EVSE Overview

[JoeS]

In the United States, the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) has established a standard (J1772) for "safely" connecting an electric vehicle to the grid, utilizing a standard connector and an interface box referred to as an EVSE (Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment) - often called a "Charging Station". As a sefety feature, the EVSE contains some circuitry which ensures the EVSE's J1772 connector is de-energized when the connector is not mated to the vehicle.

Level 1 EVSE = 120vac
Level 2 EVSE = 240vac

The standard for high-power Level 3 charging has still not been firmed up in the United States, and both the Leaf and iMiEV are being delivered with the Japanese-standard CHAdeMO connector, currently an option on the iMiEV.

The battery charger itself is mounted onboard the iMiEV, and can handle either 120vac or 240vac, either voltage coming in through the J1772 connector.

The iMiEV is delivered with a puny Mitsubishi OEM Level 1 EVSE.

The EVSE topic is an extensive one, and is being very thoroughly addressed on the mynissanleaf forum -
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewforum.php?f=26

I would like to suggest that we restrict our iMiEV EVSE discussions to perhaps identifying differences between the "i" and Leaf wherever they occur, and not try to reinvent the wheel. The Leaf forum has extensive information about the pros and cons of different EVSE brands.

The first-generation Leaf and iMiEV onboard chargers have virtually identical specifications: 3.3kW; i.e., nominally 15A at "220vac".

Regarding Level 1 (120vac) charging, our iMiEV Level 1 OEM EVSE limits input current to only 8A, whereas the Leaf's limits it to 12A. These conservative deratings are all aimed at not popping a circuit breaker should other appliances be powered on the same 120vac circuit, which is typically 15A. In the iMiEV's case, this is really strange, as we all had to sign a disclosure form agreeing to having a dedicated "110v" 15A circuit with an "electronic" circuit breaker. Having such a low current rating means it takes an awfully long time to recharge the iMiEV using a standard 120vac wall socket (22 hours from empty). In practice, one could probably get by if driving less than about 40 miles/day and remembering to plug in at every opportunity.

Many owners in the Leaf community have found it advantageous to upgrade the Leaf OEM Level 1 EVSEs to be dual-voltage (thus making the EVSE Level 1 AND Level 2), and a higher current option for EVSEs with appropriate gauge wires:
http://evseupgrade.com/
I know of at least one "i" that has already had their Mitsubishi Level 1 EVSE upgraded to handle 240vac, but I believe there is still a programmed restriction on how much current can be drawn by the vehicle because of the small wires used by the Mitsubishi EVSE.

For myself, I've gone off and bought a SPX Power Xpress EVSE because it is transportable, handles both 120vac and 240vac, and has adjustable input current settings of either 12A or 16A (at both voltages) should I wish to restrict current drawn out of the wall. With appropriate adapters I will be able to plug in and charge my iMiEV virtually anywhere.

If I had the time, I'd prefer to do-it-myself.
Here are three links for do-it-yourselfers:
http://code.google.com/p/open-evse/
http://www.tucsonev.com/J1772EVSE.html
http://modularevpower.com/

What's missing from EVSEs, in my opinion, is an "Energy-Delivered" meter. Imagine a gas station pump with no gauge on it! :roll:

This entire EVSE field is a rapidly-evolving one, and I would expect better, more versatile, and less expensive products in the future.

 

[MichaelS]

Hello,
I just picked up my wife's new MiEV yesterday. She loves te car.

I drive a Leaf purchased in April of 2011.

I have one of the EVSE from evseupgrades for my Leaf and I consider it a must have.

The EVSE from Mitsubishi appears identical to the Nissan one.

I will be testing the upgraded EVSE on the I. I'm sure it will work.

Michael

 

[JoeS]

Hello MichaelS - welcome to the Forum! Yes, my wife can't wait to get her iMiEV.

That will be great if you could let us know how the iMiEV fares with the upgraded Leaf EVSE, both on 120vac as well as 240vac. It will only provide 12A at 120vac, but that is a 50% increase over what the Mitsubishi Level 1 EVSE does.

So, at 120vac, instead of 62/22= 2.8miles/hourcharging you will now have 2.8*12/8= 4.2miles/hourcharging - certainly a little more reasonable number.

