Can I charge my Nissan leaf anywhere with L2 charge?

[Londondrug]

Sorry for this dummy question. Never pay attention to those EV charge station before. If I get a Nissan leaf, can I easily charge my car with L2 charge station anywhere like gas station? I don't need L4 fast charge option or so, just in case if someday I miscalculate the distance and find a way to get back home with the car by finding a station for adding 10-20 miles by L2 or so.

 

[LeftieBiker]

Yes, you can - provided it's a public, unlocked station and it's turned on and working properly.

 

[henrydehoja]

If you find yourself at a L2 Tesla Destination charging station -- or similar L2 station with a NACS/Tesla plug -- then you will need a plug adapter (NACS-to-J1772) to use it.

For all other L2 stations, you will easily be able to use them.

 

[cwerdna]

Sorry for this dummy question. Never pay attention to those EV charge station before. If I get a Nissan leaf, can I easily charge my car with L2 charge station anywhere like gas station? I don't need L4 fast charge option or so, just in case if someday I miscalculate the distance and find a way to get back home with the car by finding a station for adding 10-20 miles by L2 or so.

You should use Plugshare to (app or web site) to find them. Filter by J1772. Look at ratings and recent check-ins. Some may be inaccessible or often broken. If you have the CHAdeMO inlet for DC FCing, include that too. If you miscalculate, you probably want to DC FC as L2 is pretty slow.

 

[Londondrug]

If you find yourself at a L2 Tesla Destination charging station -- or similar L2 station with a NACS/Tesla plug -- then you will need a plug adapter (NACS-to-J1772) to use it.

For all other L2 stations, you will easily be able to use them.

Do I have to carry a portable cable or some kind of adapters to use those open non Tesla L2 station?

 

[cwerdna]

Do I have to carry a portable cable or some kind of adapters to use those open non Tesla L2 station?

I'm unclear where you're at. If you're in the US, all public level 2 J1772 charging has cables tethered to the station. You don't need to carry anything.

For Europe, most AC charging requires the driver bring their own cable (e.g. Mennekes Type 2 to Type 2 cable or Mennekes Type 2 to Type 1). We don't have Mennekes Type 2 in the US. There are some other plugs in Europe that I can't elaborate on w/any accuracy.

 

[Londondrug]

I'm unclear where you're at. If you're in the US, all public level 2 J1772 charging has cables tethered to the station. You don't need to carry anything.

For Europe, most AC charging requires the driver bring their own cable (e.g. Mennekes Type 2 to Type 2 cable or Mennekes Type 2 to Type 1). We don't have Mennekes Type 2 in the US. There are some other plugs in Europe that I can't elaborate on w/any accuracy.

Thanks you so much for the information. Luckily enough, I am in the US.

 

[hradek]

Plugshare app when you have your model entered into it will list all charging options wherever you are? Google maps too will give you charging options but not as well updated. You want to follow up the charging information with a check using the app specific for the charger when possible before making any stops. Read reviews in the plugshare app for location information and when the charger was last used and check in the charger specific app to see if it is networked, all useful information on the status of the charger.

 

[cwerdna]

Thanks you so much for the information. Luckily enough, I am in the US.

Cool. What is CHAdeMO charging? a bit past halfway down has a visual aid of the plugs. All US Leafs have J1772 inlets for level 1 and 2 AC charging.

Per specs tab of 2024 Nissan LEAF Press Kit, all '24 US Leafs have quick charge inlet for CHAdeMO charging. It's been optional on previous model years, depending on the trim level but IIRC, it should be standard on all US '12 to '17 SL trims (for SV and S, it's more complicated). Again, if you want to add about 10 to 20 miles of range while on the road, you'd be far better off finding a CHAdeMO station.

Unfortunately, CHAdeMO is pretty much toast in the US. Most non-Tesla EVs with DC fast charge capability went with CCS1 (see above page) for DC FCing. Electrify America had been installing only 1 50 kW CHAdeMO plug at each site vs. multiple 150+ kW CCS1 plugs at each site w/some being 350 kW.

Examples:
https://www.plugshare.com/location/198205https://www.plugshare.com/location/186852https://www.plugshare.com/location/197258https://www.plugshare.com/location/342680
In theory, new EA sites outside California starting in 2022 will have 0 CHAdeMO: Electrify America Will Begin to phase out CHAdeMO In 2022.

Prior to EA's CHAdemo sabotage, most other non-Tesla DC FC providers installed a pretty even ratio of CHAdeMO vs. CCS1 plugs throughout their network. But, that's started to change.

And, most automakers selling BEVs in the US have decide to adopt NACS (Tesla's plug) for eventual access to Tesla Superchargers, even Nissan (Nissan to adopt North American Charging Standard (NACS) for Ariya and future EV models doesn't help Leaf). Click on Automakers at Tesla NACS Charger Adoption Tracker - EVStation to see the status for the various automakers.

 

[bruceha2000]

So what is the owner of a CHAdeMo equipped Leaf to do if the CHAdeMo stations aren't being installed in favor of CSS1, presumably to eventually also be tossed in favor of Elon's version given the manufacturers like Ford saying they will go with Elon? Is there a CSS1 to CHAdeMo adaptor and an Elon to CHAdeMo adaptor? I don't see any with a Google search.

