New Leaf Owner, what home chargers did people buy?

[BadQ45t]

So as per my title, I just bought the wife a Leaf. maybe this cancels out my Q45's V8 and my lead foot .

so as per my question, any real owners out there suggest a charger. I thought I was going to be getting a free one via EV Project as I got the SL with quick charger but my zip code didn't qualify.

Thanks in advance.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Isn't Nissan just about to release their next gen home charger/quick charger? I thought it was roughly half the size and price of the older model.

[nissangirl74]

Here is a link to the front page of our Leaf forum. There are several links on here about the different chargers / systems. Hope this helps.

http://nissanleafforum.com/

[BadQ45t]

Thanks, I was hoping someone had tried one of these out. I was told one dealer that the charger would be installed for free, unfortunately he didn't mention that you had to be in a specific zip code to get it!!! Since he did't sell me the car (I bought a 2011 to avoid the price increase and he had only 2012) I cannot yell at him. This is still 2k I didn't plan to spend.

Apparently there are few different models and companies out there just hoping someone had experience with one or the other. I hope I don't wish I had bought a (gasp) Prius instead as this was already 10k more (but you get some rebates to offset that increase) and now has another 2 grand in charger install. The trickle charger it came with is nearly useless as it takes 21 hours for a full charge.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

I took a good solid look at these ones when I was in Tennessee, and I was pretty impressed with their size and simplicity. Not sure how much they cost though:


http://ralphmc.wordpress.com/2011/07/16 ... -stations/

Its the Blink L2 charger.

[nissangirl74]

The trickle charger it came with is nearly useless as it takes 21 hours for a full charge.

Runs on 110?

[nissangirl74]

I hope I don't wish I had bought a (gasp) Prius instead as this was already 10k more (but you get some rebates to offset that increase) and now has another 2 grand in charger install. The trickle charger it came with is nearly useless as it takes 21 hours for a full charge.

I hope you don't regret it either. Greg bought me an Insight for my daily commute for less than the Leaf rebate. It costs pennies to insure, gets a discount to register, and it gets 62 mpg. I hope the Leaf proves to be worth the cost.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Well it sure is winning all sorts of awards... so yeah, hopefully its worth it and it doesn't become the next delorean.

[BadQ45t]

This I can tell you, the ride, handling and acceration of the Leaf is not in the same category with the Pruis never mind a 10 year old Honda. The Leaf drives great, has amazing options like full full voice recognition, perspective navigation, XM premium radio, back-up camera, LED headlights, electric power steering, and lots of other stuff.

So while this is an expensive car, for my wife to commute back and forth to work in, she wanted something cooler that got great gas mileage and also provided a green foot-print. We went the way of the cheap car last time, she drove a 99' Sentra since 03' and ran it from 23k to 98k. It was a great car but I wasn't interested in 100k upkeep etc.

Thus the Leaf....the only real alteratives for us was Prius which wasn't cool, was really slow and too common in the Bay Area, or the Volt which was really expensive. BTW, the insurance companies give you great rates on insurance for the Leaf, my payment for the car only went up $50 bucks for 6 months over the Sentra due to electric car discounts available.

[SteveTheTech]

After reading the last post I was searching for the explanation thread.

Great story, even better location to buy one of these. Which charger have you had/will have installed? The Aerovironment unit seems to be the standard at the moment.

It takes a few brave and patient folks like you and your wife to make this type of technology work. Marketing these cars as bargain to operate vehicles is kind of a bust, but the insurance savings is a definite win. No matter how you slice it is a beta program, there is very little infrastructure to support a vehicle.

Does driving an EV catch any attention in the Bay area or are there enough Teslas now that there are waiting lines at the few public chargers?

[dmuramoto]

This I can tell you, the ride, handling and acceration of the Leaf is not in the same category with the Pruis never mind a 10 year old Honda.

Have to disagree with you on the performance of the Leaf. After first testing it in Franklin, TN and then at a race track this past summer, the Leaf was much better and faster than either the Prius or the Lexus CT200h. The Li-ion battery pack gives the Leaf a low CG, which really aids handling. The eco-tires don't have a lot of grip, but I could still drive it in a controllable four wheel drift and have a good sense of the car's limits. The Toyota/Lexus hybrids were much softer in handling, braking and acceleration.

