Newbie from MA

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JAG

New member
Joined
Sep 18, 2019
Messages
3
hi all!

I live in Central Massachusetts. Looking to buy a 2019 Leaf soon, 62 kwh battery.

Questions:

How much does the heater reduce the battery in the winter? How good is the heat? (wife gets cold easily)

Is anyone reading this from Maine? We go to Downeast Maine several times a year. A trip would necessitate finding Level 3 chargers - - 1 per trip (total trip is 310 miles). Not sure at all about what there is. Maine Turnpike was going to upgrade this year but do not respond to questions in any detailed way.

thanks!
john
 
In MA, I'd suggest a LEAF with the hybrid heat pump, which is only available in the SV with the Cold Weather Package or an SL.

But you'll also find that with a large battery EV (like the LEAF +), the power used by the heater becomes less important for regular (around town) travel. It really mattered with the older small battery LEAFs.

As for finding a CHAdeMOs on the way to Maine, plugshare.com is the answer. It lists all there is at the moment.

New this year is a pair of CHAdeMO/CCS stations at both the NB and SB Kennebunk Service Plazas (https://www.plugshare.com/location/202873) right next to the SuperChargers. We head up to Maine about once a month and I noticed the NB ones were live on our last trip.
 
How much does the heater reduce the battery in the winter?


Under worst case situations (frigid temps, wind, snow) the 24kwh Leafs lose about half of their range. My guess is that the 62kwh Leaf will lose between a quarter and a third of its warm weather range in bad Winter weather.
 
If I want to charge, for example at Kennebunkport North, with a Level 3 charger, do I need to have a certain type of connector on my car? I get the impression J 1772 is common but don't know if this limits what it can be hooked up to. I need to make sure prior to buying one that it has the hardware to fit the needs).

(as you can tell, I have alot to learn).

The Cold Weather Package is most helpful information!

thanks!
john
 
If I want to charge, for example at Kennebunkport North, with a Level 3 charger, do I need to have a certain type of connector on my car? I get the impression J 1772 is common but don't know if this limits what it can be hooked up to. I need to make sure prior to buying one that it has the hardware to fit the needs).


There are three types of DC Fast Charging (DCFC) in use in North America. Tesla has its own Superchargers, there is a modified L-2 setup with two extra pins called "SAE Combo" (or sometimes "FrankenPlug"), and Chademo, which the Leaf uses. It is the big round port next to the smaller L-1/L-2 port in the nose of the Leaf. The only Leaf sold new now that doesn't have this Chademo port is the S without the "Charge Package." So you want to look for "Chademo" which is sometimes just called "QC." You can filter for that on PlugShare. Not all DCFC stations have the same power output, so charging times will vary.
 
https://greentransportation.info/ev-charging/range-confidence/chap8-tech/ev-dc-fast-charging-standards-chademo-ccs-sae-combo-tesla-supercharger-etc.html under "DC Fast charging standards – CHAdeMO, CCS, Supercharger, China" have visual aids of what CHAdeMO and SAE Combo (aka Combo1) look like.

And yes, Tesla has its own North American plug for L1, L2 and Supercharging. SAE Combo and Tesla Supercharger are useless for Leaf.
 
LeftieBiker said:
there is a modified L-2 setup with two extra pins called "SAE Combo" (or sometimes "FrankenPlug")
This is called commonly called CCS. (Only people on this forum still insist on calling it "frankenplug"). New non-Tesla DCFC stations being installed generally have multiple CCS connectors and 1 CHAdeMO connector. The only EV for sale in North America still using CHAdeMO is the LEAF; every other non-Tesla EV uses CCS.

If you get a LEAF, make sure you get one with a CHAdeMO port (aka DCFC, Level 3). It's optional on the S trim (which you should probably avoid for the sake of the heat pump, as I mentioned above).
 
To use the public charging stations you will need to setup an account with the station's network provider. For example, the DCFC (L3) charging stations at Kennebunkport are on the Chargepoint network, so you will need to setup an account with Chargepoint; this account will give you access to all Chargepoint charging stations (Level 2 and Level 3).

When you buy a new Leaf, the Nissan dealer should provide you with a new card for use on their "No Charge to Charge" program. This program allows you to setup accounts with the various charging station network providers, and have the accounts all on that one card. You will also get 2 years of free charging sessions with this program. However, the network provider EVGo -- typically has charging stations located at the malls -- is no longer participating in the program, so you will have to pay to use their charging stations.
 
When you buy a new Leaf, the Nissan dealer should provide you with a new card for use on their "No Charge to Charge" program. This program allows you to setup accounts with the various charging station network providers, and have the accounts all on that one card. You will also get 2 years of free charging sessions with this program. However, the network provider EVGo -- typically has charging stations located at the malls -- is no longer participating in the program, so you will have to pay to use their charging stations.


Just to be clear: the "No Charge to Charge" program has ended. You may be able to use remaining vouchers to set up charging accounts as described above, but you won't get any free DCFC sessions from it. I still runs another...8 months?...for those already enrolled, but there is no new enrollment.
 
LeftieBiker said:
Just to be clear: the "No Charge to Charge" program has ended. You may be able to use remaining vouchers to set up charging accounts as described above, but you won't get any free DCFC sessions from it. I still runs another...8 months?...for those already enrolled, but there is no new enrollment.

It ended already? I just got mine last year. Thanks for the update.
I see that it ended July 2019? I missed that memo; that's what I get for taking a long summer vacation.

My 2 years on it expires on 9/2020, but I will keep an eye on it just in case. So far I have only used it on EVGo stations.
 
It ended already? I just got mine last year. Thanks for the update.
I see that it ended July 2019? I missed that memo; that's what I get for taking a long summer vacation.

My 2 years on it expires on 9/2020, but I will keep an eye on it just in case. So far I have only used it on EVGo stations.


Mine expires next May. I use it sometimes in the Winter, but rarely in warm weather.
 
jlv said:
henrydehoja said:
To use the public charging stations you will need to setup an account with the station's network provider
In additional to first buying an EV...

I was able to setup an account with Chargepoint before buying an EV. I ended up with another card after getting the Leaf, but had them both on the same account. I guess I got trigger happy on that part of the EV process.
 
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