My Nissan Leaf Forum

I am wading through the posts on EVSE's, and my brain is starting to melt.
I drive 15 to 20 miles most days, but sometimes need to go 60 or so. So far only using trickle charger but am considering the EVSE so I have that option.
Which one is best for this sort of use?

Kay, do you have a dryer outlet in your garage?

Well, "best" is very subjective, but since basically all EVSEs do the same thing (just fancy extension cords with safety checks), I'd say the best is the cheapest. And the cheapest way to go about getting an L2 EVSE is either to upgrade your trickle charger using evseupgrade.com or build your own a la open-evse.

^^^
Except some of them like the GE Wattstation seem to have the tendency to blow the Leaf's on-board charger. The Blink EVSE was buggy (not sure about now) and it seems like you'd want to be extra careful if ever charging cars that have 6.6 kW or above on-board chargers (e.g. the issues Tony Williams had when charging his Rav4 EV and the reports from Fit EV folks).

Can't comment on the 'best', but for the price you can not beat evseupgrade.com. Have yet to hear of any problems with the upgraded unit, but if any, I'm sure those folks would quickly remedy the problem.

Personally if I had to do it again I would have a 75 amp EVSE installed whether it be a clipper creek cs-100 or an open EVSE model, but that's just me. I think in 5 years having a low load EVSE will be the equivalent of driving up to a gas station and finding one of these.

In five years the expensive EVSE you bought will likely be far less expensive. It's certainly overpriced now. It's like buying a super fast PC for the future and the next year it costs 50% less for 2x the performance. If you need 75 amps you most likely will not be driving a Nissan EV in five years. A very low cost solution makes sense that matches the EV. Spending a premium to futre proof an EVSE is not a good investment based on todays production costs and this has been proven over the years for a variety of reasons. It will be a commodity product if EV's take off. Spending some extra on heavy pre-wire makes perfect sense. One can upgrade a Nissan EVSE for under $300 and if they get a new EV down the road the savings will likely buy something else. Even a 3.8kw EVSE is adequate for those with a 6.6kw charger because the main factor for home use is pack size. I have a 6.6kw charger and because of the LEAF pack size a 3.8kw EVSE is more then adequate. Where faster charging makes sense is when I am away from home not at home, public chargers are where I get the real utility. There are commodity electronics.

I have and recommend the Schnieder, Leviton 160, and V1 upgrade to travel.
Although I would recommend the full V2 as it is difficult to find less than 20 amp 240v.

In five years a 75 amp EVSE will likely be a few hundred dollars less expensive, but having one installed will likely be much more expensive if it is even possible in your area.

In five years EVs will have 50-200 kwh battery packs which will need a lot of power. I doubt power companies will be able to allow customers to install EVSEs with the freedom that we now have. Our grid has been neglected and won't be able to support all of they EVs that people will be buying. The whole process of having an EVSE installed, especially one on a 100 amp circuit will be much higher.

Everyone will want to have a high power hookup in five years because of the convenience they will provide. You will be able to recharge your car the night before a long road trip rather than having to spend days preparing. A family member driving in for Thanksgiving won't be forced to stop at a quick charger, if quick chargers even exist.

Mark my words, houses with high power EVSEs will be a hot commodity in five years. Installing one now is an investment.

+1. EVSEs are incredibly overpriced right now. In time, they should approach a cost hardly more than the cost of the copper in them. Considering that you can buy the parts to make your own for less than $200 retail right now, just imagine how low the material cost is to a company like GE, who has the gall to sell their buggy unit for $1000+.