Nissan L1 EVSE third-party upgrade to both 120V and 240V

[tbleakne]

Here's >> me charging at work.>>> This is 3-phase 208v, so charging is a hair slower than plugging into 240v at home (my figures say 60 minutes per bar @ 208v vs. ~53 minutes per bar @ 240v).

Thanks for this data on charging time. Sparky has told me that, when charging to 100%, somewhere beyond 80% SOC the charging switches to a pulsed mode, so the average charge rate declines. Is it possible for you to measure this extra time?

I have trips planned where I would first charge to 100% at home, and then top-off at a Nissan dealer about 13 mi (about 2 bars) down the road. It would be very helpful to know how much time I need to allow for that last 20%. I realize the answer to this would be different for the modified L1/L2 at 12A,240V, modified L1/L2 at 12A, 208V, and the AV L2 at 15A,240V. Just measuring this final charge time for one of these cases that is convenient for you would be helpful. Thanks.

 

[mwalsh]

Here's >> me charging at work.>>> This is 3-phase 208v, so charging is a hair slower than plugging into 240v at home (my figures say 60 minutes per bar @ 208v vs. ~53 minutes per bar @ 240v).

Thanks for this data on charging time. Sparky has told me that, when charging to 100%, somewhere beyond 80% SOC the charging switches to a pulsed mode, so the average charge rate declines. Is it possible for you to measure this extra time?

I have trips planned where I would first charge to 100% at home, and then top-off at a Nissan dealer about 13 mi (about 2 bars) down the road. It would be very helpful to know how much time I need to allow for that last 20%. I realize the answer to this would be different for the modified L1/L2 at 12A,240V, modified L1/L2 at 12A, 208V, and the AV L2 at 15A,240V. Just measuring this final charge time for one of these cases that is convenient for you would be helpful. Thanks.

I have done that before. Let me dig through my records and see if I can find the data!

 

[garygid]

They have offered the "Universal Voltage" mod (perhaps 90 or 100v up to about 250v or maybe 260) of your L1 Nissan/Panasonic EVSE for $188 (plus shipping) as I recall.

All the later discussion is about a 2nd, more difficult mod that would raise the "charging rate" from just under 12 amps to something between 15 and 16 amps for the 2011 LEAF (possibly 20 amps for a LEAF with an upgraded internal charger). The (approx) 12 to 16 amp increase (about 30% faster charging) will be significant to a few, and gets this "portable" EVSE up to essentially the mximum that the 2011 LEAF's charger can handle (**).

This 2nd mod will take a lot more work to engineer, so significant interest is needed to make the effort worth while.

(**) One person MIGHT have discovered that the LEAF will not quite use the "maximum" current if only "offered" 16 amps, but did use the maximum if "offered" 17 (or more) amps.

 

[Ingineer]

So it doesn't look like there is currently enough interest to make the addition of higher charge capability viable.

We are planning on accepting first orders sometime this week. The exact cost is still indeterminate, but will be under $200 for the upgrade. There are now 2 forum members here that already have the upgrade and can comment on how it works. The delay has been mainly due to thoroughly testing everything to insure it's reliable and will last. In fact, an EVSE with this upgrade is more reliable than the original one, as a moderate voltage surge can permanently damage it, while an upgraded one will be unaffected.

Once we are ready to accept orders we will announce it here, and also by email for those that are on our email list.

-Phil

 

[Spies]

So it doesn't look like there is currently enough interest to make the addition of higher charge capability viable.

If you were to offer the higher current modification in the future would those that have already had the 240V modification done get a price break on the higher current modification? Or is the higher current modification significantly different than the 240V modification making a price break unreasonable?

 

[garygid]

I believe that the various "socket adapter" cords have not yet been priced, but one (to connect to a standard 120v socket) is included in the "mod", I believe.

I would think that adapters to the 240v/50A and 120v/30A sockets that are commonly found in RV Parks would be popular.

Also, an adapter for the New-Style (4-prong) residential dryer socket should be popular (**).

The Old-Style (3-prong) dryer socket lacks a ground pin. If possible, the BEST solution for those is to replace the 3-hole socket with the newer 4-hole socket (replacing the dryer cord too).

What 240v socket would be common in a residential garage, or in a typical place of business, a service/repair station, a dealer's service area, etc.?

(**) For SOME 240v plugs, there is a special right-angle plug with a HANDLE on the back, to make it MUCH safer to insert/remove the plug into/from the socket.

 

[Ingineer]

If you were to offer the higher current modification in the future would those that have already had the 240V modification done get a price break on the higher current modification? Or is the higher current modification significantly different than the 240V modification making a price break unreasonable?

They are essentially 2 separate things; the universal voltage upgrade is an actual hardware modification, while the higher charge rate upgrade would be software. The only time saved is unsealing the case, so since we are already doing this as cheap as we can it's doubtful that we can offer a further discount in the event we somehow do offer a future software upgrade.

We have to be able to recover the huge up-front cost of a software upgrade if it was to be developed, so it's unlikely it will happen unless a lot of people were interested, and it doesn't seem that is the case right now.

 

[Ingineer]

Gary: Please don't speculate and spread more rumors and guesstimation. We will announce the REAL details here when we know them.

Each time you cause me to have to deal with the handful of PM's I get after you start posting your speculations, It's that much less time I have to put actual work on getting this in the hands of Leaf owners!

I hope you understand!

-Phil

 

[garygid]

Phil,
The last post on page 21 is yours, where you stated $188 including adaptor.
Not a rumor, I thought, and not my estimstion.

