So we finally bought a leaf. Yaaay. And still more questions.

We got it. 2016 Red SV. Brand new. Equivalent US funds of 22186 dollars.

Angela and I wanted to thank our American neighbours for responding to so many of our questions over the last year. The car should be a good fit for us as really we only need about 120 KM of range max. Typically our cars last us about 10 years. Hopefully this one will too. This almost makes us an electric only family as our other car is a 2015 Smart ED.

So a few more questions. I know that the earlier leafs had a feature where you could just charge to 80 percent and it was taken away for EPA reasons or something like that. Is there a function of the smart phone software that one can still control this. I have a back up plan in that our Juice box EVSE can be set to only charge X amount of Kilowatt Hours. I just have to get used to the readings on the battery and set it accordingly.

We leave for a few months a year and the car will be in a heated garage. Any suggestions on how charged to leave the battery.

One more (for now). I made the mistake of picking a forum name of "wannabeleafowner. Can one change that with out having to start from scratch on the forum?

Here is a picture. This is not the exact car but it is the same colour.

Thanks again folks.

The registered version of Leaf Manager that I have has a "charge timer" option that doesn't seem to be available. Unfortunately, AFAIK you can start charging with the apps (if the car is plugged in), but not end it.

If you want optimum storage charge for a Leaf-type lithium battery, that would be about 30%. If you want to play it safer and allow for the car occasionally charging the 12 volt battery or running the battery warmer in frigid temps, try about 50-60%.

Thanks for the quick reply. 50 it is.

And another question. We had a 12 volt connector in the rear cargo area of our previous car. We use it to run a small cooler. Has anyone installed something like this and if so what connection point did you use for the 12 volts.

Thanks

John and Angela.

For longer term storage, I recommend charging to five bars which is about 50% charge and then attaching a trickle charger to the 12V battery. I bought the ingineer recommended CTEK US 0.8 and top up my lead acid battery once or twice a week. Still going strong on the original one, almost 6 years now. There are lots of threads describing this, try searching for "vacation".

Yes you can run things off of the lighter socket but be careful running auxiliary devices from the 12V battery. It is known to be under charged in certain conditions and might eventually give you problems. It seems to be properly charged when using the wipers. Perhaps the algorithm was adjusted for rain assuming the need for more auxiliary loads like lights, fans, ac, heat, heated seats, etc.

Wannabeleafowner said:

And another question. We had a 12 volt connector in the rear cargo area of our previous car. We use it to run a small cooler. Has anyone installed something like this and if so what connection point did you use for the 12 volts.

Thanks

John and Angela.

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There is a small light in the rear that always has power(or does it as if you leave it on it automatically shuts off after 15 minutes......) but I'm not sure if it would handle the amps required for a cooler or anything more than a small lamp. Maybe someone else knows but I'm not sure your going to find a 12v wire with the needed 10?? amps required for a cooler. Would the cooler need power all the time or would just when the car is ON be sufficient?

Good question. We tend not to eat at restaurants when we travel for health reasons. (Too much salt and fat). So we tend to bring food and drink. We can probably just use the 12 volt cigarette light connecter in the front but I was hoping to avoid the cord running through the cab. Messy. We'll figure it out.

Reddy said:

Yes you can run things off of the lighter socket but be careful running auxiliary devices from the 12V battery. It is known to be under charged in certain conditions and might eventually give you problems. It seems to be properly charged when using the wipers. Perhaps the algorithm was adjusted for rain assuming the need for more auxiliary loads like lights, fans, ac, heat, heated seats, etc.

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As long as the car is in Ready Mode (little green-yellow EV icon on the dash is lit, ready to drive) it can handle up to 10 amp accessory socket loads. Any more and that fuse blows. The problem with the 12 volt battery isn't generally loads while driving, but in less than adequate 12 volt charging when the car is plugged in and charging.

Well, the cooler has a Dan Foss compressor in it and pulls 3 to 5 amps so it should be fine. Thanks folks.

I've used a little thermo-electric cooler in my Leaf and it was fine.

We have one of those. Kinda like a cooler bag. Probably draws a little less current and would also work.

Mine is a hardshell cooler that holds maybe 6 cans plus miscellaneous other stuff above them. It will also keep food hot.

Any high way driving you will not get 120KM from it!

In Winter at 65Km at 90KmpH with heat n such I have 20% or so remaining if lucky from 100%

I just wanted to point that out!

In the city odds are ya will get that!

That should more than cover our needs. Our other EV (smart ED) does about the same and we are rarely are in need of that much range. We needed our second vehicle to have four seats so this should fit the bill. It also has quick charge which I am sure will come in handy. I notice you have a 2013 in your signature block. Are your range numbers from the 2013 or from the 30KW version. The other thing is we don't use it for the december january february time period (we are out of the country). As well our climate in the Okanagan is warmer so that may help our range somewhat.

By the way, Angela went to sacred heart academy in Yorkton for her high school years.

Cheers.

if you plan to drive it around 30 miles or so daily, charge to 100%. there will be no real downside to this. This allows the unexpected to not catch you short.

if you are confident of your normal driving habits and you get a 240 volt EVSE, then simply plug it in a few hours every morning. I am guessing you are normally up for hours before going anywhere and for those times you are not, you are probably going to be driving more than normal which means plugging it in before going to bed.

For long term storage, 40-50% SOC is fine. do not leave the EVSE plugged into the car. you have Carwings (or Nissan Connect I think its called nowadays) its CRITICAL to turn off any timers you might be using. I take the tact of never using them so its one less thing for me to remember since vacations already have enough to remember at the last second!

as far as using the 12 volt accessory; go for it as long as you are in run mode. NEVER use it in accessory mode. In reality there is virtually no reason to use accessory mode EVER...