So, I know price is usually the biggest thing people look at when getting their charger; the lower the better. So what is the second thing? Does the amperage effect the charging time that much? My current plan is to get at least a 50amp circuit to the garage (already have 200 amp service to the house). Does a 30 vs 40 amp charger change much? Is there any other stat I should be looking at instead?
Getting my first level 2 charger
- Thread starter Limey
- Start date
Help Support My Nissan Leaf Forum:
gsleaf
Well-known member
Quality. I know Clipper Creek (http://www.clippercreek.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false
is a favorite here because they have really solid EVSEs.
is a favorite here because they have really solid EVSEs.
TomT
Well-known member
Once you are above the amperage capacity of the charger in your car, additional current capability in an EVSE buys you nothing except possible future proofing...
Limey said:
gsleaf
Well-known member
Limey said:gsleaf said:Quality. I know Clipper Creek (http://www.clippercreek.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false
So what makes it quality, durability?
I believe so yes. I don't own a Clipper Creek, so I can't speak to it directly, I just know people on this forum always recommend them. They do offer a 3 year warranty which is pretty good.
It depends on the model. I didn't see whether you have an S, SV or SL. If you have an S, do you have the QC upgrade?Limey said:
If you have a Model S without the QC upgrade, the maximum charging amps at 240 volts is 15
If you have the S with the QC upgrade, or the SV or SL, the maximum charging amps at 240 volts is 27.5
The charging time difference between a 30 amp EVSE which will charge at 24 amps continuous, and a 40 amp EVSE which will charge at 32 amps continuous (but only 27.5 amps for a LEAF) is at most 30 minutes (4 hours vs. 3.5 hours for a full charge from empty).
ps - including information about your model, etc. in your signature eliminates guesswork
Slow1
Well-known member
Limey said:
Well, I would guess about 8 hours from empty (or near that). Think of it this way - the battery has about 21kWh of useable capacity. IF you charge at 3kW then that would be 7 hours assuming perfect efficiency and constant max rate. Charging is fastest near empty, then tapers off at the end - last couple hours may well be at less than 3kW as the battery nears full charge.
But now for a reality check - will you be getting home empty? Figure your 'normal' mileage, if this is 50 miles (r/t) and you assume a conservative 4m/kWh then you would be down about 12.5kWh and using the same 3kW rate of charging it would be just over 4 hours at linear rate, likely 5 hours to really be done. What really matters here is
EVDRIVER said:
Wow, so It will charge in 8 hours on a 120 outlet? That's awesome! To bad I leased, and need to keep the charger unchanged....however, I think there was a 120V charger on Clipper Creek website that does the same as what you are saying. need to go look again.
The EVSE Upgraded unit can charge at both voltages, if you get the optional 120 volt adapter plug. Given your relatively slow charger, if price is a factor your best bets are either EVSE Upgrade or, if you want a convenient wall-mounted unit, the Clipper Creep HCS-20, which is only $395 plus about $20 shipping. That charges at 15 amps, IIRC. The HCS-25 charges at 20 amps for $100 more.
I think you meant "LCS", but the LCS-25 won't charge the OP's car any faster than the LCS-20. The only reason to get a faster EVSE would be if OP has plans to get a different car in the future that has a faster onboard charger.LeftieBiker said:
As LB said, your best bet is the EVSEupgrade or the LCS-20. The upgrade is less expensive, the Clipper Creek gives you a second, wall-mounted unit. Both have good track records, and either will do the job as fast as any other EVSE out there.
Slow1
Well-known member
Limey said:
Hmm...
Well, if you are aiming for 3.3kW at 120v, then you would need 27.5amps. At 240v, you need 13.75a. Anything higher than these values are 'future proofing' to whatever degree you exceed the requirements.
Time to charge is a function of amount of power you need vs amount you can 'push' through your onboard charger. That 'push' rate will be the lower of the EVSE (estimate by multiplying volts X amps i.e. 120vX12a=1.44kW ) or the 3.3kW on-board charger that you have. Take the amount of power you need and divide by this number to get a rough estimate of charging time.
There are some other 'losses' in this that add to the mix - for example, I believe the pumps activated during charging use about 300w so you can subtract this from the amount of power going to the battery (i.e. in the above example 120vX12a=1440w, but take out the 300w for the pumps and you net 1140w).
Limey said:
Well, that does change things. You mentioned that you will have a 50 amp circuit installed, so have it terminate into a 14-50 receptacle. If you get a Tesla, it comes with a EVSE cord that you can plug right into that. In the meantime, get something like the Clipper Creek HCS-40P. It will charge your current LEAF at 15 amps and anything else you might upgrade to later, at up to 32 amps.
Another good option is the Schneider EVlink from Home Depot. It's rated at 30 amps continuous and it's only $499 (after $100 coupon code), but you'll need to add a 14-50 plug if you want to make it portable. I have a friend that installed one and they are pleased with it.
The car takes what it needs subject to the max available. A 40 or 50A charger is a total waste of money. Assuming you have an enhanced Leaf then even if the EVSE reports 80A ( the J1772 max) the car will still only take what its charger requires. That is either 27.5A or 16A.
The only thing more capacity buys you is a heavy awkward J1772 Cable. For example a 50A cable has 3 #6 wires plus a #18 for the pilot. Contrast that to a 40A Quick Charge Power cable. Each phase has 2 #12 ( 20A each) wires, a #18 pilot and a #10 ground.
A 30A yazaki cable has 3 #10 wires and a #18 pilot. In the case of Quick Charge Power the 40A cable is smaller than their 30A cable.
The only thing more capacity buys you is a heavy awkward J1772 Cable. For example a 50A cable has 3 #6 wires plus a #18 for the pilot. Contrast that to a 40A Quick Charge Power cable. Each phase has 2 #12 ( 20A each) wires, a #18 pilot and a #10 ground.
A 30A yazaki cable has 3 #10 wires and a #18 pilot. In the case of Quick Charge Power the 40A cable is smaller than their 30A cable.
Similar threads
