[richard isgar]

Hi all, collected the new Leaf today, happy days! However, my issues are not car related but charger related! When we bought the car we were not informed that the free home charge installation would only be done if we had our own driveway! The car is parked at the back of my house on a resident car park approx 3ft from by back gate. The car park isn't a public throughway and the land is technically privately owned! Still, british gas refused to install the point even though the charge point itself would be on my land!!
Sooooooooo, how on earth do i go about getting a charge point fitted? is it something i can buy from a wholesalers and get an electrician to fit? Based in manchester, so if anyone knows of anything around this way it would be helpful.
Apart from this the car is epic!

regards all

A slightly charging stressed richard

 

[Nick]

Does the cable need to cross a footpath or other public land to reach your resident's space?

 

[Scott McConnaughie]

I just got one installed and it is out the back of the house in a carpark!
Try contacting:
MCC Energy
6/7 Robinhood Business Park
Dublin 22
IRELAND
Tel: +353 1 450 6 450
Mobile: +353 87 2844 824
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.mcc-energy.com

They have engineers all through the UK and they might be able to help you

Goodluck i hope you get sorted

 

[Robwiz]

Congratulations on your new LEAF. Happy days!

You could get an external 13A socket installed by an electrician on your nearest outside wall then use an EVSE (the brick type charger with a conventional plug with three square pins between your outside socket and the LEAF.

 

[richard isgar]

Does the cable need to cross a footpath or other public land to reach your resident's space?

Hi there, no, the cable runs from the consumer box in my house, out into the garden and down the garden path, attaching to the wall of the garage on my land!! they say that because the car is parked on the other side of my gate on the car park that they won't fit it. The connecting point on the front of the car is about 2 ft from my gate!!! its ridiculous!!!!

 

[Dean Hamer]

Hi Richard

I think Nick is asking is the cable from the Charging unit (on your garage) to your car crossing a public footpath. I.e will a public member trip over your cable.

Any competent electrician can fit a charging unit on your garage. Its essentially installing a single radial socket.

With the regards to the cost of the installation it could vary, due to the electrician running the cable through your house from your consumer unit this is very time consuming and will add up in labor costs. If you could run the cable ready for him through your house the cost of labor will be less. Infact you could run the cable the whole length, and even fit the charger on your garage wall ready for him to connect up both ends of the cable and then test to reduce labor costs.

In my opinion an electrician shouldn't charge you more than 2 hours work for it really if you run most the cable, so whats that £150?

Due to the cable running in the garden you should really use armored cable. I would run a 3 core 6mm2 armoured cable for a 32A installation, but check with your electrician first as your installation specification may vary depending on run length and the location of the cables being run. H07 cable is also used in installations as its alot more flexable than armoured, its a tough cable but it doesnt offer the mechanical protection like the armoured.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/6mm-x-3-Core-Rubber-Cable-H07-H07RNF-HO7-HO7RNF-CUT-TO-LENGTH-/261554685810?pt=UK_BOI_Materials_Supplies_Electrical_ET&hash=item3ce5dfc772

I would highly recommend a Rolec charging unit like this;

http://www.naturalsparx.co.uk/product/2500511332/Rolec-WallPod-EV-HomeCharge-16amp-5-metre-lead-J1772-(type-1)

This would set you back £350ex VAT. £420ish + Vat.

Or as @Robwiz suggested you could get a good quality weatherproof 13A socket for around the £30 mark if you are happy with the slower recharging time. Though I would get a purpose built charging station myself.

Goodluck!

 

[Steve Thayne]

Can you not just get a type 2 socket installed on your garage wall within your land? Then provide your own type 2 cable. Is no business of theirs how you manage it from there. And the type 2 socket future proofs you for future use.

Or alternatively a tethered unit within your garage but within reach of your parking space?

 

[Dean Hamer]

Can you not just get a type 2 socket installed on your garage wall within your land? Then provide your own type 2 cable. Is no business of theirs how you manage it from there. And the type 2 socket future proofs you for future use.

Or alternatively a tethered unit within your garage but within reach of your parking space?

As part of the OLEV grant. One of the stipulations is that the domestic property needs to have offroad parking.

 

[Steve Thayne]

Does the garage not count though?

 

[Steve Thayne]

If you have to pay for it you can get past the last couple of foot gap. There was an early ev driver ten years ago or so in London who went through the hoops needed to get his charging post the road side of the pavement outside the front of his terrrace house.

 

[richard isgar]

Hi Richard

I think Nick is asking is the cable from the Charging unit (on your garage) to your car crossing a public footpath. I.e will a public member trip over your cable.

