A Cheaper, alternative L1 for your Leaf.

This was briefly mentioned in another thread. But I think some people might benefit by knowing about this. We just got a Chevy Volt and I mounted its L1 unit on the wall. Here's a photo:

Let me list the ways this unit is superior to the Leaf's L1 unit:

• Half the price! It only costs $360
• Has a light on the end of the J1772 connector to help you plug it in while in the dark.
• Includes a right-angle NEMA plug so it fits on the wall much better without the cable sticking out 6 inches.
• Unit is designed to have the cable wrapped around it.
• Has multiple power settings.
• Comes with a wall mounting bracket. The unit can be lifted off of the bracket easily if you need to take it with you.

I tried it with my Leaf today and it worked just fine. The irony is, I really only bought the 240V EVSE I have because I found it highly irritating to wind up the L1 and put it back in the car every day, then take it back out at the end of each day. But when I looked at the price of an additional L1 from Nissan there was very little price difference between that and an L2 unit. So, duh... why not get the L2, right?

Well, had I known I could buy this unit for half the price, I probably would have. So for those of you who need an extra L1 for whatever reason might want to consider this. You can buy one here:
http://www.shopchevyparts.com/elect....html?osCsid=3cce5c541b17843c05ab31eb6a8ecd17

There is a good reason why it is half the price, it apparently is also half the quality... There are numerous posts about the light gauge wires used in it, overheating, etc. Even with the wiring improvement that the recent recall/update brought, it is still does not have the robustness that I would desire for regular use... It's fine for occasional use but I'd be very leery about using it regularly...

Plus, I believe I remember reading somewhere on the forum that you can only buy one at that price if you have a Volt VIN number as proof of ownership...

adric22 said:

Half the price! It only costs $360

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TomT said:

There is a good reason why it is half the price, it apparently is also half the quality... There are numerous posts about the light gauge wires used in it, overheating, etc. Even with the wiring improvement that the recent recall/update brought, it is still does not have the robustness that I would desire for regular use... It's fine for occasional use but I'd be very leery about using it regularly...

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Well, I guess we'll find out. I'm going to start charging my Leaf on this unit every day and let my wife use the L2 unit. Since i drive so few miles each day, I figure I should be the one use the L1.

Plus, I believe you can only buy one at that price if you have a Volt VIN number as proof of ownership...

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Well, that stinks.

adric22 said:

TomT said:

... Plus, I believe you can only buy one at that price if you have a Volt VIN number as proof of ownership...

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Well, that stinks.

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Doesn't appear to be so. The link above went to a site that said nothing about needing a VIN. The cable looks very thin.

davewill said:

adric22 said:

TomT said:

... Plus, I believe you can only buy one at that price if you have a Volt VIN number as proof of ownership...

Click to expand...

Well, that stinks.

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Doesn't appear to be so. The link above went to a site that said nothing about needing a VIN. The cable looks very thin.

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I think you only need a VIN for their level 2 stations. The trickle cord is available to anyone. While I agree that these units are cheaply made and produce more heat, the new 120V units should be more robust now. I like the ability to control the power draw. I blew a few breakers last year with the Panasonic brick, and I could have used this feature.

Yes, this is the redesigned L1 EVSE that is much better than the old one. Have some questions though:

1. What's the wire gauge on the plug and the cord?
2. What are the selectable charging currents?
3. When is Phil going to start upgrading these?

Oh how I wish the LEAF L1 EVSE had a right angle plug and a lit connector

We will never be upgrading these Lear-manufactured units. They are functionally the same as the Legrand units, although they look different externally. They are terrible! It's easy to see why they are cheap!

On the second version, They have indeed upgraded the input cord and plug, as these were melting and burning. They still skimp on the design, with a low-cost insufficient housing (for a portable unit) and it is not sealed to keep water out. They still use a 16 awg charge cable for 12 amps which I don't consider adequate, and the unit is not UL listed. Testing reveals the unit loses over 40 watts while charging. If you pay for electricity what many do here in the bay area, you are looking at paying an extra dollar for every 5 charges! Over the life of the EVSE that could easily pay for a better unit and you have no safety risk!

If you drop it on pavement, expect it to break open. Don't even think of a drive-over! (which the Nissan/Panasonic unit will survive)

I'd recommend these be avoided except for emergency use, and if you must, be sure to FULLY uncoil the cord and lay it out flat.

Definitely NOT superior to almost any other EVSE on the market!

-Phil

Ingineer said:

I'd recommend these be avoided except for emergency use, and if you must, be sure to FULLY uncoil the cord and lay it out flat.
-Phil

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You seem to know a lot about the unit. Lets pose this question. I haven't tried changing the power setting on it yet. Considering my short daily commute of 10 miles or so, I could probably get away with a lower current setting. Do you think that would improve the situation with the heat build-up and the wasted power?

