Leviton wants $1800+ to put in EVSE

Same thing happened with Aerovironment installing Leaf chargers.

What many have done is just upgrade the 120V EVSE made by Panasonic that comes with the car, to a 240V L2 capable unit. evseupgrade.com can get it done for under $300, and then you just need a 240V 20A outlet installed, on an L6-20 outlet, any electrician should be able to do it for about $100-$150, or you could do it yourself.

evseupgrade (PeeF on this forum, Ingineer on the MNL forum), hasn't yet evaluated the L1 EVSE that comes with the PiP, but if you contact them, I'm sure they would be glad to see if it can be done. Once the unit is upgraded, you just get a bunch of short "adapter" cords to fit various outlets, one for the standard 120V, another one for say a dryer outlet, etc.

checkout the website: EVSE Upgrade - Products

 

The 110 volt charge is gentler on the battery and with only a 3-hour charge time why spend the money. Charge it at night and your ready to go.

 

Actually thats not true. The 240V charging is more efficient because there is less "overhead" loss in the onboard charger, and it's only running for 1/2 the time as well. If you are going to spend $999 for a wall mounted L2 EVSE, this option is 1/3 of the price and requires no city permits, and your PiP is fully recharged in 1.5 hours, if you have 240V availble (for quicker turnaround for night trips or at a friends house). The onboard charger is 3.3KW, it's most efficient running it at its designed current and voltage.

 

When I thought I was going to get the Leaf, Aerovironment wanted $4,700 for my EVSE including installation, and I had a dedicated 240-v. 50-a. circuit right next to where the EVSE would be installed. Your estimate is way less than half of what AV wanted to gouge me for.

FWIW, I paid Tesla $1,500 for my UMC (Universal Mobile Connector) which plugs directly into my RV-style outlet. The charger has a max output of 240 v., 40 a. There's no permit fee because it's not "installed," and there was no tax because I bought it with the car, and WA exempts EVs from sales tax.

But $1,500 for the unit alone may give some perspective to your $1,289 before tax and fees.

 

I'm just using the 110Volt unit supplied with the car for now. The lower the voltage the less heat generated in the battery pac, but when all is said and done, it comes with the car, no permit needed, and 3 hours is not a bad charge time. If it turns out to be inconvenient then you can always go to the faster 220 Volt install. That's my plan.

 

I just paid my city $500 for a permit to re-roof my home, but a single electrical outlet, which is all you're doing, would be electrical-only, which is about $125, or (doubtfully) a combination permit, which is about $145.

You should talk to someone in your City Planning Department. This fee for a single outlet is way too high. There's no way I'd pay it.

 

FWIW, I paid Tesla $1,500 for my UMC (Universal Mobile Connector) which plugs directly into my RV-style outlet. The charger has a max output of 240 v., 40 a. There's no permit fee because it's not "installed," and there was no tax because I bought it with the car, and WA exempts EVs from sales tax.

But $1,500 for the unit alone may give some perspective to your $1,289 before tax and fees.[/QUOTE]


Would one of these units work with the PIP? I also have an RV connection on the wall where the Prius will be parked. If the unit would work on a Prius, how could I get one through Tesla?

 

Planeflyer, Tesla uses its own "standard", so no, you can't use it on any of the J-1772 vehicles.

See my post on evseupgrade.com above, that would be the lowest cost way to get L2 charging for the PiP, once PeeF/Ingeneer gets a chance to checkout the supplied EVSE
that comes with the PiP. If it's similar to what Panasonic is supplying with the Leaf, it will be no problem

 

What Mitch said: Tesla's chargers only work on Tesla's cars. It's even possible that the Roadster's chargers won't work on the Model S.

And conversely, the Roadster cannot be charged using the J1772 chargers, unless the car has been modified. There is a modification for that, but I've read of problems.

OTOH, I believe there is a plug-in EVSE for the Leaf, which does not require installation. You just plug it in, like my UMC. I imagine that might work on the PiP, and save you installation charges and permit fees.

 

You guys are talking about the Leaf's L1 charge cord. If you go here: EVSE Upgrade - Products he will either modify a unit you buy for $238 to L2, or you can buy one for $1000.. It charges at 240V@16A, but I do not think you really need it for the PiP. I intend on getting the mod done whenever my Leaf gets here as it is easier to install one of those outlets and get the mod done than buy another stand alone L2 charger. Plus you can make adapters to charge at RV parks, and the like. Again it is a lot of money to spend when the 110 will work just fine (for the PiP), but that is my opinion.

 

$999 for a Leviton EVSE is a lot of money to spend to cut the charging time down from 3 hours to 1.5 hours, yet many will still do it.

Having the EVSE modified that comes with the PiP is likely very possible, because it is a similar unit made by Panasonic that the Leaf uses. My point is, if it can be modified then it's under $300 to get the same L2 240V capability as the Leviton or any other EVSE.

Also no permit is required, and likely no electrical upgrade either, as the modified unit only needs a 240V 20A circuit with an L6-20R receptacle installed.

 

That teeny 3kw of 240v that an L2 runs on is not going to heat the traction pack.

 

It's 6kW @ 240V not 3 kW.

 

I believe the charger in the PiP is rated at ~3kW, not 6kW.

I spent a couple of hours putting in a new dedicated 120V/20A circuit for charging the PiP at L1 yesterday. When the L2 240V/16A EVSE price drops to ~$300 or so, I will probably buy one and then swap out the single-pole breaker for a double-pole breaker (as well as the outlet). This will allow me to charge at 240V using the same wires.

For me, reducing the charge time by 1.5 hours is not worth the current ~$1k L2 price tag.

 

I intend to leave the provided L1 charge hooked up in the garage at home. I will not be bringing it out.

In my 11 months of driving the Nissan Leaf, I did not even get a single chance to use the provided L1 EVSE during my regular driving. I either charge my Leaf on the public L2 EVSE or with the Blink L2 charger at home. The L1 EVSE just sits in the trunk.

 

The PiP would have a 3.3k charger same as the current Leaf and Volt. So that way you can utilize the 240V@15A. So the charge time for the similar kwh would be the same across all 3 cars.

 

Oops, you are right. I got my numbers mixed up.