What type of amp charger to buy to speed up charge time

[Lief]

Without buying a level 2. It came with an 8 amp but i heard there is 12 or 15 amp?

Just bought a 2012 white iMiEV($12,500) about 2,000km away(Peterborough to Winnipeg). Cost about $930 to ship.

Car shows 74km fully charged but dealer says it drives alot further then it shows. It has about 34,000kms. What could i really expect driving mostly 0-50kms/hr, 3-4hrs, total 60-80kms a day? I work as a courier.

Also has one remote/2keys. While plugged in, could i warm up my car in the winter months while i get ready?

Proud to be part of the EV family.
Lief

 

[siai47]

Your best bet is to replace the charging "brick" (EVSE) that came with the car for one that will do both level one and level 2 (240 volts). The 8 amp, 120 volt unit is not worth upgrading as the cabling to the connector and internal components are too small. As noted many times on this forum, one route to go is to get a replacement upgraded unit from evseupgrade.com. A unit such as they provide will charge the car at it's maximum rate when plugged into a 240 volt circuit. You can connect multiple input cords to the unit and it will work on both 120 and 240 volts with automatic switching. If you don't want to spend that kind of money, look for a used LEAF EVSE on places like e-bay. They were similar to the Mitsubishi unit but charge at 12 amps, 120 volts out of the box. I believe a modified LEAF unit is what you would get from evseupgrade. BTW--welcome to the forum and your new I-MiEV!

 

[sandange]

Welcome to the forum and congratulations on your i Miev purchase

+1 what siai47 said .
You can also send yours to them and have it up graded but that takes some time that you may not have.

here is a link to a recent discussion on EVSE options

http://myimiev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=3099

If you live in Winnipeg, you will need the 220v capability to preheat the car effectively
and if you want the charge up 50km - 3-4 hours you will need the 220v power supply

 

[wmcbrine]

Without buying a level 2. It came with an 8 amp but i heard there is 12 or 15 amp?

12 amp is the most you'd want to do, unless you have a 20+ amp circuit. (15A circuits are standard for 120V, but you should limit it to 80% for a continuous load.)

But why not level 2?

What could i really expect driving mostly 0-50kms/hr, 3-4hrs, total 60-80kms a day?

It should be doable, but I'd really want a level 2 charger to ensure the car was fully charged the next day.

While plugged in, could i warm up my car in the winter months while i get ready?

Yes.

 

[Lief]

Welcome to the forum and congratulations on your i Miev purchase

If you live in Winnipeg, you will need the 220v capability to preheat the car effectively
and if you want the charge up 50km - 3-4 hours you will need the 220v power supply

Thanks guys, can you elaborate more about the 220v capable plugin i might need. Can i still warm up the car nicely with a reg 120v? I wonder if its a big job to make my plug 220v?

i do live in Winnipeg and have a detached uninsulated garage.

I see a used nissan leaf 12amp charger on ebay for $400 cad total.

 

[sandange]

You will need to upgrade the Nissan EVSE for 110 & 220v capability & have a 220v , 20 amp power source for the more effective preheating and home charging for the i miev.
If you plan to upgrade your car in the future you might want to install a 220v nema 14 50a power source plug

 

[jray3]

Welcome Aboard, Lief.
You could future-proof by using a dual-voltage, adjustable-amperage portable EVSE that'll handle both L1 and L2 charging for just a few dollars more.
JoeS and myself use the Bosch Power XPress http://www.pluginnow.com/power-xpress, which auto-adjusts to 120 or 240V with any plug adaptor you make and is adjustable between 8 and 32 amps, BUT its weakness is that the amperage adjustment requires a tiny screwdriver and removing a rubber plug that is inadequate for full rainproofing. Myself and a couple others made warranty claims for water intrusion. This one also does not charge during preheat, as other EVSE will.

Best company in the business IMHO, as EVSE is the only thing they do, is Clipper Creek. They make a lot of portable weatherproof units at attractive pricing, but do not seem to offer a dual input voltage option. http://store.clippercreek.com/

If you're not worried about full-power charging of your next EV or a car other than the i-MiEV, the AeroVironment TurboCord could be the best i-MiEV option. Dual voltage, portable, and 16 amps. I do not know if it charges during remote preheat or is compatible with the timer. http://store.evsolutions.com/turbocord-ev-charger-c20.aspx