Nissan Leaf Charger Assessment Appointment

Daniel, J-1772 needs an EVSE - for signaling.

 

Why does the Leaf's on-board charger need any signaling??? Neither of my EVs needs a signal from the grid side. The Porsche charges at 220 v and fairly substantial current. It needs 220 volts. That's it. If the circuit cannot handle the current it draws, it will pop the breaker. The plug only plugs into a receptacle that legally can only be installed on a 220-v 50-amp circuit.

Level-3 fast charging needs signaling maybe because fast chargers can be at different capacities. But 220-volt, all you need to know is how much current the circuit can handle, and that's indicated by the plug type.

Edit: Oh, yes, the L3 charger is off board; that's why it needs signaling.

 

Except that the EVSE is not a charger. A standard RV plug is 240 volts, 50 amps. My electric Porsche can just plug into that because the charger is on board. The Leaf has its charger on board also. All the EVSE does, as near as I can figure, is signal that car that, yes, it's plugged into 240 volts and whatever amperage. Why is that signaling necessary at all? Why can't it just plug into an RV plug like my Porsche does? Both cars have the actual charger on board.

Again, L3 fast charging is another matter because then the charger is off board.

 

I have no electrical expertise ...............

But I cannot help but wonder: My camera uses a Lithium-Ion battery. Very small, perhaps 1 1/2"x 1"x 3/8". I just charged it on a 110v circuit, and it required 5 hours. I do understand that 220v is the preferred way to charge the battery in the Volt and Leaf ..... but how reasonable is it that they would charge on 110v? and for how long?

 

The reason your camera battery takes so long is that it is NOT charging on 110 volts. The charger plugs into 110 and transforms it down to probably 5 or 6 volts, and then feeds a few milliamps into the battery. Feeding 110 volts and 15 amps into that tiny battery would be like giving the Leaf battery a million volts and a thousand amps.

Scale up the battery, the voltage, and the amperage, and the leaf battery will charge on 110 in I think they say 18 or 24 hours.

BTW, my camera battery only takes an hour or two to charge. But maybe I've never run it all the way down to empty. I charge it every day when I'm using the camera.

 

That is obviously not how it should work. Afterall if the breaker keeps popping, how do you charge ?

SEA J-1772 standard needs signalling to make sure the car doesn't draw more current than it safely can.

 

If the breaker pops, it means the circuit cannot handle the charger and you need to plug in somewhere else or upgrade that circuit.

Are you saying that the charger in the car can adjust its current draw to whatever the EVSE says the circuit is designed to handle? That's news to me.

I did some browsing over at mynissanleaf-dot-com. Apparently, the only reason for the two-thousand-dollar EVSE is fear that some dipsh!t might electrocute himself unless the cord is hard-wired into the wall. The same protection could be achieved with a ground-fault interrupter which would cost what? Fifty dollars?

I'd like Nissan to give a clear, straightforward answer to what the EVSE REALLY does, and why we need it. As I've said several times before, my electric Porsche plugs into 220/240 volts, 50 amps, with a GFI. The charger draws about 40 amps so I had a 50-amp circuit installed. No communication is needed because I know how much current the charger draws and the circuit is rated well over that current. The plug is a type that cannot legally be installed on anything other than 220/240, or anything less than a 50-amp circuit. Problem solved for one-tenth the cost!

 

Thats right. When the car is connected to an EVSE, evse signals the car as to the max amperage of the circuit. The car should sraw no more than that much current. J-1772 is designed for currents upto 70 amps (for 208-240V) and we have various circuit current standards from 20A upwards.

The car should be able to figure out what current to optimally draw and recharge. J-1772 has devised signalling standards to do that.

On the Leaf forum search for j-1772 standards. The detailed explanation of the signaling is in some posts ...

 

The [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAE_J1772"]SAE J1772[/ame] dictates that the EVSE (yes, the "emergency" 120V - 12A charging cord qualifies as an EVSE) provides a number of safety and communication features to provide the optimal charging experience. If the device you are plugging in to the Leaf does not comply with SAE J1772 - the car will not charge.

BTW - a ground-fault interruption circuit will not keep you from electrocuting yourself if you touch each of the hot-leads.

Also - it's pretty clear that Leviton is building a 32A EVSE that plugs into a 40A circuit - it is not hardwired. They would not be doing this if they had to physically hard-wire it.

 

We have guessed for sometime on the Leaf forum that NEC allows plug-in EVSE.

My Nissan Leaf Forum • View topic - NEC definitely allows cord-and-plug connected 240V EVSEs

The Leviton EVSE confirms that.

 

Got my AV quote today.

Standard install: $1,298.68
Charging dock, wall mount, 25' charging cord: $ 721.12
Installation permit and processing: $ 180.00
Shipping and delivery: $ 49.95

Total: $2,318.06

AV has lost my business! This is just a rip-off. My install is the easiest possible: Use my existing 200 amp service panel and 8 slots open, plenty of room for an extra 40 amp breaker and charging unit, punch a hole in the 200 amp service panel, use 18-24" of 8 gauge wire and route though the garage sheet rock, rough wire inspection, installation of the wall charging unit, and final inspection.

I'll wire it myself with the help of an electrician friend, and buy use a Leviton charger. Total cost should be under $1,000.

 

Obviously you look for a FAR higher level of assurance than I do

 

The Leviton company has several chargers. The 110 volt model requires a 20amp dedicated circuit to charge at 16 amps. The other 3 models are 240 volt and require dedicated circuits as well. All Leviton models are plug-in to the wall if the proper circuit and receptacle is already mounted and hard wired.