EVSE Upgrade

[xaak]

I am a new owner of a Leaf and am looking into what type of home charger to get/install. I think we should just install a 240 outlet and get the EVSE Upgrade; what are the downsides to this plan? My wife is worried this is some sort of shady scam and it won't be as effective or "legitimate" as a more expensive charging station.

This would be an outdoor location in Oregon, so there will definitely be rain. Does that change the decision at all?

Also - we are leasing the vehicle from Nissan, so she is also worried about getting in trouble with the lease.

I know that a lot of these questions are answered on the evseupgrade.com site itself - but I was hoping for some responses from actual owners who have/haven't decided to go with the EVSE upgrade.

Thanks.

 

[RegGuheert]

Welcome and congratulations on our new LEAF!

I am a new owner of a Leaf and am looking into what type of home charger to get/install. I think we should just install a 240 outlet and get the EVSE Upgrade; what are the downsides to this plan?

The only real downside to the plan is that unit does not give you any data-logging capability like some home EVSEs.

Note that the new 2013 EVSEupgrade unit has a nice feature which lets you set the charging current to any value from 5 amps to 20 amps in one-amp steps. This can be very useful in some situations such as when you are sharing a 120V circuit with other loads. Most other EVSEs do not give the owner control of the charging rate.

My wife is worried this is some sort of shady scam and it won't be as effective or "legitimate" as a more expensive charging station.

It's not a scam. Phil, the proprietor of the site, is an extremely talented engineer who posts here often as "Ingineer." Very many of us here have gone this route and I do not know of a single failure. I think this is a much better record than any other EVSE out there. The fact is that the Panasnic-made portable EVSE that Nissan provides with the LEAF is one of the best-made units in the industry and the modifications done by EVSEupgrade only makes it better.

This would be an outdoor location in Oregon, so there will definitely be rain. Does that change the decision at all?

This question is best directed at Phil, but I would suggest keeping both the outlet and the box dry. I would also suggest keeping the cord as protected as possible when not plugged into the car.. Note that there is no ground fault protection until AFTER the box, so there is a risk of shock in wet conditions at the outlet. Because of this, I recommend putting in a GFCI-protected breaker fr this circuit. Just be aware that 240V GFCI breakers are expensive, typically over $100.

Also - we are leasing the vehicle from Nissan, so she is also worried about getting in trouble with the lease.

No problem with the lease. Either send it back to EVSEupgrade for an exchange or turn it in with the car as some have done.

I know that a lot of these questions are answered on the evseupgrade.com site itself - but I was hoping for some responses from actual owners who have/haven't decided to go with the EVSE upgrade. You could probably even exchange it with a new owner and get some money from them to further reduce your overall cost.

I like it so well that I purchased a second one used from someone on this forum. Now we have L2 charging at home and maximum charging flexibility when away from home.

 

[apvbguy]

or the OP could sell/swap the upgrade at the end of his lease term

 

[planet4ever]

This would be an outdoor location in Oregon, so there will definitely be rain. Does that change the decision at all?

No, it needn't change the decision though, as Reg pointed out, an outdoor location is likely to cost a little more. Phil has assured us that the "brick" is watertight, but he doesn't recommend letting it sit in a puddle! I have mine outside, and mounted it on the underside of a board so it isn't directly hit by rain. You do need, as Reg also said, to be sure the outlet is dry, so it should have a weatherproof cover over it. (You need a really deep cover, and they can be hard to find.)

Like many hundreds of others, the upgraded EVSE is the only means of charging I have ever used at home. In two years it has never failed me, and I expect it to continue providing flawless service for years to come. You won't find people saying the same about some of the more expensive charging stations.

Ray

 

[cracovian]

I had mine upgraded and I obviously haven't used it ever since Blink installed a permanent solution for me. I would now prefer to keep it in the car and pay a few hundred extra for an L2 in or outside of my garage for pure convenience. I see an additional advantage in the upgrade when you have places to go and can plug it in at 240 V. The big disadvantage is that you have to handle that long cord and it gets all tangled up if you keep swapping it between the plug and carrying it in your car (unless you just drive without it which a lot of people do too.)

