Recommendation on Home Charging Equipment

I've just leased a 2015 SV and purchased a TurboCord by AV. I had my electrician install a 20amp dedicated circuit for it. My charging times are faster than the standard 110 that came with the car.

But, I'm now aware that there are far faster ways to charge and want to move up to the faster times.

My electrician can change out the 20amp breaker for a larger 40amp, pull 10awg wire to replace the 12awg and install a new dryer style socket.

But, what Charging Station (shouldn't they have been called Power Delivery Devices - isn't the "charger" in the car?) will deliver the fastest charging times with this installation?

My electrical knowledge is limited to changing light bulbs.

owayneo said:

I've just leased a 2015 SV and purchased a TurboCord by AV. I had my electrician install a 20amp dedicated circuit for it. My charging times are faster than the standard 110 that came with the car.

But, I'm now aware that there are far faster ways to charge and want to move up to the faster times.

My electrician can change out the 20amp breaker for a larger 40amp, pull 10awg wire to replace the 12awg and install a new dryer style socket.

But, what Charging Station (shouldn't they have been called Power Delivery Devices - isn't the "charger" in the car?) will deliver the fastest charging times with this installation?

My electrical knowledge is limited to changing light bulbs.

Click to expand...

Put a standard 14-50 outlet on a 50a circuit. Clipper Creek HCS40P to plug and play. If you generally charge overnight it will not matter so much.

And yes the L1-L2 charger is in the car. The cord and control box are called an EVSE (electric vehicle supply equipment)

I decided to future-proof my purchase and went with the Clipper Creek HCS-60 for my newly leased Leaf. As I do plan on getting the new Tesla in 2017, which is rumored to be in the 35k price range.
The HCS-60 doesn't have a plug-in option but I don't foresee dragging around the whole charging station and bringing it to someone's house with a 240v outlet to charge it anyway. I figure if I do move out of this house it is pretty easy to detach it from the box and reinstall to the new house if necessary. The HCS-60 is pricier then the HCS-40 unit but for me it's well worth it. My electrician charged me $355 for putting in a dedicated 60A circuit. With the charging station able to charge at 48A I know that this exceeds the capability for my Leaf but will be able to charge the Tesla (with a Tesla adaptor) quite a bit faster in 3 years!
The thing I like about Clipper Creek is that they are made in the US, in fact, locally quite close to where I live. Their website is a bit clunky but the salesperson told me they're working on it. I drove up to their store in Auburn with my Leaf to pick it up! So far it's been working flawlessly. I think the 25 feet cable also works out great as I'm charging it using the front port for the Leaf in the middle of my 3 car garage. But in 2017 quite possibly I'll have to charge it in the rear end with the Tesla model.

smkettner said:

owayneo said:

I've just leased a 2015 SV and purchased a TurboCord by AV. I had my electrician install a 20amp dedicated circuit for it. My charging times are faster than the standard 110 that came with the car.

But, I'm now aware that there are far faster ways to charge and want to move up to the faster times.

My electrician can change out the 20amp breaker for a larger 40amp, pull 10awg wire to replace the 12awg and install a new dryer style socket.

But, what Charging Station (shouldn't they have been called Power Delivery Devices - isn't the "charger" in the car?) will deliver the fastest charging times with this installation?

My electrical knowledge is limited to changing light bulbs.

Click to expand...

Put a standard 14-50 outlet on a 50a circuit. Clipper Creek HCS40P to plug and play. If you generally charge overnight it will not matter so much.

And yes the L1-L2 charger is in the car. The cord and control box are called an EVSE (electric vehicle supply equipment)

Click to expand...

What do you mean by "If you generally charge overnight it will not matter?"

Turbo-Cord should charge overnight just fine. If you are charged at 2a or 6a does it really matter?

owayneo said:

What do you mean by "If you generally charge overnight it will not matter?"

Click to expand...

The faster charging speed only matters if you are at a public charging station in order to make your destination, or you have a short off-peak window (you get home at midnight and off-peak ends at 6 AM), or the car is used by more than one person in the household and quick turnaround time is a must.

Otherwise, someone who charges their car while they sleep (the majority of us) isn't going to notice a difference between a 5 hour charging time and an 8 hour one.

smkettner said:

owayneo said:

I've just leased a 2015 SV and purchased a TurboCord by AV. I had my electrician install a 20amp dedicated circuit for it. My charging times are faster than the standard 110 that came with the car.

But, I'm now aware that there are far faster ways to charge and want to move up to the faster times.

My electrician can change out the 20amp breaker for a larger 40amp, pull 10awg wire to replace the 12awg and install a new dryer style socket.

But, what Charging Station (shouldn't they have been called Power Delivery Devices - isn't the "charger" in the car?) will deliver the fastest charging times with this installation?

My electrical knowledge is limited to changing light bulbs.

Click to expand...

Put a standard 14-50 outlet on a 50a circuit. Clipper Creek HCS40P to plug and play. If you generally charge overnight it will not matter so much.

And yes the L1-L2 charger is in the car. The cord and control box are called an EVSE (electric vehicle supply equipment)

Click to expand...

So even with the upgrades you suggested, the best charge time I'm going to get is 5 hours? I thought it might get down to 3 hours, just shows my lack of EVSE knowledge. Guess I'll just stay with what I have. Thanks for your help.

Wayne

Well just see if it works for you a month or so.
Otherwise post up again with your charge times etc and you will get some feedback on what is feasible.

owayneo said:

So even with the upgrades you suggested, the best charge time I'm going to get is 5 hours? I thought it might get down to 3 hours.

Click to expand...

That's for a fully drained battery (or as fully drained as Nissan will allow). Most of us don't regularly come home with our Leafs in that state.

I have a Clipper Creek LCS-25 that we charge our Leaf S and our i3 with. I could get a faster EVSE so the i3 could charge at it's peak rate but so far there has not been an instance were we needed that extra little bit of time.

Two considerations of importance are the length of the J1772 cable, and overall portability of the EVSE. These factors are often overlooked in the decision to buy an EVSE.

Generally, a shorter cable and "fixed" mounting the EVSE's enclosure to the wall, tend to lower the cost of many so-called "home charging stations". However, the first time an urgent charging situation arises while you're parked further away from your home charging EVSE that is hard wired and fix mounted to the wall in the garage, such that the J1772 charge port connector cannot reach the car for lack of a few extra feet, you will be kicking yourself.

Also, if you are visiting a friend or relative in your LEAF and you are a little short on range to get home, you might as well plan to spend the night for as long as it will take to recharge at 120 volts on your car's OEM charge cord. If, however, you have a "portable" L2 EVSE in your LEAF's trunk and have permission to plug in to a 230V, 30A electric drier outlet in that person's garage, and a cable long enough to reach your charging port, you can leave for home in just few hours.