bernie82
Well-known member
I decided to go plug in electric about 4 months ago. I checked out the Leaf, the Volt. and the plugin Prius. My first choice was the Volt but a Volt lease would have cost me about $75 a month more than the Leaf lease and I seldom drive more than 50 miles a day so I opted for a 2012 Leaf and leased it about 3 months ago. At first I was in love with the car, then I discovered this forum. Thanks guys, for all the help. I've learned so much. I want my Leaf to be set up right so this is what I did.
I was charging my Leaf with the 110 volt hookup and it satisfied my needs. Then I learned that charging the Leaf to 100% would decrease the Leaf's battery capacity so I charged to 80% and I was able to deal with it. Then I learned that even at 80% the Leaf battery capacity would be compromised. I also learned that letting the battery run down to VLW or even low warning could compromise battery capacity as well. Thanks to you guys I discovered the EVSE upgrade. Problem solved. I charge to to 70% now and the upgrade gets me back up and running within a couple of hours of charging should I need it. Thanks, Phil. $332
I was happy for a while but then I learned that the Leaf doesn't like 6 or more battery temperature bars and my Leaf always show 6 bars. What to do? I put an air conditioner in my garage that I run during the day and my Leaf now is happy and shows me 5 bars. Thanks guys. $1100
I was real happy with the pretty white seat covers in my white Leaf until a few members pointed out that they the Leaf upholstery is cheap and Nissan should have given the Leaf leather seats. What to do? I went down to an auto upholstery store and got a great deal on white leather and it sure wasn't cheap. Thanks guys. $1100
I was reading a post by a guy who was a car radio installer and he checked out the Leaf speaker system and found some screws missing. What to do? I rushed to a auto radio store and had them check out my speakers. All the screws were there and now I have peace of mind. Thanks guys. $50.
I thought I finally had my Leaf set up right until I learned that the SOC meter wasn't accurate and I needed something called a GID meter. Boy I'm glad I learned about that. With a GID meter I'll get to know how much capacity the battery is losing. Even though there's nothing I can do about the loss, it's important to learn the bad news. I found a guy on the forum that's selling a do it yourself Gid meter for about $200. He also sells one put together for $300 and I'm not stupid. I learned that when I wired my 240 dryer outlet with an extension that was compatible with the plug on the EVSE upgrade I near electrocuted myself so smart man that I am, I opted for the $300 all assembled Gid meter.
I recently learned that the electric heater in my 2012 Leaf puts a big drain on the battery and doesn't do a good job heating the car. What to do? I went to a sporting goods store and checked out a heavy duty wet suit. I told the salesman that I wanted to be comfortable even if the temperature got into the forties. He told me that the best suit he had would keep me warm until the temperature dropped below 50 degrees. What to do? He suggested buying two wet suits. He felt that would do the job. I haven't had a chance to use the wet suits yet but I'll let you guys know if they work as soon as the nights get cold here in northern Ca. Thanks guys. $400.
I wanna thank all you guys for the help. All it cost me was a little more than $3000 and my leaf and I are happy.
I was charging my Leaf with the 110 volt hookup and it satisfied my needs. Then I learned that charging the Leaf to 100% would decrease the Leaf's battery capacity so I charged to 80% and I was able to deal with it. Then I learned that even at 80% the Leaf battery capacity would be compromised. I also learned that letting the battery run down to VLW or even low warning could compromise battery capacity as well. Thanks to you guys I discovered the EVSE upgrade. Problem solved. I charge to to 70% now and the upgrade gets me back up and running within a couple of hours of charging should I need it. Thanks, Phil. $332
I was happy for a while but then I learned that the Leaf doesn't like 6 or more battery temperature bars and my Leaf always show 6 bars. What to do? I put an air conditioner in my garage that I run during the day and my Leaf now is happy and shows me 5 bars. Thanks guys. $1100
I was real happy with the pretty white seat covers in my white Leaf until a few members pointed out that they the Leaf upholstery is cheap and Nissan should have given the Leaf leather seats. What to do? I went down to an auto upholstery store and got a great deal on white leather and it sure wasn't cheap. Thanks guys. $1100
I was reading a post by a guy who was a car radio installer and he checked out the Leaf speaker system and found some screws missing. What to do? I rushed to a auto radio store and had them check out my speakers. All the screws were there and now I have peace of mind. Thanks guys. $50.
I thought I finally had my Leaf set up right until I learned that the SOC meter wasn't accurate and I needed something called a GID meter. Boy I'm glad I learned about that. With a GID meter I'll get to know how much capacity the battery is losing. Even though there's nothing I can do about the loss, it's important to learn the bad news. I found a guy on the forum that's selling a do it yourself Gid meter for about $200. He also sells one put together for $300 and I'm not stupid. I learned that when I wired my 240 dryer outlet with an extension that was compatible with the plug on the EVSE upgrade I near electrocuted myself so smart man that I am, I opted for the $300 all assembled Gid meter.
I recently learned that the electric heater in my 2012 Leaf puts a big drain on the battery and doesn't do a good job heating the car. What to do? I went to a sporting goods store and checked out a heavy duty wet suit. I told the salesman that I wanted to be comfortable even if the temperature got into the forties. He told me that the best suit he had would keep me warm until the temperature dropped below 50 degrees. What to do? He suggested buying two wet suits. He felt that would do the job. I haven't had a chance to use the wet suits yet but I'll let you guys know if they work as soon as the nights get cold here in northern Ca. Thanks guys. $400.
I wanna thank all you guys for the help. All it cost me was a little more than $3000 and my leaf and I are happy.
