Recommended EVSE Upgrade equipment?

[GrantD]

So less than a week in to having my Leaf we are realizing that the supplied 120v charger is woefully inadequate. After my wife almost ran out of juice twice from charging to 80% we will be charging to 100% except when we know we won't be using it much the next day. Charging all night last night starting at about 50% it was only at 93% when we got up this morning. My wife drove it around this morning and was at 60%. Since she wanted to drive it again this evening she plugged it back in. Whe she left a little while ago she was back at 93%.

I am worried that charging like this for a long period will be bad for it? We are in Bellingham WA so even though it's pretty hot lately, our climate is normally pretty mild.

So I need to be able to fully charge it overnight. After researching it looks like the Turbocord is a good and easy option. We have a dryer within reach of the garage and could run the cord on 240 from the dryer outlet to the charger for a much faster charge. The downside is that option would only be available when we don't need to use the dryer.

Do any of you use the Turbocord, or have most of you had an electrician install one of the garage chargers directly into your breaker box? Thanks for comments.

 

[aarond12]

Charging continuously over 120V may not be good for your wiring. You have a constant load on the 120V line for hours and hours. Not a good thing™. It's also not as energy efficient as charging from a 240V outlet.

The dryer plug idea is a good one, but realize that those dryer plugs aren't designed for multiple plug/unplugs. It could break or wear out prematurely.

Your best bet -- and the one most of us have taken -- is to get an electrician out and wire up an EVSE in your garage. Is it expensive? It can be. Is it something that's going to last for a long time and not cause unnecessary electrical stress to your home? Yes, absolutely.

 

[hmmwv]

I would highly recommend a standalone EVSE that's tied to a dedicated breaker in your panel, not only because it charges faster but also safer. The chargers aren't that expensive plus some utilities will compensate a little bit of the charger purchase (i.e. PSE in Seattle provides $500 rebate). Depends on your setup if your panel is easy to access and the charger is mounted right next to it, even installation by an licensed electrician will not cost you an arm and a leg.