Leviton wants $1800+ to put in EVSE

I am with you. It has always seemed a better idea to allow capacity for spikes and the occasional extra load, not to mention the slightly more efficiency allowed by a system with extra capacity.

 

No worries, I agree 20A makes sense for those running a new wiring. But at the same time, I think it is important that those who are already wired for 15A are not under the mistaken impression that they must go out and rewire for 20A.

 

Ahhhh!!! Another reason why I love living in a small town in Indiana!!

I paid $10 (Ten) for a building permit to build my ENTIRE house, from the ground up!!!

OH!! and there are no building codes either!!! If you want homeowners insurance, An insurance building inspector comes out to check it.. FREE!!!

 

WHOA!!! That fricken slime ball!!!!!!

 

We are upgrading the Toyota-Branded Panasonic EVSE that ships with the Prius to universal voltage capability. Unfortunately the unit is a newer model that is not built quite as well as the one Nissan is using, and due to the smaller cable size, we are only comfortable upgrading the unit to 2.88kW max. (12a 240v) The cost for this is $239 + shipping. The unit will then function on any outlet in the world (with appropriate adapter) and auto-detect the voltage. The total output power depends on the voltage. (volts X 12 = kW)

On 240v your PiP will charge over twice as fast as on 120v, which also means you save electricity. There is no significant delta-T rise in the battery from these low wattages, so you aren't extending your battery life by only charging on 120v. (The reason it's over twice as fast and saves power is due to the large fixed overhead while charging. This is almost 200 watts regardless of input power)

See our website for more information and ordering.

We even upgraded the prototype test units least year for a certain company who will remain nameless! =)



-Phil

 

When you fill out the questionnaire that Toyota will send you, they will ask about why you didn’t buy from Leviton, tell them, they will like to hear this.

 

FYI, here's what the completed upgrade of the current PiP EVSE looks like:



The cord is a high-quality molded L6-20P for 208/240v operation, (a full foot long) and if you want to charge on 120v, there is a separate 2 foot adapter that connects to this and presents a standard 15a 120v plug. (NEMA 5-15P)



-Phil

 

Glad Leviton gave the refund.

I sort of lucked out and hooked up with an electrician who had done several installs of L2 units at a couple of Nissan dealers.

If u call around, some dealer might be able to recommend a good electrician. Leviton still has to hire local anywhere in country.

I know building codes, permit fee requirements, inspections are different in every county and state. When we had rennovaion of bathroom, our contractor only charged us 50 to go pull the permits from county bldg inspection dept.

 

Hope I'm not out of line but I may have a Nissan-branded Aerovironment L2 EVSE for sale in the near future. See http://priuschat.com/forums/private...t-l2-evse-aka-home-charging-station-dock.html.

I won one of the drawings and probably will get a Leaf eventually (long story) but I was originally planning on just making do w/L1 charging. I've got a few choices due to the tax hit since I will receive a 1099 if I accept (EVSE valued at $900 and they cover up to $1500 for installation, which would be more tax hit): decline, take the unit only, take the unit and sell it, take the unit and installation. If I do the last option, I might be taking a hit for something that might never get used... If I do, it's a lot more than I was originally planning to spend ($0).

My Nissan Leaf Forum • View topic - Help Choosing the right EVSE
My Nissan Leaf Forum • View topic - Outdoor charging of Leaf
Is the home charging station weatherproof? | Nissan USA all claim the unit's weatherproof.

 

I installed a GE WattStation in our garage.This consisted of:
1) Mounting the WattStation on the garage wall.
This consisted of attaching a mounting bracket that came with the box, to the wall and then attaching the box on the bracket hooks. This took a screw driver and three wood screws plus another person to help positioning the box on the bracket hooks. Took all of half an hour.
2) Pulling wires for the 240V installation
This took the longest since I had to run the cable all the way across our house to get to the breaker box. This took me about 4 hours but I believe a pro. would of taken much less time.
3) Installing the ducting in the garage and the 240 volt socket.
An hour here.
4) Routing the wire into the breaker box, installing the 2 pole breaker and connecting the wires.
We have a 200 Amp service and plenty of space in the breaker box. About 1/2 hour here.

Installation

Our first charge took 1 1/2 hours for a depleted battery. Just as expected.

I just can't see how Levinton, sight unseen, could quote me $280 over the $999 for such a job.

 

I'm getting a whole bunch of offers on mynissanleaf.com now. The highest so far is $500 for the EVSE only. Unfortunately, I doubt I could transfer the installation work/credit.

I'm still debating about whether to sell but the offers are high enough that I'm learning towards sell.

 

Leviton wanted $1,773.99 to run a pipe over the ceiling of my garage to the opposite side. This is not going to happen.

 

I finally went in for my permit here in Alameda, CA and the (CENSORED) charged me $172.50. They did mention that my permit's good for up to ten outlets, so I'll add some more work to it, but (CENSORED)!! that's a lot.

 

Leviton charged only for the device, and I paid $275 for permitting. I now have a professionally installed L-2 charging station, backed by Toyota for 10 years.Worth every penny, peace of mind.