Nissan L1 EVSE third-party upgrade to both 120V and 240V

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Yanquetino said:
Here's an obviously novice question. Is Nissan's L1 EVSE designed for the entire planet, but simply "enabled" for 120V (U.S.) or 240V (Europe) when shipped? In other words, does this upgrade simply tap into the European components already inside? Or are they entirely different animals, depending upon the side of the ocean to which the LEAF is destined to be delivered?

I ask because, if it is a "generic" cordset, I suppose that someone visiting Europe could conceivably buy one from a Nissan dealer, bring it home, and swap the plug to accommodate an array of U.S. 240V adaptors. I am probably missing a crucial detail, however. :?


Surprisingly; They are different. Different software along with many different components.

Same for the Japanese version, even though they use the same outlets we do!

Word is the EU version is only 9 amps, so yes, you could order an EU and swap the plug, but you'd lose 7 amps (only ~2kW of charge) AND the ability to charge at 120v. This is why we bothered to come up with the upgrade.

-Phil
 
Ingineer said:
Surprisingly; They are different. Different software along with many different components.

Same for the Japanese version, even though they use the same outlets we do!

Word is the EU version is only 9 amps, so yes, you could order an EU and swap the plug, but you'd lose 7 amps (only ~2kW of charge) AND the ability to charge at 120v. This is why we bothered to come up with the upgrade.

-Phil
Thanks, Phil! That is surprising. Conversely, I presume that your upgrade will work in EU as well as their dedicated model, and probably better --as long as one used a proper plug adaptor. Who knows? You might get some orders from overseas!

For the life of me, I can't imagine why Nissan didn't design the cordset to function like your upgrade, anywhere in the world, except with different plugs.
 
Yanquetino said:
Thanks, Phil! That is surprising. Conversely, I presume that your upgrade will work in EU as well as their dedicated model, and probably better --as long as one used a proper plug adaptor. Who knows? You might get some orders from overseas!

For the life of me, I can't imagine why Nissan didn't design the cordset to function like your upgrade, anywhere in the world, except with different plugs.

Exactly! I'm baffled. It's not even Nissan, It's Panasonic! (Who should know better!)

We could also supply someone in the EU or UK with a 12A version (we can also fit the proper plug), instead of the 9A version that comes with their Leaf.

-Phil
 
Ingineer said:
We could also supply someone in the EU or UK with a 12A version (we can also fit the proper plug), instead of the 9A version that comes with their Leaf.
I can't help but wonder what the standard household circuit is over there? Ours is 120v 15a, so to give the standard 125% buffer they used 12A here. I'm wondering if the standard circuit over there is (via reverse math) 240v 12a (and thus you risk popping the breaker by running a continuous 12a)? Does anyone know?
 
GeekEV said:
Ingineer said:
We could also supply someone in the EU or UK with a 12A version (we can also fit the proper plug), instead of the 9A version that comes with their Leaf.
I can't help but wonder what the standard household circuit is over there? Ours is 120v 15a, so to give the standard 125% buffer they used 12A here. I'm wondering if the standard circuit over there is (via reverse math) 240v 12a (and thus you risk popping the breaker by running a continuous 12a)? Does anyone know?

13A
 
Ingineer said:
Well then you'd definitely be cutting it close running a 12A EVSE on a 13A circuit. Probably fine though. Curious that they went with 9A, because working backwards from 13A would give you 10A with the 125% buffer. Oh well. :cool:
 
Ingineer, have you looked at the Volt charger at all? It's selectable for 8 or 12 amps; I'm curious if it's ready for 240.
 
Here's my "quick" review on the EVSE Upgrade of the Nissan 29690 Level 1 EVSE.

I carefully packed up my freshly unpacked and (quickly) tested Nissan 29690 Level 1 EVSE and shipped it UPS Ground from West Linn, Oregon to Berkeley, CA on Monday, March 28th. Shipping ended up being $13.41 including $700 insurance.

Phil received the unit on Wednesday, March 30th and at 1:35 pm sent me an email stating it was ready to go, but that I didn't order a 120 volt pigtail adapter, wanting to know if that was intentional (and to let him know if I wanted one before UPS stopped back by to pick up shipments). I quickly let him know that I already had a good collection of NEMA L6-20 adapters and that I was ready to go!

