What home charging station are you using?

[Fjcatherine]

We just bought a leaf and we're trying to decide which route to take regarding charging the vehicle.
Any advice and suggestions will be great. Thanks in advance.

Between the "upgraded" 16amp EVSE and the Schneider Electric EVlink Full 30A Level 2 Electric Vehicle Charging Station from home depot, is there a difference in charging time? The Schneider is a 30amp, does that make a difference in charging speed? Any of you owners have this at home? How do you like yours and would you recommend it? What made you decide on this instead of the other chargers.
Also, we're not savvy when it comes to electrical terminology so please keep responses layman friendly. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

We did a search on the forum and did not find the answer we were looking for.

 

[smkettner]

I have the Schneider but 30a will not be any faster than any 16a capable EVSE. Schneider does need a 40a circuit if that matters.
I will soon have a Leviton 160 at Mom's house for 16a convenience. Will plug into an existing 20a 240v circuit.
Future cars will tend to have faster charging than 16a so you may decide to upgrade in the future if you get just 16a Leviton or LeGrand. Although the future cars will still charge fine at 16a.... just slower.

BTW I have not seen Schneider on Home Depot website for a few days. But they were stocking at limited locations.

 

[EVDRIVER]

EVSE Upgrade Rev2

 

[RegGuheert]

EVSE Upgrade Rev2

Same here.

You will not be able to charge your LEAF any faster with any other EVSE.

 

[Randy3]

EVSE Upgrade Rev 2
Best price.

 

[ebill3]

EVSE Upgrade Rev2

Same here.

You will not be able to charge your LEAF any faster with any other EVSE.

Ditto. But on board chargers capable of >16 Amps are on the way.

Unless my Nissan dealer gives me an unheard of deal on trading up to a 2013 LEAF, I'm OK with 3.3 kW.

Bill

 

[chris1howell]

30A OpenEVSE...

 

[EVDRIVER]

EVSE Upgrade Rev2

Same here.

You will not be able to charge your LEAF any faster with any other EVSE.

Ditto. But on board chargers capable of >16 Amps are on the way.

Unless my Nissan dealer gives me an unheard of deal on trading up to a 2013 LEAF, I'm OK with 3.3 kW.

Bill

I have never needed anything faster then 3.3kw charging at home in over 7 years of EV use except on one occasion. When I travel I use a public station so it would not be an issue.

 

[Deleted member 3147]

Just to clarify the previous posts, the MY 2011 and 2012 Leaf limits charging to 16amps at 240volts (3.3KW after charger loss). The Schneider will offer twice the current but the Leaf on-board charger will refuse to use it. Therefore, either will charge at the same rate.

The only case where it would make a difference is if your mains are 208V instead of 240V. This is very unusual in residential settings other than in a few areas (I believe NYC is one.) In this case, the Leaf will take ~18 amps, if offered by the EVSE, to make up for the low voltage and the Schneider will be a little faster.

The MY 2013 Leaf is supposed to have an optional 6.6KW on-board charger which would make use of the extra capacity of the Schneider.

I hope this helps.

 

[Nubo]

Leviton Evr-Green 160

Due to load considerations I needed something that would work on a 20-amp circuit. This fits the bill and still charges the LEAF as fast as it will go (except for DC-QC).

I like the sturdy metal case and the heavy-duty cord. And I like that it's American-made. The wall-unit lets me keep the Nissan EVSE in the car, and I'll soon be getting an upgraded unit from EVSEupgrade.com to have more flexibility on the road.

 

[planet4ever]

We did a search on the forum and did not find the answer we were looking for.

To my surprise I didn't find anything helpful either when I tried searches using the term "charging station", even though I knew there were threads out there somewhere. But when I used "EVSE" instead they started popping up.

Does it matter which EVSE station to buy?
Summary of EVSE options
Help Choosing the right EVSE

By the way, Google search works a lot better than the search query built into the board.

Personally I'm completely satisfied with the 12A (version 1) EVSEupgrade. It's the only thing I ever use at home, and it has always charged the car to the level I request (usually 80% but sometimes 100%) by the time I'm ready to use it the next day. I paid the price to get a second EVSE for the upgrade, thinking I wouldn't want to switch back and forth between car and garage all the time. The part about not wanting to switch is quite true, but I now think it was silly to pay for another EVSE.