But, maybe you are talking about some other guess of mine?

Sorry if I speculated where I should not have done so.
Please tell me what it is and I will be more careful.
Cheers, Gary

 

[Ingineer]

Phil,
The last post on page 21 is yours, where you stated $188 including adaptor.
Not a rumor, I thought, and not my estimstion.

But, maybe you are talking about some other guess of mine?

Sorry if I speculated where I should not have done so.
Please tell me what it is and I will be more careful.
Cheers, Gary

Thanks, I'm mainly talking about the adapters. The cost of offering all the combinations really varies and for simplicity we might just bow out of offering any, and let the owner or another supplier handle them.

-Phil

 

[garygid]

OK, very Sorry, my appologies!

I did not mean to imply that you would offer many kinds of adapters, but rather to suggest what kinds would be likely to be useful ... so that we can track down sources, or build them as needed. Many more will want this "mod" if they better appreciate were THEY might actually use it.

Have you settled on the L6-20P twistlock plug (that I think you mentioned earlier) yet, or is that still "to be finalized/determined"?

Or, would a pull out connector actually be better because it could act as a strain relief, disconnecting power from the EVSE and the EV?

(NO, DO NOT PM Phil!)
If you have questions, PLEASE ask them here!

Thanks, and sorry to cause you problems.
Cheers, Gary

 

[jimtubbs]

Perhaps it would be helpful if the standard 220-240 volt could be built on the Leviton green plug-in and plug product that seem to be close to ready. Jim Tubbs [email protected]

 

[ENIAC]

Here's a accessory for those who want to use the modified Nissan EVSE as your primary EVSE. The tray can hold the EVSE, hanger to loop your cord, and a place for your e-nozzle.

Here's another option which would also work.

 

[GeekEV]

So, I'm the lucky second recipient of Phil's EVSE mod. I've been given clearance to talk about everything except pricing as that's still up in the air. I just received it back in the mail today, so I can't give any long term results yet, but a quick test at both 120v and 240v confirms it works and is properly recognized in carwings as both L1 and L2.

Phil also cobbled together a set of adapters for me, and got pretty clever with them, managing to make them fit several plug variations for each adapter. A set of three extra adapters (plus the included 120v) will cover just about every common plug you'll come across. But, as it turns out, the plugs needed to make them are pretty expensive in the low volumes we'd be talking about for this mod, so (as he indicated above) he's not sure they're a cost effective offering. Ask him (in the forum here so everyone can see the answers) if you'd like more details on potential pricing and to try and convince him to make them if the price is worth it to you...

While I do have a dedicated L2 charger, I intend to charge solely with this modified L1 (in both 120v and 240v) for at least a week to verify everything checks out. I will also be taking some temperature readings of the unit to make sure everything is working safely (and because I think it'd be interesting). I'll post the results here as I get them.

Anything else you want to know? Ask away...

 

[garygid]

Using Multi-Socket plugs sounds like a really good idea.

Would you please describe, or take pictures of, these multi-socket "plugs" that are on the ends of the adapters you got?

Is it the L6-20 (twist-lock, 3-pin, 20-amp) plug on the EVSE pigtail and a mating socket on the EVSE-end of the adapter cords?

With a better description of what sockets they will work with, we could better estimate their utility and worth to us.

Thanks, Gary

 

[GeekEV]

Basically what we've got is the mod'ed EVSE has a male NEMA L6-20 on it. All of the adapters are short pigtails with a female NEMA L6-20 on one side, and the desired male plug on the other side. So, by shaving pins and/or removing unused pins you get:

• NEMA L6-20 (240v, native plug for the mod)
• NEMA 5-15/5-20 (120v, included)
• NEMA 6-30/6-50 (240v, extra, requires a screwdriver to rotate pins between 30 & 50)
• NEMA 10-30/10-50 (240v, extra)
• NEMA 14-30/14-50/14-60 (240v, extra)

With the three additional pigtails, that's a grand total of 10 plug types! As I've said, pricing is totally up to Phil, but unless someone knows where to get these parts for cheap, it's likely that the three additional adapters (if he decides to offer them) will run in the same ballpark as the cost of the mod itself...

 

[garygid]

A 6-30 / 6-50 rt-angle by Leviton for $10
A 10-30 / 10-50 rt-angle by Leviton for $5 (old dryer / range)
A 14-30 / 14-50 rt-angle by Leviton for $6 (new dryer / range)

Does that help any?

 

[GeekEV]

Dunno. There's also the female L6-20, the wire, plus labor. I'm not sure what all's involved in wiring these and making the modifications to the plugs. I defer to Phil...

Of course, even if he doesn't offer the adapters, there's nothing to stop someone else from doing so.

 

[garygid]

In a quick look, I found ...
Search L620 at bicwharehouse.com
and an in-line L6-20 plug is $6,
and an in-line L6-20 socket is $10

In other places their are adapters and pigtails with connectors already assembled.

 

[GeekEV]

In other places their are adapters and pigtails with connectors already assembled.

Can you post links to where you've found adapters already assembled? If those are cost effective, I'm sure Phil would rather we just use those since he's on the fence about makig the adapters anyway. I couldn't find any when I looked, but it's possible your Google-Fu is stronger than mine...

EDIT: I did find a site (stayonline.com) that would custom make most of these, but not the 10-30/10-50 adapters. But they were ~$80 each, which isn't really any cheaper, and doesn't include the pin modifications needed to make them fit multiple connector variations...