Any competent electrician can fit a charging unit on your garage. Its essentially installing a single radial socket.

With the regards to the cost of the installation it could vary, due to the electrician running the cable through your house from your consumer unit this is very time consuming and will add up in labor costs. If you could run the cable ready for him through your house the cost of labor will be less. Infact you could run the cable the whole length, and even fit the charger on your garage wall ready for him to connect up both ends of the cable and then test to reduce labor costs.

In my opinion an electrician shouldn't charge you more than 2 hours work for it really if you run most the cable, so whats that £150?

Due to the cable running in the garden you should really use armored cable. I would run a 3 core 6mm2 armoured cable for a 32A installation, but check with your electrician first as your installation specification may vary depending on run length and the location of the cables being run. H07 cable is also used in installations as its alot more flexable than armoured, its a tough cable but it doesnt offer the mechanical protection like the armoured.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/6mm-x-3-Core-Rubber-Cable-H07-H07RNF-HO7-HO7RNF-CUT-TO-LENGTH-/261554685810?pt=UK_BOI_Materials_Supplies_Electrical_ET&hash=item3ce5dfc772

I would highly recommend a Rolec charging unit like this;

http://www.naturalsparx.co.uk/product/2500511332/Rolec-WallPod-EV-HomeCharge-16amp-5-metre-lead-J1772-(type-1)

This would set you back £350ex VAT. £420ish + Vat.

Or as @Robwiz suggested you could get a good quality weatherproof 13A socket for around the £30 mark if you are happy with the slower recharging time. Though I would get a purpose built charging station myself.

Goodluck!

hi there, many thanks for the reply.
Will require approx 30m of cable to reach the end of the garden!!! Is the radial socket just a 5 or 7 pin socket that i plug into? sorry for the ignorance, electrics aren't my strong suit!!!! i take it i can then just buy the connecting cable to the car?

many thanks

richard

 

[kentish zoe]

Sounds like they are being jobsworths but if you don't qualify for the free charger then your local council should put one in the road for you under the alternative OLEV funding - you might end up with 2 !!

 

[richard isgar]

Sounds like they are being jobsworths but if you don't qualify for the free charger then your local council should put one in the road for you under the alternative OLEV funding - you might end up with 2 !!

What annoys me is that the land the car is on is residents only parking and residents only garages! its not a public thoroughfare so people don't walk past, if you are there then you are a resident. the car will be parked outside my garage which is next to my gate, if you trip over the cable then you are prob in the process of robbing my car or my garage! Im asking them to install nothing on public land, everything will be contained on my property!! So annoying!
basically if yo haven't got a driveway then you can't benefit!!! a lot of people out there without off road parking
1

 

[GBEV]

You could be forgiven for thinking the OLEV subsidies are a means of wealth transfer from the poor to the rich

 

[Nick]

I suspect that OLEV's concern is about cables trailing across pavements between houses/gardens and cars parked at the kerbside.

If however the car is immediately outside your garage which is immediately adjacent to your garden with no land that you don't own between garden and garage, then it may simply be that the installation cost exceeds the value of the grant for your 'free' charger. However if there's any ground that you don't own between garden and garage then you may need a new metered supply to the garage, and that could be big bucks.

 

[kentish zoe]

Can't do any harm to try some of the other suppliers .
Rolec fitted ours via a local spark at no cost and were very gelpful.
My understanding is that you need off road parking not a drive so garage should qualify.

 

[Wowbagger]

Can your car not fit in your garage? Could you get the charge point put in there?

Regarding on-street public charge points, I understand, from having consulted Maidstone Borough Council, that for those points to be fitted the local authority has to apply for that grant - it's a different pot of money from the domestic units.

 

[richard isgar]

Can your car not fit in your garage? Could you get the charge point put in there?

Regarding on-street public charge points, I understand, from having consulted Maidstone Borough Council, that for those points to be fitted the local authority has to apply for that grant - it's a different pot of money from the domestic units.

Hello,

Garage has two vespas and two motorbikes in, nowhere else to park them!!! plus full of land rover spares!!!
not even sure a leaf would fit in anyways, or it would go in but i wouldn't be able to get out of the car!!

 

[Wowbagger]

But do British Gas need to know that?

 

[richard isgar]

But do British Gas need to know that?

No they don't. So tell them to fit in the garage? I personally thought the 30m of cable required from the consumer box in the house to my preferred charge point location would be an issue, but apparently not!! said that was the easy bit!! Annoys me that for the sake of 3ft of cable to the car, which i connect and own, they won't install!!! grrrrr.