Need portable charger adapter advise.

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pmatt

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Jul 22, 2020
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I just got a 2020 SL Plus. Our home had a 240 outlet in the garage so I figured I could plug in the portable charger. However, the outlet had 3 slots and the charger has 4. I found an adapter but was asked if I can set charting limits for the Leaf.

Need advise please.

Thanks,
Matthew.
 
You need to look at the breaker to see how many amps the garage 240 circuit can handle. Then multiply that by .8 to get the amount of continuous load it can handle. If it is a 30 amp circuit, then you should NOT use the Nissan dual voltage EVSE on it, because the car will draw 27.5 amps - too much for continuous use. If the circuit is 50 (or 40) amps then you can have the correct plug installed in the outlet.
 
Do not know what country you are in, but in the USA you need a Nema 14-50 receptacle.

40 amp min circuit, 50 amp preferred with appropriate size wire for the length of the wire run.

with the Nissan EVSE you can not set the current limit.
 
I am trying to post a picture of the circuit breaker...I am not an electrician so I am clueless...but it's a double breaker, each says 25 on it. So is that 25 or 50?

view
 
Which outlet from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NEMA_connector#/media/File:NEMA_simplified_pins.svg is it, assuming you're in North America?
 
pmatt said:
I just got a 2020 SL Plus. Our home had a 240 outlet in the garage so I figured I could plug in the portable charger. However, the outlet had 3 slots and the charger has 4. I found an adapter but was asked if I can set charting limits for the Leaf.

Need advise please.

Thanks,
Matthew.
Click to expand...

Congrats. The SL Leaf is a great car. Once you know what your max breaker current is we can recommend variable current EVSE’s if needed. Hopefully your breaker is minimum 40 amps and you are good to go with the stock EVSE that came with the car.
 
In the USA and the outlet is the 6-15 or the 6-30...that looks like two straight eyes and a nose.
 
pmatt said:
I am trying to post a picture of the circuit breaker...I am not an electrician so I am clueless...but it's a double breaker, each says 25 on it. So is that 25 or 50?

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zvr1e4FToe88aQFv-Ic00OjwVSb-SmNR/view?usp=sharing/img]
[/quote]

That would be a 25 amp, 240 volt circuit breaker. You can get a wall mount or cable type charging station that can be set to 20 amps, which is the most you can use with that circuit.
Click to expand...
 
On the old standard a 25 amp breaker was allowed to protect 12 gauge wire.
Or even worse a 10 gauge aluminum wire.
If that's the case and you plug in a 6.6kw charger the breaker won't trip and the wire will likely melt.
It calls for a "40 amp circuit" because that means 8 gauge wire will be used in the circuit.
Have it checked by an electrician.
 
+1 on having an electrician check it out. There is no guarantee what wire is attached to that breaker but as Lefty said, it's a 25A/240V breaker so the most you can run on it is 20A, due to the 80% de-rating required for continuous loads. It is possible the wire has a higher (or lower, although that would be a code violation....) current rating than either the receptacle or the breaker so I'd get someone knowledgeable to take a look at it to see what you have.

The bottom line is that the Leaf charger and the Nissan-supplied EVSE - aka the charging cable - assume an 35A+ /240V circuit. There is nothing in them to detect or modify this requirement, so you need to either upgrade your 240V circuit in the garage or get a new cable that can be set to the lower ampacity that your circuit can handle, once you find out what it is.
 
pmatt said:
I am trying to post a picture of the circuit breaker...I am not an electrician so I am clueless...but it's a double breaker, each says 25 on it. So is that 25 or 50?

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zvr1e4FToe88aQFv-Ic00OjwVSb-SmNR/view?usp=sharing/img]
[/quote]

A 6-15 looks similar size to a regular 120v US outlet, a 6-30 is much bigger, looks like a range type plug.
A 25a breaker is very odd(I've never seen one) but if 25a is stamped on the end of the breaker toggle it must mean 25a 240v. As others have said in your case you should really verify the wiring size. A 6-30 outlet would indicate a 30a circuit but it's possible as they don't make 25a outlets they used a 30a outlet as using a 20a outlet wouldn't handle a 25a load.
I'm guessing you would be good with a 20a continuous load and EVSEs do come with 20a settings but they aren't too common, the 240v OEM Leaf EVSE would NOT work on a 20/25a circuit, well unless you hook the EVSE up to a pre '13 Leaf in which the Leaf itself limits 240v charging to 16a, your Leaf will max out at 27.5a, way too much for even a 25a circuit.
Click to expand...
 