I really don't have to have one in the car at all. I have used it three times in 13 months, and didn't need it any of those times. All three times were when picking someone up at the airport; and they were just an excuse to take a prime EV parking space which had an old-fashioned charging station our car can't use, but did have a 120v plug. (Terminal A at SJC still doesn't have any J1772 stations. The last time I was there I parked next to a Tesla that was doing the same thing!) All three times I did know I was going to the airport, and it wouldn't have been too much of a pain to unplug my EVSE at home once every four months, now, would it?

Ray

 

[jkirkebo]

I use the Clipper Creek LCS-25. It's a 20A EvSE that needs a 25A circuit. It's a small and well-built unit.

 

[adric22]

I'm using the Aerovironment unit, basically the same one you'd see at your Nissan dealership. I seem to recall having paid around $800 for it.

However, since adding the Volt to the household it now uses the Aerovironment unit and my Leaf charges from the 120V EVSE that was included with the Volt:

I usually tell people that if they don't typically drive more than about 25 miles per day, the 120V will probably be sufficient.

 

[ebill3]

Personally I'm completely satisfied with the 12A (version 1) EVSEupgrade. It's the only thing I ever use at home, and it has always charged the car to the level I request (usually 80% but sometimes 100%) by the time I'm ready to use it the next day. I paid the price to get a second EVSE for the upgrade, thinking I wouldn't want to switch back and forth between car and garage all the time. The part about not wanting to switch is quite true, but I now think it was silly to pay for another EVSE.

I really don't have to have one in the car at all. I have used it three times in 13 months, and didn't need it any of those times. All three times were when picking someone up at the airport; and they were just an excuse to take a prime EV parking space which had an old-fashioned charging station our car can't use, but did have a 120v plug. (Terminal A at SJC still doesn't have any J1772 stations. The last time I was there I parked next to a Tesla that was doing the same thing!) All three times I did know I was going to the airport, and it wouldn't have been too much of a pain to unplug my EVSE at home once every four months, now, would it?
Ray

Like Ray, I also have two upgraded Nissan EVSEs. They fit my needs just dandy. I specifically did not want one of the other commercial units, as they all(?) allow 16 Amp charging and I was uncomfortable pulling 16 Amps from my rental's 15 Amp, 14 gage wiring. I do use a homebrew quick 240 adapter.

Unlike Ray, I often use the second upgraded EVSE. I frequently visit an outdoor recreation site where the car sits for several hours. Only on rare ocassions do I need to charge, but I almost always plug in figuring "why not" as long as the car is sitting there and it gives me the option of side trips on the way home.

Requiremets vary, but for many, the EVSE upgrade is a very cost effective way to go.

Bill

 

[dgpcolorado]

I am another who uses the EVSEupgrade Rev2 for home charging. Even if I did trade in for a newer LEAF with a 6.6 kW charger my current 16 A, 240 V EVSE is plenty fast enough for home use. I have no plans to replace it until it breaks, and that Panasonic/Nissan unit is built like a tank from what I can tell.

I string the cord along the ceiling of my garage with bicycle hooks so that it is off the floor and out of the way. I find that the J1772 "nozzle" fits nicely on the bicycle hook when not in use (I'm tall enough to reach an eight foot ceiling easily, but that wouldn't work for everyone).

 

[KevinSharpe]

home-brew 70A Type 2 using ZCW protocol module;

 

[Deleted member 5796]

I use the rev2 (16A) evseupgrade option. I have it hanging along the wall. Works great. Cheap. They upgraded and shipped the same day. Couldn't be happier.

 

[palmermd]

EVSE Upgrade Rev2

EVSE Upgrade Rev1

Best choice hands down! (well...rev2 at this point) Save your EV money for other items like LeafScan and various other options.

 

[GlennD]

I started out with a Levitron that was $999 from Amazon. When I found out about Open EVSE I constructed a unit and I mounted it on my wall. I sold the Levitron for what I paid for it and I constructed the EVSE for less than $400. I liked it so much that I constructed a portable L1 and L2 unit.

Both may be seen in the EVSE constructed with Open EVSE thread.

 

[Ingineer]

Even though I've now sold upgraded EVSE's to thousands of EV owners all around the world, this is my favorite:

I think it even comes standard with a "Frankenplug"! :lol:

-Phil