upgrade question

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TorSmyslov

Member
Joined
Jan 17, 2023
Messages
9
Location
Northeast PA/Poconos
Hi. I brought my new to me 2016 brown leaf home yesterday.
My question is anyone familiar with https://evdoctor4earth1.weebly.com/ charger upgrade service. Is it legit? Is it worth it. Or would it be better to go with a full level 2 charger. My employer is starting a program that would allow me to charge at work.
I started out on my transition to green with a "gasp" prius which was totaled after an accident.
I finally decided to go all the way electric with a leaf.
It is a learning curve not unlike learning to hyper-mile a ICE car. It should be a fun time.
 
If your employer is putting in a charging station it will almost certainly be L2. I'd just use that.

If you only have access to an outdoor outlet or something, the 'doubler' probably won't help unless you can plug it into 2 separate outlets that are on 2 different phases. In other words, it won't help in most situations and even if it did work, I'd call it dicey at best, dangerous at worst. In this case just be satisfied to charge at L1 and leave the car plugged in during your entire workday. Unless you have a really long commute that should be plenty of time to charge.
 
I would avoid that charging unit (EVSE) "upgrade" package.

Try using your existing EVSE -- I'm assuming you have a level 1 EVSE -- along with your employer's charging program equipment to see how it goes for you. If it works out, great! If not, then I'd buy a (full) level 2 EVSE for home use.

Is your employer's program providing level 2 charging stations or just the receptacles (e.g., NEMA 14-50)? My company created a similar program over a year ago at their HQ office, but it consisted only of NEMA 14-50 receptacles in the parking lot.
 
Thanks for the advise. Unfortunately it's going to be awhile for the charger at work scenario to happen. Who knows. In two years it may not happen at all. Then again it may happen next week.

My commute is 80 miles in north east Pennsylvania. We do have our hills around here.

I have the level 1 EVSE that came with the car. I'm not sure if it works though. It indicates that it has power but the charge indicator does not light. I was using an extension cord when I first tried it. After finding some instructions it specifically indicated to not do that. I will try it again sometime today after I wire up a new outlet to where the car will be parked.

Thanx for the explanation on how the "upgrade" works. It seemed rather sketchy to me. Yea I don't think I will go for that.
 
That “combination” unit would need to have a relay so that if one 5-15 plug was connected and the other was not, it would not energize the other plug. If it could, it would be unsafe.
 
91040 said:
That “combination” unit would need to have a relay so that if one 5-15 plug was connected and the other was not, it would not energize the other plug. If it could, it would be unsafe.
I'm pretty sure the original Quick220 had/has a relay for just such a purpose but it cost more than this simple adapter. I made one of these myself and used it several times for several years but didn't use a relay, I just wired one of the hot plug wires to one side of a 240v plug and the other hot wire from the other plug to the other 240v side.
The thing I worried most about my adapter was if one of the 120v breakers tripped power could potentially backfeed through my EVSE to the load side of the breaker that tripped. Because of this I always tried to use dedicated outlets or circuits I knew didn't really have anything else plugged in or drawing power. It was a nice way to get L2 power from 120v outlets but really need some understanding of electricity so I personally was the only one who used it.
 
Ok thanx. That does seem kinda sketchy. That's why I wanted to ask the group. I wound up getting a AV turbo cord. I haven't been able to use it yet because Brown is at the dealer waiting for a warranty battery replacement.

I understand electronics. I generally try to stay away from any work that deals with 240vac. I've seen too many training videos depicting arc flash accidents. I have been issued electrical PPE at work which I will probably never use. I work with high power RF which is a different beast. A mess of safety interlocks. I have coworkers that are master electricians that help out with anything to do with the panel or backup power. I will wire up an outlet and small stuff like that at home when required.
 
TorSmyslov said:
I haven't been able to use it yet because Brown is at the dealer waiting for a warranty battery replacement.
What? The traction battery? Do you have 30 kWh pack? What are they giving you as a replacement?
Inquiring minds want to know. It will take you ~24 hours to fully charge a 40 kWh pack (if that's what you're getting) on Level 1; I know because I occasionally do that when I don't want to run my Level 2 out the door to the garage.
 
Sorry it's been awhile. I just got brown back from the dealer. Long story. It's on the waiting list for a 40Kwh traction battery. When the battery comes in I will be notified and drop it off at the dealer.
I did contact Nissan customer service to see if there was an ETA on the battery. There is not. I was also contacted by an arbitration specialist which I did not expect. I was told of an option would be for Nissan to buy back the car for the price I paid for it. I am still debating whether to do it but I'm leaning towards keeping the car and just waiting for the new battery. I've checked prices on other EV's and hybrids in my area and it's more than what I am willing to pay. And I really don't want to go thru the hassle of buying another car. I did buy a level 2 EVSE so charging the 40Kwh won't be so long at home.
 
TorSmyslov said:
And I really don't want to go thru the hassle of buying another car. I did buy a level 2 EVSE so charging the 40Kwh won't be so long at home.
I agree. If you like the car, I think you have a good plan; when they replace the pack it will better than new (the 40 kWh pack is much, much better than the 30 kWh pack).
 
Stanton said:
TorSmyslov said:
And I really don't want to go thru the hassle of buying another car. I did buy a level 2 EVSE so charging the 40Kwh won't be so long at home.
I agree. If you like the car, I think you have a good plan; when they replace the pack it will better than new (the 40 kWh pack is much, much better than the 30 kWh pack).

Stanton,

Thanx for the vote. I can't wait for the new 40kWh pack. I still use the ICE to commute to work (80miles) My wife just drives the leaf on local errands. So It's not too bad.
 
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