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Post by stewartm on Aug 9, 2013 21:35:53 GMT 11
My apologies if this sounds dumb, I'm about to buy a LEAF and was wondering do they include a low rate trickle charger that plugs into a standard 240volt socket? I have been told two things from two dealers, one that I need the $2700 Origin unit and the other said there is a slow trickle charger.
Many Thanks Stewart
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marty
Half Charge
I like the idea of free transport....
Posts: 68
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Post by marty on Aug 9, 2013 21:55:36 GMT 11
Hi Stewart,
I am new, as well and learnt do not trust anything the dealer tells you. I had the same thing. The Mitsubishi dealer wanted to tell me the Imiev needs a three phase power outlet and the Nissan dealer I saw wasn't sure when I asked him.
Ideally you want a 15A dedicated circuit for your LEAF but 10A outlets should work if there aren't any high consumption appliances on at the same time on the same fuse.
In a worst case scenario you trip the circuit braker through overload or "blow" an older style fuse. The car should let you know via CARWINGS that it is not being charged ....
You definitely DO NOT need to fork out that much for the Origin charger.
Have a chat to your local electrician....
That is my understanding, at least.
I am sure more seasoned owners will chime in shortly
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Post by Jim Hare on Aug 9, 2013 23:08:09 GMT 11
Welcome Stewart! Great news about the LEAF! It definitely comes with a trickle charger and there are users on this forum that use the trickle charger exclusively. It has a 15A plug on it but only draws 10A. Most users get something called an AMPFIBION, ampfibian.com.au/ That allows you to safely plug in 15A appliances to 10A circuits and has its own breaker. It's slower than more powerful chargers but if you have the time, gets the job done just as well. Again, welcome and congrats on your decision to get a LEAF. They are wonderful! Jim
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marty
Half Charge
I like the idea of free transport....
Posts: 68
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Post by marty on Aug 9, 2013 23:13:38 GMT 11
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Post by leafboi on Aug 9, 2013 23:32:55 GMT 11
Yes Marty found what you should look at. Myself, I'm not a fan of the 'DIY' 15amp to 10amp plug but each to ther own. There are also other fixed options cheaper than the ChargePoint offered by origin like those from estation and cloudnine which have also been mentioned ozleaf.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=everything&action=display&thread=64Congrats on the purchase too!!!
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Post by stewartm on Aug 9, 2013 23:40:52 GMT 11
Thanks folks, appreciate the help. May get one of the level 2 chargers on Amazon as they are around a third of the Origin one.
I have three charge stations near home, two are fast so I think I will be ok.
Cheers
Stewart
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marty
Half Charge
I like the idea of free transport....
Posts: 68
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Post by marty on Aug 10, 2013 9:34:06 GMT 11
Hi Stewart,
thats lucky, where are you based?
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Post by leafboi on Aug 10, 2013 10:10:34 GMT 11
Hi Stewart, thats lucky, where are you based? Exactly my question! Sounds like another Melbourne LEAF could be on its way! I think we are the only city with two fast chargers in the metropolitan area that are in somewhat useful places, for me at least.
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Post by stewartm on Aug 10, 2013 15:55:36 GMT 11
Sunshine coast, Qld
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Post by leafboi on Aug 10, 2013 16:08:09 GMT 11
Where are the fast chargers you have on the Sunshine Coast? I wasn't aware of any there yet. But it's excellent!
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Post by stewartm on Aug 10, 2013 21:45:20 GMT 11
The Organic foodstore at Forest Glen has a Level 2 & separate Level 3. Free to use.
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Post by duncan on Aug 11, 2013 10:39:18 GMT 11
good on 'em. Hopefully there will be an increasing number of places willing to invest.
A market/farm/fruit and veg store 50+klm from the city with a quick charger would be a really smart business decision.
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Post by stewartm on Aug 23, 2013 23:32:01 GMT 11
Just a few more days and the car will be here. Sparkie put in the 20 amp socket on off peak, Clipper Creek 3Kw charger arrived from UK, all waiting for wheels now...
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Post by markrmarkr on Aug 24, 2013 2:29:54 GMT 11
Just a few more days and the car will be here. Sparkie put in the 20 amp socket on off peak, Clipper Creek 3Kw charger arrived from UK, all waiting for wheels now... Picked mine up on Tuesday, and have been driving it for the last three days. I'm really happy with it. You will be too. Wait and see Life has become just one big excuse to drive the Leaf.
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Post by Phoebe on Aug 24, 2013 11:42:46 GMT 11
Just a few more days and the car will be here. Sparkie put in the 20 amp socket on off peak, Clipper Creek 3Kw charger arrived from UK, all waiting for wheels now... Picked mine up on Tuesday, and have been driving it for the last three days. I'm really happy with it. You will be too. Wait and see Life has become just one big excuse to drive the Leaf. Congratulations, Stewart and Mark, life will never be the same again
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Post by stewartm on Aug 24, 2013 12:13:44 GMT 11
Thanks, can't wait. Charger installed and ready. Even cleaned the solar panels on the roof to get a few more watt hours..
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Post by Phoebe on Aug 24, 2013 12:22:33 GMT 11
I am getting more from my solar panels, day by day as the sun gets higher in the sky (at the end of June I was only getting 3 or 4 kwhs per day and now I am getting about 12). You should be getting more, too, Stewart, whether or not you wash the panels
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Post by Feng on Aug 24, 2013 17:10:59 GMT 11
Thanks, can't wait. Charger installed and ready. Even cleaned the solar panels on the roof to get a few more watt hours.. That looks neat, is it just a 15A socket and did you have to change the plug yourself? Was it easy to do? I was close to getting an Origin charger but now I'm tempted to get one like yours if they're still available. I had the pleasure of meeting David from the forum last weekend and checked out his LEAF and charger (red is a very nice colour for a LEAF!). We had a good chat and compared notes about our experiences.
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Post by Jim Hare on Aug 24, 2013 19:44:28 GMT 11
Awesome, more LEAF drivers every day!
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Post by stewartm on Aug 24, 2013 20:43:11 GMT 11
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Post by stewartm on Aug 24, 2013 20:47:10 GMT 11
Hi Phoebe, the panels picked up over 2kwh with a wash. We are in flying fox territory, so a few droppings quickly knock out a panel. Summer will be better though of course..
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Post by Phoebe on Aug 25, 2013 9:29:10 GMT 11
I'm in coal dust country, Stewart, so mine do better with a wash too, unfortunately I can only get at half of them
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Post by duncan on Aug 25, 2013 19:02:35 GMT 11
Wow I love the price of that charger, about $500! It makes the Nissan/Origin monopoly look a bit over the top at $2,500.
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Post by stewartm on Sept 8, 2013 22:40:47 GMT 11
Just a comment, had the leaf about 10 days, very happy. Shows between 180-190km on a full charge, is this normal? Tried both Eco and normal modes. Took it up a steep long range to Montville, went really well. Interesting that it reduced from 130 range to 67' at the top, then back down was back to 95. Very confusing for my wife. Tried the local free charger and its worked well. Certainly I think few people had never seen a car getting charged at the food store. All in all, happy. Only downside is doing a "show and tell" to lots of people who have never seen an EV when you park.
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Post by leafboi on Sept 9, 2013 7:26:05 GMT 11
Hey Stewart,
So glad your enjoying the car!
My car frequently reads out more than expected range. I prefer to watch the capacity bars, they generally give the same amount of km's per bar as it disappears.
Something you will learn. There is heaps of info on the US LEAF Forum about the 'GOM'... Guess o meter as they have aptly named the range estimator.
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Post by Phoebe on Sept 9, 2013 9:37:47 GMT 11
Just a comment, had the leaf about 10 days, very happy. Shows between 180-190km on a full charge, is this normal? Tried both Eco and normal modes. Took it up a steep long range to Montville, went really well. Interesting that it reduced from 130 range to 67' at the top, then back down was back to 95. Very confusing for my wife. Tried the local free charger and its worked well. Certainly I think few people had never seen a car getting charged at the food store. All in all, happy. Only downside is doing a "show and tell" to lots of people who have never seen an EV when you park. Mine also shows over 180 kms on full charge on Eco (I use Eco all the time) but I get about a 140 kms in fact. That range finder really is a guess-o-meter You will get used to how it works, with the range bouncing around depending on the circumstances
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Post by Jim Hare on Sept 9, 2013 10:36:45 GMT 11
Hi Stewart, lots of fun isn't it? It's not strange at all with the range. The LEAF can only assume the current situation is how the entire trip will be. So at the end of a long uphill stint the LEAF says "okay, if this is how the road is, this is how far you can go." But right then you go down hill, and instead of using a ton of power, you are now generating power back to the battery so the LEAF says "hey, this is great! Keep it up and you can go this far!"
So it can only judge on what it feels.
In my experience, on a full charge you can get anywhere from 120km-200km depending on conditions. For me, it's incredibly hilly around me and I do 80% of my driving locally, so I get on the low side.
But this isn't the LEAF's fault, it takes more petrol to drive around my neighbourhood as well so it's all the same. When I get out of my area the range shoots right up.
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Post by Feng on Nov 5, 2013 20:30:31 GMT 11
I've been using the supplied EVSE for the past five months and noticed that the cable from the brick to the handle has started to coil slightly, even when it's fully extended. Think stretched telephone cord but not as severe. Has anyone else who charges with the supplied EVSE have this happen to theirs? It looks like it's deforming internally from the constant winding and unwinding. We're gentle with it, I don't think it's serious but I now want to fasttrack my purchase of another EVSE and preserve this one.
Phoebe, yours doesn't count since you use it so rarely!
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Post by Phoebe on Nov 6, 2013 11:31:45 GMT 11
I've been using the supplied EVSE for the past five months and noticed that the cable from the brick to the handle has started to coil slightly, even when it's fully extended. Think stretched telephone cord but not as severe. Has anyone else who charges with the supplied EVSE have this happen to theirs? It looks like it's deforming internally from the constant winding and unwinding. We're gentle with it, I don't think it's serious but I now want to fasttrack my purchase of another EVSE and preserve this one. Phoebe, yours doesn't count since you use it so rarely! ;D Yep, mine is coiled up in its' case most of the time and still looks in 100% Condition I never fully extend it, should I
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Nov 29, 2013 8:08:10 GMT 11
Imiev is curling acmotor's too Betterplace mennekes to j1772 cable as well Uwa men to j cable
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