New Owner Paranoia?

[joandirk]

I got my first electric car on Tuesday, a 2013 Leaf with only 22k miles on it. It's quite a change coming from my old rundown 2000 Golf 1.8T, gas and oil guzzler that it was. So far, I really am loving it, but I'm beginning to experience "range anxiety" and I've become very familiar with PlugShare. Initially I thought I would be able to just charge with the trickle charge cord, but then I became unsure. The wiring to the garage, the closest outlet source, was done more than 40 years ago and, according to my boyfriend whose grandfather built the garage and did the wiring himself, is just running off of an extension from the house. According Nissan's customer disclosure form, charging from here would be a big no-no. And there's no outdoor outlet at my current office.

What do you think? Would it be fine? Will it slowly ruin my new car?

Also, perhaps a silly question, I know you can override the 80% charge limit with the chargers, can you do this with the level 3 too?

As it stands, we're getting by fine without. There are charging stations all over Seattle, and while it may be a hassle, plan is to just continue visiting chademo chargers every other day for a quick charge. Seems like that may be adding up fast, though. I'm hoping my company's new office will have at least a wall outlet in the garage, but that's still a few months down the line.

Thanks, everybody!!

 

[Levenkay]

Initially I thought I would be able to just charge with the trickle charge cord, but then I became unsure. The wiring to the garage, the closest outlet source, was done more than 40 years ago and, according to my boyfriend whose grandfather built the garage and did the wiring himself, is just running off of an extension from the house. According Nissan's customer disclosure form, charging from here would be a big no-no. And there's no outdoor outlet at my current office.

What do you think? Would it be fine? Will it slowly ruin my new car?

Your description makes it sound as if your garage circuits may not have adequate current-carrying capacity, and possibly would suffer a sizeable voltage drop if/when you charge your LEAF from them. I don't really understand why the guidelines doc you linked would explicitly prohibit fuse-protected circuits; the L2 EVSE in my garage has an internal fuse, for goodness sakes (but there's a circuit breaker in the picture as well). Maybe it's a roundabout way of excluding old wiring installations? Leaving that aside, I think that the primary worry would be overheating the wiring somewhere and causing a fire; I don't think the car itself would be at risk; you can loose 20 volts and still only be down to the "normal" voltage a LEAF would see in Japan, after all. Having the LEAF's electrical components survive is small consolation, though, if your garage burns down.

You've probably already considered this, but the best recommendation would be that you have an EVSE appropriately installed with new, adequate electrical service.

Also, perhaps a silly question, I know you can override the 80% charge limit with the chargers, can you do this with the level 3 too?

CHAdeMO chargers don't seem to pay any attention to charge limit or timer settings in the car. How they decide to stop varies quite a bit from one make of charging station to another: The AeroVironment stations just keep charging until you push their STOP button or the car hits 100% (although the speed tapers way off past an 80% charge level). The Blink stations make you pick some multiple of "10%" to stop at, but then only give you 80% of what you ask for. I think I QC'ed at a Nissan dealer once where the charger would terminate a charging session after a set time limit of about 10 minutes. And so on.

But enjoy your LEAF! Hope your charging opportunities improve!

 

[Reddy]

... The wiring to the garage, the closest outlet source, was done more than 40 years ago and, according to my boyfriend whose grandfather built the garage and did the wiring himself, is just running off of an extension from the house. ......What do you think? Would it be fine? Will it slowly ruin my new car?

Get an electrician (or friend who know the current specs and codes) in pronto! You may be just fine, but you may also risk burning down the garage, with the Leaf in it. This is the reason Nissan doesn't recommend using the trickle charger for anything but an emergency. That said, I've been charging on L1 for four years without a problem, but I've checked my wiring, upgraded the receptacle, and mounted the EVSE cord so it doesn't pull on the receptacle. I've even charged in a similar garage to yours (1920s house with electricity added by long dead family), again with no problems, but I checked the installation.

 

[Nubo]

The wiring to the garage, the closest outlet source, was done more than 40 years ago and, according to my boyfriend whose grandfather built the garage and did the wiring himself, is just running off of an extension from the house
….
What do you think? Would it be fine? Will it slowly ruin my new car?

It won't ruin your car, the car's charger and the EVSE will protect it. Although, the wall-plug of your EVSE might be at risk. The danger, as mentioned, is if the garage wiring is not up to snuff, some part of it could overheat when faced with hours of steady high-current load. I would second the advice to have your system checked by an electrician and explain how you intend to use it. If it turns out ok, then your worries will be eased. If it needs remediation, the electrician can walk you through the various options to find what's best for you. As a bonus, it may be possible to wire the garage at reasonable cost, to enable you to do Level2 charging. Level 2 is more convenient and also more electrically efficient.

 

[Valdemar]

Definitely have the whole path inspected by an electrician, there can be unexpected surprises, like aluminum wiring.

 

[davewill]

Yes. The danger isn't to the car. The danger is a fire caused by overloaded wiring and/or poor connections. PLEASE have a professional inspect the wiring, and if it doesn't get a clean bill of health, have him fix the problems. Do this even if you decide you don't need to charge in that garage. If an extension cord was used to wire the garage, you could have a fire from someone turning on the lights or plugging in almost anything.

 

[kovalb]

I do not know whether you would qualify for this but there is a rebate for PSE customers who have an EVSE installed. Having a level 2 (240V) EVSE professionally installed would enable great peace of mind and convenience.

http://www.ncsl.org/research/energy/state-electric-vehicle-incentives-state-chart.aspx
Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment Rebate: Puget Sound Energy (PSE) provides a rebate of $500 to qualified customers for the purchase and installation of Level 2 EVSE. PSE expects the rebate program to remain open until Nov. 1, 2016, depending on available funds.