Nissan To Install 500 More Quick Charge Stations

[Berlino]

I have heard of all of these plans but just can't find anything in writing.

Page 36 of this document http://www.mce.gouv.qc.ca/publications/electrification-transports/strategie-electrification.pdf

Quebec loves test projects. They would need to commission a two-year feasibility study before opening a McDonald's. Therefore, there are labeling the Quebec-Montreal DCQC a "pilot project" to see if the concept works.

 

[Berlino]

PlugShare check in, and post in N.E. LEAF thread confirm two CHAdeMOs at Darien Southbound Supercharger site. CT to install them at all rest stops.

This is great news.

It's strange that Connecticut is acting like Nissan, in the sense of doing little to publicize their DCQC rollout.

 

[Newporttom]

Just saw that (in theory) there is a Level 3 charge in Jax according to Plugshare. I'll check it out, but I suspect it's just a level 2. The picture kind of looks like Level 2.

Confirmed as just level 2. Changed in Plugshare.....

Still no Level 3 chargers in Jax....... sigh

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

Found a contact name for CT DOT in one of the early check ins at the Darien SC site and emailed this:

Recently, two CHAdeMOs were installed at the Darien rest stop on 95S, adjacent to the Tesla Super Chargers. Rumor has it that CT will install CHAdeMOs at all 20 highway rest areas. Is that correct? Can you point me to a link for that, perhaps with a tentative timetable?

Got this in reply:

Thank you for your inquiry. There are no plans for EV chargers in all of the commercial service plazas and rest areas at this time. The State is presently working on additional chargers in select locations, with public announcements forthcoming.

The CHAdeMO chargers in the I-95 SB Darien service plaza have been activated for testing at this time - your feedback is welcome.

Thank you for your interest,
Rick

Richard C. Hanley, P.E.
Transportation Engineer - Strategic Planning & Projects

Connecticut Department of Transportation
2800 Berlin Turnpike - Room 2318
P.O. Box 317546
Newington, CT 06131-7546 USA

 

[JPWhite]

>>> However, on Jan 2nd, a number of Nissan dealers became listed as having CHAdeMO without any accompanying evidence, like photos or reviews. A number of these listings have since been investigated by Leaf drivers and are now accompanied by photos and other evidence.

However, if you want to see what I'm talking about, take a look at the station in Boise, ID. It's one of the ones that appeared on Jan 2nd. There have been no reviews of that station since last June, there are no photos, etc. Until someone goes there to check it out, we have no way of knowing if there's a QC there or not -- but I bet there is (or will be soon), and I bet Nissan posted the info.

I phoned the Boise ID dealership shown on Plugshare, Dennis Dillon Nissan, 208-388-4400. The sales guy I talked to assured me their Quickcharger is powered up and operational. I know sometimes these folks are clueless, and don't know a QC from a J1772, but he said the new charger was next to the "other one," which would be his J1772.

The closest QC to Boise appear to be Redmond, OR or Ogden UT, both over 300 miles.

I agree with you that most likely someone at Nissan posted this info. Hopefully they are learning a little from Tesla. When a new location for their Superchargers goes live, which happens up to several times per month, it appears on all Model S navigation screens within what seems like 48 hours. The Supercharger locations are sorted by distance all across the country.

I kept in contact with my local dealer and they were disappointed their new DCFC wasn't identified on Plugshare. I had them send me a Photo and did the update for them. If Nissan are doing it they are slow. More troubling is that after more than 2 weeks, the LEAF nav still does not show a QC at this location. Being just 9 miles from my home, I've found it to be more useful than I had anticipated, used it 4 times so far. LEAF sales seem strong, they sold 6 LEAFs off the lot over the last week.

 

[CarmineMac]

QCs on the thruway (or very close to the exits if we can't get around the 'monopoly')

I wrote to the NYS Thruway authority after hearing about this monopoly on this forum. Here is the response I received today:

"This [EVSE installation] is not solely the fuel operator's decision and we are currently examining our options regarding the implementation of this service."

I was heartened at first, but I can't shake that feeling that the word "solely" in the response could indicate what amounts to veto power by the fuel operators.

