JESLA

[sTeeve]

I just purchased a JESLA http://shop.quickchargepower.com/JESLA-is-THE-40-amp-J1772-portable-charging-solution-JESLA.htm

It comes with these adapters that make it unique in that it can plug-in to almost any power source.

So I've been playing with it this afternoon. It works great plugged-in to my 240V/50A service in my garage (NEMA 14-50). Spark EV draws 13.4 A, topping out just shy of 3 kW, according to Torque Pro. Not bad (well, really, not so great unless you're not in a hurry, but then that's what DCFCs are for, eh?).

Plugged-in to 120V/15A service. Car starts drawing 8 A. Hmmm. Car is off, so I fire it up, go to the "Energy" screen, change the Amps to 12, car starts drawing 11.8 A. Much better.

So, what I've discovered is that the car's onboard ability to modulate the charging current isn't restricted to the factory EVSE, at least not in the case of the JESLA.

I also noticed that the car seemed to retain the 12 A setting following a disconnect of the EVSE and off/on/off of the, um...well, it's not technically the ignition...power switch?

The JESLA is pretty damn cool (and pretty damn expensive). It tops out at 40 A and has no controls for modulating anything. Very much like Apple computers.

I'll be taking my Spark EV on a road trip at the end of Oct. Atlanta - Charleston, S.C. I'll be making at least 3, perhaps 4 stops at RV parks to charge + 2 DC fast charges, and prolly overnight charging at my hotel. The JESLA weighs a scant 8 lbs; my other semi-portable EVSE, a JuiceBox Pro, is a behemoth at 25 lbs. I had taken the JuiceBox Pro on a couple of road trips, and it works fabulously (took it to track day at Road Atlanta, where my i3 driving buddies wanted to try it out on their EVs). But it really belongs bolted to a garage wall.

-Bob K.

*Edit: Correction. The car does, indeed, change the amp setting back to 8A. A few hours after my tests, I checked the "Energy" screen, and the setting was back at 8A.

 

[dangerHV]

It does look nice, but $1,000 seems too high for a basic unit, even 40 amps. Is that 8 pounds with or without the cable?
I'm just starting to look into EVSE's. Is there a model that can monitor the voltage and/or current to allow owner to adjust maximum SOC% then automatically stop the charge? Example: Normally I only need 40% of a charge for my daily commute, so I "dial in" say 60%. (a little buffer, and it's not nearly dead when I get home) Tomorrow it's the weekend and I need to go further so I "dial in" 95%, and so on.
I think this would measurably increase battery pack life for those of us with "overcapacity" and a consistent usage pattern since keeping these packs near peak (usable) SOC, especially in hot conditions, is a major cause of capacity loss.
Seems pretty simple to me. I must be missing something obvious since I think it would have been mentioned in the forum already.

David

 

[sTeeve]

It does look nice, but $1,000 seems too high for a basic unit, even 40 amps. Is that 8 pounds with or without the cable?
I'm just starting to look into EVSE's. Is there a model that can monitor the voltage and/or current to allow owner to adjust maximum SOC% then automatically stop the charge? Example: Normally I only need 40% of a charge for my daily commute, so I "dial in" say 60%. (a little buffer, and it's not nearly dead when I get home) Tomorrow it's the weekend and I need to go further so I "dial in" 95%, and so on.
I think this would measurably increase battery pack life for those of us with "overcapacity" and a consistent usage pattern since keeping these packs near peak (usable) SOC, especially in hot conditions, is a major cause of capacity loss.
Seems pretty simple to me. I must be missing something obvious since I think it would have been mentioned in the forum already.

David

David,
Yes, it is expensive. I got a discount, but still...

As for your questions: There are EVSEs out there that will display current, voltage, elapsed time, kWh, ad infinitum, but none that I know of that will monitor SOC and stop the charge. The Leaf can stop the charge when you program it to do so, but I think that's only at 80%, and I am not sure that the current models offer that feature any more.

The Blink DCFCs allow the operator to choose a stopping point in 20% increments; I've used that feature a few times when on road trips.

Perhaps some of our more knowledgeable colleagues here can chime in.

-Bob K.

 

[solder]

As for your questions: There are EVSEs out there that will display current, voltage, elapsed time, kWh, ad infinitum, but none that I know of that will monitor SOC and stop the charge. The Leaf can stop the charge when you program it to do so, but I think that's only at 80%, and I am not sure that the current models offer that feature any more.

The Blink DCFCs allow the operator to choose a stopping point in 20% increments; I've used that feature a few times when on road trips.

Perhaps some of our more knowledgeable colleagues here can chime in.

-Bob K.

The DCFC chargers presumably use a much more sophisticated protocol that allows the EVSE to query the car to get its SoC, but there's no way for a standard J1772 EVSE to do this.

The J1772 protocol is actually quite crude, OpenEVSE (which I'm using) documents it at https://code.google.com/p/open-evse/wiki/J1772Basics

Essentially, all it communicates is "am i plugged in or not", "am I charging or not", and "how much power can the EVSE provide".

 

[SparkMoore]

Bosch has the Power Xpress Model which weighs in at 14 lbs (with 18ft cord) and charges at up to 32 amps (more than enough for the Spark EV) using 240V. Cost is $999 from Bosch. Factor in the Spark EV discount of $500 and it cost half that of the Jesla. But then you need to come up with adapters as it is supplied only with a NEMA 6-30 plug. If you're up for that kind of thing, you can make your own adapters for under $20 each with parts from Home Depot. Still, it's portable, doesn't weigh as much as typical EVSE's, is rated for outdoor use, and would do the job for the Spark EV.

This is the route I took when I first got the car. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately?) I've never had a chance to use it. I thought I would be going to all kinds of places that might not have other options available. I had only one experience where I couldn't find a public EVSE. That is what prompted me to buy a portable one. I arrived at a public charger with six miles of range left and there was a Leaf already on it. They were gone in an hour and I was able to plug in. Had it been another Spark EV, it would have made for a long wait at the charger.

Now that I'm prepared for that kind of thing, it hasn't happened since.

 

[dangerHV]

The Bosch looks good but $999 is too much. I like the specs and price of the Juice Box Pro 40, ($550) although there are many others I haven't looked at yet. Any opinions welcome.

update:

After looking at the list shown in link on this forum, I still like the Juicebox Pro 40. Futureproof, 120 or 240v input simply using an adapter, and it looks rugged enough to handle being tossed around a bit. Speaking of handle, I'll add one to the top and add some type of cord holder(s) to make it more convenient to carry. Seems like that should cover all the bases. (?)

David