Carcharging/Blink Reduces resedential EVSE's to 24Amp.

[TimLee]

...
Oh OK. Didn't realize there were TWO problems with the Blink.
...

I knew that Broadway Electric discovered overheating of the termination wires in my original Blink unit in August 2012 when they were doing the corrections that were causing fault problems on many of the Blink units requiring power down resets frequently. They contacted Blink and the unit was replaced under warranty.
But I was not aware of actual fire at the power termination block till I came across the info following info on the change to maximum 24 amps.
See viewtopic.php?f=27&t=14542&start=80#p331686 for info.

I'm not sure Blink has a fix for the termination block.
Ingineer stated it is not adequate for 30 amps. Bit inadequate for 20 amps.

The Blink unit presents some risk at 16 amps, but it is what I have and I am still using it.

But using one at 30 amps is a very bad idea in my opinion.

But my neighbor has been using one at 27.5 amps for his 2013 LEAF SL for about 18 months so far without any detected problems.

[Turnover]

I have been getting a fault code recently. I rebooted the unit yesterday and it seems to be working okay today. Blink has mine at 24 amps. I don't see that as a problem as I only should be drawing 3.3 kWh now and possibly 6.6 kWh if we buy/lease a newer Leaf. We've had our unit since 1/2013 and this is the first problem we've had since some installation issues when it was first installed.

I also have a Jesla and suppose I could pull the Blink and go to a 14-50 if necessary.

I appreciate this thread as it gives me a heads up into what may be going on here. I feel Blink is struggling yet I rely on some of their chargers on longer trips north through Seattle and hope them well.

[karlboekelheide]

It worked fine for me. Just a note - you press and hold whatever number is displayed for max current. In my case that was 16. There is no response until the 10 seconds elapses.

[GlennD]

I have used around 5 Blink cables. The first 2 were new. Of the first 2 one was fine at my 27.5A leaf and one got hot. I resolder all cables I have used "just in case".

You can get them on Ebay for $100 plus shipping. Lately 30A Yazaki cables have been $99 plus shipping. I think it is a better deal for a better cable.

[PlutoISaPlanet]

Got this email from Blink today:

As you may know, in October of 2013, CarCharging acquired the Blink Network and the Blink EV charging stations. While the warranty for the Blink residential Level 2 charging station (Blink L2AC) previously deployed by ECOtality at your residence is no longer active, safety is of the utmost concern to CarCharging. It has come to our attention that there may be safety concerns with some of the cords included on the Blink residential Level 2 EV charging stations.

This concern is related to high temperatures, which can potentially cause overheating. While this may not be a current issue with your charger, as a precaution, CarCharging strongly recommends that you reduce the amperage of your specific charging station to 24 Amps as soon as possible. In all cases where Blink L2 chargers have been rated to 24 Amps, there have been no reported high-temperature or safety issues.

Step-by-step instructions for reducing the amperage of your Blink charging station to 24 Amps are included with this letter.

Please note that most older model EVs whose onboard chargers draw power at lower rates, such as pre-2013 Nissan LEAFs and the Chevy Volt; Therefore, owners of these EVs should not experience a change in charging times due to the reduction in amperage. EVs with higher capacity onboard chargers should still be able to fully charge during a typical overnight charging session.

Please contact Blink Customer Support for pricing and availability of replacement parts. We also invite you to upgrade to our newly designed residential charging station, the Blink HQ (www.BlinkHQ.com). With the purchase of the Blink HQ and upon the successful return of your existing Level 2 charger (shipping box and label provided), you will be eligible to receive a $100 rebate for the return of your Blink L2AC, as well as a $100 credit for the Blink Network, which includes use on any of our public charging stations.

If you have any questions on how to reduce the amperage of your Blink charging station or would like more information on upgrading to the Blink HQ, please contact Blink Customer Support at (888) 998-2546 or support@BlinkNetwork.com

Came here and of course you guys are months ahead of the game. Should I scale mine back to 24A? Will that affect charge times on my Leaf? I haven't noticed any problems with overheating.

[davewill]

Came here and of course you guys are months ahead of the game. Should I scale mine back to 24A? Will that affect charge times on my Leaf? I haven't noticed any problems with overheating.

You may wish to. It's a crap shoot whether any individual unit can actually handle the full 30a without getting hot. It will make a small difference in charge times with your LEAF, which charges at 27.5a, but probably not enough to really care about. The scenario to worry about would be the one where after a while someone tries to use it at 30a, and it's been long since forgotten that it might be an issue...and sure enough it melts their charge port or starts a fire.

[CWO4Mann]

Came here and of course you guys are months ahead of the game. Should I scale mine back to 24A? Will that affect charge times on my Leaf? I haven't noticed any problems with overheating.

You may wish to. It's a crap shoot whether any individual unit can actually handle the full 30a without getting hot. It will make a small difference in charge times with your LEAF, which charges at 27.5a, but probably not enough to really care about. The scenario to worry about would be the one where after a while someone tries to use it at 30a, and it's been long since forgotten that it might be an issue...and sure enough it melts their charge port or starts a fire.

So, will someone with concise answers tell us: Which is the best charger unit which will charge my 2012 to the Max?


Thanks in advance,

[camasleaf]

Came here and of course you guys are months ahead of the game. Should I scale mine back to 24A? Will that affect charge times on my Leaf? I haven't noticed any problems with overheating.

You may wish to. It's a crap shoot whether any individual unit can actually handle the full 30a without getting hot. It will make a small difference in charge times with your LEAF, which charges at 27.5a, but probably not enough to really care about. The scenario to worry about would be the one where after a while someone tries to use it at 30a, and it's been long since forgotten that it might be an issue...and sure enough it melts their charge port or starts a fire.

So, will someone with concise answers tell us: Which is the best charger unit which will charge my 2012 to the Max?


Thanks in advance,

Your 2012 Leaf will charge to Max with any charger rated 16A or higher. I recommend EVSE upgrade http://evseupgrade.com/ wher for about $300 you can have the EVSE (brick) that came with the car upgraded to 240V 16A. You will need a 240V outlet.

[CWO4Mann]

So, will someone with concise answers tell us: Which is the best charger unit which will charge my 2012 to the Max?


Thanks in advance,

[/quote]
Your 2012 Leaf will charge to Max with any charger rated 16A or higher. I recommend EVSE upgrade http://evseupgrade.com/ wher for about $300 you can have the EVSE (brick) that came with the car upgraded to 240V 16A. You will need a 240V outlet.[/quote]


Thank you ! I have the upgrade already so we are good to go then.

Regards,

Dave

[Spies]

Did anyone else notice CarCharging's press release the other day? Perhaps I missed it. Seems they are going to replace the faulty charge cables on commercial units and restore the 30 amp charging but no mention of servicing home units.

CarCharging also intends to replace the cord sets on all of the installed Blink Level II EV chargers in commercial locations and then restore the amperage to its maximum capacity (30 Amps).

http://www.carcharging.com/about/news/a ... -stations/