Trickle Charger - using it long term - OK or not

I am using Trickle charger to charge my leaf for the last 50 days every day.

It is working out fine for me. as I charge every night upto 80%.

Sometimes I may have to stop Trickle Charging before it charged upto 80% if I need to
go somehere unplanned. Is it OK to just Trickle Charger while it is still charging >

I have public EV charging stations close to all my driving places. So, It looks like
I can live without upgrading to L2.


Is it OK to use Trickle Charger every day to charge ?. Or Are there any long term
effects on the Battery Capacity ?

I would appreciate any information or educated opinions on this.

I would rather invest in an L2 if there are any effects on Battery Capacity with the continuous usage of Trickle Charger

Thanks,

If anything, trickle charging is gentler on the battery. It just takes longer to charge, that is the only real disadvantage.

It's also less efficient... you waste more kWh from the wall. (I personally wouldn't consider 120V charging significantly "gentler" on the battery than 3.3 kW 240V.)

Read and learn: http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=10318&p=236994#p236994
Simple answer, yes it's ok if you can live with less efficiency, about 50 miles per day max, have a good electrical wiring/receptacle, and don't hang the brick. A dedicated circuit is "nice" but not absolutely necessary (mine has the garage opener and lights on it). I'm at about 18 months now.

Reddy

While I haven't seen anything to suggest that it's hard on the battery, keep in mind that 120V/12A continuous load is rather heavy duty for a typical household plug and circuit. While a 15A circuit will work, a dedicated 20A circuit is best, or at least one that is otherwise lightly loaded. Make sure the wiring is up to snuff, and the receptacle too. Installing a new good-quality receptacle is cheap insurance, imo.

Leviton even makes a receptacle specifically designed for the task:

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-202919213/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=leviton+receptacle&storeId=10051#.UIl22me7IwA" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Relying on 120v-only charging at home will reduce the utility of your Leaf somewhat. We frequently pump a little more 240v charge into ours during the day to extend its range on many-errand days.

Flatirons said:

Sometimes I may have to stop Trickle Charging before it charged upto 80% if I need to
go somehere unplanned. Is it OK to just Trickle Charger while it is still charging >

Click to expand...

Note sure what you are asking here but I assume you are asking if it is OK to unplug while charging.

It is always safe to unplug the J handle from the car. You should not unplug from the wall outlet unless you have already unplugged from the car. Always connect to the wall first and disconnect from the wall last.

To save some trouble you might want to get the EVSE upgrade. I have used it for over a year and have had no issues. I did eventually install a charger in the garage just for convenience. The 240 speed of charging is sweet once you live on 120 for a while. You might find on weekends you will stay out late on a Friday night, but want to go out early Saturday. That is when the 240 comes in handy.

over 15,000 miles on 120v charging at home, no problem.

Total L2 charging ~ 10hr (when not at home)

I'm also about 50 days, so far just doing trickle and no plans in near future to change that.

Until recently when I finally got my garage cleared away I was charging using an extension cable--not a heavy duty one, either. The cable itself said it was rated at 13 A, so I wasn't exceeding it, but it did get quite warm to the touch and it would get particularly warm where it was connecting to the receptacle. When I finally detached it and got the EVSE plugging into the outlet itself I found a little brown on the outlet due to excessive heat over too long a period of time, hence why Nissan says do not use extension cables. I understand the heavy duty ones are safer, but don't use a cheap one is my recommendation

EatsShootsandLeafs said:

When I finally detached it and got the EVSE plugging into the outlet itself I found a little brown on the outlet due to excessive heat over too long a period of time

Click to expand...

This can also be caused by a bad receptacle as well - if the receptacle doesn't grab the plug tight or well enough, the same thing can happen. This can also happen with the cheap push-in receptacles which are very common - always use a heavy-duty screw down the wire type receptacle.

drees said:

EatsShootsandLeafs said:

When I finally detached it and got the EVSE plugging into the outlet itself I found a little brown on the outlet due to excessive heat over too long a period of time

Click to expand...

This can also be caused by a bad receptacle as well - if the receptacle doesn't grab the plug tight or well enough, the same thing can happen. This can also happen with the cheap push-in receptacles which are very common - always use a heavy-duty screw down the wire type receptacle.

Click to expand...

I'd assume that if there's visible scorching on the outside, there's a possibility of damage inside the receptacle as well. I'd go ahead and replace it.