Nissan To Install 500 More Quick Charge Stations

[vsaphill]

This DCQC at Glendale could be my gateway to Ventura and beyond.

Glendale also has their own public utility with the possibility of demand charge relief.

I talked to Glendale's internet sales guy Tuesday AM, and he reported that the DCQC unit is on site and he expects it to be installed this week. Of course we need to allow for final inspection, activation, etc.

Has anyone checked with Fontana Nissan ? You would think they would be getting one, but that is SCE territory.

Glendale Nissan is pretty far along too.

Update on Glendale Nissan any day now

 

[JeremyW]

Nice, can't wait to use the Glendale one!

 

[Reddy]

One of Vsaphill's pictures shows the entire station nearly completely disassembled. What? You're kidding? I'm not an electrical expert, but why do they have to tear the thing apart to install it. Why can't they tighten down the lug nuts on some really big wire and flip the breaker?

 

[NYLEAF]

One of Vsaphill's pictures shows the entire station nearly completely disassembled. What? You're kidding? I'm not an electrical expert, but why do they have to tear the thing apart to install it. Why can't they tighten down the lug nuts on some really big wire and flip the breaker?

Oh, they didn't tell you? It's also a Coke machine. They were just replenishing the Fantas before closing it back up.

 

[RonDawg]

One of Vsaphill's pictures shows the entire station nearly completely disassembled. What? You're kidding? I'm not an electrical expert, but why do they have to tear the thing apart to install it. Why can't they tighten down the lug nuts on some really big wire and flip the breaker?

I would imagine the biggest reason is so they can bolt it down to the concrete, especially since being tall and relatively thin it might be prone to tipping over otherwise. The pics of the site with freshly poured concrete shows what appears to be those bolts sticking out.

The external covers don't appear to have a way to access those bolts from the outside

 

[cwerdna]

It'd be interesting to see some more pics of what's under the housing of the Nissan/Sumitomo QCs.

 

[Reddy]

One of Vsaphill's pictures shows the entire station nearly completely disassembled. What? You're kidding? I'm not an electrical expert, but why do they have to tear the thing apart to install it. Why can't they tighten down the lug nuts on some really big wire and flip the breaker?

I would imagine the biggest reason is so they can bolt it down to the concrete, especially since being tall and relatively thin it might be prone to tipping over otherwise. The pics of the site with freshly poured concrete shows what appears to be those bolts sticking out.

The external covers don't appear to have a way to access those bolts from the outside

Thanks. Now that I look more closely, that makes sense. Pull the outer casing off (like a computer), set the unit down on the bolts, screw on the nuts, connect the "very thick" electrical wires, put the casing back on, and power up the sucker!

 

[rnerone]

Guys: I Just called GLENDALE NISSAN (818) 240-6000 and was told they hope to have this much needed QC operational by April 6th. Tic tic tic ....

 

[tbleakne]

Update on Glendale Nissan any day now

I tried a little surgery on photo, but you can't see much more:

It is impressive how much smaller volume this Sumitomo unit takes compared to the Blink unit from ABB in my Azusa picture. In the case of the Blink, I believe all the power conversion guts are in the big silver rectangular cabinet. The key difference most likely is a much higher switching frequency, which in turn requires special inductors and higher performance power switching transistors.

The Eaton DC QC, whose guts I photographed here in March 2012, has 5 module drawers of 10 kW each:
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=184324

The Sumitomo unit looks less modular, but that is fine with me. The smaller size must really save on installation cost.

 

[TRONZ]

I am thinking our occasional trips up the 405 to Santa Monica are going to be well covered soon.

 

[JeremyW]

Just got an email from Connell Nissan:

Dear Jeremy,

Finally it's here! Our 440v DC Quick charger is ready to charge your Nissan Leaf in 20 minutes! Stop by and charge it up. It's free.

Best regards,

Mark Ranauro - General Manager

 

[cdub]

woohoo!

 

[dcpatters]

Awesome. Thanks.

 

[tbleakne]

I just charged successfully on Azusa DC QC. Both sides looked good, but I only tested right side.
It is not easy getting correct zip code entered with lame touchscreen.

Thanks, Azusa. Lets hope folks treat this unit carefully. Posted on Plugshare.

 

[Valdemar]

I just charged successfully on Azusa DC QC. Both sides looked good, but I only tested right side.
It is not easy getting correct zip code entered with lame touchscreen.

Thanks, Azusa. Lets hope folks treat this unit carefully. Posted on Plugshare.

Is it free for now?

 

[z0ner]

Thanks, Azusa. Lets hope folks treat this unit carefully. Posted on Plugshare.

Yes, THANK YOU to my hometown. When I first got the car I was able to get there and back with some electrons left over. Unfortunately with the battery degradation I need to L2 for at least a couple of hours.

This DCQC will make quick trips stress free, as long as the Blink is reliable.

Is this owned by the city?

 

[tbleakne]

Is this owned by the city?

Yes, I believe it is owned/managed by Azusa Power & Light, which is Azusa's public utility. Their office is one block north, and they were very interested in my reports. The install location is a city-owned parking lot.

Yes, it is free for now. You do need a Blink card, but the unit reported zero cost after my charge was completed when my car reached 80%. I did not ask whether they were going to charge a fee in the future, because I sensed the general CS lady I spoke with would not know.

My speculation and hope is that by waiving demand charges on their own unit, Azusa P & L can afford to keep it free until usage really ramps up.

 

[Rat]

These things must have a lot of copper in them, or leading to them. I'm worried about copper thieves. Has anyone heard of a QC station being the victim of one? If they start proliferating, I think it's inevitable, which could lead to QC stations only in 24-hr. manned locations. Cameras can help, but aren't 100% effective.

 

[Valdemar]

Today I called a bunch of dealerships along 101 from Universal City Nissan to Santa Barbara, and sadly no one had plans to install DCQC, including Nissan of Mission Hills and First Nissan in Simi Valley. I couldn't get a definite answer from Universal City Nissan but given their general unawareness I could sense they are not getting one, I'm still waiting for the final confirmation but I'm not holding by breath. Sales person at Team Nissan in Oxnard said they are getting a new charger in a couple of months but wasn't sure what kind. Overall calling around was a frustrating experience as I had to talk to several people at each location before getting a final answer, and repeat my question many times before they would understand that I'm not trying to purchase a L3 charger for myself. Oh well, it should have been expected.

 

[GeekEV]

I don't know if it's been mentioned in this thread yet, but Elk Grove Nissan (NorCal) just announced the grand opening of the DCQC on April 20th for Earth Day.