Again, congratulations and enjoy your "i"!

 

[rokeby]

First post, been lurking doing basic research since late Dec '11.
(I keep wondering why this site doesn't have a "Newbie" forum...
and a "Thank you" button. :?: )

Anyway...

Thank you JoeS for the L1 with mods/L2 write up. You have
answered a number of questions that I have as I wait for an i(MIev)
test drive.

The local dealer asserts with offhanded vagueness that he'll have
a test drive car as early as late Feb '12...

We'll see, stranger things have happened. :roll:

 

[MichaelS]

Hello JoeS,
Thanks for the nice welcome. I look forward to sharing information on the forum.

I will advise when I have some data.

Best regards,
Michael

 

[Wee John]

Thanks for the report on the EVSE's JoeS. I think I am going with the EVSE Upgrade. I emailed Mark this weekend and this is his response.

Are you working on upgrading the Mitsubishi EVSE?

We are doing them now. The max upgrade is 12A @ 240V by ordering our rev2 upgrade. The EVSE included in the car only has 16G wire which limits the max amperage to 12A because of safety. This will take you from 960 watts to 2,880 watts. We are unable to do an advance replacement at this time as the cord is thiner than the Nissan unit. Your best bet is to order a rev2 upgrade and if you need faster shipping we can assist you with that upon request. For your car your best bet is to send it in for a 12A upgrade by ordering the rev2 upgrade on our site, this will charge your car 3X faster.

Regards,

Mark

 

[jray3]

Thanks Joe, that's a fine summary of EVSE. I'll note that the Blink Level 2 home stations show current and total energy delivered.
I agree with you on picking the SPX unit. Compact, affordable, versatile and powerful. Can you confirm that regardless of the Level 1 EVSE used, the car will only pull 8 amps at 120V? :| I think that's programmed into the car, and isn't a function of the EVSE. A hack to allow more amps at 120V would be very useful. 15 amps at 120V should be well within the charger's cabability, matching the amperage on 240V, and I envision a rocker switch to select hi/lo ampacity for 120V opportunity charging.

 

[JoeS]

WeeJohn, I still don't have my iMiEV and haven't yet decided whether I will upgrade the Mitsubishi Level 1 EVSE since my SPX unit gives me two max current levels at both 120vac and 240vac.

jray3, I was under the impression that the 120vac 8A current draw was limited by the Mitsubishi EVSE and not the charger itself (after all, as you pointed out, the charger is good for 15A at 240vac). Would sure love to have someone confirm that higher current at 120vac is possible if another (non-Mitsubishi) EVSE can provide it. I agree with your comments and suggestions.

 

[jray3]

Okay Joe, I'll try my SPX on 120V. In order to measure the amperage with my kill-a-watt, will have to build the proper adapter instead of just opening the case and 'lifting a leg'.

 

[JoeS]

jray3: perhaps just borrow someone's Nissan Leaf 120vac 12A Level 1 EVSE?

 

[JoeS]

Just to close out the 120vac iMiEV power-input capability question, tests confirmed that the "i" onboard charger can draw at least 1600W at 120vac. For more details, see the Level 1 EVSE discussions http://myimiev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=731#p731

 

[oakvilleblake]

Thinking of doing the evseupgrade.com
Dealer here just told me that a second charge cable would cost me $2,200.00 !! so obviously would be sending off the original that comes with the car.

It looks like there is an option to upgrade the amperage (from regular 8A to 12 or 13A?) in 120V mode. Is this worth doing? Would this fry some other people's 110V regular hh plugs?

What do I need to order and what do I need to tell my electrician?

blake

 

[Don]

Blake,

A 'standard' household socket is rated at 20 amps. To actually deliver that amount, it needs to be wired with 12 gauge wire and be connected to a 20 amp fuse or breaker - This is not always the case in some older houses

If you're having an electrician come out and wire you a new outlet, I would make sure it's a true 20 amp, dedicated outlet (one which does not share it's fuse or circuit breaker with anything else) and while he's examining your breaker box, see if it's possible to add a second outlet and make that one a 240 volt, 20 amp circuit - That way, you will have the option of plugging in your upgraded EVSE into either 120 or 240 volts. If you are contemplating using the upgraded EVSE, I would have your electrician install L6-20S sockets in both outlets, that way the upgraded EVSE will plug in directly with no adapters needed