Clipper Creek makes good, basic charging stations, and they should still have a 20A one. They use the breaker size required as the model number rather than the amperage rating, so it would be something like 'HCS-25' and would provide 20 amps. I think that's what I actually have but never installed. Anyway, get it inspected by an electrician, and if the wiring isn't too old and/or deteriorated, get a charging station with a 20 amp or less rating. In the unlikely event that you have larger wiring than is required for a 25A breaker, find out what amperage and breaker are appropriate from the electrician.
 
Thanks everyone. I did talk to the Nissan Leaf help desk...I explained what I had and they said that an adapter is all I need because their charging box/cable will only draw what the circuit allows...they said if it's a 25amp breaker, it will take longer to charge then a 50amp but it will still work.

However, I think checking with an electrician would be better...plus, if they can change it to a 50amp that would be better.

Any other advise is appreciated.

Matt
 
pmatt said:
Thanks everyone. I did talk to the Nissan Leaf help desk...I explained what I had and they said that an adapter is all I need because their charging box/cable will only draw what the circuit allows...they said if it's a 25amp breaker, it will take longer to charge then a 50amp but it will still work.

However, I think checking with an electrician would be better...plus, if they can change it to a 50amp that would be better.

Any other advise is appreciated.

Matt
Click to expand...
I believe the Nissan help desk is flat wrong. If in doubt get a 16 amp EVSE and get on with driving. You will still be full charge by morning. I recommend Clipper Creek.
 
pmatt said:
Thanks everyone. I did talk to the Nissan Leaf help desk...I explained what I had and they said that an adapter is all I need because their charging box/cable will only draw what the circuit allows...they said if it's a 25amp breaker, it will take longer to charge then a 50amp but it will still work.

However, I think checking with an electrician would be better...plus, if they can change it to a 50amp that would be better.

Any other advise is appreciated.

Matt
Click to expand...
Unless the Nissan dual-voltage portable EVSE (electric vehicle supply equipment) is different than the one that came with my 2019, it will allow the car to draw up to 30 amperes at 240 volts (which exceeds your circuit capacity) or 12 amperes at 120 volts. The actual current draw by the onboard charger in the car is determined by various control modules in the car including the LBC (lithium battery controller), VCM (vehicle control module) and the charger itself. Unless the control signal from the EVSE indicates a lower limit, the charger will draw between 26 and 28 amperes from a 240-volt circuit (within this range, current is lower if voltage is high; current is higher if voltage is low). Therefore, I believe the information you received from the LEAF help line was incorrect or misleading. The car will charge fine from your circuit if you obtain an EVSE that provides a control signal which does not exceed 80% of the circuit rating (assuming the wiring is in good condition). Again, have the circuit checked by an electrician who is familiar with requirements for EVSE installations. I also recommend Clipper Creek units of appropriate ratings.
 
There are several portable EVSEs that let you select a max amperage draw, making them more flexible as you can typically charge at either 120V or 240V, with several amperage steps to fit most use cases.

For example, my portable EVSE is used mostly at home on a 14-30R supply and I charge at 240V/24A. But, when camping, I can use it with a 14-50R supply and bump up to the 32A setting, or with an adapter I can charge on a TT30 (120V) at 24A.

If nothing better is available, it will also charge with a standard 120V receptacle in which case I set it to 12A.
 
The electrician likely worth change the breaker to a 50 amp with out ripping out the old wire and replacing it.
An electrician can inspect the wire on both ends, make sure it only goes one place and install an appropriate breaker and receptacle.

That circuit may only be good for 16 amps, which is all you really need.
 
pmatt said:
... their charging box/cable will only draw what the circuit allows...
Click to expand...

That's tremendously bad advice. The only way this would work is if the breaker tripped because it was carrying too much current. There is absolutely nothing in the circuit to limit the current except the circuit breaker, or the wire if it melts or catches on fire, etc.

The breaker is sized to protect the wire. You can't just put any breaker on any wire, the wire size (and receptacle) dictate how much current the circuit can handle. The breaker is there as a safety device to prevent something (like your car) from trying to pull too much current through the wire. Too much current through the wire will cause it to get hot and can cause a fire or become a shock hazard.

Get an electrician to take a look at the circuit and ask him/her if they are familiar with EVSE requirements. Depending on where you live not all of them may be up to speed on the requirements.
 

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