EVSE Upgrade.com

[brennanwilkins]

Did a quick search and couldn't find anything...but did evseupgrade.com go away for good?


They did an upgrade for me a few years ago, to a unit with an L6-30 on it, and the new house we're moving to only has a 20A/220V outlet I can use... I can make the adapter for it, but wondering if there was anything I needed to do to the unit itself?

 

[cwerdna]

Yeah, it seems like they quietly closed down. You can look at https://web.archive.org/web/*/https://evseupgrade.com for earlier snapshots.

I can only guess that Ingineer has moved onto bigger/better things besides there now being a lot of relatively cheap L2 EVSEs out there besides some '18+ Leafs coming with L1/L2 dual voltage EVSEs.

 

[jjeff]

Did a quick search and couldn't find anything...but did evseupgrade.com go away for good?


They did an upgrade for me a few years ago, to a unit with an L6-30 on it, and the new house we're moving to only has a 20A/220V outlet I can use... I can make the adapter for it, but wondering if there was anything I needed to do to the unit itself?

If you have a '13 or '14 EVSEupgrade and a Leaf with a 6.6kwh built-in charger your EVSE upgrade is capable of 20a continuous, for that you need a 30a circuit breaker with a 30a outlet, which is why they put that outlet on your upgrade. Now if you have a 3.6kwh Leaf you could possibly just swap the plugs or make an adapter plug(which is what I might do) or you could also adjust your EVSE to a maximum of 16a(which is what a 20a circuit could support continuously) but if things got set to 20a you'd be overloading your 20a circuit.
What year and model Leaf do you have, and if a S model does it have the "charger package" which includes the 6.6kwh option?
Yes too bad about iEngineer, he just slowly disappeared I have a '14 upgrade and still works great to this day.

 

[cwerdna]

If you have a '13 or '14 EVSEupgrade and a Leaf with a 6.6kwh built-in charger your EVSE upgrade is capable of 20a continuous, for that you need a 30a circuit breaker with a 30a outlet, which is why they put that outlet on your upgrade. Now if you have a 3.6kwh Leaf

You mean 6.6 and 3.6 kW chargers? Charging rate is measured in kW, not kwh.

He still posts some (not Leaf-related) videos at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC31O6BEWzx4D--YPw9aJABA but from a quick search of his posts on "TMC", it seems like he's taken a step back from posting there much now.

 

[GerryAZ]

Did a quick search and couldn't find anything...but did evseupgrade.com go away for good?


They did an upgrade for me a few years ago, to a unit with an L6-30 on it, and the new house we're moving to only has a 20A/220V outlet I can use... I can make the adapter for it, but wondering if there was anything I needed to do to the unit itself?

It depends upon the "vintage" of the upgrade. The newer upgrades were adjustable so you could set the current from a minimum of 6 amperes up to a maximum of 20 or 24 amperes and came with an L6-30 plug. Check the literature that came with your upgrade to see if it explains how to use a paper clip to change the programmed maximum current. If it is adjustable, then you could make an adapter from the 20-ampere receptacle to the L6-30 plug and set the maximum current to 16 amperes.

Note: I have an early version which is limited to 12 amperes and has an L6-20 plug that I purchased relatively soon after getting the 2011. After the 2011 was declared a total loss in 2015, I sent the original unit that came with it to EVSE Upgrade. It came back with the L6-30 plug and is adjustable from 6 to 24 amperes at 240 volts and 6 to 12 amperes at 120 volts.

 

[jjeff]

Note: I have an early version which is limited to 12 amperes and has an L6-20 plug that I purchased relatively soon after getting the 2011. After the 2011 was declared a total loss in 2015, I sent the original unit that came with it to EVSE Upgrade. It came back with the L6-30 plug and is adjustable from 6 to 24 amperes at 240 volts and 6 to 12 amperes at 120 volts.

Interesting, when I had mine upgraded in '14?? 20a was the max it would output at 240v even with a 30a plug. I did pick up an older upgraded EVSE, an '11 or '12 and it didn't have the adjustable feature but did output a full 20a @ 240v as well as 20a @ 120v on my '13 Leaf but of course was limited to 16a 240v and 12a 120v on my '12 as that was the max the cars internal charger would accept. Using that old upgraded EVSE on a newer Leaf with the upgraded charger isn't really advised on 120v unless you plug it into a TT-30 outlet as even on a regular 20a 120v outlet it would probably pop the breaker after continuous use, TT-30 outlet adapters to a standard 120v outlet are common though and as long as it's properly built with preferably 10g wire or in a pinch 12g, it is nice to get that extra power even on 120v.