 

[BoulderLeaf]

Nissan apparently just delivered a QC to a non-dealership location in downtown Denver (the Denver Center for the Performing Arts). It's not operational yet (as per plugshare), but it is installed on the pad. There is supposedly a second QC install going to happen somewhere in Denver at a non-Nissan dealership location, but don't know where yet.'

It's interesting, so far it seems that all but the first (at the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery that finally went operational back in Sept) are ABB units (the Fort Collins is a giant AeroVironment unit). And I've only had the opportunity to use one of the ABB units so far. It was about 40 degrees and it said it was going to take 1 hour to charge. I was at 2 or 3 bars when I started and didn't end up staying the entire time, but that sounded a little long to me (assuming it was going to go to 80% SoC). I wonder what rating these ABB units are? And why Nissan chose them to install here in Co? Is it due to a lower cost or because they are the only ones that are rated for high altitude?

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

Nissan apparently just delivered a QC to a non-dealership location in downtown Denver (the Denver Center for the Performing Arts). It's not operational yet (as per plugshare), but it is installed on the pad. There is supposedly a second QC install going to happen somewhere in Denver at a non-Nissan dealership location, but don't know where yet.'

It's interesting, so far it seems that all but the first (at the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery that finally went operational back in Sept) are ABB units (the Fort Collins is a giant AeroVironment unit). And I've only had the opportunity to use one of the ABB units so far. It was about 40 degrees and it said it was going to take 1 hour to charge. I was at 2 or 3 bars when I started and didn't end up staying the entire time, but that sounded a little long to me (assuming it was going to go to 80% SoC). I wonder what rating these ABB units are? And why Nissan chose them to install here in Co? Is it due to a lower cost or because they are the only ones that are rated for high altitude?

how did you find out about the install? wondering if Nissan has any kind of official method of announcing these new sites.
there was one installed literally under my nose that I am willing to bet that had I not leased a car from them, i would still not be aware of its presence.

 

[BoulderLeaf]

Nissan apparently just delivered a QC to a non-dealership location in downtown Denver (the Denver Center for the Performing Arts). It's not operational yet (as per plugshare), but it is installed on the pad. There is supposedly a second QC install going to happen somewhere in Denver at a non-Nissan dealership location, but don't know where yet.'

It's interesting, so far it seems that all but the first (at the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery that finally went operational back in Sept) are ABB units (the Fort Collins is a giant AeroVironment unit). And I've only had the opportunity to use one of the ABB units so far. It was about 40 degrees and it said it was going to take 1 hour to charge. I was at 2 or 3 bars when I started and didn't end up staying the entire time, but that sounded a little long to me (assuming it was going to go to 80% SoC). I wonder what rating these ABB units are? And why Nissan chose them to install here in Co? Is it due to a lower cost or because they are the only ones that are rated for high altitude?

how did you find out about the install? wondering if Nissan has any kind of official method of announcing these new sites.
there was one installed literally under my nose that I am willing to bet that had I not leased a car from them, i would still not be aware of its presence.

I found out about these by calling all of the Nissan dealerships in the area and got lucky: one of the people I spoke with (Nigel at Boulder Nissan, super nice and helpful guy; I recommend anyone in the area to talk to him if looking to buy or lease a LEAF) told me about these. It sounded like he got his information from some kind of internal memo or source, but I got the feeling it isn't regularly updated.

He wasn't sure when or where, but he said that 7 (I think) dealerships in the area would eventually get them along with 2 sites in Denver, with this being one I guess. I did notice that the Canopy parking lot at the Denver International Airport now lists a quick charger. I don't know if that's the second location, but I hope not as it's not as useful or convenient as another in-city location. Canopy already has a whole array of L2 chargers, which are more appropriate for multi-day airport parking anyway.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

ya, that is what I was afraid of. the LEAF has a short range that is a major concern for potential buyers but and they are doing something about it so why are they doing their best to keep it a secret?

why is there not a website you can go to and click on "show me all the fast chargers within 100 miles?"