EDIT: People say "hundreds" but I think it's actually thousands of people who have upgraded their EVSE with Phil.

 

[EVDRIVER]

If you use a wall mounted unit outside it will need to have the same plug provisions as the upgraded unit for outdoor use. You can use the upgrade outside with this in mind and the Panasonic unit has proven to be the most reliable and bug free unit on the market. There are literally thousands of people using the upgraded units, in fact likely more than any one single EVSE provider.

 

[garygid]

One downside for a 2013 LEAF, if it has the 6.6 kW (faster) charger:

The modified EVSE would supply a maximum of 20 amps, but
there are other EVSEs that could supply 30 amps to your car,
thus charging it faster.

However, for 2 years, I have charged at 240v 12 amps at home,
using the 2011 upgraded (Rev 0) EVSE, and only very rarely wished
that I could recharge faster to go out again soon after I got back
from a long trip. But, they don't let me out much! :lol:

 

[smkettner]

The evse upgrade is a solid permanent improvement for charging every day. However I would personally prefer a hardwired permanent evse if mounted outside in the rain.

I have and recommend the evse upgrade for other opportunity charging. If you will never have the need then there is no need for the upgrade.

 

[davewill]

For outside, I'd recommend building a lockable enclosure to hold the outlet and the EVSE. That will keep the rain off the outlet and brick, and it will secure it from being stolen.

 

[FairwoodRed]

My wife is worried this is some sort of shady scam and it won't be as effective or "legitimate" as a more expensive charging station.
...
I know that a lot of these questions are answered on the evseupgrade.com site itself - but I was hoping for some responses from actual owners who have/haven't decided to go with the EVSE upgrade.

I'll be in Portland on Star Wars Day (May the Fourth...) to test drive the new Smart EV. I'd be happy to meet up with you and show you my EVSE Upgraded unit - give you a little hands on time. PM me for contact information if you're interested.

 

[Bassman]

A coworker of mine bought a 2013 LEAF S just last weekend and she told me that the Nissan dealer told her that if she did the EVSE upgrade, it would void her traction battery warranty. What a bunch of BS.

 

[Ingineer]

The dealers get a kick-back from having you install the multi-kilobuck Nissan-branded Aerovironment (AV) charge station, so some of them will say all kinds of crazy stuff.

First off, It will not void the warranty on your car. In the US we have the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act which is a United States federal law, (15 U.S.C. § 2301 et seq.). Enacted in 1975, it is the federal statute that governs warranties on consumer products. Among other things, It prevents manufacturers from denying warranty coverage from aftermarket upgrades. The only way they can deny a claim is to unequivocally prove that the EVSE did damage to your car, which would be impossible.

Secondly, if using a non-Nissan approved EVSE were to somehow void your warranty, then everyone who's ever charged at a public charge station would no longer have a warranty!

The whole point of the SAE J1772 charging standard is to ensure safe charging and compatibility across all brands and devices.

We have thousands of units out there being used every day, and not one single report of either a warranty problem or any damage to the LEAF.

Another point: The regulation of energy into the battery is handled by the LEAF's on-board charging module (OBC), not the EVSE. There is no possible way an EVSE can cause damage to the battery even if someone wanted to cause it!

It's about as crazy as saying if you use non-Nissan branded windshield washer fluid, you void your warranty. This is why it took Federal Legislation; People were being scared into buying certain things that weren't needed.

-Phil

 

[Bassman]

Yeah, that's what I told her Phil. I've had my upgraded unit for nearly 2 years now and have had no problems. But she was still leary being a newbie EV owner.

 

[Ingineer]

Yeah, that's what I told her Phil. I've had my upgraded unit for nearly 2 years now and have had no problems. But she was still leary being a newbie EV owner.

