Two questions

My Nissan Leaf Forum

Help Support My Nissan Leaf Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Epi117

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 21, 2013
Messages
122
Location
Portland, Oregon
1. Only used the level 1 charger that came with car two times , about 4 months ago when i first got the car. We use the car for driving in portland and there are level two chargers all over the place, leave it home or continue to carry it just in case? Anyone leaving their unit home?

2. I used cheap dash cam camera on my Prius, just for fun, i imagine it draws a bit of power and haven't used it in Leaf. Anyone using a dash cam Camera?
 
Oh, and yes, I carry the L1 with me (EVSE upgrade), and 100' 12gauge cord.
(And a 1000 watt 120vac inverter)
Why not.
Only has to come in handy once, and its not doing me any good at home
 
I've driven a 2011 LEAF for 26 months, 15,000 miles, and the only time I ever had the 110V EVSE with me was when I drove to Knoxville. Just in case the Blink DCQC and L2 stations were all broken.
I've only actually used it one time for about 15 minutes in the garage when the Blink L2 EVSE was hung up and not wanting to reboot, and also to make sure the 110 V EVSE worked.
Other than that, I use the eV Project supplied L2 Blink EVSE in the garage. I also used the commercial Blink L2 EVSE quite a bit while working downtown while they were free, and the Blink DCQC while they were free, although the Blink DCQC weren't very reliable until around January of 2013.
The trip to Knoxville was in February 2013. I didn't trust trying it until then.
I still don't trust the reliability to use the LEAF to drive the 90 miles to Knoxville very much. And average speed including charging was 38 mph to get from home to downtown Knoxville, and overall average speed for the day was around 30 mph. Now that Blink DCQC is $5 per session, my cost for the charging is about the same as the cost for gasoline for my ICE for the trip. With the time impact, driving the LEAF to Knoxville doesn't make much sense unless I was staying for at least 3 or 4 days. The LEAF CO2 emissions are a bit lower than the ICE. Although TVA has a lot of hydro power and nuclear and some solar; and coal power has dropped quite a bit with the lowering natural gas prices; the LEAF CO2 emissions are only a bit less than for the ICE.
I also use the still free Highway 153 and Lee Highway Murphy Express Eaton DCQC a lot. This was a first in the nation trial for them. I wish they would all add one. But even though I have done more business with them having the DCQC than I would have if they didn't have it, I'm sure they are losing money by having it, at least for the incremental sales that I have made. Possible that incremental profits from others might be better than mine, but I still doubt incremental sales will be enough to justify providing free DCQC.
 
My L1 lives in its compartment in back. I have L2 at home but the L1 has proven helpful on more than one occasion when there was no L2 available so it always come with me.
 
I try not to carry anything (visible) in the car that would attract thieves; like it or not, any car enthusiast knows how much these EVSE's are worth (and it's hard to hide). If I ever need to charge away from home (which isn't often), there are more and more public L2's available all the time.
 
KillaWhat said:
Oh, and yes, I carry the L1 with me (EVSE upgrade), and 100' 12gauge cord. (And a 1000 watt 120vac inverter) Why not.
Why not? Because it is extra weight in the car, especially with that 100' cord. Extra weight reduces your efficiency.

If you are going to get your L1 upgraded, leave it plugged in at home; it's the only L2 EVSE you will ever need to own. Unplug it and take it with you on the rare excursion where you think you might possibly run out of power far away from any public charging stations.

Ray
 
planet4ever said:
KillaWhat said:
Oh, and yes, I carry the L1 with me (EVSE upgrade), and 100' 12gauge cord. (And a 1000 watt 120vac inverter) Why not.
Why not? Because it is extra weight in the car, especially with that 100' cord. Extra weight reduces your efficiency.

If you are going to get your L1 upgraded, leave it plugged in at home; it's the only L2 EVSE you will ever need to own. Unplug it and take it with you on the rare excursion where you think you might possibly run out of power far away from any public charging stations.

Ray
I'm not that anal about efficiency.
It has to be a car I can use.
I changed the wheels and tires, added real wood interior, full 360 leather seats and door panels, and the speaker upgrades alone weigh More than the L1 Evse.

I also carry a tire patch kit, and a jack and an Altima spare.
I have a modified cargo carrier it all fits in to, and tinted windows to hide everything.

Difference in style I suppose.
I don't need the added 0.00076 of a mile it would give me not to have my "kit" with me.
Semper paratus I guess.

Again, good for you if you have never needed it, but I'm going to keep it with me in case plans change, as they have, and I wind up lucky and at the fringe of my return range :D

Can I plug my car in at your place for the night? :twisted: :twisted:
 
Modern electronics is so efficient that power draw is not a problem. As an example, my lincomatic SOC meter draws .003A with the display off.
 
Stanton said:
I try not to carry anything (visible) in the car that would attract thieves; like it or not, any car enthusiast knows how much these EVSE's are worth (and it's hard to hide). If I ever need to charge away from home (which isn't often), there are more and more public L2's available all the time.

That's why I wouldn't be without the cargo cover.
 
Thanks for your replies, i do have a cargo cover, so i will keep it hanging in the back, and just connected the front dash cam, one of these days I'm sure i will be glad its on. (Maybe i have been watching to many dash cam videos from russia) on youtube.
 
For the OP, with all the charge stations around, it shouldn't matter whether the Nissan EVSE is carried or not, unless a trip is planned away from the public charge stations. I'd leave it home for more room in the trunk.

I always carry mine because there are no charge stations of any kind around here. I'm planning to get it upgraded soon since there is at least one 240 V plug available for my use and I may need it next winter because my battery capacity has declined (60.75 Ah at present). My other, already upgraded, Nissan/Panasonic EVSE lives in my garage full-time. [I bought the extra one from Phil when it was the most affordable Level 2 EVSE option available, before Nissan raised the price; it has been 100% reliable.]
LEAFfan said:
Stanton said:
I try not to carry anything (visible) in the car that would attract thieves; like it or not, any car enthusiast knows how much these EVSE's are worth (and it's hard to hide). If I ever need to charge away from home (which isn't often), there are more and more public L2's available all the time.
That's why I wouldn't be without the cargo cover.
I agree: I consider a cargo cover essential equipment in a hatchback.
 
Stanton said:
I try not to carry anything (visible) in the car that would attract thieves; like it or not, any car enthusiast knows how much these EVSE's are worth (and it's hard to hide). If I ever need to charge away from home (which isn't often), there are more and more public L2's available all the time.

my car came with a cargo cover that hides all stuff in the boot.
killawatt: will you upgrade my LEAF?
 
A one week diet will loose more weight than all those other things combined... AND give a much better ROI.

planet4ever said:
KillaWhat said:
Oh, and yes, I carry the L1 with me (EVSE upgrade), and 100' 12gauge cord. (And a 1000 watt 120vac inverter) Why not.
Why not? Because it is extra weight in the car, especially with that 100' cord. Extra weight reduces your efficiency.
 
Can someone please explain to this "newbie" what the EVSE upgrade, or L1 upgrade is?
I just purchased a 2012 Leaf and use my L1 only in garage each evening.

I charge only to 80% b/c I have only a 10 mile round trip commute each day.

Is it better to let it discharge down to 20-30 miles (several day's driving) left on the GOM, or plug in every night up to 80%, regardless of state of charge?
Thanks
EVphreak
 
Back
Top