2 EVSE home solutions

[maui1]

Aloha all - I have been reading the comments about EVSE and was wondering about any suggestions for our two soon to be leased 2013 Nissan Leaf SL cars. Are there any two cord Level 2 varieties that might save $ vs 2 single-units? if so, what would the electrical specs for an electrician to hardwire it? :? tx ahead!

 

[Cheezmo]

I obviously didn't find anything.

 

[BEVeedom]

Yes, there are "two headed" level II chargers available commercially, but I don't know if they would be less expensive than two "home" models like those found on Home Depot online.

The installation fees can vary wildly depending what your particular home electrical situation is. In my case I already had a sub-panel in my garage with spares. I don't recommend this for someone without electrical installation experience but I installed my wall mount Home Depot sourced $750 Schneider Electric level II "charger" for $34. At the local hardware store - 3 feet of #8AWG 2 wire w/ground copper, a 40 amp 2-pole non-GFI breaker (GFI is handled by the unit), (2) 3/4" connectors, and then applied with my "free" labor/experience. That's the bottom scraping low end at less than $1K total and total costs can be in the thousands, depending on your particular needs. Oh, from your latest photo I see you have made the decision for 2 chargers and you "got er done". Very nice and best of luck.

 

[MikeD]

This is going to be an increasingly common situation -- households with two (or more!) EVs. I don't see any inexpensive "dual" EVSEs (e.g. GE Durastation available from Lowes is $4200 ($3,325 elsewhere -- not sure is exact same one). There is a previous discussion along these lines entitled "Charging two cars with one EVSE?" (Link is http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=11226" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false. For many people (perhaps not for you) a single dual charging station would not work well because of difficulties getting two EVs close enough to the single station. Running two 40a EVSEs at the same time would at a minimum be expected to draw 60a at times with the newer EVs, which almost certainly would overload a 100a service at times and even many 200a service homes -- so that capacity calculation needs to be done, even if you theoretically have timers on the EVSEs to eliminate the possibility of simultaneous use (they also can be manually overridden). The Blink EVSEs have good timers, so if I had two of them with two 2013 Leafs I could comfortably set one charge from 11p to 3a and the other 3a to 7a and fully charge both (I think) even when both are fully discharged. I don't know of other EVSEs with good timers.

 

[Stanton]

The best "two-headed" chargers I've seen are made by GE. I charge on one every once in a while (an outdoor pedestal unit) and have never had any trouble (despite the GE WattStation warnings).

 

[adric22]

I obviously didn't find anything.

I'm counting 4 EVSEs on the wall.. but am I crazy in thinking that there is no way you could get 4 EVs into the garage at the same time?

I definitely think in the future there will be the need for a dual-head EVSE. Hopefully they'd put some kind of "idiot-proof" selector switch on it so you could prioritize one side over the other, or have an option to charge both equally. This would be great because you could get away with only a 30 or 40 amp system but still be able to charge two cars.

The only issue I see is that some manufacturers are being boneheads and putting the charging connectors in irritating places... The PiP being the worst offender. I suppose I could point my finger at Tesla as well.

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

A two cord EVSE that had some way to set the priorities between the two cords would be cool. This would be limited by how dynamic the signalling for available amperage is, but you could still select the priority before they are connected, for example:

3.3 + 3.3
6.6 + dead
6.6 + L1 (on a 50A circuit)
6.6 on one, then 6.6 on the other when current draw on the first drops off

 

[maui1]

Thank you all for the prompt feedback! Crossing our fingers to get driving within 2 weeks!

 

[smkettner]

I suggest checking with the electrician that you have 80 amps available before spending a bunch of money.
Levition 160 only requires 20 amp 240v circuit each. OK it will not charge as fast but overnight would be fine.
As an alternate consider a 160 and 320 for 60a total and #6 wire. If one is in a hurry then you have a spot.

 

[Reddy]

Maui1: I didn't see where on Maui you are located. I drove all over using a Leaf rental and had no problems, even without charging available at the condo. I was able to use the DCQC in Wailuku and L2 in Kahului, West, & South Maui. If your commute is short enough, you might not really need two L2's. Also, depending on whether you start your commute by going downhill (seems common on Maui), you don't want to charge to 100% anyway.

 

[maui1]

Reddy - I only drive ~15 miles / day in Wailuku, so home outlet is fine, but my other half drives ~35miles RT M-F - thinking of not limiting him, but probably not necessary - think that I am just having anticipatory range anxiety - but a good deal for two level 2 would be nice - seems like daily plug-in would be a ball-chain to add to the routine, but probably not.

 

[smkettner]

With an installed connector plugging in each day is a snap. Less hassle than getting gas by far.
Hauling the portable out of the trunk, uncoiling, pluggong in to wall and car, recoiling and stowing each day would be a pain.

The L1 does work fine for up to 40-50 average miles per day. I used a 6' appliance cord (#14 wire) to plug in and let the brick sit on the floor for the first 5 months.

 

[Cheezmo]

I obviously didn't find anything.

I'm counting 4 EVSEs on the wall.. but am I crazy in thinking that there is no way you could get 4 EVs into the garage at the same time?.

Good catch. That was taken shortly after the two Blinks were installed so the 120V EVSE was still plugged in underneath. We regularly have all 3 cars in the garage all plugged in at 240V. Overkill? Maybe, but it feels good, kind of like giving your kids each their own room after sharing a bunk bed for while.

 

[planet4ever]

Reddy - I only drive ~15 miles / day in Wailuku, so home outlet is fine, but my other half drives ~35miles RT M-F - thinking of not limiting him, but probably not necessary - think that I am just having anticipatory range anxiety - but a good deal for two level 2 would be nice - seems like daily plug-in would be a ball-chain to add to the routine, but probably not.

