[Magical Worker]

Hey guys I’m thinking of possibly buying a Nissan Leaf or Chevrolet Bolt EV maybe this year or next year. But I was wondering wether I can save few bucks when it comes to charging. And I was wondering if it’s possible that if I charge car every night through wall plug would that be enough? Or maybe get a nema 10-30 to nema 5-15 adaptor for the charger that comes with the car. Would that give effficient charging or does it not work like that? I’m willing spend money on dedicated charging station but I also think if there’s chance save money, I’ll rather take that route.

 

[mikegs]

Many people do that, but it depends entirely on how many miles a day you'll average and how many miles per kWh you will get.
As you appear to be in the USA, where you live exactly will be important because cold is the range killer. It'll be your worst winter miles/kWh that will dictate your nightly charge requirement.

Post up more info and you'll get some good answers.

 

[Electric Jamie]

Often it will work out better to get something installed, but it depends on the case.

How many miles a year do you expect to do, and what do you do on a typical day.

Are there convenient public charging points near your home or place of work?

 

[Magical Worker]

@Electric Jamie

Around 12,400 miles a year based on my rough math. I work doing Uber eats so I do drive quite often. As for public charging I downloaded app called PlugShare and if what they are showing is correct there’s quite a few in my area that either are pretty cheap or even free

 

[Magical Worker]

@mikegs

I drive around 30-50 miles a day and live in Texas so it’s very hot and even when it gets cold, it’s like pretty light most of the times except few rare occasions. I’m not sure how many miles kWh I get

 

[mikegs]

I drive around 30-50 miles a day and live in Texas so it’s very hot and even when it gets cold, it’s like pretty light most of the times except few rare occasions. I’m not sure how many miles kWh I get

OK
No Michigan winters, so that's good
Being a little pessimistic as you'll likely have the aircon on a lot, say 3.0 miles/kWh. So 50 miles needs ~17kWh which a 2kW charging brick will need about 8 hours to give you.
So in theory you should be OK and if you have nearby public chargers (preferably rapid rather than fast) you should be covered for the odd occasion you get low during the day.

 

[dk6780]

It also depends on what model LEAF you are considering. With an old LEAF24 you'll be close the limit at 17kWh depending on the degradation on the battery pack. For your type of work a more modern LEAF (30 or 40) or a Bolt will be better.

 

[andrew*debbie]

NEMA 5-15 is only going to get you about 1.5kW. Charging will take forever. It is also very inefficient. You will end up using more electricity.

The adaptor won't change that. A 110v plug is only good for 110volts.


If you already have a good 240V dryer socket, it would be much better to get a charge point that plugs in to that.

Make sure your socket is in good condition. An old corroded one will probably overheat and melt or even catch on fire.

 

[mikegs]

It also depends on what model LEAF you are considering. With an old LEAF24 you'll be close the limit at 17kWh depending on the degradation on the battery pack. For your type of work a more modern LEAF (30 or 40) or a Bolt will be better.

In that heat might it be better to avoid the LEAF anyway?

 

[dk6780]

Presumably just adding a

NEMA 5-15 is only going to get you about 1.5kW. Charging will take forever. It is also very inefficient. You will end up using more electricity.

The adaptor won't change that. A 110v plug is only good for 110volts.


If you already have a good 240V dryer socket, it would be much better to get a charge point that plugs in to that.

Make sure your socket is in good condition. An old corroded one will probably overheat and melt or even catch on fire.

I thought that the LEAF "Granny" charger in the USA was capable of accepting 240v as well as 110v, the only issue being that it is above the voltage specified for a NEMA 5-15?

 

[andrew*debbie]

the only issue being that it is above the voltage specified for a NEMA 5-15?

Sorry for the long answer. No doubt you and the OP already know most of this.

US domestic power is split phase with two hots and a neutral. Either hot to neutral is 120V. Hot to hot is 240V. Like the UK, modern US sockets have a safety ground. Neutral is tied to ground at the breaker box. There are ground fault interupters (GFI), but that is done differently than the UK RCD / RCBO.

Nema 10-30 is the old hot,hot,neutral dryer socket. There is no ground. There is no fault detection. A UK style RCBO won't work because the neutral is meant to carry current. 10-30 is not used anymore but there are plenty around in old houses.





There are cheat 240V adapters. I would't use one. I doubt you can get one at home depot.

Unsafe because:

• Somone could plug a 120V device into the 5-15 socket. Boom and worse, becuase....
• No ground connected to the ground pin of the 5-15.
• If the ground pin on the 5-15 is connected to neutral on the 10-30, the ground pin could be well above ground potential. Oooof
• No GFI
• 5-15 isn't rated for 240V.
• The insulation on the wires connected to a 5-15 plug don't need to be rated for 240V. They might be but who knows.

The 5-15 is rated to 15Amps and the 10-30 is 30A. That's ok, but if you've got a 30A circuit, why not use it?

 

[andrew*debbie]

Too bad the OP doesn't have the modern 4-pin dryer socket.

 

[dk6780]

So based on @andrew*debbie reponses and the 17kWh calculation, the only sensible option is a dedicated charge point.

 

[cah197]

Well 50 miles a day would require around 12 kWh. So quite possibly doable on a granny charger at 110 volts.

 

[mikegs]

Well 50 miles a day would require around 12 kWh. So quite possibly doable on a granny charger at 110 volts.

4+ miles/kWh? That sounds very optimistic.

 

[dk6780]

Don't forget that he has Zoe and is basing it upon that - if he had a LEAF or Bolt as suggested by the OP then .......

I wonder what the Model X achieves?

 

[cah197]

Don't forget that he has Zoe and is basing it upon that - if he had a LEAF or Bolt as suggested by the OP then .......

I wonder what the Model X achieves?

I was being kind, as we don’t know where and how the OP drives his Leaf.

The point is he might well get away with it depending on average daily use and time parked at home.

(I’m sure I manage 4 miles/kWh in the Tesla whilst on Uber duty)

 

[Magical Worker]

Thanks for all the responses. At the end I think I’m going try research how much it would cost to have a dedicated charging station, might just be better doing that at the end. Thank you

 

[mikegs]

I was being kind, as we don’t know where and how the OP drives his Leaf.

Except for:

Hey guys I’m thinking of possibly buying a Nissan Leaf or Chevrolet Bolt EV

I work doing Uber eats so I do drive quite often.

I drive around 30-50 miles a day and live in Texas so it’s very hot

 

[cah197]

Except for:

Well warm weather is a bonus, but if this is suburban stuff then it’s all below 50 mph and life is good.