Thinking about leasing a Leaf - Few quick questions

[jkendt1989]

I am looking to lease a Leaf and the dealers are not very smart on this card. It's hard to get a straight answer without the "I'd imagine" being added at the end.

Here are a few quick questions I had:

1) I definitely want the 6.6 KW on board charger. It states that it cuts the time in half. Is that true with the Level 1 charge also? Does it go from 21 hours for full charge to about 10 hours? What time does the level 2 get about?

2) What is the best, cheapest option for a level 2 charging station. I hate that I have to buy one but I see the benefit in getting one.

Thanks for any help or tips! I know the 1 questions is answered but I couldn't find any article that states that the level 1 charging would be cut in half with the average time so I wanted to verify that.

 

[mwalsh]

No L1 benefit that I'm aware of. L2 charging @ 3.3kW = 7 hours. More like 4 hours at the higher rate.

EVSEupgrade.com to upgrade the L1 EVSE to a dual-voltage L2 capability (20A max, IIRC, though I've seen 25A mentioned). Still not 6kW speeds, but the cheapest way in.

 

[Petecomp1]

Welcome to the Leafers community, glad to hear from you. I leased my 2013 SV in March of this year and now have 4,200 miles on it. Here are the answers to your questions:
1. Don't accept "I imagine" - contact several different Nissan dealers and ask for a written price quote. Some dealers are definitely more "Leaf proactive" than others, and some are even "anti-Leaf". Find one who really wants your business! Take your price quote to your local dealer and give them a chance to match it. My local dealer did match my best quote.
2. No, the provided 110v trickle charger still takes 21 hours. Many folks get along fine with this, because typically they plug in at night and usually with 50% battery remaining, which means you will be near or at at 100% after 8 hours of overnight trickle charging.
3. The 6.6Kw onboard charger requires the 240v EVSE (power supply). It has no advantage if using the 110v trickle charger. I agree with your sentiment - this is something it pained me to buy - but I plan on driving electric and the 240v, 30A EVSE with J1772 plug will work for most if not all EV's and is the "de-facto" standard for EV power supply connectors. I paid $1,100 on Amazon.com. There are now many less expensive EVSE's, some as little as $600 - but I highly recommend this option if you plan on driving more than 50 miles in any given day (as I do).
4. It might help you to know that I got a 24-month, 15,000 miles/yr lease, $2,500 up front, $296/month payment for my SV model with Bose audio and around-view camera (premium package). This is about mid-range, I've heard of some paying less than $200/mo for the "S" model. This is in Eastern Washington state. They trucked my new Leaf over from Everett, WA for no additional charge.
Bill

 

[jkendt1989]

One deal gave me the S w the package for 230$ a month, 1999 down and 12k miles a year for 3 years. SV was the same deal but 299$ a month with the SV package. I am currently having them look at what the SV will be without the package. The SV package isn't a needed package like the S package. SV has really nice stander-ed features.

Any other links to 240V level 2?

Thanks everyone!

 

[jkendt1989]

So what is the disadvantage of buy this?: http://evseupgrade.com/?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The 6.6 on board will not give it double to charge speed?

 

[TimLee]

So what is the disadvantage of buy this?: http://evseupgrade.com/?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The 6.6 on board will not give it double to charge speed?

From the http://evseupgrade.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; web page:
programmable from 6 to 20 amps on 168-250 volts (2kW-5kW)
It is a very good cost effective means for relatively fast charging from a 30 amp 240V outlet.
But it only goes up to 20 amps, 5 kW from the outlet.
The 2013 LEAF 6.0 kW to the LEAF battery on board charger, which is 6.6 kW from the wall which is how Nissan has changed to referring to them, will charge ~32% faster from a full level 2 EVSE, than from the evseupgrade of the L1 portable EVSE that comes with the 2013 LEAF.

 

[jkendt1989]

The more I am thinking about it the more I don't think that I need the Level 2 charger. I only drive about 4 miles to work each day (there and back) and on the longest days we probably don't drive more then 40 miles round trip. (Weekend may be a little more). If I am home by 5 and plug it in right away and don't leave until 8 am your talking almost 15 hours of charging per night. I can just stick with the level 1 and if it ever gets really hard to keep it charged I will buy the level 2.

 

[Randy]

The more I am thinking about it the more I don't think that I need the Level 2 charger. I only drive about 4 miles to work each day (there and back) and on the longest days we probably don't drive more then 40 miles round trip. (Weekend may be a little more). If I am home by 5 and plug it in right away and don't leave until 8 am your talking almost 15 hours of charging per night. I can just stick with the level 1 and if it ever gets really hard to keep it charged I will buy the level 2.

What state do you live in? If it is California, there is a CEC grant that will pay for a Level 2 EVSE and a standard installation. But you do have to have the dealership fill out some paperwork at the time of purchase...

 

[jkendt1989]

PA, I get the 7500 rebate which will make it nice and cheap. Makes a 30k$ car only 20k$ pretty much.

 

[planet4ever]

The more I am thinking about it the more I don't think that I need the Level 2 charger. I only drive about 4 miles to work each day (there and back) and on the longest days we probably don't drive more then 40 miles round trip. (Weekend may be a little more). If I am home by 5 and plug it in right away and don't leave until 8 am your talking almost 15 hours of charging per night. I can just stick with the level 1 and if it ever gets really hard to keep it charged I will buy the level 2.

That's a good plan to start with. If you are a reasonably gentle driver, 15 hours will probably give you 45 miles of range or more, though somewhat less than that in the coldest part of your PA winter. But do keep the EVSE Upgrade in the back of your mind for when you decide you would like something faster. It doesn't charge quite as fast as the 30A EVSE Petecomp1 was touting, but you don't need to charge that fast at home. Just think of it as four times as fast as trickle charging. Your car's 6.6kW built in charger will be a real boon if you need to charge away from home, but for that it obviously doesn't matter what EVSE you use in your garage.

The EVSE Upgrade also gives you some very nice side benefits, such as the ability to charge at an RV park, or at a friend's home that has an electric clothes dryer outlet. You can't do those things if you buy a $1000 wall-mount EVSE. There are thousands of us who are satisfied customers using only the Upgrade for all of our home charging.

Ray

 

[Reddy]

The more I am thinking about it the more I don't think that I need the Level 2 charger. I only drive about 4 miles to work each day (there and back) and on the longest days we probably don't drive more then 40 miles round trip. (Weekend may be a little more). If I am home by 5 and plug it in right away and don't leave until 8 am your talking almost 15 hours of charging per night. I can just stick with the level 1 and if it ever gets really hard to keep it charged I will buy the level 2.

For those distances, the L1 EVSE that came with the car will work just fine. Make sure you have a good plug, don't hang the weight of the EVSE on the plug, and don't run any other significant devices on the same circuit (fridge, freezer, etc.) and you're good to go.