 

[smkettner]

Have an electrician come look at the circuit to evaluate cost to upgrade to 30 amps.
Otherwise consider a Clipper Creek LCS20.

 

[GerryAZ]

Note: I have an early version which is limited to 12 amperes and has an L6-20 plug that I purchased relatively soon after getting the 2011. After the 2011 was declared a total loss in 2015, I sent the original unit that came with it to EVSE Upgrade. It came back with the L6-30 plug and is adjustable from 6 to 24 amperes at 240 volts and 6 to 12 amperes at 120 volts.

Interesting, when I had mine upgraded in '14?? 20a was the max it would output at 240v even with a 30a plug. I did pick up an older upgraded EVSE, an '11 or '12 and it didn't have the adjustable feature but did output a full 20a @ 240v as well as 20a @ 120v on my '13 Leaf but of course was limited to 16a 240v and 12a 120v on my '12 as that was the max the cars internal charger would accept. Using that old upgraded EVSE on a newer Leaf with the upgraded charger isn't really advised on 120v unless you plug it into a TT-30 outlet as even on a regular 20a 120v outlet it would probably pop the breaker after continuous use, TT-30 outlet adapters to a standard 120v outlet are common though and as long as it's properly built with preferably 10g wire or in a pinch 12g, it is nice to get that extra power even on 120v.

The first generation EVSE Upgrade was 12 amperes fixed at any voltage and came with L6-20 plug. The second generation was 20 amperes fixed at any voltage and came with L6-30 plug so they would let later LEAFs or some other cars draw too much from a normal 120-volt outlet.
The next generation was adjustable from 6 to 20 or 24 amperes on 240 volts (20 or 24 amperes maximum depending upon the cable, J1772 plug, and internal components used in the particular unit being upgraded) and 6 to 12 amperes on 120 volts to avoid possible overload of normal 120V receptacles. They offered to "upgrade" the second generation units to avoid possible overload of 120V receptacles, but I have no idea how many were revised. My 12-ampere fixed unit was purchased in October 2012 and the original unit from my 2011 SL was upgraded in April 2015.

Edited to correct the first generation EVSE Upgrade came with L6-20 plug.

 

[91040]

The first generation EVSE Upgrade pulled 16A on 240V. I thought the plug was an L6-20.

 

[camasleaf]

https://www.amazon.com/NEMA-L6-20P-L6-30R-Plug-Adapter/dp/B004W359W0

 

[MikeD]

The current Level 1/Level 2 EVSE supplied with the US Nissan Leaf fully complies with the current NEC, I believe.

Do ANY of the "EVSE Upgrade" Nissan EVSEs similarly fully comply?

Does anyone want to discuss the "pros and cons" of the safety aspects of NEC compliance for EVSEs?

 

[Stanton]

The first generation EVSE Upgrade pulled 16A on 240V. I thought the plug was an L6-20.

You are correct; I think @GerryAZ just had a typo
I still use my 2011 vintage EVSE upgrade coupled to a 220v Modlet (from thinkecoin.com) to monitor power consumption to this day. I built my own NEMA 10-30 to 6-20 adapter cable to use the old "dyer" plug in my garage.

 

[GerryAZ]

The first generation EVSE Upgrade pulled 16A on 240V. I thought the plug was an L6-20.

You are correct; I think @GerryAZ just had a typo
I still use my 2011 vintage EVSE upgrade coupled to a 220v Modlet (from thinkecoin.com) to monitor power consumption to this day. I built my own NEMA 10-30 to 6-20 adapter cable to use the old "dyer" plug in my garage.

Yes it was a typo. I fixed my previous post. The very first generation came with L6-20 plug and would allow 12 amperes at any voltage. The next version would allow 16 amperes, but 2011 and 2012 LEAFs would only draw 12 amperes at 120 volts.

 

[GerryAZ]

The current Level 1/Level 2 EVSE supplied with the US Nissan Leaf fully complies with the current NEC, I believe.

Do ANY of the "EVSE Upgrade" Nissan EVSEs similarly fully comply?