It's surprising someone that worried even considered an EV.

Personally, I'd rather not have customers like that anyway.

-Phil

 

[cwerdna]

There's an unanswered (I believe) question re: EVSE upgrade at http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=285130#p285130" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. I figured maybe I'd call attention to it here.

 

[hill]

The dealers get a kick-back from having you install the multi-kilobuck Nissan-branded Aerovironment (AV) charge station, so some of them will say all kinds of crazy stuff.
............snip...................
The whole point of the SAE J1772 charging standard is to ensure safe charging and compatibility across all brands and devices.

We have thousands of units out there being used every day, and not one single report of either a warranty problem or any damage to the LEAF.

Another point: The regulation of energy into the battery is handled by the LEAF's on-board charging module (OBC), not the EVSE. There is no possible way an EVSE can cause damage to the battery even if someone wanted to cause it! ........snip.......

ok - . . . since no one else is asking . . . . GE Wattstations come to mind. I read a bunch o Leaf's got bit by them. Not the battery - but some of the on board chargers needed to be replaced.
No?
Sure - I understand that ultimately Nissan & GE determined that it was some issue with Nissan's board chargers that RELATED to WattStation charging ... under certain conditions ... and I don't know the particulars ... but it'd seem EVSE's ARE at least able to help determine weaknesses in some of the original on-board chargers. Hopefully, no one else's product will 'help' find another weakness ... causing Nissan to point the finger at the EVSE as a knee jerk reaction.
:?:
.

 

[Cbciv]

First off, I love this unit. It gives me the flexibility to charge slow to conserve batt life, or fast when I am in a hurry. Moreover, it is a cheap install. So, thank you, Phil!

One poster said that at the end of our lease we could just send the upgrade back to Phil to get a stock unit back for trade in. Obviously, i'd like to keep it for the next one, if possible. A. (For Phil) Is that a service you offer? B. What experience have any of you heard of for people trading in their Leaf with the upgraded EVSE?

I imagine when the 2015 rolls around, it might need a new type of upgrade unit anyway. But, just curious.

 

[wsbsteven]

A coworker of mine bought a 2013 LEAF S just last weekend and she told me that the Nissan dealer told her that if she did the EVSE upgrade, it would void her traction battery warranty. What a bunch of BS.

My dealer referred me to Phil so that's the difference between dealers. Mine didn't refer to him by name but said there 'there is a guy in California that will upgrade your charger for a couple hundred bucks' but I put two and two together.

 

[TonyWilliams]

ok - . . . since no one else is asking . . . . GE Wattstations come to mind. I read a bunch o Leaf's got bit by them. Not the battery - but some of the on board chargers needed to be replaced.
No?

Very good point, however I don't think you'd get any agreement between either Nissan or GE about which is to blame.

By the way, Nissan covered the chargers under warranty.

 

[Ingineer]

First off, I love this unit. It gives me the flexibility to charge slow to conserve batt life, or fast when I am in a hurry. Moreover, it is a cheap install. So, thank you, Phil!

One poster said that at the end of our lease we could just send the upgrade back to Phil to get a stock unit back for trade in. Obviously, i'd like to keep it for the next one, if possible. A. (For Phil) Is that a service you offer? B. What experience have any of you heard of for people trading in their Leaf with the upgraded EVSE?

I imagine when the 2015 rolls around, it might need a new type of upgrade unit anyway. But, just curious.

We offer a free "downgrade" service for Leaseholders. (see this) To date, we have had to do zero of these downgrades. So far, we've been able to put the owner in touch with someone near them who was willing to do a swap, and PAY THEM! Your upgraded unit is worth $ on the market, so if you can, I recommend you make some $ off it. Barring that, we'll do your downgrade.

We've had quite a few people report that they just turned in the upgraded unit at the end of the lease with the 120V adapter attached and had no issues. I'm sure the next owner will appreciate the free gift! I wouldn't recommend this though!

-Phil