I see plenty of CSS to Elon adaptors and Elon to J1772. I ASSUME the 2 connectors in the Leaf don't just come together under the hood to a common charger because that would be too convenient and allow AC or DC charging in 1 unit thus charging with said adapter would result in L2 AC charging times.

Near as I can determine there is no CSS1 to J1772 adapter, one would have to buy a CSS to Elon and an Elon to J1772 and stack them.

Nothing like being the unwanted stepchild of the EV world.

 

[henrydehoja]

So what is the owner of a CHAdeMo equipped Leaf to do if the CHAdeMo stations aren't being installed in favor of CSS1, presumably to eventually also be tossed in favor of Elon's version given the manufacturers like Ford saying they will go with Elon?

You can always visit the available public charging stations that have a CHAdeMO plug. I have no problem finding them in my area.

Is there a CSS1 to CHAdeMo adaptor and an Elon to CHAdeMo adaptor? I don't see any with a Google search.

(I expect you mean CCS1, instead of CSS1.)
There is a CCS1/2-to-CHAdeMO adapter in the works:
https://a2zevshop.com/products/dc-ccs1-to-chademo-adapter-125a-500v

Near as I can determine there is no CSS1 to J1772 adapter, one would have to buy a CSS to Elon and an Elon to J1772 and stack them.

The CCS1 plug/port is for supplying DC power. The J1772 plug/port is for supplying AC power. So, I see no benefit for a CCS1-to-J1772 adapter and doubt that one will be commercially available.

 

[SageBrush]

Cwerdna's advice to rely on plugshare is spot on. The comments tell you if the location is operational. The flip side is to add a comment of your own after yoiu visit a location. Help others, as they help you

 

[dhyatt]

Sorry for this dummy question. Never pay attention to those EV charge station before. If I get a Nissan leaf, can I easily charge my car with L2 charge station anywhere like gas station? I don't need L4 fast charge option or so, just in case if someday I miscalculate the distance and find a way to get back home with the car by finding a station for adding 10-20 miles by L2 or so.

The issue is that they are 3.3kw chargers... My home charger is a 6.6KW charger. If you charge with a 440v fast charger, then you will dramatically shorten battery life.
3.3kw chargers.. hurry up and wait and very expensive per mile if you have to pay for them.. they gave your tax dollars to build them, and the companies operating them are charging ungodly amounts to use them.
Should have used market forces, where chargers are a shopping or workplace benifit.

 

[SageBrush]

The issue is that they are 3.3kw chargers...

A few public stations are, most are not.
However, some of the older LEAFs are limited to 3.3 kW

 

[marshallinwash]

they gave your tax dollars to build them, and the companies operating them are charging ungodly amounts to use them.

That's not always true. Here in Tacoma, they are charging $0.21 a kWh to use the L2, Flo stations installed by the local utility.

I don't think we have any 3.3 kW public chargers here. Most are 7.2 kW or 6.48 kW.

 

[bruceha2000]

You can always visit the available public charging stations that have a CHAdeMO plug. I have no problem finding them in my area.

I'm thinking about future installs if they aren't going to install CHAdeMo anymore. For example when my daughter was in college in New Brunswick Canada just a couple of years ago there was no way we could have driven the Leaf. There were hardly any J2771 stations and no DC stations on most the route. I see there are some CHAdeMo chargers now, some charging by the kWh (also a parking fee with them) some as much as $20/hour to charge. But if the one machine you need is out of service, there isn't another one for a LONG distance. Doesn't sound like that will improve if they are only installing CCS plugs or NAC.

 

[cornbinder89]

Ok, I think I see the confusion here. Lets start with some basics.
The J1772 plug is for level one and level2 charging and supplys AC current to the onboard charger
The Chademo Is DC fast charge only, so Leaf's with fast charge have two sockets on the nose J1772 and Chademo
CCS-1 has BOTH AC and fast charge DC on one plug. CCS stands for "combined charging standard" so only one socket would be required for both AC and DC fast charging.
To adapt a CCS to a Leaf for fast charging you would need a lot of electronics and a Chademo plug to fit to the Leaf.
In Europe, there is CCS-2 which adds being able to charge from three phase sources and has a 3rd current carring wire. We don't have that here, due mainly to the common 3 phase voltage in the US being higher than the plug is rated for.
To Adapt a CCS plug for a Leaf, it requires figuareing out what is powering the CCS plug, is it 240V AC or DC fast charge? Remember the CCS protocol does both, it uses the same plug for high current AC and DC, so the car has to know which device to connect the power too, Straight to the battery for DC input or to the charger for AC input. This is why it is not simple to swap between types. With the J1772 plug and Chademo being completely separate there can be no mix-up.
Most chargers with CCS-1 for level 2 will also have a J1772 option. That is not true where the CCS-1 is used for DC fast charging.
The CCS allows for less room needed for the plug, which is why it is taking over, only one plug slightly bigger than a J1772 will be all that is required. The Chademo system has its advantages as well, but requires its own dedicated socket on the car, and doesn't require the electronics to switch between supplying AC and DC over the same cables (at different times of course).
This may help:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combined_Charging_System