Nissan L1 EVSE third-party upgrade to both 120V and 240V

planet4ever said:

Phil's unit won't give you 12-13 miles per charging hour. More like 9-10 miles. It's still limited to 12 amps, just at double the voltage, so double the miles of 120v.

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Agreed. You quoted my comment referring to L2 charging during the day (at full spec L2/16 amp stations).

When describing Phil's unit , I said:

"In our case we added 20 kWh (80+ highway miles (at 56 mph)) to our battery in 8.5 hours of overnight charging using the modded Nissan L1 charger in our friend's garage (using a 240V circuit with a NEMA 6-20 receptacle)."

Which calculates at 9.4 miles per charging hour. Matching your calculation exactly!

With Phil's unit, you can start charging after arrival, go out to dinner in the LEAF, charge overnight, run out for coffee/breakfast in the LEAF, top off while you pack, and then drive your full 80+ miles that afternoon.

With the stock L1 charger you'd miss the flexibility of these extra side trips because you'd have to stay on the charger most of the time (needing a full 20 hours).

Or at least feel a little anxious about it, right? :roll:

Sockets, Plugs, and Safety:

1. All live sockets are a danger, especially to inquiring childern who might stick things into them.
Other countries use safety sockets where the "hot" openings are shuttered.

2. Any power cord or extension, to any appliance, light, computer, etc. can be partially pulled out by a child, exposing live contacts.
Other countries have safety sockets where the hot contacts disconnect before they are exposed.

3. Animals or children might chew on live cords, where old, weak, brittle, cracked, or previously chewed cords are a significant danger.

Perhaps, just perhaps, the relatively unsafe sockets and plugs in use in this country are STILL the "standard" in the 21st century to help weed out the gene pool? :lol:
(OK, you might be offended, but do you KNOW the real reason?)

I do not suggest that anybody do anything dangerous, like drive, walk, fly, take medications or drugs, eat unhealthy food, work or live in tall buildings, use electricity or machinery, play sports, etc. However, many choose to do these "dangerous" (see national cause-of-deaths statistics) activities.

The perils of living are many, and training children how to handle hot liquids should be a parental task, not the responsibility of a fast food store selling "hot coffee"!

You have to admit though, there is a big difference between all the activities you mention and having a cord with a male plug be "live". Even those of us that are experienced engineers would be surprised (ZZZZZaaaaat!) by such plug!

(Note to self: When visiting Gary's house; TOUCH NOTHING! =)

just discovered this! I'll definitely be ordering one. Although, just curious why is the price so high for just a mod?

Hey, I have one of those too! I use it to back-feed my generator to the house panel through the welder connector.

Ingineer said:

You have to admit though, there is a big difference between all the activities you mention and having a cord with a male plug be "live". Even those of us that are experienced engineers would be surprised (ZZZZZaaaaat!) by such plug!

(Note to self: When visiting Gary's house; TOUCH NOTHING! =)

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IBELEAF said:

just discovered this! I'll definitely be ordering one. Although, just curious why is the price so high for just a mod?

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First off, The upgrade is not just a "mod", it's a a rather significant part of the original design that has been re-engineered and upgraded.

As it is, we may have to stop offering it, because it's just taking up too much time. While the upgrades themselves aren't killing us, it's all the admin stuff. Rather than read the forums, people prefer to send us emails constantly with questions which have already been answered ad-nauseum. In addition, people can complicate a simple upgrade by deciding they want to use some obscure shipping company instead of UPS, or worse, drop it off in person and talk our ears off. If I had all the time in the world I wouldn't mind, but I already have a day job, and the upgrades are cutting into my work!

So as of now we are no longer accepting in-person drop-offs/pickups and we ONLY ship UPS.

If someone thinks our price is too high, then please do not avail yourself of our services. Go buy a $700 AV unit and put a plug on it.

-Phil

Again I was just curious about the pricing thinking that it was just a mod, it didn't have any intention to offend the maker of this.

IBELEAF said:

just discovered this! I'll definitely be ordering one. Although, just curious why is the price so high for just a mod?

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So high????

And you'd do it for how much after figuring out the design, spending the time, offering a warranty, etc, etc? Most folks have no clue what it takes to do something like this... I bet Phil is just making enough money on this endeavor to cover the aggravation of the whole thing. We all should be happy it is as cheap as it is.

Malcolm

Ingineer said:

First off, The upgrade is not just a "mod", it's a a rather significant part of the original design that has been re-engineered and upgraded.

As it is, we may have to stop offering it, because it's just taking up too much time. While the upgrades themselves aren't killing us, it's all the admin stuff. Rather than read the forums, people prefer to send us emails constantly with questions which have already been answered ad-nauseum. In addition, people can complicate a simple upgrade by deciding they want to use some obscure shipping company instead of UPS, or worse, drop it off in person and talk our ears off. If I had all the time in the world I wouldn't mind, but I already have a day job, and the upgrades are cutting into my work!

