You need a 15 amp circuit with 14 or more amps free. That's about 1700 watts. The Leaf charges at about 1200 watts, and you need a safety margin because it will be plugged in for long periods. If your wiring is old, then look for a newer circuit, like a dryer, welder, or washing machine circuit. You don't want to charge on ancient wiring and/or outlets. You may need to run a new circuit from your (hopefully) breaker panel. If you have to do that, then a 240 volt circuit would let you do L-2 charging, with an appropriate charging cable or charging station.
New to Electric and looking to buy a Leaf
- Thread starter Dyno1
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Now can you get a level 1 charger that will charge at a lower amperage than 12 amps so it’s not drawing as much ? I know it would take longer to charge. I am currently not home but will check my breaker panel when I get home . Our home is an older home . My brother has spoken to his friend who is an electrician and will come by to have a look for me . Don’t want to get stuck with a car I can’t charge , that would suck . Wish I looked into this sooner
Good reviews, but like many/most Chinese charging cables it isn't very weather resistant - it seems that the interior is protected from rain ingress by a...sticker??? This would be a good unit for charging inside a garage.
alozzy
Well-known member
The stock Nissan EVSE, that should be included with any used LEAF, will draw 12A as LeftBiker mentioned. That's 120 x 12A = 1.44 kW, more than a powerful hair dryer, but not by much. You should be fine using an existing circuit, as long as no other heavy loads are on that circuit. Otherwise, adding a 15A breaker and circuit should not cost all that much.
Realize that, at a1.4 kW rate, a full charge takes about 15 hours.
Realize that, at a1.4 kW rate, a full charge takes about 15 hours.
cwerdna
Well-known member
I wouldn't buy random no-name EVSEs from places like Amazon. See https://www.chevybolt.org/threads/charge-port-meltdown.39239/page-2#post-621286.Dyno1 said:
Not necessarily. Is it powering anything besides a couple of lights? And if there are lights on the circuit, I suggest you switch to LED bulbs if they are incandescent. Make sure the the outlet isn't worn - the plug has to be a snug fit.
goldbrick
Well-known member
I think it's a great idea to have your electrician friend check the wiring. Figure out which receptacle the EVSE will be plugged into and then check the path from the breaker to there. Hopefully you won't have a long string of 'back stabbed' receptacles or anything. If it all checks out a 15A circuit should be fine, within limits as noted by Leftie. That is what I use in my garage and so far I haven't had any issues, but all my garage lights are LED, I don't have a garage door opener on that circuit, the receptacle I use is 'spec grade', etc.
Probably going to have a level 2 charger installed. I found a charger made in Canada that seems to have good reviews, the brand is Grizzl-e. It allows you to set the amps 16/20/32/40 using dipswitches inside the unit. It's UL and ULC approved and I can get it for just under $600 Canadian which includes taxes and shipping, the unit is $499.
Also tomorrow I am going to go see the 2017 Leaf SV I have mentioned in my previous posts. Besides the battery is there anything I should keep my eyes open for? The owners said that it just dropped to 11 bars recently and the car has just over 48,000kms on it. I did just get me Lelink OBD2 reader but I am hesitant to use it because I have never used it before and do not want to do something wrong that could damage the vehicle since it is not mine and I don't know how receptive the seller would be of my connecting the reader to their car. They have been upfront about everything about the car.
My neighbor has a Hyundia Ioniq and he says that he only charges level 1 because level 2 degrades the battery quicker than level 1, is that correct? I read that it does not because you are charging for a shorter length of time so the battery wouldn't get as hot.
Also tomorrow I am going to go see the 2017 Leaf SV I have mentioned in my previous posts. Besides the battery is there anything I should keep my eyes open for? The owners said that it just dropped to 11 bars recently and the car has just over 48,000kms on it. I did just get me Lelink OBD2 reader but I am hesitant to use it because I have never used it before and do not want to do something wrong that could damage the vehicle since it is not mine and I don't know how receptive the seller would be of my connecting the reader to their car. They have been upfront about everything about the car.
My neighbor has a Hyundia Ioniq and he says that he only charges level 1 because level 2 degrades the battery quicker than level 1, is that correct? I read that it does not because you are charging for a shorter length of time so the battery wouldn't get as hot.
DC Fast Charge, sometimes called L-3, is what can degrade the battery. L-2 is fine as long as the battery isn't hot. It doesn't add much heat, but if the battery is already overheated then it can add more unwanted heat. Don't worry about using L-2.
As I think I mentioned already, make sure that the car has strong heat from the heater. Once in a while the resistance heater (aka PTC) will fail, leaving just the heat pump in cars that have one. That results in weak heat that quits when you need it most - in frigid temps. It's a very expensive repair if the PTC is burned out. Also check the rest voltage (car off for 15 minutes or more) of the 12 volt accessory battery. If it's below 12.3 volts the car may have issues with the little battery draining while the car is off. You can also ask if the 12 volt battery was ever replaced, and subtly listen for hints of it dying for no reason. Other than that, the cars are pretty reliable.
As I think I mentioned already, make sure that the car has strong heat from the heater. Once in a while the resistance heater (aka PTC) will fail, leaving just the heat pump in cars that have one. That results in weak heat that quits when you need it most - in frigid temps. It's a very expensive repair if the PTC is burned out. Also check the rest voltage (car off for 15 minutes or more) of the 12 volt accessory battery. If it's below 12.3 volts the car may have issues with the little battery draining while the car is off. You can also ask if the 12 volt battery was ever replaced, and subtly listen for hints of it dying for no reason. Other than that, the cars are pretty reliable.
goldbrick
Well-known member
Yep, standard type 51R battery although some folks replace them with AGM batteries when they go kaput since the Leaf charging algorithm isn't great and the 12V batteries often don't last as long as they could. The AGM is supposed to be more forgiving of how the Leaf charges the 12V battery. Just as one case in point, my 2017 12V battery just died about a month ago after the car sat for a week in my garage. So I replaced it with a type 35 Optima yellow top AGM. My Costco had the 51R for $99 but had none in stock. The Optima was $270 but it was worth it to me since I plan to keep the car a long time.
The heat pump, if present (All SV and SL models from 2013 through 2017, optional on SV from 2018 through 2020, still standard on SL those years) will provide some heat if the PTC fails, but it isn't a lot in colder temps, and it's pretty much Nil below -2C or so. You don't want to buy a Leaf with a blown PTC.
2013 comes to mind. If there are any other years with a higher rate of PTC failures, I'd like to hear of them. The older Gen I Leafs (2011 & 2012) use a different kind of heating system, but I seem to recall similar failures for them as well.
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