Cheapest EVSE

My budget is limited to $300 but I'd like to stay around $200 if possible. Preferably it's 240v 6.6kW but I can settle for 3.3kW if it's considerably cheaper. I can do assembly as long as it isn't too hard. Cheapest so far that I've seen is the EVSE upgrade.

Your best bet is to go with openEVSE but it does require assembly with some soldering. Here's the thread for it.
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=6546" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

eHelmholtz said:

Your best bet is to go with openEVSE but it does require assembly with some soldering. Here's the thread for it.
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=6546" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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That's over $400 though

At that price, that is the best bet. But it is limited to about 3.3 Kw...

Vorter said:

My budget is limited to $300 but I'd like to stay around $200 if possible. Cheapest so far that I've seen is the EVSE upgrade.

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Vorter said:

That's over $400 though

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You can build one for much less. For a no frills one that works on 120V/240V without a display and using a $99 J1772 cable, you're able to build one for less than $300. Here's an example from the GM-Volt forum. The $99 J1772 would limit your charging current to 15A (and if you're brave 16A) but for a little more you could get a more robust J1772 and easily do 24A or more. The EVSEupgrade is also about the same price and it's professionally done; the problem is that you end up with only one EVSE instead of your stock plus another.

TomT said:

At that price, that is the best bet. But it is limited to about 3.3 Kw...

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Actually, Phil's latest EVSEupgrades can go higher than 16A or 3.3Kw up to 24-25A now I think.

Is there still a tax credit on EVSEs?

Also, kinda off-topic, but I just read that you get $417 per kWh of extra tax credit up to $5000 for a total max of $7500. I was told the Fed credit was only $2500. How do I claim the other $5000?

Better still!

eHelmholtz said:

TomT said:

At that price, that is the best bet. But it is limited to about 3.3 Kw...

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Actually, Phil's latest EVSEupgrades can go higher than 16A or 3.3Kw up to 24-25A now I think.

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There was a 30% EVSE credit but I think that expired in 2013. With the LEAF you can get $7500 from the federal government, provided that you owe that much or more taxes to the government. The $2500 is probably the California cash rebate. Other states have varying amounts of incentive, some more & some less. Where are you located?.

eHelmholtz said:

There was a 30% EVSE credit but I think that expired in 2013. With the LEAF you can get $7500 from the federal government, provided that you owe that much or more taxes to the government. The $2500 is probably the California cash rebate. Other states have varying amounts of incentive, some more & some less. Where are you located?.

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Georgia. We get a $5k tax credit here but I thought we only got a $2.5k federal credit. When can the credit be used? I don't pay taxes, my parents do.
I thought the federal tax credit was applied at purchase of the car?

EVSE Upgrade is a slam dunk. USA version is limited to 20 amps afaik. 20 amps is still pretty fast charging on LEAF. Needs just 30a supply.

Choose your poison:

1) EVSE Upgrade - $332 shipped with 120V adapter.
2) OpenEVSE - Varies, $420 will get you a quality enclosure kit and 40A cable.
3) Bosch PowerMax - 16A model starts at around $440 on Amazon. Occasionally you can source these through Amazon Warehouse as open-box items for less than $420.

kubel said:

Choose your poison:

1) EVSE Upgrade - $332 shipped with 120V adapter.
2) OpenEVSE - Varies, $420 will get you a quality enclosure kit and 40A cable.
3) Bosch PowerMax - 16A model starts at around $440 on Amazon. Occasionally you can source these through Amazon Warehouse as open-box items for less than $420.

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Hmm. Well I definitely need the 120V since I leave for college in a year. I'll probably save up for the Bosch, but I'm not quite sure if it's worth buying to have for 9 months unless I sell it used after or something.

If you only have access to 120vac then just stick with the free stock EVSE that comes with the leaf. After that I would look at upgrading it to a 120/240 option. 120vac charging works for a lot of people and almost everywhere you go has 120vac outlets, very few have 240vac plugs and you can find the dual 120 plugs, but unless you in a familiar location it will be hit or miss if you can get 240vac anyway.

Vorter said:

Hmm. Well I definitely need the 120V since I leave for college in a year. I'll probably save up for the Bosch, but I'm not quite sure if it's worth buying to have for 9 months unless I sell it used after or something.

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You get this if you use EVSEupgrade because your stock EVSE becomes a 120V/240V capable EVSE. I still think building your own no frills OpenEVSE is cheaper and you get to keep your stock EVSE stock to use at 120V for backup.

eHelmholtz said:

Vorter said:

Hmm. Well I definitely need the 120V since I leave for college in a year. I'll probably save up for the Bosch, but I'm not quite sure if it's worth buying to have for 9 months unless I sell it used after or something.

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You get this if you use EVSEupgrade because your stock EVSE becomes a 120V/240V capable EVSE. I still think building your own no frills OpenEVSE is cheaper and you get to keep your stock EVSE stock to use at 120V for backup.

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Ok I'm deciding between the Bosch and the OpenEVSE now.

I'm also looking for an inexpensive (but not 'cheap') L-2 EVSE to mount outdoors. I'm interested in the Juicebox, but in looking at the comments for the YouTube assembly video, I saw something that had concerned me as well when I watched it: the power supply is secured to the inside of the *sealed* case with two adhesive strips, inviting overheating and failure, especially in hot weather. Has anyone come up with a better way to mount the P/S directly to the case, so it's (the case) used as a heat sink? The Bosch PowerMax has lots of positive reviews, plus one hugely negative one that claims a high failure rate, especially in Volts. Any truth to this? I swear, reading reviews for any product requires a Psychic to figure out which ones are true...

Vorter said:

eHelmholtz said:

Vorter said:

Hmm. Well I definitely need the 120V since I leave for college in a year. I'll probably save up for the Bosch, but I'm not quite sure if it's worth buying to have for 9 months unless I sell it used after or something.

Click to expand...

You get this if you use EVSEupgrade because your stock EVSE becomes a 120V/240V capable EVSE. I still think building your own no frills OpenEVSE is cheaper and you get to keep your stock EVSE stock to use at 120V for backup.

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Ok I'm deciding between the Bosch and the OpenEVSE now.

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GlennD assembles OpenEVSEs as a hobby. You might contact him to see if he has one for sale. I got one from him and it was well built. IMO, the price of the upgrade service is not worth it because you can get an additional EVSE for a little bit more money.

greenleaf said:

GlennD assembles OpenEVSEs as a hobby. You might contact him to see if he has one for sale. I got one from him and it was well built. IMO, the price of the upgrade service is not worth it because you can get an additional EVSE for a little bit more money.

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Actually, depending on the options selected, it can be less money.

Vorter said:

eHelmholtz said:

There was a 30% EVSE credit but I think that expired in 2013. With the LEAF you can get $7500 from the federal government, provided that you owe that much or more taxes to the government. The $2500 is probably the California cash rebate. Other states have varying amounts of incentive, some more & some less. Where are you located?.

Click to expand...

Georgia. We get a $5k tax credit here but I thought we only got a $2.5k federal credit. When can the credit be used? I don't pay taxes, my parents do.
I thought the federal tax credit was applied at purchase of the car?

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If lease, then Nissan applies the $7500 credit to the prices of the car. If purchase, then the purchaser can claim the applicable credit on their tax return. If the purchaser has no tax liability then the credit does not apply.