Permanently mounting the Nissan supplied EVSE in the car?

[hpage]

I'm wondering if it's feasible/desirable to permanently mount the Nissan (Panasonic) EVSE to the car.. Looking for a good location. Popped off the trim piece that sits on top of the area in front of the radiator/condenser (the one through which the hood rod is inserted) and noted the large space therein. Also noted the large, horizontal, aluminum(?) bumper -- thought it might be a good place to mount the unit, either on top of the bumper or behind. Accessing this appears not to be too difficult, simply have to remove the bumper cover -- appears to be a half hour job, primarily removing those funky push-in plastic fasteners..

The J1772 cord could be stored on a mounting bracket in the "engine" compartment (might need to be shortened). The power cord could be likewise or perhaps one could install a receptacle such has this:

http://lockingpowercords.com/Products/914-hubbell-l6-20-shrouded-watertight-receptacles.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thoughts? Ideas? Considerations? Issues? Thanks.

 

[TickTock]

Good idea if you use the 120v charger often but be careful not to impede airflow over the radiators. I've only used mine twice, though, since getting my Leaf (and once was just to make sure it worked), so not something I would bother with.

If you don't have the quick charge port installed, you could use that slot for a nice professional looking finish.

 

[aqn]

I'm wondering if it's feasible/desirable to permanently mount the Nissan (Panasonic) EVSE to the car. [...]

I don't know, but your point makes me wonder why Nissan did not build the EVSE brick into the car in the first place, so all one would need for L1 charging is an extension cord?

 

[EricH]

I don't know, but your point makes me wonder why Nissan did not build the EVSE brick into the car in the first place, so all one would need for L1 charging is an extension cord?

The "J" standard requires a very limited distance between the plug and the "brick" components, which is why the "brick" dangles helplessly in mid-air when plugged in to 99% of all existing electrical outlets...

 

[adric22]

I too wish that Nissan had included the L1 EVSE built into the car so that there would just be a 3-prong connector needed to connect L1 to a regular household outlet. But oh well.. you know those regulations...

 

[JimSouCal]

Thought about this too and arrived at this thought: the EVSE has several safety mechanisms to avoid energizing the car body with AC, and to operate with more safeguards in wet weather, checks for ground fault, etc. So if you did mount it in the car, you would be circumventing those safety measures.

That said, I sometimes lock mine in the trunk and feed the plug line and extension cord out in sketchy areas. I'd suspect, long term, that isn't so good for either cord.

Today, I think somebody may have unplugged me from a public charger and plugged me back in. Got a note charging had stopped, and simply restarted it via my iphone. Odd.

 

[garygid]

The whole "excuse" for "requiring" the EVSE was to replace a POSSIBLY unsafe 240v extension cord with a "safer" safety-interlocked extension cord, that MIGHT POSSIBLY save a life, and have a standard interface to plug-in all EVs.

Some might think that the "standard" was made to keep EVs from freely using the electrical infrastructure that ALREADY EXISTS, thus SLOWING down the deploynent and success of the EV as a competitor to the American ICE vehicles.

 

[Coffee_Slurry]

I don't see any reason the car couldn't have both.. J1772 socket for infrastructure L2 chargers, and pull-out retractable 120v cord for opportunity charging from standard outlets.

Surely a built-in 120v cord isn't any more unsafe than an EVSE box dangling from the outlet.

Imagine how awesome that would be.. pop open a port, grab the bog-standard 120v plug, pull it out to reach the outlet and plug in. Done.

 

[tps]

My understanding is that the EVSE situation in Europe is that almost all public charging locations require one to supply their own EVSE. Apparently European public charge points just have some sort of 230V outlet, most likely an IEC 60309 connector (except UK). Maybe as adoption of the LEAF spreads in Europe we'll get some ideas for using the portable EVSE from European users, who if I understand the situation, will be using their portable EVSEs a lot!

 

[SnaxMuppet]

In Europe the standard that is emerging for L2 charging is the IEC 62196-2 "Mennekes" socket. It is an AC, 1 or 3 phase, 7 pin socket.

To charge the car with this socket you do not need an EVSE with a block. The electronics are inside the charge point itself. So you just need an IEC 62196-2 to J1772 cable. These cables are starting to become available now in Europe but they aren't cheap at about 250GBP or more.

At the moment most L2 charge points here in the UK are 13A using a standard square pin domestic 240V socket but most of them will be upgraded to the IEC 62196-2 socket over the next couple of years. Most new L2 posts have this IEC 62196-2 socket.