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

It would be nice to not have to ferret them out all the time to list them on PlugShare, but like every other aspect of EVs, this is bound to improve over time as well.

Personally, I like having a QC at the airport. A lot of people don't park, but are dropped off and picked up, and a QC can make that more of a possibility for EVs.

 

[BoulderLeaf]

It would be nice to not have to ferret them out all the time to list them on PlugShare, but like every other aspect of EVs, this is bound to improve over time as well.

Personally, I like having a QC at the airport. A lot of people don't park, but are dropped off and picked up, and a QC can make that more of a possibility for EVs.

I completely agree about having a QC at airports. However, Canopy parking isn't actually at the airport; it's a parking lot with shuttle service to the airport. There is another lot, a 30 minute "cell phone" lot, that Nissan was apparently trying to get a QC installed in (which would be AWESOME), but the last I heard the airport was hesitant because they didn't know how much electricity it would use (or how much it would cost). It's a shame, really, because that would have been really convenient.

 

[cwerdna]

I used my CHAdeMO port for the 2nd time ever (leased car starting late July 2013) but the experience was somewhat sub-optimal again.

Was at Premier Nissan in the evening where they'd installed semi-recently installed Chargepoint equipment on their DC FC. It's good that we just need our Chargepoint card now and not a fob from a dealer employee. The DC FC at that dealer and its sister dealer had been apparently down for weeks.

When I arrived there was another Leaf FCing w/the owner nowhere to be found and no contact info either. It was a '13 Leaf (since it had no side marker lights on the front fenders, just like mine) had been connected for over 45 minutes w/6 kW OBC ('13 SV and SL have it; on S, if you get the "charge package", that adds the CHAdeMO port and 6 kW OBC) and was already well into taper phase and (IIRC) pulling below 6 kW. By the 50 min mark, it was only drawing 4.x kW, so they really should've moved to L2 awhile ago.

Of course, I had no way of contacting this unknown owner. A dealer's brand new Leaf was blocking the spot to the right, where the cable would reach. I didn't want to unplug the charging Leaf. Even if I did, I don't think it'd have reached to where I was stopped.

Eventually the owner showed up and I explained to her the taper, that she should've moved to L2 due to the taper, left contact info, confirmed her car was a '13, etc.

For future station installs, it occurred to me that these should be suggestions/requirements:
- place station so that multiple parking stalls can reach it (better if it's reachable from 4+ spots)
- leave those spaces free, don't block them w/random cars
- put 30 amp L2 EVSEs nearby so that cars can be switched over to L2 once they've tapered down to L2 rates - There are L2s at that dealer, just none within sight of the DC FC.
- signage and policies to REQUIRE that users leave contact info if on their car, if they're going to walk off

For the record, I was with my car the entire time I used their DC FC. And, even though nobody showed up wanting to use the DC FC, I left once I was down to 5.x kW charge rate.

 

[JPWhite]

I used my CHAdeMO port for the 2nd time ever (leased car starting late July 2013) but the experience was somewhat sub-optimal again.

Was at Premier Nissan in the evening where they'd installed semi-recently installed Chargepoint equipment on their DC FC. It's good that we just need our Chargepoint card now and not a fob from a dealer employee. The DC FC at that dealer and its sister dealer had been apparently down for weeks.

When I arrived there was another Leaf FCing w/the owner nowhere to be found and no contact info either. It was a '13 Leaf (since it had no side marker lights on the front fenders, just like mine) had been connected for over 45 minutes w/6 kW OBC ('13 SV and SL have it; on S, if you get the "charge package", that adds the CHAdeMO port and 6 kW OBC) and was already well into taper phase and (IIRC) pulling below 6 kW. By the 50 min mark, it was only drawing 4.x kW, so they really should've moved to L2 awhile ago.

Of course, I had no way of contacting this unknown owner. A dealer's brand new Leaf was blocking the spot to the right, where the cable would reach. I didn't want to unplug the charging Leaf. Even if I did, I don't think it'd have reached to where I was stopped.

Eventually the owner showed up and I explained to her the taper, that she should've moved to L2 due to the taper, left contact info, confirmed her car was a '13, etc.

