"Trickle charging is not recommended for regular use."

[NewCalifornian]

I was reading through the Owner's Manual and it states that "Trickle Charging is not recommended for regular use". This concerns me in that I use trickle charge 5 times a week at the office. Can someone tell me why Nissan says it isn't recommended? Am I doing something that will negatively effect the battery charge capacity? I have set it to charge @ 80% but had charged to 100% the first few weeks I had it.

 

[adric22]

I was reading through the Owner's Manual and it states that "Trickle Charging is not recommended for regular use". This concerns me in that I use trickle charge 5 times a week at the office. Can someone tell me why Nissan says it isn't recommended? Am I doing something that will negatively effect the battery charge capacity? I have set it to charge @ 80% but had charged to 100% the first few weeks I had it.

I would imagine they are simply encouraging people to get L2 setups because if people depend on trickle charging, it might cause negative perceptions of the vehicle due to the long recharge times. There is absolutely no harm in using the trickle charger. Many of us around here use it as our sole means to charge the vehicle. For people with short commutes, it works fine as a daily charger.

 

[planet4ever]

Back in the beginning (summer of 2010) Nissan was doing a hard sell on the AeroVironment EVSE. I'm not much of a conspiracy type myself, but I can imagine that there might have been something in the agreement between the two companies which required them to put such a statement in their manual.

The only other rationale that I am aware of is that overall charging efficiency is lower at 120v. A number often thrown around is that for 12A 120v charging about 75% of the electricity used at the wall ends up in the battery, while for 16A 240v charging it is higher than 85%.

Ray

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

its slower, less efficient and will not fully recharge a deep discharge on a daily basis. iow; it is a huge detrimental factor on LEAF livelihood

and "not recommended" is simply that. it does not say "will reduce" or "will ruin" or anything else.

 

[NewCalifornian]

BIG sigh of relief! Thanks for the feedback!

 

[DaveHanson]

it is a huge detrimental factor on LEAF livelihood.... is simply that. it does not say "will reduce" or "will ruin" or anything else.

Dave, not to parse words, but why "huge deterimental factor"? Sounds like your and others' understanding is that it's slighly less efficient, less desirable when deeply discharged, and less convenient, but nothing worse.

Have I got that wrong? Any other updates?

Installing a 220v charger in our garage would require major electrical work, and doesn't seem practical at this time. I was planning on simply trickle-charging when we're at home, as this will suit our driving habits 90% of the time. But I would like to make sure I'm not missing something...TIA

 

[TomT]

Efficiency aside, the only real drawback is charging speed which, depending on how you use your Leaf, could compromise how often and far you could use it... I, for example, could not get the range I need in my Leaf charging on 120 due to the time constraints.

it is a huge detrimental factor on LEAF livelihood.... is simply that. it does not say "will reduce" or "will ruin" or anything else.

Dave, not to parse words, but why "huge deterimental factor"? Sounds like your and others' understanding is that it's slighly less efficient, less desirable when deeply discharged, and less convenient, but nothing worse. Have I got that wrong? Any other updates? Installing a 220v charger in our garage would require major electrical work, and doesn't seem practical at this time. I was planning on simply trickle-charging when we're at home, as this will suit our driving habits 90% of the time. But I would like to make sure I'm not missing something...TIA

 

[thankyouOB]

it is only about charging speed and convenience, and the utility of the vehicle. not a battery issue at all.
that is the accepted wisdom of the vets.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

it is a huge detrimental factor on LEAF livelihood.... is simply that. it does not say "will reduce" or "will ruin" or anything else.

Dave, not to parse words, but why "huge deterimental factor"? Sounds like your and others' understanding is that it's slighly less efficient, less desirable when deeply discharged, and less convenient, but nothing worse.

Have I got that wrong? Any other updates?

Installing a 220v charger in our garage would require major electrical work, and doesn't seem practical at this time. I was planning on simply trickle-charging when we're at home, as this will suit our driving habits 90% of the time. But I would like to make sure I'm not missing something...TIA

it really depends on your driving need since there are several on this board who only use 120 volt charging as I did for the first 3 months when I got my LEAF but we had the Centrailia commute which was 64 miles RT that could not be done on consecutive days. The car simply did not recharge fast enough. my off the cuff estimate says you cannot do more than 50 miles a day.

the other thing is the BMS runs the entire time the LEAF is plugged in and uses a relatively constant amount of power to cool the components/electronics, etc (all BUT the batteries!) that might heat up. so the longer the charge the higher the percentage of the charge from the wall that will be devoted to this purpose and the lesser amount of charge that goes to the battery.

this is detrimental because now it forces people into a mindset that the car has to be plugged in all the time or it always needs a charge. obviously stretching it a bit but there are scenarios where this could happen. being able to recharge in 4-7 hours is where its at which is probably the average recharge time for most here on 240 volt. something that can easily be done overnight. now with you in Seattle when you charge is lesser of a concern for yourself but in the grander scheme of things; it benefits the area if you only charge during the time of lowest use which around here is from 10 pm to 6 am.

that window on 120 gives you about 35-40 miles where 240 gives you the full range.

 

[Lopton]

I have mostly charged via 120VAC at work for a year and a half now. ~11,000 miles so far, no real range issues that I have noticed (but I don't really monitor it or catalog it like some people). Also no capacity bars lost yet.

-Matt

 

[TEG]

I have 16K miles now, and 90% of that is from 120V volt overnight charging...

I have a 240V EVSE, but when I charge at 240V my solar inverter buzzes (and had to be replaced twice after I got the car), so I switched to 120V charging to keep my solar inverter happy...

Still have all 12 bars. (For what it is worth), 1 year battery health check was report was 5 stars on everything.
Range doesn't seem much changed from when the car was new 18 months ago.