Nissan L1 EVSE third-party upgrade to both 120V and 240V

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nater said:
By the way, Phil, I used to sell mods for the Prius on priuschat, but the people who want you to go stand in line at USPS for an hour to save $5 on shipping drove me crazy, and people wanted me to come down in price even though it was already reasonable, would insult me if I wouldn't hold their hand on installation, etc.

How about setting up a 1-900 line for customer support or inquiries?.. its a common practice in Europe.
 
Now that I finally have a "week of May 2" on the dashboard, I have a few questions arising from earlier thread comments.

I would like to use the modified EVSE as my sole charging method, other than Public infrastructure, which, given my Shasta County California location, is likely to be minimal.

My best bet for local charging likely will be RV resorts. Is the "L6-20 receptacle" the RV standard?

I can then buy the adapter cord, and install the same receptacle in my garage and carport.

If I understand correctly, the "quick220":

http://www.quick220.com/220_catalog.htm

Will not work in GFI outlets. I would like to get it to charge and friends and acquaintances homes and businesses, but haven't codes required all exterior outlets to be GFI for some time now? Just how useful has anyone found the "quick220" to be in practice?

Any results noted as to charging efficiency of using the modified EVSE in L1 as opposed to L2 mode? Any reason to expect any difference?

Any other suggestions?
 
edatoakrun said:
Just how useful has anyone found the "quick220" to be in practice?
I got my Quick220 couple days ago (Package P-102):

http://www.quick220.com/Merchant5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=quick220&Product_Code=-P-102

Pretty nifty.
My wife might even start using the Quick220 as her power source for an electric kiln she has for her ceramic studio (in garage).

I expect to receive a modified L1/L2 EVSE today from Phil.
edtoakrun: give me a few days and I will report back how useful the A220-20L is along with the modified L1/L2 EVSE.
For now, I expect to be using the combination daily as my primary source of L2 charging for the Leaf.
 
edatoakrun said:
Will not work in GFI outlets. I would like to get it to charge and friends and acquaintances homes and businesses, but haven't codes required all exterior outlets to be GFI for some time now? Just how useful has anyone found the "quick220" to be in practice?

Any results noted as to charging efficiency of using the modified EVSE in L1 as opposed to L2 mode?
Correct that the Quick220 will not work in GFCI outlets. The way GFCI works is by comparing the current through the "hot" leg vs. the current through the "neutral" leg and opening the circuit if they don't equal. When using a Quick220, your only utilizing the "hot" leg from each outlet and not using the "neutral" at all, so this will cause an immediate imbalance.

I've been checking out various 120 volt outlets in my area and all the outdoor ones I've ran into have all been GFCI. Even the ones at parks and other recreation sites seem to have been upgraded to GFCI as well.

Regarding the charging efficiency, I doubt you'll be able to tell any real difference between 120/240 volt charging. Since nobody has taken apart the Nissan charger yet, we don't know for sure what the efficiencies are yet, but once we can start pulling the SOC from the OBD port we'll be able to make some educated guesses.
 
Interestingly, new electrical code requires either GFCI or AFCI on all circuits; the "Quick 220" will be unusable in a house like this. The good news is that any houses that comply with the new code will likely have 240v available from a range or dryer.

Nate
 
nater said:
Interestingly, new electrical code requires either GFCI or AFCI on all circuits; the "Quick 220" will be unusable in a house like this. The good news is that any houses that comply with the new code will likely have 240v available from a range or dryer.

Nate

A "Quick220" will work properly on AFCI. IIRC the code only requires AFCI in bedrooms currently.

Garages/kitchens should still be a good source of non-GFCI power.

-Phil
 
edatoakrun said:
My best bet for local charging likely will be RV resorts. Is the "L6-20 receptacle" the RV standard?
Based on what I've read, the most common plugs at RV parks are the NEMA 6-50 and the NEMA 14-50. but i haven't actually driven around conducting my own survey so I can't say for sure.

See my sig if you want to buy some adapters. :)
 
Ingineer said:
A "Quick220" will work properly on AFCI.
Most AFCI breakers include GF detection (at a higher level than the 5ma GFCI threshold). There is one manufacturer who recently came out with AFCI breakers that don't include GF detection, which is very convenient if you need to AFCI protect an MWBC. Sorry forget the name but I bet it can be found on Google.

Ingineer said:
IIRC the code only requires AFCI in bedrooms currently.
That was the 2002 NEC. Under the 2008 NEC, effective in CA since January 1, 2011, most residential 120V 15A/20A receptacles are to be AFCI protected (excluding kitchen, bathrooms and a few other things).

Ingineer said:
Garages/kitchens should still be a good source of non-GFCI power.
Kitchen, maybe, for the non-countertop receptacles (e.g. disconnect the garbage disposal, or microwave/hood or whatever). Otherwise, kitchen and garage receptacles are to be GFCI protected.