What power settings does it have?

OP: You may consider changing the title of this post. It is painfully false advertising at its best.

It has 2 settings; 8 amps or 12 amps. Obviously 8 amps is safer and less % loss if possible.

Yes, Adric, It would be nice to change the title on your first post so you don't mislead anyone.

-Phil

davewill said:

The cable looks very thin.

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Well, I don't think Leaf's L1 really need thick cable... Overkill is not good either. 14AWG is more than enough for short runs of exposed cable.

Thin cable is more flexible and takes less space, and consumes less resources to make.

The 12 AWG used in the Nissan/Panasonic isn't overkill, it's still plenty flexible, while adding durability. It also allows us to upgrade the unit to full 16A capability without any problems.

-Phil

Ingineer said:

It has 2 settings; 8 amps or 12 amps. Obviously 8 amps is safer and less % loss if possible.
-Phil

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Thanks Phil. I had plugged the Nissan unit (v1 upgrade) into my Prosine 1800 inverter and inverter complains of overtemperature in about 15 minutes even with the cabinet door open. The 7 amp / 12 amp L1 Leviton is way too much at $899 from Home depot. And while the Volt unit is still an investment it could fill a small nitch if power is severly restricted. And of course charge time would be rather extended.

smkettner said:

Thanks Phil. I had plugged the Nissan unit (v1 upgrade) into my Prosine 1800 inverter and inverter complains of overtemperature in about 15 minutes even with the cabinet door open. The 7 amp / 12 amp L1 Leviton is way too much at $899 from Home depot. And while the Volt unit is still an investment it could fill a small nitch if power is severly restricted. And of course charge time would be rather extended.

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We also have the capability of setting an EVSE to any amperage you like. We could provide you with a slightly lower power unit if you like.

Keep in mind if you are running the unit from an inverter sourced by a 12v battery, it's unlikely that you'll be able to sustain output power even on a vehicle with the engine running. (Most alternators are not up to the task)

The Leaf draws 12a at 120v, so you're probably pulling about 150 amps from the 12v system after conversion loss.

-Phil

Ingineer said:

Yes, Adric, It would be nice to change the title on your first post so you don't mislead anyone.

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I changed the title to "Cheaper, alternative L1 for your Leaf." I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on the "better" part. I understand what you are saying about the wire gauge and whatnot. but sometimes engineers don't think very much about the end-user when designing something. That is why Apple is often more successful with their products (iPad, iPhone, etc) than competitors even though the competitors may have more capable hardware. In the case of the L1 EVSE, I just don't think Panasonic engineers were thinking much about the end user when they failed to put a right-angle connector on a giant heavy box that has to hang from a plug in an awkward way.

Ingineer said:

smkettner said:

Thanks Phil. I had plugged the Nissan unit (v1 upgrade) into my Prosine 1800 inverter and inverter complains of overtemperature in about 15 minutes even with the cabinet door open. The 7 amp / 12 amp L1 Leviton is way too much at $899 from Home depot. And while the Volt unit is still an investment it could fill a small nitch if power is severly restricted. And of course charge time would be rather extended.

Click to expand...

We also have the capability of setting an EVSE to any amperage you like. We could provide you with a slightly lower power unit if you like.

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Good point, but I don't believe you offer an option for multiple current settings with the same EVSE which is often very handy when charging in random locations where one might not be guaranteed a dedicated socket... I know that I very likely would have opted for an option to be able to toggle current levels - say between 7, 12 and 16A for example for the rev2 upgraded.

adric22 said:

In the case of the L1 EVSE, I just don't think Panasonic engineers were thinking much about the end user when they failed to put a right-angle connector on a giant heavy box that has to hang from a plug in an awkward way.

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That's easy to fix with a trip to Home Depot and this $11.49 plug.

Ingineer said:

Keep in mind if you are running the unit from an inverter sourced by a 12v battery, it's unlikely that you'll be able to sustain output power even on a vehicle with the engine running.

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6 kWh RV house battery fed with 600w solar. Yes impractical except in an extreme circumstances. I just like to see what works.
I still need to try my portable generator including make one of the bonding plugs with the two resistors
But now I am off topic, cheers

drees said:

adric22 said:

In the case of the L1 EVSE, I just don't think Panasonic engineers were thinking much about the end user when they failed to put a right-angle connector on a giant heavy box that has to hang from a plug in an awkward way.

Click to expand...

That's easy to fix with a trip to Home Depot and this $11.49 plug.

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I used a 6' appliance extension cord from HD with right angle plug and #14 wire for the first 5 months. Worked fine no heat. EVSE sat on the floor under the workbench just fine.