Advice: What home fast(ish) EV charger are people using?

Forums › Transport (cars, bikes and boats) › Advice: What home fast(ish) EV charger are people using?

russkinz

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#252939 17-Jul-2019 19:13

Hello!

We've just pre-ordered a 2019 Leaf (we considered the Kona/Niro but they felt a bit plastic-y inside, while the Leaf is a bit more luxurious feeling - for $60k+ it's nice to have that; the BMW i3 is ugly as sin and the eGolf doesn't really have the range). Long story short though, it arrives in August (or thereabouts) and we're wanting some kind of at home fast(ish) charging solution.

I had a pretty good search but couldn't find any relevant topics/posts about this, so thought I'd make a new thread... Hopefully if I've screwed up and missed something relevant, you'll be polite and civil and point me to the right place :)

I'm looking for some advice on what home fast(ish) chargers are the best... I've had a look around at the recommended ones from various re-sellers but I do value people's experience over what retailers say, so...

Basic requirements are:

- Single phase / 7kW

- Type 2 (tethered or socket)

- Exterior wall mounted (or pole if we have to)

- Some kind of timer facility so we can plug in when we get home and forget - and it'll only charge off-peak (i.e. Meridian's EV plan which starts OP at 9pm)

- NZ certified is a must

- No need for RFID etc as it'll be on our property

- WiFi/BT/whatever connectivity is a nice to have

- Some kind of well-designed monitoring etc is a nice-to-have

Keen to see people's thoughts!

Cybnate

76 posts

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#2278600 17-Jul-2019 20:46

I had a simple no frills Rolec Wallpod 7kW installed which I bought myself and had it installed by the local sparky.
I bought it with a NZ vendor 2 years ago who no longer operates, but had good experience with Ecogeek when the RCD burned out. Just make sure you have the latest version of the Rolec with better quality RCD's or negotiate a newer quality RCD. This might be the same for other brands. Same for your RCD on your home powerboard. Also had to replace that after a couple of months. I suspect the switching on and off with the night power with 7 kW is pushing the RCDs to the limits. Once both RCDs were replaced no problems, it operates without a hitch for a year by now.

Re timer, I had the Rolec connected to night power so don't need a timer as it only starts anyway once night time starts. If you prefer to have it starting later or only want to charge for a fixed amount of time for some reason you can use the Leaf's timer. That worked well in my experience.
When connected to night power you can't use it during the day though. I don't think it can be connected to both day and night power without some switch. Not even sure if it is allowed legally. Probably cheaper to have two chargers installed or just use the slow charger which comes with the Leaf.

Hope that helps a bit.

Scott3

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#2278627 17-Jul-2019 22:34

What charging gear is Nissan NZ including with the car?

For a comparison, Tesla provide both a wall connector and a mobile connector with all their cars, but the Hyundai Kona & BMW i3 only includes the mobile connector. Nissan's website doesn't state what they include. None of the brands seem to include the the public charging cord.

afe66

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#2278632 17-Jul-2019 22:53

My uk 2015 leaf can use 6.6kwh or 32A or so.

The dealer cable came with 16A caravan plug cable and an adapter to plug into 8A wall socket. So I just got caravan plug installed and charged at 16A with no drama. We probably only do 40km week days so slow overnight charge is fine so never looked into 32aa although the cable that was run can supply 32A

Our leaf has an internal timer so we could limit it to night rate if we wished.

Most useful feature now its winter is the climate timer. As long as its plugged in you can pre warm the car.

russkinz

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#2278787 18-Jul-2019 11:09

Awesome, thanks for the feedback everyone! Didn't know about the internal timer so that's on me!

I've asked the dealer to confirm what comes 'in the box' in terms of cable - that's a good call.

I have been looking at the Wallpod - YHI seem to be the reseller now, so I'll get in touch with them.

qwertee

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#2278948 18-Jul-2019 13:09

Do have a look at the chargers from https://evnex.com/

sorry but I do not have any personal experience of any of their chargers

russkinz

17 posts

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#2278956 18-Jul-2019 13:16

qwertee:

Do have a look at the chargers from https://evnex.com/

sorry but I do not have any personal experience of any of their chargers

Thank you! I'll definitely check them out. NZ owned is a bonus and it definitely offers the extra features at a very reasonable price...

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mummybot

20 posts

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#2279276 18-Jul-2019 20:44

jumping in on this, I recently picked up a 2018 Leaf (ex japan), and was surprised Nissan had removed the ability to limit charging to 80%.

Any of these chargers allow charge limiting? maybe via app?

thanks.

afe66

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#2279309 18-Jul-2019 21:53

I haven't come across anyway of limiting charging to 80% in the new leafs.

Some people have mentioned cutting off power supply before it gets too much over 80% which sounds like far far too much hassle.

Maybe an issue if dc charging regularly over 80% but I wouldnt worry about it with ac charging.

Nissan has been reported as thinking the batteries in the new generation leaf will out last the car itself.

Guilliman

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#2279697 19-Jul-2019 16:09

I use the OEM Audio Portable Charging Box that GVI included when I got it. Wouldn't mind a fixed charger of some kind but we rent :/

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premiumtouring

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#2279766 19-Jul-2019 19:14

russkinz:

Awesome, thanks for the feedback everyone! Didn't know about the internal timer so that's on me!

I've asked the dealer to confirm what comes 'in the box' in terms of cable - that's a good call.

I have been looking at the Wallpod - YHI seem to be the reseller now, so I'll get in touch with them.

I just had my Rolec Wallpod 32A Single Phase 7kw w/ Timer replaced with the Tesla supplied wall charger. The Rolec is a solid unit, very high quality. Bought it direct from YHI. I still have it and all the bits etc if you want it I can let it go for $750. I don't think you can even buy the EVNex's as they're out of stock due to the Vector Charging Trial. I'm in Auckland so PM me if interested.

Linuxluver

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#2283778 25-Jul-2019 23:32

russkinz:

Awesome, thanks for the feedback everyone! Didn't know about the internal timer so that's on me!

I've asked the dealer to confirm what comes 'in the box' in terms of cable - that's a good call.

I have been looking at the Wallpod - YHI seem to be the reseller now, so I'll get in touch with them.

I got mine from YHI a couple of years ago. It's single-phase, 32-amp (7kw) Rolec wallpod. My LEAF is a UK model that can charge at 6.6kw, so it's been really good being able to charge from low to high at home in about 3 hours....instead of the 6 hours JP LEAFs require.

For the first year it was installed I had it on Plugshare. It was the fastest EV charger between Whakatane and Gisborne from May 2017 to early 2018.

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