Charging with 240V outlet

We are getting a Leaf on a two year lease to bridge us until my wife gets her Tesla Model X in two years. We have a 240V outlet already in the garage. The dealer tells me the Leaf only comes with a 120V trickle charge cable. I have to spend an extra $1000 to buy a charger that plugs into my outlet if I want to charge faster. I thought the Leaf had a 6.6Kw charger on board. Is there a way for me to charge faster with the 240V outlet without spending another $1000 on a charger? Is there not a cord that will go straight from the 240V outlet to the car?

Ingineer is your guy!
http://evseupgrade.com/

He'll upgrade that 120 volt cable to one capable of also using 240 volts. I've been using mine for over 2 years without any issues!

The confusion is that yes the charger is in the car. The device supplied is an EVSE. This is essentially a smart outlet with protection.

The high price has more to do with the small volume, liability insurance and approval. Most mods and home built units are not UL listed. According to ingineer UL approval costs upward of 25K. This has to be spread out on the limited numbers of EVSE's that are sold.

The cheapest cable and connector that has UL approval sells for $175.

If you're getting a Model X, and it will replace the LEAF, have the electrician wire for either a 50 amp circuit (if you are getting only a single charger on the Model X) or a 100 amp circuit for twin chargers.

Then, have him install a NEMA 14-50 outlet. Make sure that the wiring is rated for 100 amp circuit with 80 amp continuous load, even with a 14-50 outlet. Yes, the electrician will need to use a 50 amp breaker for this plug.

Now, get the LEAF charge cable upgraded for about $300 to 240 volts, either 20 amps or 25 amps. Then, get the appropriate adapter from the L6-20 or L6-30 (whichever your upgraded charge cable has) to the NEMA 14-50 plug.

Now, with the 14-50 receptacle, you can plug in either the LEAF or the Model X (with its UMC supplied with the car with 14-50 plug). Plus, you can mount a Tesla HPWC 80 amp charge station (about $2500) or Clipper Creek CS-100 J1772 (charge Model X through J1772 adaptor, which comes with car) by simply replacing the 50 amp breaker for a with a 100 amp one, and hard wiring the new charge station.

You might consider setting your garage up for two charge stations!

Thanks for the link! I guess I will have to send in my power cord.

I already have two NEMA 14-50 outlets in my garage, each to a 50Amp breaker. One is for my Tesla Model S P85+, and one will be for the Leaf/Model X.

Thanks,
Rick

rdalcanto: The Tesla Model S appears to have three charging options: The MC (Mobile Connector) portable EVSE, the High Power Wall Connector EVSE, and a J1772 adapter. I don't know if the Model X will use the same (or compatible) charging hardware, but from Tesla's website documentation the 1st seems to require a 50a circuit breaker for a 240v circuit and the 2nd a 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, or 100a circuit breaker (depending on what capacity one has available and wants to devote to charging, I think). If my understanding is correct (and this may not be known until closer to the X's availability date), you may have to/want to upgrade your service and/or circuit wiring to use either of those two options. The third option seems to allow you to use any J1772 charging station up to 80a, so if you bought a commonly available 30a EVSE for your Leaf it should be usable for your Model X as well -- and you are less likely to need expensive electrical upgrades. IMHO one usually doesn't need to be able to charge quickly at home since you typically have overnight to charge. The fast charging is mostly useful away from home at times when you are having to travel a long way.

On a side note the MC does not have a J1772 output connector so it is not usable by the Leaf (maybe a J1772 compatible one will eventually be available), but I like the design idea that it has multiple interchangeable input plug adapters available which automatically control the maximum amps output to the EV's charger (NEMA 5-15/12a, NEMA 5-20/15a, NEMA 10-30/24a, NEMA 14-30/24a, NEMA 6-50/40a, NEMA 14-50/40a, and even a J1772/40a?). It is important to note that this scheme ONLY works (2014 NEC code) safely if the receptacle's rated amperage coincides with the circuit breaker rating of the circuit (assumes the circuit wire gauge is adequately large) AND the circuit is dedicated, i.e. has no other outlets.

Yes, the Model S and X can be charged with a simple NEMA 15-40 240V, 50Amp socket. It gives me 30 miles of range every hour in my garage, which is more than enough. The only people who would need a twin charger are those that need to be able to charge at home and need to get back a 260 miles range in just a few hours. The P85 already comes with everything it needs to use a Tesla Supercharger, and get over 200 miles in less than 30 minutes. I'm a little disappointed that the Leaf only comes with a trickle charger, but I guess sending the cord in to be modified for $300 is not too big a deal. I want my wife to be able to recharge mid-day if she is doing extra driving, and get 40 miles of range back quickly.

TonyWilliams: You wrote "Now, get the LEAF charge cable upgraded ... to 240 volts, either 20 amps or 25 amps.". Can you elaborate a little more about the "25 amps" [maximum setting?] availability (I thought 20 amps was the maximum setting currently)?

MikeD said:

TonyWilliams: You wrote "Now, get the LEAF charge cable upgraded ... to 240 volts, either 20 amps or 25 amps.". Can you elaborate a little more about the "25 amps" [maximum setting?] availability (I thought 20 amps was the maximum setting currently)?

Click to expand...

I think 25 amps is an optional max setting. Ask the folks at http://www.EVSEupgrade.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

MikeD said:

On a side note the MC does not have a J1772 output connector so it is not usable by the Leaf (maybe a J1772 compatible one will eventually be available)

Click to expand...

I've been converting these for folks with Rav4's. You just need the Model S UMC ($480), whichever plug you want ($45 each) and the J1772 plug rated for 40 amps or higher ($155 from http://www.TucsonEV.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false.

We do a mil-spec crimp on the power pins. Yes, it will power a LEAF, Model S or X, Roadster (with adaptor), and the Rav4 EV.

Here's one with the PhilS light mod: