New Leafs on order can't wait

[lonelyp]

My local dealership tells me they have 6 leafs on order, they are still working on getting certified for Leaf sales, they said this has to do with the maintainance dept.


I want to get one thing straight in my mind once and for all. The SV model has the 6.6W charger. Is this for L2 charging or just faster L1 charging? And the car will come with a cord that plugs into a normal 110/120V outdoor plug.

And do you need some kind of upgrade to the car for L2 charging period?

And whats the best outdoor EVSE for under $1000 (not counting installation)
I will need th have installation done in any case as my nearest outlet is MANY feet from my parking place.

Sorry about redundant questions

 

[derkraut]

My local dealership tells me they have 6 leafs on order, they are still working on getting certified for Leaf sales, they said this has to do with the maintainance dept.


I want to get one thing straight in my mind once and for all. The SV model has the 6.6W charger. Is this for L2 charging or just faster L1 charging? And the car will come with a cord that plugs into a normal 110/120V outdoor plug.

And do you need some kind of upgrade to the car for L2 charging period?

And whats the best outdoor EVSE for under $1000 (not counting installation)
I will need th have installation done in any case as my nearest outlet is MANY feet from my parking place.

Sorry about redundant questions

The 6.6kw charger provides faster L2 (208-240V) charging; it has nothing to do with L1 (110-120V) charging. You do not need any kind of upgrade for L2 charging---unless you want to modify your L1 EVSE which comes with the car. If you modify the L1 EVSE (see threads re: ENGINEER, EVSE upgrades), it can be used for both L1 and L2 charging with the right outlets. The best outdoor EVSE? I'll leave that for others.

 

[GRA]

Just to cover all the bases, the 3.3 kW On-Board Charger (OBC) on the base S covers both L1 (up to 1.44kW, i.e. 120 Volts @ 12 Amps) and L2 (up to 3.3 kW at 208-240 Volts); the 6.0kW OBC standard on the SV and SL and optional (with Quick charging) on the S almost halves the time to charge on 208-240 Volts, but supplies the same 1.44kW on L1 as the 3.3kW OBC.

To use L2 at home, you need to buy a 240 Volt EVSE (or have a 240 Volt receptacle and upgrade the portable EVSE that comes with the car via EVSEupgrade.com, as mentioned). To use L2 away from home you use a commercial charger (or the upgraded portable EVSE on a 208-240 Volt receptacle). The un-modified portable EVSE only does L1, at up to 1,.44kW as above.

 

[kubel]

And whats the best outdoor EVSE for under $1000 (not counting installation).

At $287, EVSEUpgrade is the cheapest option. They will upgrade your factory L1 EVSE to function as both an L1 or L2.

OpenEVSE will be your next cheapest option. It's $135 plus cost of cable, relays, GFCI transformer, fuses, enclosure, etc... It's a DIY project.

Bosch Power Max is another good choice. The 30A model can be had for just $593.

 

[Epi117]

I use http://evsolutions.avinc.com/products/at_home/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; $100 discount on this web site. We have used it for 7 months it has been extremely dependable.

 

[dweller92]

I have the S model with the 6.6W charger upgrade. I really like my car, in 36 months I am going to upgrade to the higher ended model, S models do not have carwings

 

[planet4ever]

Just to cover all the bases, the 3.3 kW On-Board Charger (OBC) on the base S covers both L1 (up to 1.44kW, i.e. 120 Volts @ 12 Amps) and L2 (up to 3.3 kW at 208-240 Volts); the 6.0kW OBC standard on the SV and SL and optional (with Quick charging) on the S almost halves the time to charge on 208-240 Volts, but supplies the same 1.44kW on L1 as the 3.3kW OBC.

One slight quibble: 3.3kW and 6.0kW are the rate at which power goes into the battery for L2 charging. 1.44kW for L1 is the rate the power comes out of the wall at 120v. Due to losses in the on-board charger, and cooling system overhead, the rate going into the battery for L1 is about 1.1kW.

That's why the rule of thumb is that 3.3kW L2 charging is three times as fast as L1.

Ray