENCAR unit looks like what John is looking for.

I'll check out that Zencar unit Gerry. Looks interesting.

If you want to shoot me a PM on what you want for your 12 amp unit I would be interested. What I am trying to do is have an emergency EVSE in either car if for example we go on a little road trip. ( can switch it to the car we take for our sunday drive) Something that is faster than the stock Nissan or Mercedes 110 EV. I have all the adapters as I bought them for my Juicebox thinking I would use it for exactly that. Thing is, we kinda like having it mounted on the wall as it is our go to charger for both vehicles. It's also kinda bulky. Something simple and compact and cheap and 120 or 240 would be perfect. This is our current setup. We very rarely charge both vehicles at the same time but can as they are different circuits. The little Mercedes unit is just a 120 volt 8 or 12 amp unit. I think your amp unit would still end up being under 3 kWH charging. 2.8 or so.

33326655264_dfba5201c3_z.jpg


John.
 
webeleafowners said:
GerryAZ said:
The ZENCAR unit looks like what John is looking for.

I'll check out that Zencar unit Gerry. Looks interesting.

If you want to shoot me a PM on what you want for your 12 amp unit I would be interested. What I am trying to do is have an emergency EVSE in either car if for example we go on a little road trip. ( can switch it to the car we take for our sunday drive) Something that is faster than the stock Nissan or Mercedes 110 EV. I have all the adapters as I bought them for my Juicebox thinking I would use it for exactly that. Thing is, we kinda like having it mounted on the wall as it is our go to charger for both vehicles. It's also kinda bulky. Something simple and compact and cheap and 120 or 240 would be perfect. This is our current setup. We very rarely charge both vehicles at the same time but can as they are different circuits. The little Mercedes unit is just a 120 volt 8 or 12 amp unit. I think your amp unit would still end up being under 3 kWH charging. 2.8 or so.

John.
+1 for the Zencar, I have one and it's the only EVSE I carry in my Leaf. I use it for short term 27.5a L2 charging on a 30a+ circuit and 20a(19a actual) on 20a circuits for both L2 and L1. I also have the 13a setting(12a actual) for 15a L1 circuits. It works great, is easily adjustable(albeit weirdly by shaking the EVSE within a minute of plugging in the wall and before plugging into your car) and isn't really any larger than the OEM Leaf EVSE. Note I got a extra long cord, both input(L6-30) and output (8m) so it wouldn't coil into the OEM Leaf bag, the cords are just too big.
I also have many outlet adapters I've made, all to go to my L6-30p input of my Zen. Note by choosing the L6-30p vs say a 14-50p plug, they will only set the maximum output to 30a because thats the maximum rating for a L6-30p but I didn't want to go with the 14-50p because they are SO much more bulky and harder to find in the female variant, which is what you need to make various outlet adapters. Amazon does sell a nice 14-50r(female plug) but it's double the price of the ~$10 they sell 6-30r plugs for. There isn't too many plugs I can't plug into, either 240 or 120v and with my Zen I can set the maximum current to get the fastest charging possible.

Note I also have a 20a adjustable EVSEupgrade EVSE which I used before getting the Zen but I regularly have the occasion to charge at 27.5a L2 and the difference between that and 20a is really noticeable, like gaining 10%/hr more SOC with the Zen. For example starting at 20% SOC on my Leaf, with the Zen charging for 2hrs I get up to 80% SOC, with my 20a EVSEupgraded EVSE I'd only be up to 60% in the same 2hrs, it would take me an extra hour to get up to 80% with the EVSEupgraded EVSE!

As mentioned the OpenEVSE is also a good route to go but more expensive(by at least $100 USD) and not quite as polished a product(IMO). The Zen has a real factory build look while the OpenEVSE is more home build look. Not that one is worse than the other and the OpenEVSE has the advantage of current settings anywhere from 6a to 30a(or whatever the max you order) but only even current settings, no odd number settings.
 
An OpenEVSE unit will do what you want. The maximum current is determined by the J1772 cable. For Leaf use a 30A cable is fine. If you ignore the extra 10A the 40A cable from Quick Charge Power is very nice, The 40A cable is smaller than 30A cables due to the paired line wires. Anything over 27.5A is good for an enhanced Leaf. Anything extra is just ignored.

One of my pet peeves is someone that buys a heavier EVSE thinking it will charge faster. The car's charger sets the current limit. Anything more is ignored.

Most people (not me) are using the RAPI interface with a cheap wifi module. The nice thing about the OpenEVSE firmware is that you can turn off options you do not need. I routinely disable the RAPI interface since I want only a basic EVSE. I as sorry but the bells and whistles do nothing for me.
 
This has been an informative thread -- thanks to all.

I think I"ll upgrade my 2013 mobile NIssan cable Via EVSEupgrade.com
This is a solution I may never use, so I'm willing to compromise on speed to save some money. If I figure correctly, I'll end up with an up-to 20Amp EVSE, so 4.8 kW from an RV park L2 14-50 outlet (or 6-30 with an adapter.) A faster, but more expensive or lesser known quality EVSE could shave 15 minutes off an emergency charge.
 
GerryAZ said:
The ZENCAR unit looks like what John is looking for.
Yeah its pretty good.. and if you do a Group buy of 3 or more you can get it delivered to your Door for $325.
IMO it is much cost effective than the EVSE upgrade which can only do max 16A or maybe 20A.
 
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