Cheers, Wayne
 
edatoakrun said:
Any results noted as to charging efficiency of using the modified EVSE in L1 as opposed to L2 mode? Any reason to expect any difference?
Phil told me that the modded L1 EVSE actually runs more efficiently on 240V. I did a 20 kWh charge in 8.5 hrs and the warmest spots on the modded EVSE were the Ready & Charging lights. :^)
 
Geek, are you sure that you saw a 6-50 at an RV park? I suspect you saw a TT-30; a 120v 30amp connector that is useless for Phil's mod.

Just curious if 6-50s are more common than I thought...

Nate
 
6-50P is what comes on the Blink EVSE for what it's worth. Which reminds me that I need to make/acquire an L6-20R to 6-50P adapter.
 
wwhitney said:
Ingineer wrote:
IIRC the code only requires AFCI in bedrooms currently.


That was the 2002 NEC. Under the 2008 NEC, effective in CA since January 1, 2011, most residential 120V 15A/20A receptacles are to be AFCI protected (excluding kitchen, bathrooms and a few other things).

I am in Phoenix Arizona and took out a building permit for an addition to my house three weeks ago in which the 2008 NEC is the applicable code. I am only required to put AFCIs in the bedrooms.
 
leafkabob said:
I am in Phoenix Arizona and took out a building permit for an addition to my house three weeks ago in which the 2008 NEC is the applicable code. I am only required to put AFCIs in the bedrooms.
Then Arizona amended the 2008 NEC when they adopted it. The original text reads:

2008 NEC 210.12(B) said:
Dwelling Units. All 120-volt, single phase, 15- and 20-ampere branch circuits supplying outlets installed in dwelling unit family rooms, dining rooms, living rooms, parlors, libraries, dens, bedrooms, sunrooms, recreation rooms, closets, hallways, or similar rooms or areas shall be protected by a listed arc-fault circuit interrupter, combination-type, installed to provide protection of the branch circuit.
Cheers, Wayne
 
nater said:
Geek, are you sure that you saw a 6-50 at an RV park? I suspect you saw a TT-30; a 120v 30amp connector that is useless for Phil's mod.

Just curious if 6-50s are more common than I thought...

Nate
No, I'm not. I haven't made any field trips to RV parks myself. But I remember coming across some online discussions about Tesla owners using their EVSE at RV parks with 6-50 plugs...
 
GeekEV said:
nater said:
Geek, are you sure that you saw a 6-50 at an RV park? I suspect you saw a TT-30; a 120v 30amp connector that is useless for Phil's mod.

Just curious if 6-50s are more common than I thought...

Nate
No, I'm not. I haven't made any field trips to RV parks myself. But I remember coming across some online discussions about Tesla owners using their EVSE at RV parks with 6-50 plugs...
I think they meant to say (or you mis-remembered) 14-50. An RV park's "50 amp service" is based on the NEMA14-50R. That's not to say that you won't find 6-50's, but in my experience and opinion, that would be dwarfed by the 14-50s. ( I don't recall looking for or seeing 6-50s in a few RV parks I have been to; but I did find 14-50s. )
 
Milbank Power Panel, for BEVs

DSC_9220.jpg


http://www.stefanoparis.com/piaev/WhyWeNeedPlugIns/2009.05.17MilbankInstalls/2009.05.17MilbankInstalls.html

This panel has two 14-50R sockets..
 
LEAFer said:
I think they meant to say (or you mis-remembered) 14-50. An RV park's "50 amp service" is based on the NEMA14-50R. That's not to say that you won't find 6-50's, but in my experience and opinion, that would be dwarfed by the 14-50s. ( I don't recall looking for or seeing 6-50s in a few RV parks I have been to; but I did find 14-50s. )
Herm said:
This panel has two 14-50R sockets..
That's entirely possible. This is my first EV, so I don't claim to be an expert on charging in the field. All my info is based on what I've seen others post about. I just coordinated getting the adapters made, you're on your own to decide what you need. But we offer a 14-50 adapter too. Heck, get the whole set and you'll definitely be covered! :lol:
 
Back in July I was asking about the L1 charging brick. My question stemmed from the Nissan FAQ saying it was 20 amp instead of 15 amp. The customer service rep didn't seem that knowledgeable as he had trouble with my 15/20 and 5-15P vs 5-20P questions I asked. Then I asked why the "trickle charger" was only suggested for emergencies and I got this response which I wonder if it's even true and then if it is true what effect this upgrade has.
Ryan said:
Trickle charging is unlike the SAE J1772 protocol used for the 220/240 volt 'Level 2' charging. The J1772 standard utilizes communication thru powerline technology to signal that the battery is approaching full capacity, instructing the charging dock to slow the rate of charge to prevent overheating. This will, over the life of the battery, prolong useful capacity. The trickle charger doesn't use this technology, but should not have a substantial effect on the battery capacity if used only occasionally.
 
I will revisit that and see. But my 120 volt charger slows its charging rate down. Normally it runs at 11.52 amps give or take. 05 amps.... Perth consistent but ha e seen it at. 8 and 5 kwh as it was trickling downdown. I am close to full I wi try it tonight and see what happens. No promises
 
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