For future station installs, it occurred to me that these should be suggestions/requirements:
- place station so that multiple parking stalls can reach it (better if it's reachable from 4+ spots)
- leave those spaces free, don't block them w/random cars
- put 30 amp L2 EVSEs nearby so that cars can be switched over to L2 once they've tapered down to L2 rates - There are L2s at that dealer, just none within sight of the DC FC.
- signage and policies to REQUIRE that users leave contact info if on their car, if they're going to walk off

For the record, I was with my car the entire time I used their DC FC. And, even though nobody showed up wanting to use the DC FC, I left once I was down to 5.x kW charge rate.

Nissan HQ and Smyrna plant put signs on the DCFC stating the owner must remain with the vehicle. The Smyrna plant sign indicates a 15 min charge limit, though it's not enforced.

Signage is the easiest way to discourage abuse, intentional or otherwise.

 

[GRA]

I used my CHAdeMO port for the 2nd time ever (leased car starting late July 2013) but the experience was somewhat sub-optimal again.

Was at Premier Nissan in the evening where they'd installed semi-recently installed Chargepoint equipment on their DC FC. It's good that we just need our Chargepoint card now and not a fob from a dealer employee. The DC FC at that dealer and its sister dealer had been apparently down for weeks.

When I arrived there was another Leaf FCing w/the owner nowhere to be found and no contact info either. It was a '13 Leaf (since it had no side marker lights on the front fenders, just like mine) had been connected for over 45 minutes w/6 kW OBC ('13 SV and SL have it; on S, if you get the "charge package", that adds the CHAdeMO port and 6 kW OBC) and was already well into taper phase and (IIRC) pulling below 6 kW. By the 50 min mark, it was only drawing 4.x kW, so they really should've moved to L2 awhile ago.

Of course, I had no way of contacting this unknown owner. A dealer's brand new Leaf was blocking the spot to the right, where the cable would reach. I didn't want to unplug the charging Leaf. Even if I did, I don't think it'd have reached to where I was stopped.

Eventually the owner showed up and I explained to her the taper, that she should've moved to L2 due to the taper, left contact info, confirmed her car was a '13, etc.

For future station installs, it occurred to me that these should be suggestions/requirements:
- place station so that multiple parking stalls can reach it (better if it's reachable from 4+ spots)
- leave those spaces free, don't block them w/random cars
- put 30 amp L2 EVSEs nearby so that cars can be switched over to L2 once they've tapered down to L2 rates - There are L2s at that dealer, just none within sight of the DC FC.
- signage and policies to REQUIRE that users leave contact info if on their car, if they're going to walk off

For the record, I was with my car the entire time I used their DC FC. And, even though nobody showed up wanting to use the DC FC, I left once I was down to 5.x kW charge rate.

Nissan HQ and Smyrna plant put signs on the DCFC stating the owner must remain with the vehicle. The Smyrna plant sign indicates a 15 min charge limit, though it's not enforced.

Signage is the easiest way to discourage abuse, intentional or otherwise.

What's acceptable at an HQ or plant wouldn't be at a dealer. The dealers want you to leave your car and come inside, so they can sell you some product or service. Signs for leaving contact info and removing the car to an L2 once charging tapers are good ideas, but the dealers aren't going to police i, because they don't want to alienate potential or actual customers, and in any case this is way down on the priority list. They want to move metal with the lowest effort, not futz around with disputes between owners of low volume cars that need little in the way of service.

 

[cwerdna]

Nissan HQ and Smyrna plant put signs on the DCFC stating the owner must remain with the vehicle. The Smyrna plant sign indicates a 15 min charge limit, though it's not enforced.

Signage is the easiest way to discourage abuse, intentional or otherwise.

What's acceptable at an HQ or plant wouldn't be at a dealer. The dealers want you to leave your car and come inside, so they can sell you some product or service. Signs for leaving contact info and removing the car to an L2 once charging tapers are good ideas, but the dealers aren't going to police i, because they don't want to alienate potential or actual customers, and in any case this is way down on the priority list. They want to move metal with the lowest effort, not futz around with disputes between owners of low volume cars that need little in the way of service.

