'Rapid Only' Degradation? also Battery Graph?

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robingouk

New member
Joined
Sep 8, 2019
Messages
4
Looking to buy a used Leaf. Doing so for 'green' reasons - so collateral inconvenience/time isn't a big factor. I do low weekly mileage, don't have a driveway but my small town is rich in having two Instavolt sites, each with two machines that are seldom used. My question is..does charging it on a 'rapid' every time and never on driveway have a significant negative affect on battery degradation? Or is that, statistically or anecdotally, not a huge concern I should be having?
Second question, if I'm allowed a two-fer-one....I'm thinking, rightly or wrongly, of a 24kwh, 3.3kw, 2014 onwards.... if I was to get Leafspy, how do I then know what's "good" or "bad" given age and mileage? Has someone created a graph or something with an axis for age and mileage and then a zone that says "If Leafspy is showing anywhere between 'this' figure and 'this' figure then thumbs up"? If not, how do I make a judgement...even when armed with readout, age, mileage and price?
Ending up buying badly because EV inexperience meant I had to rely on the seller's opinion is a scary thought and when I look at, say Autotrader, I think...how do I start in eliminating them down?
 
When you say "rapid" are you talking Level 2 or CHAdeMO rapid?
I bought a 2017 SV with 54k miles and all 12 bars showing. LeafSpy shows a SOH of 76% and a history of only one quick charge (and over 1800 L1/L2).

If you can afford it, I'd recommend a 30 kWh for the extra nominal range.
 
robingouk said:
Looking to buy a used Leaf. Doing so for 'green' reasons - so collateral inconvenience/time isn't a big factor. I do low weekly mileage, don't have a driveway but my small town is rich in having two Instavolt sites, each with two machines that are seldom used. My question is..does charging it on a 'rapid' every time and never on driveway have a significant negative affect on battery degradation? Or is that, statistically or anecdotally, not a huge concern I should be having?
Second question, if I'm allowed a two-fer-one....I'm thinking, rightly or wrongly, of a 24kwh, 3.3kw, 2014 onwards.... if I was to get Leafspy, how do I then know what's "good" or "bad" given age and mileage? Has someone created a graph or something with an axis for age and mileage and then a zone that says "If Leafspy is showing anywhere between 'this' figure and 'this' figure then thumbs up"? If not, how do I make a judgement...even when armed with readout, age, mileage and price?
Ending up buying badly because EV inexperience meant I had to rely on the seller's opinion is a scary thought and when I look at, say Autotrader, I think...how do I start in eliminating them down?

One thing i noted when I was searching used, albeit I got new in the end, was some sites did better at taking photos of the dash to show you the "life" battery bars. Carmax almost always had a shot of the battery life bars in the dashboard. On the other hand carvana never did, and had nothing in the write ups, as if Carvana basically knew nothing about EVs. Several stories here would confirm that. If it was a short drive, you can easily check it out yourself, but if it was a long drive I'd require a photo of the dash display first before I wasted my time driving to see it, and THEN I'd still check it with leafspy.

As far as charging I can't help. I did use Lvl1 though for about a month before getting a plug installed for Lvl2.
 
The problem with using DCFC all of the time is that while they will work ok in normal temperatures, when the battery gets warm (like from high Summer temps) they heat it too much, pushing battery temps into the 'degradation zone'. Where are you located?
 
Not all Leaf's have a CHAdeMO port. Be sure that you get one that does if you're planning to use CHAdeMO. I think the options vary a bit by year. For example, I think S level trims only have CHAdeMO with the optional 'charge package'.

If your mileage requirements are so low you may easily be able to charge in the driveway using a L1 (120V, 16A) EVSE. They plug into any normal 120V/20A circuit although a dedicated circuit is a good idea for any EVSE.
 
If you are looking for a used Leaf, it does not make sense now adays to even bother with a 3.3 kwh charger... And I would also hold out for a chademo port.

If you can get the 3.3, no chademo for $2-3K less than you were thinking originally, then consider it. But you will always wish you got the upgraded charging stuff..
 
I believe the OP is in the UK (where Instavolt stations exist). This would explain the existence of four CHAdeMO 50kW's within five minutes driving distance of their small town.

The UK has different model designations and option packages, etc. than North America and their cars are assembled in the UK.
 
LeftieBiker said:
The problem with using DCFC all of the time is that while they will work ok in normal temperatures, when the battery gets warm (like from high Summer temps) they heat it too much, pushing battery temps into the 'degradation zone'. Where are you located?

Sorry. Yes I should have made it transparent that I was located in the north of the U.K. - so no extremes of temperatures.
 
robingouk said:
LeftieBiker said:
The problem with using DCFC all of the time is that while they will work ok in normal temperatures, when the battery gets warm (like from high Summer temps) they heat it too much, pushing battery temps into the 'degradation zone'. Where are you located?

Sorry. Yes I should have made it transparent that I was located in the north of the U.K. - so no extremes of temperatures.


In that case all you really need to worry about is the DCFC stations being out of order. That's a real problem in the US, anyway.
 
robingouk said:
LeftieBiker said:
The problem with using DCFC all of the time is that while they will work ok in normal temperatures, when the battery gets warm (like from high Summer temps) they heat it too much, pushing battery temps into the 'degradation zone'. Where are you located?

Sorry. Yes I should have made it transparent that I was located in the north of the U.K. - so no extremes of temperatures.

In case you're not aware of it, https://www.speakev.com/forums/nissan-leaf24-leaf30.130/ is a good UK-based subforum
 
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