So as of now we are no longer accepting in-person drop-offs/pickups and we ONLY ship UPS.

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Phil,
I hope you continue to offer your services to upgrade the Nissan L1 EVSE. I am interested in the upgrade. Unfortunately my LEAF may be in Long Beach or elsewhere (week of Apr 13 delivery) so still waiting. What are the chances of you having some available at the next Bayleafers meeting in May?

I loved my Clipper Creek that Ecotality took back when they installed my Blink. I asked them if I could buy it so I could install it at our warehouse for the rare but perhaps necessary charge when our Blink dies, but they are using them for another project. Ecotality offered to sell me another Blink for $1400, so in comparison this upgrade is a great deal. If you think about it, it should even cost more than an AV unit because it is compact and always travels with you. I ordered mine today.

-u

Well of course this upgrade is a great deal, that's a no-brainer. If Phil has to 86 the project because a few idiots can't pay attention or follow directions it will be a very sad day in the community.

And if Phil shuts it down before *I* take delivery I'll have him give me the addresses of a the worst offenders and pay them a special "visit". :x

z0ner said:

And if Phil shuts it down before *I* take delivery I'll have him give me the addresses of a the worst offenders and pay them a special "visit". :x

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I can take south of Pendleton. :evil:

linkim said:

Phil,
I hope you continue to offer your services to upgrade the Nissan L1 EVSE. I am interested in the upgrade. Unfortunately my LEAF may be in Long Beach or elsewhere (week of Apr 13 delivery) so still waiting. What are the chances of you having some available at the next Bayleafers meeting in May?

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I can't promise anything, but if we have any completed units, I'll bring them!

-Phil

Thanks everyone for the support!

I'd appreciate it if people would first read the posts here, and/or check our web site before asking questions. Yes, I know there are a lot of posts, but one of the reasons is because of all the questions! One trick that helps, is to start on the last page and work backwards.

Also, please do not PM me here. If you do have a question after at least skimming the posts, please use the form on the web site, as then any of us (I do have some help now) can answer you and I can concentrate on getting the upgrades out.

We are having a surprising amount of people want second units, or already upgraded units. The problem is Nissan has a limited supply and we are having trouble maintaining stock. We will get the units in, but be prepared for at least a week delay in some cases. If you can find a unit at your local dealer, then this may actually be a faster option.

Thanks!

-Phil

The already upgraded units are the only option for someone who leases.
Thanks for your inventiveness....
Thanks for your hard work.....
Thanks for offering an alternative..

hodad66 said:

Thanks for your inventiveness....
Thanks for your hard work.....
Thanks for offering an alternative..

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+1

hodad66 said:

The already upgraded units are the only option for someone who leases.

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Not really. I'm confident there will be a forum member happy to trade straight up if it turns out I need a stock one at the end of the lease.

hodad66 said:

The already upgraded units are the only option for someone who leases.
Thanks for your inventiveness....
Thanks for your hard work.....
Thanks for offering an alternative..

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Thanks for your Thanks!

If you lease, there are plenty of cheaper alternatives!!!

You can go ahead and get your unit upgraded, then before the Lease expires, simply show up at your local Leaf enthusiasts meeting and offer a "free" upgrade to anyone. (or post it here) Guarantee someone will take you up on your offer, and you simply swap with them. This way the upgrade gets to benefit someone else in the community!

You can also simply cut the L6-20 plug off and wire in a standard 120v replacement plug. The unit will then be indistinguishable from the original. This is kind of a waste at this point, as the EVSE will get sold to a new owner who will probably send it to us for upgrade! =) I'd rather see you trade it!

If somehow you don't want to do ay of the above, simply buy a new unmodified one at that time (Probably be cheaper by then too) and sell the modified one on ebay or keep it for your next EV.

-Phil

To all,
I highly recommend this upgrade. It works as advertised plus Phil turned my EVSE around in one day! And, the unfinished pig-tails at $20 each are an absolute bargain. Those who think this is an expensive 'mod' really have no clue how little Phil is really making on this; considering parts and time, quite possibly less than zero.
Thank you sir!
-Corwin

I personally thank Phil for his efforts and beg of him to save one slot for me when my car comes.

By the way, Phil, I used to sell mods for the Prius on priuschat, but the people who want you to go stand in line at USPS for an hour to save $5 on shipping drove me crazy, and people wanted me to come down in price even though it was already reasonable, would insult me if I wouldn't hold their hand on installation, etc.

My advice for dealing with them? For you own sanity, set up take-it-or-leave-it terms; demand that everyone who wants to do business with you do it your way, and those that cannot accept that go away.

We'll help you out as well: deflect everyone to the forum. Ignore the idiot emails, we'll answer the questions here. And flat out don't sell one to anybody who sounds clueless.

I, for one, am extremely grateful that you are doing this and appreciate it immensely.

Now, Nissan, where is my car?

Nate