Kieran973
Well-known member
Hi all,
Can anyone recommend a good portable level 1 EVSE? My dad bought a Leaf Plus recently. As many here know, the dual 120/240 volt OEM portable EVSE that comes with the Leaf Plus takes up a ton of trunk space (and is largely useless as a real-world 240 volt option), so I'd like to get my dad a less bulky 120 volt portable EVSE plus a 10 gauge extension cord. I see the Lectron level 1 EVSE talked about a lot. The problem is it pulls 16 amps:
https://www.amazon.com/Lectron-Level-Charger-Extension-UL-Certified/dp/B08HHBDQ88?th=1
This seems like a great way for new EV owners to burn down airbnb's, relatives' houses, etc when they plug this into a 5-15 outlet on a 15 amp circuit and then go to sleep. Or would the Leaf (or the Lectron) know to only pull 12 amps on a 15 amp circuit? I'm seeing mixed messaging on this question in some of the customer reviews and company answers to customer questions on Amazon, Home Depot, etc. More generally, why are there so many Level 1 chargers on Amazon that pull 16 amps but seemingly none that pull 12 amps?
I use my Leaf OEM EVSE probably 6-8 times a year, mostly when staying with friends or family who don't have EVs or EVSEs. I know that it's safe to plug into any 110 volt outlet (provided nothing else on that circuit is drawing power while the Leaf is charging) because it only pulls 12 amps. But if my EVSE pulled 16 amps, I would have to verify that every one of these 110 volt outlets is on a 20 amp circuit. Or I would have to constantly verify that whatever fail safe was throttling the EVSE down to 12 amps (either in the car or charger) was indeed doing its job, every single time. How practical is that for the average EV user? At the same time, the Leaf OEM EVSE takes up an annoying amount of cargo space in the trunk. So it would seem that a safe, simple, sleek mass-market 12 amp EVSE would be of value to a lot of EV drivers...
Can anyone recommend a good portable level 1 EVSE? My dad bought a Leaf Plus recently. As many here know, the dual 120/240 volt OEM portable EVSE that comes with the Leaf Plus takes up a ton of trunk space (and is largely useless as a real-world 240 volt option), so I'd like to get my dad a less bulky 120 volt portable EVSE plus a 10 gauge extension cord. I see the Lectron level 1 EVSE talked about a lot. The problem is it pulls 16 amps:
https://www.amazon.com/Lectron-Level-Charger-Extension-UL-Certified/dp/B08HHBDQ88?th=1
This seems like a great way for new EV owners to burn down airbnb's, relatives' houses, etc when they plug this into a 5-15 outlet on a 15 amp circuit and then go to sleep. Or would the Leaf (or the Lectron) know to only pull 12 amps on a 15 amp circuit? I'm seeing mixed messaging on this question in some of the customer reviews and company answers to customer questions on Amazon, Home Depot, etc. More generally, why are there so many Level 1 chargers on Amazon that pull 16 amps but seemingly none that pull 12 amps?
I use my Leaf OEM EVSE probably 6-8 times a year, mostly when staying with friends or family who don't have EVs or EVSEs. I know that it's safe to plug into any 110 volt outlet (provided nothing else on that circuit is drawing power while the Leaf is charging) because it only pulls 12 amps. But if my EVSE pulled 16 amps, I would have to verify that every one of these 110 volt outlets is on a 20 amp circuit. Or I would have to constantly verify that whatever fail safe was throttling the EVSE down to 12 amps (either in the car or charger) was indeed doing its job, every single time. How practical is that for the average EV user? At the same time, the Leaf OEM EVSE takes up an annoying amount of cargo space in the trunk. So it would seem that a safe, simple, sleek mass-market 12 amp EVSE would be of value to a lot of EV drivers...