As for the Honda statement, I started out racing Honda CRX and Civic Si in SCCA competition and none of the current hybrids or EVs will keep up with those cars.

[SteveTheTech]

I cannot wait to see Infinitis take on the EV using the leaf platform. I bet theirs' will be more refined and tuned for the performance and power that Infiniti is known for.

I think to market a full EV on the highline level though some questions like the ones inspiring this and a few other threads. Hopefully these are slight hiccups from the first phases of going live with something completely different.

Dave would you classify the handling characteristics on par with what you expected from this car given the layout of the power train and battery.


One EV can keep up, using laptop batteries.

[dmuramoto]

The Leaf has nearly a 50/50 weight distribution- not far off what a Z33/34 would have. But balance that against a relatively tall, airy roofline and tires designed for low rolling resistance (not grip) and you get a car of contrasts. It understeers at the limit, but the steering provides sufficent feedback to balance it. The Leaf's handling was a nice surprise and shows the handling potential of EVs.

[BadQ45t]

Well Dmuroto I think we agree, the Leaf handles way better and is so much more fun to drive than a Prius..that was my point. I will be upgrading the tires when the wear out to my sticky mothers', the wife doesn't need to know the details, but thankfully 16" rims still fit some good WR and YR rated tires, she'll never know .

I bought the enviro EV charger, it was a PITA to install as I have a big house and it had a big panel and I had to install a second panel so I could have a second meter. It works great, the wife just started a job where a Blink charger is available so I have to say right now we're rocking it. I have about 400 miles on the car and we both love it. I have taken lots of friends and family for drives and let them drive the Leaf, overall people are blown away at how well it drives and how cool it is...while it was a butt load of money, i have a huge tax break coming and we do not regret it.

I agree we're pioneers, I sort of see me replacing my Q45 in 2017 with a 300 mile range electric car like a Telsa and using the power I have already installed, I am big fan for sure.

[SteveTheTech]

You were able to install the enviro charger on your own? Are you a pro? That's a bit more than diy level stuff right there but it sounds like a fun project. What are you noticing for recharge times? Home recharging has to be one of those thinks that skeptics will have to experience before it becomes more mainstream...well until we can get a hold of a constant stream of high current DC.

I think by '17 the Model S should be well established. Although they are touting 2012 as the year of the Model S given another 5 years they should have a decent share in the market, and with the 85kWh range should not be as much of a concern, couple that with a supercharger and recovery times should decrease over time.
I cannot wait until I get a chance to take a Performance S for a ride...4.4 seconds to 60...it's almost half a second faster than an M56x

[lemketron]

If you need more time to decide, you might want to check out the EVSE upgrade that turns the Leaf's included charge cable from a slow Level 1 charger to a Level 2 charger that charges just as fast as the $2000 wall-mount ones...
http://evseupgrade.com/

I used my upgraded EVSE for several months before getting my EVProject charger installed.

Please also feel free to join the Bay Area Leaf Enthusiasts group. We have monthly meetings around the Bay Area, a mailing list, and a facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/groups/BayLeafs
http://sfbayleafs.org/

[BadQ45t]

I did the AeroVironment charger, I thought about the one that put the link on, but I didn't want to deal with that cord all the time and I wanted my wife to have an easy solution. Now that it is installed I am seriously considering doing that upgrade for 250 bucks, this way you get rapid charging when your a someones house and no other options are available.

For installation, no, god no, I didn't do it myself....I had the Nissan electrican dude did it, but I had to pay an extra 2k for a whole bunch of extra equipment to get the second panel due to the configuration of my house.

I will join the Bay Area club for sure, I am seeing more of them out there....good place to own a leaf.

[Clubchuck1]

My Leaf arrives next week and am scrambling around trying to figure out how to put in a charging station that is simple and easy. I have electriction friends that will help. Am thinking about just getting a 220volt extension cord from my drier plug in and run it to the charging station. Has anyone done this or have suggestions on how to make that work.. Thank you, Chuck