QC options for a Leaf

I noticed that one of the local Nissan dealers has a Leaf S with the QC package. This caused me to check the Dept. of Energy map of charging stations [http://www.afdc.energy.gov/fuels/electricity_locations.html] to see how many QC locations were close to where I live, Rochester, NY.

Answer: None. The closest QC stations are in Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Albany, and those are all Tesla only, according to the AFDC map linked above.

So... how hard will it be for a dealer in one of the vast QC wastelands to sell/lease a Leaf with a pricey option the customer can't possibly use? I'm guessing this car gets traded to another dealer.

And how in the world did a Leaf with the QC option get shipped to a dealer here, anyway? I'm guessing that the dealer didn't request it. (And if they did, they're dumber than a sack of lug nuts.)

Finally, is anyone installing QC units in their garages? I haven't looked into it, but I'm guessing it would be very expensive and out of the question for anyone who doesn't have Jay Leno's financial resources and interest.

The QC stations are far too expensive to put into ones house. A Level 2 charger is available for less than $400 plus any installation. As for checking for QC locations I would suggest plugshare over any other apps or websites. I checked that as well and there are no listed QC locations anywhere near you. There is always the chance one gets put in. Or you could use it if you took a road trip to say Toronto.

When I bought my 2011 Leaf, I opted not to get the QC option because we had zero stations in Dallas/Ft.Worth area. By the time my lease was up in 2014, we had 30-ish stations around. So, when we leased our second Leaf, we made darned sure to get the QC option.

Bazooka said:

I noticed that one of the local Nissan dealers has a Leaf S with the QC package. This caused me to check the Dept. of Energy map of charging stations [http://www.afdc.energy.gov/fuels/electricity_locations.html] to see how many QC locations were close to where I live, Rochester, NY.

Answer: None. The closest QC stations are in Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Albany, and those are all Tesla only, according to the AFDC map linked above.

So... how hard will it be for a dealer in one of the vast QC wastelands to sell/lease a Leaf with a pricey option the customer can't possibly use?

Click to expand...

About the same situation for most LEAF buyers back in 2010, 2011, 2012.... People bought them with hope for the future. Even here in the Bay Area it was quite awhile before I used a QC with my 2012, as the options were few in my little corner.

You'd be paying for potential. Use your best judgement as to whether or not that potential will be realized during your time of ownership.

We had zero LEAF-compatible QCs at the start of 2014 in Colorado, and at the time I was wondering why I'd bothered to get LEAFs with the QC port. Now we have 13 with many more planned, and they are so useful that if I didn't have the QC port I'd trade in the LEAF to get one.

Here in SoCal most Nissan dealers that sell Leafs have QC stations, often free of charge. Is that different in the rest of the US?

I would still take an S with QC because it gets you the 6.6 kWh OBC instead of the 3.3. That makes your L2 (240 volt) charging more than 2x faster if the device can handle the throughput.

Bazooka said:

I noticed that one of the local Nissan dealers has a Leaf S with the QC package. This caused me to check the Dept. of Energy map of charging stations [http://www.afdc.energy.gov/fuels/electricity_locations.html] to see how many QC locations were close to where I live, Rochester, NY.

Click to expand...

I wouldn't bother w/that page. It has very outdated and incomplete info, every time I've checked. I'd use http://www.plugshare.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; instead.

mtietz said:

Here in SoCal most Nissan dealers that sell Leafs have QC stations, often free of charge. Is that different in the rest of the US?

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Yes. FWIW, many Nissan dealers in Nor Cal that have DC FCs have started charging $. Some of them only charge $ for those who didn't buy/lease from that dealer.

Also see http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=15867" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. This now makes sense w/the "No Charge to Charge" program due to the charging networks involved.

MikeinDenver said:

The QC stations are far too expensive to put into ones house.

Click to expand...

Yes. http://nissanqc.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; is $15.5K for hardware only. As has been posted here before, the average cost to install one of these at a Nissan dealer is $49K, presumably including that $15.5K for the unit.

cwerdna said:

MikeinDenver said:

The QC stations are far too expensive to put into ones house.

Click to expand...