FWIW, my previous experience using the DC FC at that dealer I posted at http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=327440#p327440" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

Same problem as before... :roll: people leaving their cars on the DC FC w/o contact info. Grrr!!! At least this time I didn't have the crazy running around looking for the owner, employee w/the fob, owner again, employee w/fob, etc. again.

 

[JPWhite]

Same problem as before... :roll: people leaving their cars on the DC FC w/o contact info. Grrr!!!

Oops. Guilty as charged ! :roll:

The local dealer just got their DCFC recently. I am the only person whoever uses it. At least that is until today. Started a charge and scouted round the lot today as it charged, came back and a red LEAF was waiting. Fortunately I'd been gone only 14 minutes and reached 78% charge according to the DCFC display. At least I didn't overstay my welcome, got a smile and wave from the red LEAF's owner. It was a reminder I need to leave my courtesy sign on display at the dealer, even on a Sunday afternoon.

I'd used the sign earlier in the day at a state park in a 'higher traffic' area. Need to use it in 'low traffic' areas as well.

 

[N1ghtrider]

Today I tried my first quick charger. Although not at a Nissan dealership, it was donated by Nissan to the Pinecrest Gardens in Miami as Florida's first public quick charging station.

At first I was worried that it would be available because there were two events going on at Pinecrest Gardens: a wedding and an Organic Food Festival. Although the parking lot was jammed, the "Electric Vehicles Only" space was open for me.

It took me awhile to get the hang of connecting the EVSE. The handle has a trigger like a gas pump that you need to squeeze in order to fully insert the unit into the connector on the LEAF. Once it got connected the charging started fine.

I arrived with 6 bars: or 51% of a full charge. Recharging took longer than I expected: it was 48 minutes to 86% charge and another 16 minutes to 98%, where the unit turned itself off. I shopped at the food festival in the meantime.

 

[cwerdna]

Today I tried my first quick charger. Although not at a Nissan dealership, it was donated by Nissan to the Pinecrest Gardens in Miami as Florida's first public quick charging station.
...
It took me awhile to get the hang of connecting the EVSE. The handle has a trigger like a gas pump that you need to squeeze in order to fully insert the unit into the connector on the LEAF. Once it got connected the charging started fine.

I arrived with 6 bars: or 51% of a full charge. Recharging took longer than I expected: it was 48 minutes to 86% charge and another 16 minutes to 98%, where the unit turned itself off. I shopped at the food festival in the meantime.

I wish I'd seen the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=317VrBDkBjg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; before my 1st use of it. That helped w/insertion and locking on my 2nd use, last night.

However, I found that the Nissan DC FC at Premier Nissan, has the mostly the same unfriendly Yazaki handle. While waiting, I read both sets of instructions on the side of the unit (as the previous person had trouble releasing, as did I, when trying to help them).

On the one that I used, the release button by itself isn't good enough. IIRC, you have to squeeze the big handle and you definitely need to pull a grey/black release lock on the back of the handle (away from the inlet and outlet). If you don't do that, the release button at the top can't be pushed.

As for longer than expected, the problem is that you encountered the tapering somewhere past 80%.

At Premier, prior to the installation of the Chargepoint equipment and reader, it would display the output voltage and I think the amperage. Now it doesn't display the output voltage but at least tells you the output in kW.

I arrive with 55% SoC (DC FC display and my car's % SoC dash display were pretty close, the times I checked) and it started out at 41 kW. It ramped down steadily and I decided to leave once I was below 6 kW (since I have a 6 kW OBC). About the time I disconnected was at ~28 minutes when the display read 87% SoC and power output was down to ~5.5 kW.

For ones that show you just voltage and amperage but not wattage, you should be able to do math to arrive at the wattage and when you want to move over to L2 for the taper, instead of tying it up (e.g. 400 volts * 50 amps = 20,000 watts or 20 kW).

 

[essaunders]

My Nissan dealer in Manchester NH emailed me today with news they will be getting a CHADEMO station. No timeline mentioned - i'll keep a weather eye out and report back with news