He emailed me the tracking number at 1:51 pm on Wednesday and let me know it's on the way!

This morning at about 10:30 am, UPS stopped by the office with my awesome gift. Phil was really too kind and even returned the packing peanuts I wished were gone forever in my life... :D

I got home this evening and tested it out on a 30 amp, 240 volt circuit I have for my dryer and everything worked like a champ. Also went ahead and tested it on a 20 amp, 120 volt circuit (not GFCI protected) and worked as well. I'll be testing it on a GFCI protected circuit in a couple of weeks (for sure, but might end up find one earlier than that) and will post if I experience any issues.

For the price, you can't beat having a nice, small, stock looking EVSE that can do Level 1 and Level 2 charging. I will definitely be promoting the upgrade at our next Oregon Electric Vehicle Association meeting and will encourage all LEAF owners to get it done, and maybe convince some Volt owners that are having troubles with their Level 1 units to buy already upgraded units from Phil.

Thanks again!
 
GeekEV said:
Using the simplest math, we know the current LEAF's internal charger has a max rate of 3.3Kw. The L1 EVSE has a max draw of 12A, which at the modified 240v works out to 2.88Kw. Therefore, 2.88Kw / 3.3Kw = ~87% of the rate of a "normal" EVSE *for the LEAF*. Obviously the number would be different if used with other cars...
My measurements at my house in early January just after I got the car indicated charge rates of:

120.4v * 11.94a * 0.98 = 1408w on the L1 evse that came with the car, and
245.0v * 15.55a * 0.98 = 3733w on the L2 clipper creek

for an L2,
assuming 240v at 15.5a with a PF of 0.98 yields = 3645w

and for a modified L1
assuming 240v at 11.9a with a PF of 0.98 yields = 2799w

...or about 0.77 pu charge (2799w/3645w) rather than 0.87. The obvious difference here is my Leaf (and I'm assume others too) charges at greater than 3.3kw. So with an estimated range adder of 11-12 mi per hour of charge at somewhere in the 40-60% SOC neighborhood at 240v, 15.5a, this will get reduced to 77% of that or 8.5-9.2 mi per hr of charge using the L1 modified evse (or 30% more time to get the same ooomph back in the battery...15.5/11.9).

Given the same supply voltage (240v) and nominal currents (12a and 16a) the ratio comes in at 12/16 or 0.75 or 33% ((1/0.75-1)*100) longer to charge using the modified L1 evse. Certainly still beats hands down the 267% increase it takes with an unmodified L1 evse (3763w/1411w at nominal values). Enough so for me that I just ordered my mod from Phil an hour ago (thanks for the service Phil).

Malcolm :geek:
 
Nissan's L1 EVSE is deigned for USA 120v only, and does not have components inside that will tolerate 240v. DO NOT try to connect the "stock" L1 EVSE to 240 volts!

See the L1 EVSE modification to L1 AND L2 posts (in this thread) for more info on dual-voltage conversion and usage.

Edit: I was responding to a post that suggested that the stock unit might work worldwide, and thus the USA L1 unit might be suitable for 240v use. Maybe I accidently read an early post in this thread. Sorry.
 
LEAFer said:
The 125% buffer is a US thing that they don't have in EU.
I was wondering about that. It may not be required over there, but the laws of physics don't change just because you're in the EU. If a continuous load is likely to cause a breaker to trip prematurely due to heat (which is what that 125% NEC is for), wouldn't that be just as likely in the EU? Or are their breakers made differently than ours?
 
DarkStar said:
Also went ahead and tested it on a 20 amp, 120 volt circuit (not GFCI protected) and worked as well. I'll be testing it on a GFCI protected circuit in a couple of weeks (for sure, but might end up find one earlier than that) and will post if I experience any issues.
I tested mine on a 15A GFCI in my garage and it worked fine.
 
garygid said:
Nissan's L1 EVSE is deigned for USA 120v only, and does not have components inside that will tolerate 240v. DO NOT try to connect the L1 EVSE to 240 volts!

