Need an inverter to lv1 Charge my Nissan Leaf (Help)

[NissanLeafCamper]

Hi Guys,

I'm going to charge my Nissan Leaf from a battery bank but I need an inverter that can handle the Lv1 draw. My initial thoughts were that I could use http://www.amazon.com/Xantrex-PROWatt-Inverter-Model-806-1220/dp/B002LGEMOQ/ which allows 1800 Watts Pure Sine Wave, but I believe level 1 is closer to 2k watts? Anyone have any specific numbers on Lv1 charging? Also, what is the initial kick (Surge) when you first plug in the plug? I'm not sure how much of a draw the car will have initially when first plugged in before it stabilizes (Unless this doesn't apply here).

Any suggestions on inverters or the amount of watts it will need if this one isn't tough enough?

 

[GerryAZ]

What is the voltage and ampere-hour capacity of your battery bank? Assuming your battery bank is 12 volts nominal and has enough capacity, the inverter you propose is a good choice. The Nissan/Panasonic L1 EVSE draws 12 amperes continuous which is 1440 watts at 120 volts. There is no inrush surge--the current ramps up to 12 amperes after the J1772 cable is plugged into the car.

Gerry

 

[BrockWI]

I have used the PROwatt 2000 inverter to charge the Leaf. You just have to make sure you 12v bank is large enough to supply the 130 amps at 12v for long enough to get the power in to the Leaf. You also need really beefy cables, I have 3 feet of #2 right to the bank which are four 8D AGM's, when new they were rated at 245 amp hours each. I can run the stock L1 EVSE for just under 3 hours before I get the low battery warning from the inverter. It's nice since these are old batteries I don't care about abusing them and then let them charge forever via 200 w of solar until they are full again.

I have tried using our idling TDI diesel with a 120 amp alternator powering this same inverter feeding the LEAF via L1 and that worked as well, not that I would recommend doing that, but it worked.

 

[smkettner]

My 2000w sine wave Go Power inverter has charged my car for over 30 minutes at L1 as a test.

Best to go 24v input and 3000w if you will be do this a lot or for an extended period.

 

[Evoforce]

I use a 2000/4000 watt Chicago Electric (Harbor Freight) that works great for me using the L1 EVSE that came with the Leaf.