New e+ 62kw - charging confusion.

[repete]

Hi all.
We just received our (grey import) e+ Leaf yesterday. Nice to plug it in and capture some of our 6kw of solar!

I import electric motorcycles, so am moderately familiar with charging batteries generally. What I am struggling with is working out exactly what leads and adaptors I should be buying.

We live in regional Vic and expect to do a reasonable amount of driving away from the major highways, so having a bit of charging versatility could be important.
I'm looking at installing a MyEnergi Zappi charger at home so we can use our solar easily and effectively.
The car came with just the 6/8 amp single phase portable charger (OEM Audio out of NZ) with Type 2 connector.
I've ordered a Type 2 - Type 2 cable for use at public charge stations.

Despite quite a few hours of reading I'm still finding it hard to get it clear in my head what all the public charging options out there are.
My current understanding is:

• Most new charge stations require a T2-T2 cable.
• Some Tesla (non-supercharger) stations allow non-Tesla cars to charge. Pot luck which ones do and don't, seems like you just plug in and see what happens? Any good tips to help find out beforehand and avoid disappointment?
• Older stations have T1 tethered cables so a T1-T2 adaptor is required. Looking on Plugshare it seems there are so few of these outside the city that it's barely worth considering?
• Chademo chargers have tethered cables so nothing required.

What else should I be looking at buying, if anything?

We're still trying to work out all the controls/settings as the manual is Japanese and we haven't yet found the correct manual online.

Thanks in advance.

[brunohill]

What is the maximum AC charge rate on your LEAF 3.5 kW or 7.2 kW? Perhaps you want a 15 amp or a 32 amp portable EVSE as well.

[repete]

Oct 23, 2021 22:13:28 GMT 11 brunohill said:

What is the maximum AC charge rate on your LEAF 3.5 kW or 7.2 kW? Perhaps you want a 15 amp or a 32 amp portable EVSE as well.

I've no clue which charger it has - didn't realise there were alternatives. How would I find out (the manual is in Japanese, so no help there)?

I've also realised that the AC socket is a Type 1. Grrrr. So the T2 - T2 cable I've ordered is not quite so useful.
I think I'll order an adaptor to go from the T2 cable to the car socket. Any comments if the 1m cable type or the solid adaptor plug type are better options, considering convenience, reliability etc?

I seem to recall seeing some mention of a popular relatively inexpensive 15A portable charger but can't find it again. Any suggestions on that front?
15A seems more versatile than 32A. 32A sockets are rare as hens teeth outside industrial sites.

Thanks

[brunohill]

I thought all the Japanese LEAFs had type 1 sockets. The 2013 on wards LEAFs had 7 kW chargers except for Japan and some cheaper models in North America as far as I know, but maybe that changed with the 62 kWh models. I guess it depends on, and I don't know what currents are available from various Japanese power points. I know it is 200 volts single phase and around 350 volts 3 phase. The numbers and units are the same in all languages, so perhaps you can work it out from the manual even though it is in Japanese or it is probably written on the charger in the car somewhere (follow the AC wires from the Type 1 plug in the vehicle). A 15 amp EVSE will be a bit cheaper than a 32 amp one, but most have selectable current levels and could be used on 15 amps as well with an adapter to suit the power points.

[coulomb]

Oct 24, 2021 13:25:58 GMT 11 repete said:

Any comments if the 1m cable type or the solid adaptor plug type are better options, considering convenience, reliability etc?

I can't comment on how usable a 1m cable would be, but I found the adapter to be quite good for my MG (I also have a type 1 Leaf and EVSE to suit, so my adapter is opposite to what you would need).

Coulomb joins the MG ZS EV club.

[rowdyflat]

Probably 4 months too late but i didnt want to answer until I had some worthwhile charging experience in Victoria to share.
Most places have a tethered Chademo DC fast charger, my Leaf charges at about 45 kw up to 80+ % but then slows.eg Euroa , Kyneton , Albury.
Occasionally there is a moderately high speed AC charger at a private facility eg the Oven at Cheshunt with a Type 2 " female" plug and you use your own cord which is type 1 to type 2 if imported.
I havent come across a Type 1 yet but have an adapter.
Generally our destinations eg Motels or relatives houses we just use the AC 10A charger as there is no hurry.
We carry a dedicated 10 m extension cord which is 15A heavier wiring but with 10A plugs .
One lighter cord started to melt on a hot day in the sun carrying 10A continually.
On cloudy days we switch to 6A at home off grid ,otherwise if sunny ,we start about 7 am on 10A as we have about 40kW hrs of batteries to feed the car then later soak up the excess solar .
If you are really keen you can install a 15A circuit and charger at home and you can use the cord at a caravan park or the Hume hwy rest stops that have them for coffee vans .

[brunohill]

It sounds like you may live in Northeast Victoria rowdyflat. I live in the bush west of Wangaratta and to this day the only LEAF I have seen in Australia is the one I used to have. What colour is yours?