Yes. http://nissanqc.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; is $15.5K for hardware only. As has been posted here before, the average cost to install one of these at a Nissan dealer is $49K, presumably including that $15.5K for the unit.

Click to expand...

That price has come down. Before that station was ~$25k.

It's also worth noting that unless you have a spectacularly unique situation, you won't be able to hook that up at your house. It requires 160A 3-phase 208V supply, or thereabouts. It might work on just 240V, or other comparable ones would. 240V is probably what your house has (which is split to 120V). At 240V, you need 250A supply. Most houses have 100A supply.

I think most of the DCQC stations are powered by 480V single phase. I have very limited information on them though.
At 480V, you only need 125A supply.

mctom987 said:

cwerdna said:

MikeinDenver said:

The QC stations are far too expensive to put into ones house.

Click to expand...

Yes. http://nissanqc.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; is $15.5K for hardware only. As has been posted here before, the average cost to install one of these at a Nissan dealer is $49K, presumably including that $15.5K for the unit.

Click to expand...

That price has come down. Before that station was ~$25k.

Click to expand...

Huh? I think it's always been $15.5K. I was at a meeting in December 2011 w/Kadota-san, Mark Perry + Nissan execs and engineers where they talked about how they got DC FC prices down to $10K. ~100 other Leaf enthusiasts were at that meeting. https://web.archive.org/web/20120716030656/http://nissanqc.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; shows a $10K basic unit, which mysteriously vanished + the current $15.5K unit.

mctom987 said:

I think most of the DCQC stations are powered by 480V single phase. I have very limited information on them though.
At 480V, you only need 125A supply.

Click to expand...

From the pics on the label of http://nissanqc.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; that I took, that unit requires 480 volt 3-phase input power.

cwerdna said:

mctom987 said:

I think most of the DCQC stations are powered by 480V single phase. I have very limited information on them though.
At 480V, you only need 125A supply.

Click to expand...

From the pics on the label of http://nissanqc.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; that I took, that unit requires 480 volt 3-phase input power.

Click to expand...

Then you only need ~72A supply.

cwerdna said:

mtietz said:

Here in SoCal most Nissan dealers that sell Leafs have QC stations, often free of charge. Is that different in the rest of the US?

Click to expand...

Yes. FWIW, many Nissan dealers in Nor Cal that have DC FCs have started charging $. Some of them only charge $ for those who didn't buy/lease from that dealer.

Also see http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=15867" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. This now makes sense w/the "No Charge to Charge" program due to the charging networks involved.

Click to expand...

That's interesting, I didn't realize that this was a temporary program intended to move to 'standard charging networks' over time. I guess it makes sense for the overall EV promotion, even if it less beneficial for Leaf drivers. But hopefully that will encourage other manufacturer/dealer to go down the same route and by doing so improving the overall QC situation.

mtietz said:

Here in SoCal most Nissan dealers that sell Leafs have QC stations, often free of charge. Is that different in the rest of the US?

Click to expand...

Take a look at PlugShare.com and set the filter to only show CHAdeMO stations. The vast majority of Leaf-certified Nissan dealers in the US only have Level 2 stations. In a few markets outside of CA, certain Nissan dealers have installed QCs -- the biggest concentrations seem to be in MA, FL, CT, Atlanta, GA and the St. Louis, MO area. I think Nissan was (maybe still is) helping dealers financially if they install a QC, but a lot of the costs still fall on the dealer, and it just doesn't make financial sense to many of them. Some dealers don't have the necessary 3 phase power.

Purchase 3/13 in NC - zero Chademo in NC. Right the entire state.
Today 11 listed on plugshare. But 3 are Tesla (all are last 9 month installs)

So either way from zero to 8 in 17 months (honestly I think the first one came 6 months ago). I can't believe it, a local mall put one in. It is 17 miles from my house but 1 mile from my office. The local dealer put one in (4 miles from home) and then a township put one in 4 miles from home (way too close to the dealership).

Yep - I didn't get a QC. Today I would get it. It would really allow me to live with extra years of degradation. Like 50% even - just would have to make stops some days.

And all the local ones are free as far as I can tell from Plugshare. All are 2-3 months old. Unbelievable progress. With the lizard battery and all these new Chademos, local sales here should shoot up a lot.