Why the EVSE at all?

[DarkStar]

Here's an idea: What if the "charging cable" was just a 18 foot cable with a J1772-2010 nozzle on either end? That would get rid of the clunky box and it would still keep all the safety features of J1772!

 

[Anonymous]

I feel I have to chime in here, because I did something very similar on my Xebra. If we're only talking about the 120v "emergency" power cord (I'm specifically not calling it an EVSE for this discussion) then I agree that it would be much nicer to have it built into the car rather than a separate item.

When stock, my Xebra had a built-in fixed and mounted male 3-prong 120v connector. Same as any 3-prong extension cord. It was fixed in place. This meant I had to pack around an extension cord and get that out every time. Plug one end of the cord into the wall, plug the other end into the power port of the car. Same as with the Nissan emergency 120v power cord.

For some reason that's a hassle. It doesn't sound like it, but it is. You're always unrolling/rolling up your cord, swearing when it gets in a knot. Or you get a big spool system that is bulky.

I bought one of the automatic retracting extension cords and mounted it inside the body of my Xebra, with the end sticking out where the old power port used to be. It has a 25' cord, so now I can just open the port, pull out the cord, and plug into the wall. When done, I unplug from the wall, give it a tug to start it retracting, and it all disappears hidden into the body of the car.

This is one of the best modifications I made to the car. It simplifies charging and means that (most of the time) I don't need to pack around a big extension cord in the back seat.

While I haven't really looked at it too carefully, I think there's plenty of room in the current charging port hatch to accommodate this type of system in addition to the two other charging ports. I would think that would be extremely handy to have built in, then get rid of that whole backpack that we're all storing in our trunks.


A little off topic, but another thing I really would appreciate is having the charging ports in another location of the vehicle. I mean in addition to the front. Ideally there would be ports on both the front and rear so that you have the directional option. Example: For our garage, it works best to BACK the Leaf in, because then the charging port is much easier to get to, you have plenty of light, and you can see from the living room window (if the garage door is open) whether the car is plugged in. However, my wife does NOT like backing into the garage (and has issues doing so, which means I don't like her backing in either). If there were ports on the rear of the vehicle as well, she could pull in forwards, and still have all the benefits I talked about earlier still in play.

 

[smkettner]

I want a 5' pigtail on the L1 brick. Then a compartment under the hood to store the thing.

I bought a 6' appliance extension cord (#14 wire) with a 90 degree plug that works perfect.
Now I just have to find a spot under the hood to store it. Well one out of two isn't bad.

 

[TRONZ]

For home use, an integrated EVSE has potential. But let's remember that the public infrastructure is not intended to be free "plug and play". The public EVSE's are hardwired and monitored by their owners to record cost/use/energy consumed. I would also think that keeping it simple is a virtue. Getting the general public to adopt the J1772 alone is going to be hard enough without plug variations for 120, 240 etc. Remember, it took Toyota years to educate people that the first Prius did NOT need to be plugged in. I am all for the "KISS" method for now, J1772 IS the "plug".

 

[Coffee_Slurry]

I am guilty of yanking the 120v plug on the Nissan EVSE under load.

That is, approaching the charging car, I pass the EVSE first, so I unplug it from the wall. It does spark!

Then I unplug the limp J1772 from the car.

Not kosher, I know..

 

[TimLee]

A little off topic, but another thing I really would appreciate is having the charging ports in another location of the vehicle. I mean in addition to the front. Ideally there would be ports on both the front and rear so that you have the directional option. Example: For our garage, it works best to BACK the Leaf in, because then the charging port is much easier to get to, you have plenty of light, and you can see from the living room window (if the garage door is open) whether the car is plugged in. However, my wife does NOT like backing into the garage (and has issues doing so, which means I don't like her backing in either). If there were ports on the rear of the vehicle as well, she could pull in forwards, and still have all the benefits I talked about earlier still in play.

Yes, off topic, but I agree.
Nissan advised at the very early Versa modified test mule drive event that they put it at the front because most people pull in.
Blink and a lot of the other EVSEs don't have a long enough cord.
I can back in and charge, but the car bumper is only 6" from the garage wall, and cord just barely stretches along side of the car to reach and generates potential paint damage.
If two connector cost is problematic, it should have been on the side where Volt and some others are putting it.
With where it is, Blink needs to be retrofitted with 25' cord with automatic take-up spool reel.
Probably will cost a lot to do though.

 

[davewill]

With where it is, Blink needs to be retrofitted with 25' cord with automatic take-up spool reel.
Probably will cost a lot to do though.

The reason must be unique to your garage...in fact the whole placement issue for home charging is going to vary so much that there's no right answer. Certainly for public charging, the front location makes the most sense to me. Those side connectors require stringing the cord and taking up room right where there's the least room to be had, between the parked cars.

 

[TEG]

Tesla has this chart for the adapter plugs that can work with their Universal Mobile EVSE:

Notice the 5-20...