Hauling the portable out of the trunk, uncoiling, plugging in to wall and car, recoiling and stowing each day would be a pain.

Yes, maui1, you probably don't want to do what smkettner points out if it's not necessary, though quite a few LEAF owners with long commutes do exactly that every day at their work. But there is another solution for you. Leave the 120v EVSE plugged into the wall in the garage all the time. You will discover that 99.9% of the time you don't really need to carry it in the car. Sure, if you decide to go down to Hana you'll need it to get back, at least until they getting around to installing a public EVSE down there, so unplug it and throw it in the back. The rest of the time, even for a loop around West Maui, no sweat. Besides, there are a number of charging stations over there which are three times as fast (even assuming you have only the 3.3kW charger).

So all you really need is the two EVSEs that come with the cars, though one 16A or 30A wall-mounted EVSE would be nice.

Ray

 

[SanDust]

Two separate outlets with two EVSEupgrades would be a very good solution. It would certainly be the least expensive.

I don't see you needing or wanting to take the 120v chargers with 99% of the time. You appear to have public chargers in case you need a charge when away from home, and 120v charging is too slow to be useful so it's not a great advantage to have a 120v charger in the trunk.

 

[Reddy]

Reddy - I only drive ~15 miles / day in Wailuku, so home outlet is fine, but my other half drives ~35miles RT M-F - thinking of not limiting him, but probably not necessary - think that I am just having anticipatory range anxiety - but a good deal for two level 2 would be nice - seems like daily plug-in would be a ball-chain to add to the routine, but probably not.

Yes, you are having anticipatory range anxiety. Unless you have variable pricing with time-of-use metering (TOU) or solar panels where you want to charge during only sun hours, I wouldn't bother with two charging stations. One will be plenty, and maybe even more than you need. If you are cheap, and have two separate 15 amp circuits in the garage, you can easily travel 50 mi per day using the supplied L1 cord. I'm biased because I normally travel less than 10-20 mi per day. L1 works just fine except when longer back-to-back trips are required. Even then, a little extra planning and pre-charging makes it possible.

EDIT: If you go with only L1 for both cars, then one car must start charging essentially immediately upon returning home, and probably for 10 hrs. Make sure you have a good, dedicated circuit, 20 amp would be better, but I've used 15 amp. The other will require about 4 hrs of L1. If you have one L2 charging station, then you can plug in your car for about an hour (you don't have to fill it, just replace what you consumed that day), and then let the other car charge overnight. Assuming even 60 mile driven between both cars, 3 mi/KWH efficiency (much worse than you will get), charging at 3 KW per hour, you will only need 7 hours (or less) to refill your battery. If you have the 6.6 KW charger, then cut that time in half.

I don't bother carrying my charging cord, it stays mounted to the garage wall unless I'm traveling out of town (more than 60 miles). You can easily do the same. Range anxiety? Nope. In two weeks you'll be driving it just like any other car, except you plug in nightly and never stop for gas. Also, as others have said the EVSEupgrade is another good option. Search the forum for Ingineer. You can also search my name or start looking here: http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=34&t=10776&p=247635#p247635

EDIT: I see you are leasing. If you're not planning on buying, then you don't have to worry about the battery and can keep it fully charged just in case you have some unplanned driving. If buying, then try to keep the battery between 40-80% charge most of the time, and out of the heat/sun (ya, I know, not on Maui) as much as possible. Then only override and charge to 100% on those longer trips.

Make sure you look the other Hawaii threads:
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=8949&hilit=maui#p200252
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=10171&hilit=Hawaii
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=821&hilit=Hawaii

 

[nsayer]

I missed this earlier... The J1772 Hydra is now available as a standalone two-head EVSE.

Of course, it's a DIY project, but fully assembled logic boards are available, meaning no soldering is required.

 

[maui1]

tx nsayer et all - I have done just fine with my Level 1 attached to the garage door outlet and hanging down with some strapping to alternate between our two leaf 2013s. We are about to get a Level 2 installed for free from a Hitachi / Maui EV project - they are going to install a carwings substitute device on our cars to track our usage for their project. Looking forward to no risky "accidents" that we've had with forgetting to switch over the charging to the other car. In all since Mar 2013 we have never once used a Level 1 or 2 station other than at our home. Saving about $200 / mo after an increase of ~$200 in our monthly electric (was $150 / mo now $350 / mo - prior spent ~$400 / mo in gas). Working on getting PV installed at present - then home free!! Maui has a ton of free public dc fast stations for the next year or two with the Hitachi project, but we don't have that one our models. Perhaps in 2014 we will get the newer models with the dc fast charge port or extend our 2013s lease.

 

[DaveEV]

The J1772 Hydra is now available as a standalone two-head EVSE.

Of course, it's a DIY project, but fully assembled logic boards are available, meaning no soldering is required.

This is probably the route I'll take when I end up with two plug-ins at least until I need a dedicated 30A on one. Not likely to happen unless I get a Tesla, though!

 

[nsayer]

This is probably the route I'll take when I end up with two plug-ins at least until I need a dedicated 30A on one. Not likely to happen unless I get a Tesla, though!

FWIW, you could build the Hydra for a 75 amp circuit, which would give you 60A of input capacity. With the reference design's relays, that would wind up in essence being two independent 30A heads (30A shared, 30A single). If you replaced those relays (and the associated wiring) with beefier stuff, then you'd be able to get a 30A/60A station for your Tesla.