Use of 110V trickle charger : Not recommended?

My Nissan Leaf Forum

Help Support My Nissan Leaf Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

DahLeaf

Member
Joined
May 1, 2014
Messages
6
I just got my Leaf and am excited! It's such a kool car to drive!

So, I have charging station at work and can charge easily. I am thinking just use the trickle charger at home to bring up the battery over night. Once i get to work, i can easily recharge the battery after lunch.

But I read the document that came with the trickle charger in the car that it's not recommended to use it all the time????? really???

I was wondering if i can get away with just using the trickle charger at home w/o putting money in for a L2 charger at home...

thoughts?
 
I am new to the Leaf thing but from what I have read it doesn't hurt it any to use the stock charger on 120V it just takes longer to charge. I don't plan on putting in a 240 unless something changes to where I need it.
 
if you leave it plugged in all the time and have good wiring it's ok it use it all you want but 120V is less efficient (costs more per charge) than charging on 240V.

Unplugging / replugging = wear and possible fire risk
poor wiring in the socket/behind the wall/in the circuit breaker = possible fire risk
sharing a 120V curcuit with things other than the car can be an issue (tripping breakers, fire risk)
120V not as good as 240V

assuming those aren't issues for you go ahead and leave it plugged into the wall day and night and just connect to the car when needed.

If they are a concern have an electrician check everything and then decide if you want to use eveseupgrade.com or not.
 
It's just like leaving a space heater on high for 12-14 hours. So, non-zero risk, but that's why homes are built to code and we have breakers. There's nothing wrong with it. You'll get antsy soon and install a 240-volt EVSE anyway. I wasn't planning on installing one either. haha
 
This question has come up here many times. The reasons we've been able to come up with fall into two basic camps:

1. It takes too long. Someone who drives the full range of the car probably can't get a full recharge overnight. Nissan is afraid of a negative customer experience.
2. Too much risk of bad wiring...So many houses have old, substandard wiring, and Nissan doesn't want to be seen as recommending you use an existing outlet. They'd rather you paid an electrician to put in a new 240v EVSE.

There isn't any reason to believe that it's bad for the car, so if you understand the limitations and make sure the wiring and outlet is in good shape, there's no reason not to go that way.
 
davewill said:
2. Too much risk of bad wiring...So many houses have old, substandard wiring, and Nissan doesn't want to be seen as recommending you use an existing outlet. They'd rather you paid an electrician to put in a new 240v EVSE.
This is the main reason along with less efficient so you'll spend a bit more on electricity than with L2 EVSE.
See the $10,000 fire thread for an example of what can go wrong.
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=15784#p352567" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 
So using trickle charge we are wasting more electricity because its taking more time vs 240V clipper creek etc taking 4 hrs. Wonder when does it break even eg cost of clippercreek $640 + $200 for install =$840 .Some folks told me they are using only trickle charge , so wondering if it really makes sense for daily 40mile usage+ Nissan EZ-Charge card to charge free at Blink.
 
First, these are EVSEs ("electric vehicle service equipment", a terrible acronym), not chargers. The charger is always built into the car. The only case in which you aren't using the car's charger is when you use DC Quick Charge ("QC") and the DC charger bypasses the car's internal unit. The EVSE exists to safely provide the car's charger with house current for charging. not to actually charge the car.

Second, the argument that you lose money through extra power consumed can be overstated. It's true that the extra cost is significant where rates are high, but where they are low it isn't. Also the slower charging process in Winter seems to help keep the battery pack warmer for longer, as my own experience has indicated. What you should mainly consider, if your electric rates are reasonable and your wiring sound, is whether you can wait the required time for charges. It takes one hour to add 5% charge via L-1 charging with the car's EVSE.
 
I used a trickle charger to charge my car for the first 21 months I owned it. Then when we moved from TX to PA, we bought a house that had a bigger electrical panel and I was able to install my first 240 plug so I could charge my car with my modified EVSE. Although I'm happier with my ability to charge the car more quickly, I was never unhappy with doing it using a 120 plug. Our house in TX was built in 1999, so it had good wiring and we never had an issue with the 120 plug method.
 
Back
Top