See the L1 EVSE modification (to L1 AND L2) thread for dual-voltage usage.
I'm confused. This is the mod thread. And who was suggesting plugging a stock unit into 240v (except at the very beginning of the thread where we were speculating)?
 
breakers don't trip easily on resistive loads, which is what charging is. I've charged an Ebox at my house on a 50amp breaker at 50amps; no issues. The ACP tech told me they do it all the time. I've also seen this done on a manzanita 50amp charger hooked to a RAV4; the owner stated that he charges this way every day and the breaker never blows. I've also heard that the margin is only required for permanently wired circuits; that temporarily connected devices may use the entire amp rating according to NEC (national electric code).

Nate
 
Yanquetino said:
Here's an obviously novice question. Is Nissan's L1 EVSE designed for the entire planet, but simply "enabled" for 120V (U.S.) or 240V (Europe) when shipped? In other words, does this upgrade simply tap into the European components already inside? Or are they entirely different animals, depending upon the side of the ocean to which the LEAF is destined to be delivered?

I ask because, if it is a "generic" cordset, I suppose that someone visiting Europe could conceivably buy one from a Nissan dealer, bring it home, and swap the plug to accommodate an array of U.S. 240V adaptors. I am probably missing a crucial detail, however. :?


No, the units are definitely not universal. At an absolute bare minimum one would have to replace the 120v transformer in the US model to work @ 240v. So, as Gary advises (and I think it does bear repeating for the newbies), do not try to plug a stock US unit into 240v.
 
mwalsh said:
Yanquetino said:
Here's an obviously novice question. Is Nissan's L1 EVSE designed for the entire planet, but simply "enabled" for 120V (U.S.) or 240V (Europe) when shipped? In other words, does this upgrade simply tap into the European components already inside? Or are they entirely different animals, depending upon the side of the ocean to which the LEAF is destined to be delivered?

I ask because, if it is a "generic" cordset, I suppose that someone visiting Europe could conceivably buy one from a Nissan dealer, bring it home, and swap the plug to accommodate an array of U.S. 240V adaptors. I am probably missing a crucial detail, however. :?
No, the units are definitely not universal. At an absolute bare minimum one would have to replace the 120v transformer in the US model to work @ 240v. So, as Gary advises (and I think it does bear repeating for the newbies), do not try to plug a stock US unit into 240v.
:?: Huh...? I must not have been clear in my question: I wasn't even thinking of plugging an unmodified U.S. version L1 EVSE into a 240V receptacle --nor would I!

I was simply wondering whether Ingineer's upgrade merely "enabled" the same 240V internal components found in the EU version. He clarified above that this isn't the case because the cordsets destined for the U.S., E.U., and even Japan markets are entirely different animals. He also clarified that, with a proper plug adaptor, one could conceivable use the 240V E.U. version in this country, but with lower amps than with his upgrade, and not with 120V.
 
Yanquetino said:
:?: Huh...? I must not have been clear in my question: I wasn't even thinking of plugging an unmodified U.S. version L1 EVSE into a 240V receptacle --nor would I!

I was simply wondering whether Ingineer's upgrade merely "enabled" the same 240V internal components found in the EU version. He clarified above that this isn't the case because the cordsets destined for the U.S., E.U., and even Japan markets are entirely different animals. He also clarified that, with a proper plug adaptor, one could conceivable use the 240V E.U. version in this country, but with lower amps than with his upgrade, and not with 120V.

OK, I think I see now. It was the "enabled" statement in your comment that threw me, because there is that 120v internal transformer that differs in the US version even if everything else were to be the same.

So the second part of your question - buying a European set and removing the plug in favor of a US 240v plug of some description - I can't imagine why that's not possible. One wonders though just how many amps it will deliver. Do we know that yet? I mean, it's possible to find standard sockets in Europe offering anywhere from 10a to 16a, depending on the country. The one thing I can't imagine is Nissan offering a 10a unit for Italian and Swiss deliveries and 16a units for deliveries to Benelux countries (though I suppose anything is possible).
 
mwalsh said:
Yanquetino said:
So the second part of your question - buying a European set and removing the plug in favor of a US 240v plug of some description - I can't imagine why that's not possible.

It is also 50Hz instead of 60Hz. Perhaps someone can bring home a Nissan charger from the UK and see?

I'm heading to London in July; how would I get a Nissan dealer there to sell me one ?
 
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