[jontracey]

Today I have a british gas installed 16amp tethered J1172 and besides paying £700 for it when they were not being given away free I have had 2.5 years of trouble free charging for my leaf.

Now I have ordered a model S I want to upgrade to 32amp type 2 before its delivered however there will be a few months where I will need both (only one car charging at a time)

Should I ...

a) install a type 2 along side the type 1
b) replace the current install with a socketted type 2 and have two cables (type 2 to type 2 ) - (Type 2 to J1772)
c) something else

Any thoughts ?

 

[Thomas_Newby]

I would recommend option B. Practicalities aside, I think the socket versions look better too.

 

[Paul_Moxhay]

Having had two EVs in the household for about 18 months there have been very few times that we have wanted to charge both overnight and on the couple of occasions when we did we just used the 10A EVSE on the Leaf. Obviously you know your own usage pattern best but if you wanted just one then I am sure you could easily make do with one for a few months.

You could have them replace the 16A with the new 32A one... that is what they did for me replacing the old Pod-Point unit with a new British Gas/POLAR one. That way you wouldn't have to pay for removal of the old unit. However, I think that if it were me I'd keep the 16A unit going, have the 32A installed and then keep the 16A unit for when friends and family visited with a J1772 car. I'd probably go for the tethered type 2 version so I didn't have to faff around with cables with the Model S. I have never regretted getting tethered and I shall probably try to keep my home unit tethered.

BTW which Model S version have you ordered? I have a test drive in London in a couple of weeks.

 

[fenlander]

I have a very similar problem. Existing Type 1 32A PodPoint (that I also paid for before the grant system) that I need to swap for a Type 2 pending delivery of an i3.

I really don't want to have a Type 2 socket - tethered is far more convenient when it's something you do every day.

My current plan is to try to schedule a Type 2 install as close as I can to my delivery date, and at the same time have an external 13A socket installed. The Leaf can then charge using the brick EVSE during the overlap period.

 

[Kevin Sharpe]

b) replace the current install with a socketted type 2 and have two cables (type 2 to type 2 ) - (Type 2 to J1772)

This is the most versatile solution and allows you to support any car that visits... imagine a 6kW Leaf turns up without a portable EVSE and can't charge

I've used a Type 2 socket for ~3 years without problems... we've also charged dozens of different visitors without having to think about the connector they have on the car.

 

[Paul_Moxhay]

It is the most versatile but I find tethered cables so much better... unless you leave the cable plugged into the socketed version that is then it just becomes tethered

If I had spent £50k+ on a Model S I would want to be messing around with finding and plugging in cables when I got home every night... especially in the wind and rain.

...but everyone has their own priorities I suppose.

 

[jontracey]

I am thinking 2 is the best way forward as kevin suggests it gives the most options, I have a 16amp 2 -1 cable that I can leave attached today for the leaf and when the model S comes just buy 2 cables one for the car and one to leave attached.

Really would like one of the polar type units that have a type 2 socket and a 13 amp socket but without the silly cellphone card reader stuff, that way gives even better functionality

Paul have ordered the P85 with tech package but decided against the glass roof, its nice but realistically this is the UK you dont get to use it that often

 

[Paul]

Glass roof makes more sense in a milder climate than a hot one imho, it's more about light and the feel than temp. gains.

Shame manufacturers couldn't agree on a single standard earlier on, would negate all this.

 

[Paul_Moxhay]

Fair enough Jon. I suppose there is no right or wrong way to do this kind of stuff. It all depends on what appears and what doesn't

If we went for the Model S then it would be the P85 too. Test driving Thursday 16th Jan. I am hoping to drive there from Plymouth and back in a single day in the Nissan Leaf... 540 miles round trip and 4 charge stops each way... this is the kind of trip that the 85kWh Model S would do so much more easily.