I own a 30A 1772 from my Nissan Leaf. I plan to use this as my home charger. Is anyone else doing this? What do you think?
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ww73
Member
I did exactly the same. Just get an extra j1772 adapter for home.
If the cable doesn't reach, get a J1772 extension cord called the jlong.
If the cable doesn't reach, get a J1772 extension cord called the jlong.
Yes... I have a Chargepoint CT-500 that I use at 30A, 240V... So, getting 7.2kW off it. It gets the job done.
I have a 30 A J1772 that my utility installed when I bought my first Volt in 2011. It works great with my Model S. It has plenty of power for overnight charging and pre-heating the cabin off shore power only.
Tesla's UMC or HPWC are a little more convenient with the button to open the charge port door.
GSP
Tesla's UMC or HPWC are a little more convenient with the button to open the charge port door.
GSP
Won't the newer cars also open the charge port door if you touch it?
I don't think so, but you can hold the rear button on the remote for 2 seconds to open the charge port. You can also open it from the touchscreen before you exit the car. It is plenty convenient enough, but having a button on the UMC or HPWC plug is just a little bit nicer.
GSP
the charge ports open up if you push it when the key FOB is nearby. I use do the same with my J1772. I just use the adapter. No need to buy or pay extra to get the NEMA 14-50 installed just to charge. I also have 2 EV so I just swap the charger when one is done. Moreover, you can just keep the portable charger in the car for those road trips.
I have never needed to charge faster than my j1772 rate at 30A 240V. If I ever needed faster charge rate in a pinch I just head to my local supercharging station.
Thanks for the info. My local supercharger is about 20 minutes away so although not far it definitely isn't that convenient. I guess i will have to do some more math to figure out the hours per charge and guesstimate charging times from average battery percentage. Considering I will probably never go from < 10% to Full unless I am returning from a long trip.
The difference from 30 amps to 40 amps is about 6 - 7 mph. If you are charging overnight it isn't going to matter as you will be fully charged after 8-10 hours either way. If you are charging for just 1-2 hours the difference is very small. If I thought I was going to frequently need fast charging at home I'd upgrade all the way to a 100 amp circuit and get the upgraded charger option so you can charge at 58-59 mph.
I am using a 30A leaf charger and it works just fine.... It you place it on a 30A dryer circuit don't forget to dial back the charge rate to 24A....
I have NEMA 14-50 in the house and just installed a HPWC running at 56A (13.44 kW)... There's a destination charger about 1 mile away that has a 80A HPWC. And supercharger 10 miles South and 20 miles North...
And I've had to use the NEMA 14-50 twice when I figured I needed to recover faster than the 30A would have provided me... in 3 years of ownership.
jgs
Active Member
Nothing wrong with the J1772, but no advantage to using it either other than you don't have to put in even the small investment to install a NEMA 14-50. The UMC has a few slight advantages --
- Button on UMC handle is slightly more convenient and undeniably slicker than tapping the charge port to open it.
- If you like to have your J1772 adapter with you in the car (and who doesn't?) then you have to move it back and forth, or buy a spare. If you buy a spare, you should factor that cost against the (probably small) cost to install a NEMA 14-50.
- The UMC charges a bit faster (assuming the circuit is rated for 50A). Mostly not going to matter on an overnight charge, but sometimes maybe?
- Button on UMC handle is slightly more convenient and undeniably slicker than tapping the charge port to open it.
- If you like to have your J1772 adapter with you in the car (and who doesn't?) then you have to move it back and forth, or buy a spare. If you buy a spare, you should factor that cost against the (probably small) cost to install a NEMA 14-50.
- The UMC charges a bit faster (assuming the circuit is rated for 50A). Mostly not going to matter on an overnight charge, but sometimes maybe?
I don't want to just leave this bit of misinformation hanging around here unanswered.
It's a J1772 charging station. It tells the car already through the signaling of the J1772 protocol correctly and exactly how many amps are available. You don't ever need to adjust the charging rate in the car when using a J1772 charging station.
The only time manually adjusting the amps comes into play is if you are using one of the UMC adapters on the end for one type of outlet which tells the car the rate to use, but then you are running that plug through a 3rd party adapter pigtail to some other kind of outlet that is at a different current level. For instance, if you are using the 14-50 adapter on the UMC, but are using a pigtail to convert to a 10-30 plug. The car can't see that, so it still thinks 40A is OK, and you have to tell it differently.
I don’t see the advantages in your comments. All of your suggestions seem to assume the cost to install a bigger circuit is just pocket change, which isn’t the case for most people’s situations.
On the old cars that mattered a lot more, where you had to either remember to use the touch screen before getting out, or had to get the fob out of your pocket and hold it for a few seconds. But now that you can just touch the charge port door to open it, it's hardly any effort since you're standing right there.
A spare J1772 is about $95 I think. You suggest that it would be a significant cost versus the cost of wiring and installing a larger circuit, which you describe as "probably small". I guarantee you it's ALWAYS going to be more than $95 to change out the breaker, wiring, and outlet, and usually a few multiples of that $95 amount, so it's not "probably small" for most people. Keeping the J1772 station that is already installed is definitely going to be much cheaper.
It's a 30A charging station, so that would be a pretty bad assumption that it's a 50A circuit. Most of those J1772 stations like that are made to be hardwired on a 40A circuit and provide 30A continuous to the car. And since there isn't a 40A outlet type, there's no way to use that circuit with the UMC unless you pay to do electrical work. But that's a self-fulfilling proposal, then. If you pay for an electrical upgrade, of course you can get the capability for faster charging in some way.
jgs
Active Member
Sure. YMMV depending on what your wiring looks like. I accept that my guess might be completely wrong for "most people" and even if it's not, it might still be wrong for the original poster. That said...
De gustibus. I have a newer car that works as you describe, the button on the handle is still better IMO. Not "get this at any price" better but it does have a certain pleasing elegance. I think it justifies "slightly more convenient". Also, you forgot about the slight inconvenience of removing the J1772 adapter from the car, which does, in my experience, often requiring dinking with the fob.
Depends on how long a run the wiring has to go -- if you have the good fortune to have the panel conveniently situated, I wouldn't expect it to be a deal-breaker. I suppose it also depends on how long you're expecting to amortize the cost over. If you expect to use it for the next ten years, the (say) $200 you seem to be suggesting as a delta works out to something like a nickel a day.
But sure, an already-installed solution is always going to be cheaper than any alternative.
Oh, say, speaking of alternatives isn't there a company that will retrofit a Tesla handle to a J1772 EVSE?
Quite likely I'm an outlier but I have a J1772 station hung off a circuit sized for 50A (though breakered for 40A). See also above.
Trivia: my EVSE (for boring historical reasons) is a Bosch Power Xpress that plugs into a NEMA 6-50.
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