Charging two trickle cords into one outlet

[maui1]

Is there any problem with using the same 120 outlet gfci at the same time to trickle charge our two model s 2013?

 

[fooljoe]

Yes, there is a problem. A standard 120v circuit can carry 20 amps at most (often just 15). Each Leaf pulls 12 amps when trickling, so that means you need at least 24 amps to charge 2 cars at the same time. You'll trip the breaker in the best case, start a fire in the worst case.

You need to have 2 circuits.

 

[Nubo]

Yes!

Your 120V outlet is most likely either on a 15 amp or 20 amp circuit. Both cars at once will be drawing 24 amps.

You need to locate 2 outlets that are on different circuits. Ideally, each EVSE should be on its own dedicated circuit.

 

[davewill]

Is there any problem with using the same 120 outlet gfci at the same time to trickle charge our two model s 2013?

Yes. First the "trickle charger" is properly called an EVSE. The charger is in the car. The LEAF draws 12a from the wall when charging this way. Since home 120v circuits are either 15a or 20a, you would trip the circuit breaker (if everything works properly) if you tried to charge two LEAFs on one circuit.

 

[fooljoe]

And I might add that if you're going to invest in getting another circuit installed, you might as well get a 240v circuit (or two). The labor cost shouldn't be that much more, so why not go big? If you include a neutral on the 240v circuit you can still use it at 120v (with a proper adapter) while you go shopping for a 240v EVSE.

 

[smkettner]

If you plug into a split phase wired outlet it will work fine.
Often a washer/dryer duplex outlet is wired this way.

Otherwise you should be careful how you set the timers.

 

[Reddy]

From your previous posts (http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=11783&p=272178#p272178), you don't drive that far. For the time being, you should be able to plug both cords into the duplex receptacle AS LONG AS BOTH CARES AREN'T CHARGING AT THE SAME TIME. I don't remember if you were planning to get one L2 station installed or whether you planned to stay with two L1's permanently.

If I remember your situation, here's what I would do if it were me:

Since your drive is ~15 mi RT, I would charge that car up initially to about 4-5 bars, then set the timer to charge every day for 3-4 hours (let's say start time 5pm, end time 8pm, only to 80%). Since the other car needs more distance, you set it's timer to charge from 10pm to 6am, again with the 80% max. This way you can leave the two trickle cords mounted in the garage (except when you do some thing out of the ordinary).

Alternatively, you could mount only one charger, leaving the 2nd one in the trunk of the longer driving leaf (some people like the extra comfort of having the charger with them all the time, but I don't find it necessary). Then you could charge your car when you get home and switch cars after 8pm. Also, anytime one car needs more charge, you just push the timer override and it will start charging immediately up to 100% (at least I think it's the same as my 2011 model).

Drive the shorter commuting car on the weekends. That way you balance the mileage and don't have to worry if you come back empty (since you only need a couple of hours to get back to a usable distance). I've had times where I unexpectedly had to drive my 8 mi RT to work on only two or three bars. No problems since I know it doesn't take much and it's flat city streets. Your situation may be different (e.g. hilly).

Keeping two cars going on L1 with just a single circuit will be difficult, even with low mileage on one car. The biggest problem is that you can't afford to "get behind" on your charging since it's so slow. Also, if you have a "longish" trip or multiple trips planned, you may need to start increasing your charging several days in advance. I was able to do 150 mi in two days up here in the cold PNW, but I started charging up on Wednesday (from my normal 5 bars) in preparation for the Friday/Saturday trips. I got home at VLBW and could not have done more than about 50 mi that Sunday. Fortunately, "town" is only 3-6 miles away.

Reddy