Does anyone want to discuss the "pros and cons" of the safety aspects of NEC compliance for EVSEs?

The EVSE Upgrade that was done in April 2015 to my original Nissan unit kept when the 2011 was totaled essentially complies because it has a short cord (not more than 12 inches) with L6-30 plug and allows a maximum of 24 amperes on 208 or 240 volts. It allows a maximum of 12 amperes at 120 volts so an adapter for standard 15-ampere, 120-volt receptacle does not cause an issue except the overall cord length exceeds the 12-inch maximum requirement. The current settings can be set in 1-ampere increments from 6 to 24 amperes at 208 or 240 volts and 6 to 12 amperes at 120 volts if it is necessary to reduce the charge rate.

Personally, I disagree with that 12-inch maximum cord length requirement because it can be difficult to find a way to support the body of the EVSE so it doesn't hang by the cord. A 24-inch cord would be safer because it would allow the EVSE to rest on the floor.

Incidentally, the Nissan dual-plug unit works fine when plugged in to a 14-50 receptacle fed by 240 volts, but it will not work if the receptacle is fed by 208 volts. Most utilization equipment with 14-50 plug will function OK when plugged in to a receptacle fed by 208 volts.

 

[91040]

You just jogged my memory. I think the buyer had the option to choose either 12A or 16A on L2 for that first version of the EVSE Upgrade, or it was when I ordered.
It doesn’t seem like it was that long ago but how soon I forget! :roll:

The first generation EVSE Upgrade pulled 16A on 240V. I thought the plug was an L6-20.

Yes it was a typo. I fixed my previous post. The very first generation came with L6-20 plug and would allow 12 amperes at any voltage. The next version would allow 16 amperes, but 2011 and 2012 LEAFs would only draw 12 amperes at 120 volts.

 

[MikeD]

I believe the following PDF of the 2017 NEC is allowed/OK to use (since it is NOT the current 2020 edition, and my understanding is old versions lose their full copyright protection once a new version is published): https://www.tooltexas.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/2017-NEC-Code-2.pdf

For most of its EVSE rules, see Article 625 (Electric Vehicle Charging System).

 

[christiank]

Does anyone have the PDF that describes how to change the charging current on a EVSE Upgrade model? I have the newer Panasonic made charger that was upgraded by EVSE Upgrade, but I don't have the manual anymore. I want to be able to reduce my charging current on 120V, so that I can charge from my solar inverter. I'm looking for this document: Programming Guide for Gen2: (2013+)
http://evseupgrade.com/evse-programming-g2.pdf
I know it was something about shorting two pins with a paperclip and then adjusting the charging current with the release button.

Thanks
Christian

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

You just jogged my memory. I think the buyer had the option to choose either 12A or 16A on L2 for that first version of the EVSE Upgrade, or it was when I ordered.
It doesn’t seem like it was that long ago but how soon I forget! :roll:

The first generation EVSE Upgrade pulled 16A on 240V. I thought the plug was an L6-20.

Yes it was a typo. I fixed my previous post. The very first generation came with L6-20 plug and would allow 12 amperes at any voltage. The next version would allow 16 amperes, but 2011 and 2012 LEAFs would only draw 12 amperes at 120 volts.

First version was 12 amps only. I had one but gave it away. I have the 24 amp version now. As far as adjusting current, unplug it then use a pin or paperclip and find hole on plug. press once for each amp desired. Then plug it back in and the setting will be displayed by flashing lights once per amp selected. The flashing repeats 3 times...maybe twice?

 

[christiank]

Thanks, but I'm not clear where I put the paperclip in. I found a post from 2011 when Ingineer was designing it and he wrote:

Another "no hardware" option is to use a paperclip between the 2 small holes in the J1772, which would cycle the mode. (this would not be dangerous, as there is no voltage over 12 present)

Do I have to short between CP and PP on the J1772 plug?
It would be great if anybody has a copy of the PDF manual.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

Thanks, but I'm not clear where I put the paperclip in. I found a post from 2011 when Ingineer was designing it and he wrote:

Another "no hardware" option is to use a paperclip between the 2 small holes in the J1772, which would cycle the mode. (this would not be dangerous, as there is no voltage over 12 present)

Do I have to short between CP and PP on the J1772 plug?
It would be great if anybody has a copy of the PDF manual.

sorry too vague. On the J 1772 side, short the two small holes