The IEC 62196-2 can charge cars at speeds up to 44kW using 240V AC 3 Phase but not all charge posts have that power. Some are at 22kW and some at 7kW single phase. However, even with a post that can deliver 44kW it depends on the charger in the car as to what speed you actually charge at. With the Leaf regardless of what power the post can deliver we can only charge at 3.3kW as the charger in the 2011 cars is just 3.3kW.

The 2013 Nissan Leaf will have a 7kW (or there abouts) charger so that model will be able to use IEC 62196-2 sockets at 7kW.

It is all a bit confusing here in the UK right now.

 

[Herm]

Some might think that the "standard" was made to keep EVs from freely using the electrical infrastructure that ALREADY EXISTS, thus SLOWING down the deploynent and success of the EV as a competitor to the American ICE vehicles.

You would think, we dont want deadly 120V extensions running all over the place, also hard to charge $1000 to sell you one.

A neat mod would be a 120V socket permanently installed. Where would you put it?

 

[planet4ever]

I don't see any reason the car couldn't have both.. J1772 socket for infrastructure L2 chargers, and pull-out retractable 120v cord for opportunity charging from standard outlets. Surely a built-in 120v cord isn't any more unsafe than an EVSE box dangling from the outlet.

European plugs are probably different, but with the US NEMA 5-15 or 5-20 the ground post is slightly longer than the hot and neutral blades. Perhaps someone can correct me, but that would seem to mean that if you unplug the EVSE from the wall while the car is charging there is no way for the EVSE to detect what is happening and shut down before there is arcing at the receptacle. Any arc there will shorten the lifetime of the receptacle and may cause a fire hazard.

That is precisely the situation you would have with a built-in EVSE and a retractable cord, so, yes, it would be more unsafe on those grounds alone, not to mention the lack of GFCI protection, nor the chance that the cord stretched from the car to the outlet might pull out on its own due to retractor tension or pop out if accidentally touched.

Ray

 

[JimSouCal]

:twisted: One could also intentionally electrify their leaf to teach somebody a lesson for touching it...:twisted:

Seriously, having worked on a film set exterior, during pouring rain, and ankle deep mud, and witnessed firsthand what happens when the ground actually gets inadvertently crossed with a transformed AC source, not enough to trip the massive main breakers, but enough to pull about 35 amps, I am happy to have the redundant safety of the EVSE.

For those of you thinking of pulling around extension cords in the rain in soaking wet leather soled shoes, the rule is only touch one thing at a time to keep the AC from running across your heart.

 

[tps]

For those of you thinking of pulling around extension cords in the rain in soaking wet leather soled shoes, the rule is only touch one thing at a time to keep the AC from running across your heart.

Old timers know this as "keep one hand in your pocket."

Powell Crosley, Jr. throws the switch to start the motor-generators to supply filament voltage to his 500 kW AM broadcast transmitter.

 

[tps]

European plugs are probably different, but with the US NEMA 5-15 or 5-20 the ground post is slightly longer than the hot and neutral blades. Perhaps someone can correct me, but that would seem to mean that if you unplug the EVSE from the wall while the car is charging there is no way for the EVSE to detect what is happening and shut down before there is arcing at the receptacle.

The ground pin is longer by design as it also is on the J1772 connector to ensure that the device is grounded before power is applied and so it remains grounded until after power is removed. The ground makes first and breaks last. The pilot signal of J1772 fulfills the make last / break first role. Of course, there's no pilot on a NEMA 5-15.

I think the main problem with the portable EVSE is security. It's just not suitable for unattended charging in many public places. I think even public L1 chargers should have J1772 connectors. I plan to use my portable L1/L2 EVSE mainly in situations such as at a friend's house, etc.

 

[planet4ever]

The ground pin is longer by design as it also is on the J1772 connector to ensure that the device is grounded before power is applied and so it remains grounded until after power is removed. The ground makes first and breaks last. The pilot signal of J1772 fulfills the make last / break first role. Of course, there's no pilot on a NEMA 5-15.

As I thought. And hence there will be an arc if it is disconnected while in use. There aren't many 12A products that we are likely to plug or unplug while they are in use. A portable heater might be the most common, with clueless users who don't turn it off first.

I think the main problem with the portable EVSE is security. It's just not suitable for unattended charging in many public places. I think even public L1 chargers should have J1772 connectors. I plan to use my portable L1/L2 EVSE mainly in situations such as at a friend's house, etc.

I don't see a need for better security on my portable EVSE than on my wheels. If I have a padlock on the disconnect latch it discourages casual thievery, and that is all I can depend on in any event.

Ray