[rowdyflat]

Yeah ours is a white 2019 model.
Yackandandah and surrounds have a few Leafs now due to a local , formerly the owner of Jappo Donks now importing , buying and selling Leafs .
There are a blue and white old models locally owned and 2 white ones and he has about 6 at his place both ZE + ZE+ and the older ones.
Our town has an Ioniq and a couple of Teslas and greater than 60% solar panel coverage plus the Indigo power grid, and community battery and about to get some sort of fast chargers in town carparks.
I noticed Walwa has just installed a fast charger which should improve ev tourism.
The Indigo Shire has 2 MG evs which havent been enthusiastically embraced , due to lack of charging and range knowledge.

[brunohill]

 I see Totally Renewable Yackandandah has got a grant from the Victoria government and is meant to have a 50 kW DC charger installed and operational by July 2022. So I guess I won't be the first one to use it (unless there is no Chademo).
I have been to Yack a couple of time is my Kona EV and just got weird frowns from people saying "why is that car making strange noises? "

[rowdyflat]

TRY are very active so it will probably be a Chademo + CCS and as close to the timeline as possible.

[repete]

I haven't been here for quite a while, but seeing this I thought I might as well post an update.

DC fast charging stations are a becoming much more common finally, but still a long way to go before some careful planning is required for longer trips into the regions.
Most stations have at least one Chademo plug to fit the Leaf, but increasingly new stations are heading toward CCS it seems. I'm sure the day will come when there's a nice shiny fast charger sitting before me without a suitable plug.

For daily charging I bought an OpenEVSE charger kit ('kit' is a generous turn of phrase a few screws and your done. No doubt to avoid various support and compliance issues). It's excellent.
We have it plugged into a 32A socket and a current transformer on the house mains provides it with the mains import/export figure. When we are exporting more than 6A the car starts charging and follows the export figure.
I've got some smarts running on our NAS (NodeRed) that automates turning the charger on flat out during our free electricity periods 12-2 Sat & Sun, also delays overnight mains charging until after 9pm off-peak.
You can set how long it charges for or how much power it puts in - makes up somewhat for the lack of comms out of the Leaf itself, lets us semi-manually charge it to approx 70-80% without having to keep an eye on it.

When we travel I set the max charge rate on the OEVSE to 10A then throw it in the car with a 3-pin plug adapter and 15A extension cord with the earth pin filed down to 10A size. Plug and play on any standard power point. If we find a 15A socket, or even better a 32A 3-phase socket (eg at some showgrounds and public reserves) we can plug into that and dial up the current. Control is via a built in wifi webserver - just connect your phone to the unit's wifi and the page comes up.
Highly recommended.

[rowdyflat]

Its now almost 2 years since my last note.
There are now about 20 + Leafs around Yackandandah and we have had the local charging for 18 months.
There are new charging stations nearby along the Hume hwy but Euroa /chargefox is still unreliable , Glenrowan/BP only has 1 Chademo on the north side only 1 out of 8 and it wasnt going on 23rd Dec the rest are CCS ,Avenel /Evie is always working so we go there, Wangaratta has a charger and Bright has one.
Albury /Wodonga is still a wasteland, the Albury charger was in a dumb place and was vandalised and not replaced.
Some people have no brains.
The Japanese car makers have fallen back and may go the way of Kodak and the Chinese have taken off.

[brunohill]

Benalla also has an Evie charger with Chademo. I have mentioned to Itoen, a Japanese green tea manufacturer in Wangaratta, that they need to have a Chademo charger and a tea shop as " the Japanese phrase "o CHA deMO ikaga desuka" (お茶でもいかがですか), translates to English as "How about a cup of tea?", referring to the time it would take to charge a car. One of the Japanese girls that works there tells me her mother has a Nissan LEAF in Japan and some of the senior staff there are very interested in the possibility of setting something up as the domestic market is now growing and they are no longer just exporting to Japan.
 They also have 198 kW of solar panels on their roof.
I see your grey import supplier in Yackandandah is also keen on doing battery upgrades with Chinese supplied batteries. Perhaps in time an economical conversion kit will be available for CCS fast charging. 

[tomkauf]

Jan 6, 2024 1:50:06 GMT 11 brunohill said:

Benalla also has an Evie charger with Chademo. I have mentioned to Itoen, a Japanese green tea manufacturer in Wangaratta, that they need to have a Chademo charger and a tea shop as " the Japanese phrase "o CHA deMO ikaga desuka" (お茶でもいかがですか), translates to English as "How about a cup of tea?", referring to the time it would take to charge a car. One of the Japanese girls that works there tells me her mother has a Nissan LEAF in Japan and some of the senior staff there are very interested in the possibility of setting something up as the domestic market is now growing and they are no longer just exporting to Japan.
 They also have 198 kW of solar panels on their roof.
I see your grey import supplier in Yackandandah is also keen on doing battery upgrades with Chinese supplied batteries. Perhaps in time an economical conversion kit will be available for CCS fast charging. 

Oh wow, in all these years I didn't know Chademo meant that in Japanese 😊. Much nicer than 'CHArge de MOve'...