Any standard household outlet should be capable of 12 amps, so plugging into a friends house to recharge should not be a problem with an upgraded EVSE. The only problem you *might* run into would be if the available outlet was part of a circuit which was also powering something else, like a refrigerator, freezer or washing machine. In that case, if the other appliance was operating when you were trying to recharge, it might trip the circuit breaker. An added plus of upgrading your EVSE is that you could also plug it into an available 240 volt outlet, like the one used for a clothes dryer. All you would need is a suitable adapter plug

You can specify whatever current you would like when you have your EVSE upgraded. They usually set them at about 12.5 amps for both 120 and 240 volts because that's all the wire in the EVSE is capable of. Pulling 12.5 amps with the upgraded EVSE will cause the wire that runs to the car to warm up a bit and if that's at all worrysome (it's 100% safe as the wire is rated for very high temperatures) then you could ask them to set it up for some lower current. It will slow down the charging a bit, but 240 volts @ 10 amps for instance is 2400 watts and that's 2.5 times as much as the stock 960 watts the EVSE came set up for, so it would still recharge about 2.5 times as fast

In another thread, you had an offer from a fellow Canadian of the free use of the EVSE that came with his car while you sent yours off to be upgraded . . . . I would take him up on that! I believe he offered to allow you to send his EVSE off to be upgraded before you take delivery of your car and then you would just give him your EVSE when you get the car - That way you'd be all set for faster recharging from day one

Don

 

[MLucas]

Yes, that is me Don. OakvilleBlake - if you are interested in swapping L1 chargers so you can get this setup just PM me and we'll work out the details.

 

[peterdambier]

Just for the curious, here in germany I was lucky enough to get our i-MiEV with a 240V/16A EVSE supplied. The newer EVSEs are coded for 240V/10A only because our sockets are rated 10A long term or 16A short term use. I have replaced the original Schuko plug with a CEE 240V/16A (blue) plug. That is what hardcore EV people use in europe and in caravan parks in particular. I have built adapters for CEE 400V/16A and CEE 400V/32A (red both of them) and for the infamous Schuko - and I regularly need all of them.

European car manufacturers and electric power dealers are fond of reinventing the wheel, blessing us with jet another plug and socket. Well, I don't have an adapter and I was glad the charge point did accept our i-MiEV as a bike using the local Schuko socket Those "type 2" plugs for germany and "type 3" for france do cost an arm and a leg. If they actually want to deal electricity like holy smoke, selling a golden ash tray first before you can use the socket, let them try. Right now we do have a lot more open CEE sockets than regular charge points.

In case you wonder 400V? That is 3 phase current with 240V each of them. So I actually use 240V/16A only. But you should see faces when I plug in the little i with a big red plug

 

[garygid]

Perhaps post some pictures of your adapters, plugs, etc?

 

[peterdambier]

So here are the pictures:

http://www.piraten-fraktion-bergstrasse.de/AETC/GorillaCharging.html

Take your time, the pictures are big and need time loading.
Feel free to copy and use but please dont upload to sites taking away your copyright (Getty etc).

Cheers
Peter and Karin

 

[marlon]

I'm not sure this is the best place to raise this question but its related to charging and the earlier mention that the charger has no meter. I bought a P4460 Kil A Watt meter that plugs into the garage outlet and then the i miev charge should plug into the Kil A Watt and it meters the current. However, the i miev charger plug won't fit in the meter. The meter works fine with all my house appliances. I called the company and Mitsubishi. No one seems to know. A standard 120v plug is a standard plug, I think. Why won't it fit. The problem seems to be the ground prong isn't quite the same shape.
Does anyone have a meter that they know will work.
Marlon

 

[JoeS]

...However, the i miev charger plug won't fit in the meter....

Marion, I have three Kill-A-Watts (original P4400) and my Mitsu L1 EVSE fits and works just fine. Just check for pin alignement - with the Kill-A-Watt not plugged in, you might use a screwdriver to pry the Kill-A-Watt's internal contacts around a bit to line them up, and don't be afraid to push the Mitsu plug hard into the Kill-A-Watt.