New Leaf Owner!
Discussion
Mrs P just finished her 48h test drive and we placed the order for a Leaf (not 6.6kw) within 2 hours of handing the keys back (delivery early October), and need to think about all the other things that go with it.
Is Chargemaster the best place to get the wall box?
Do I need to register for any charging schemes?
Is Chargemaster the best place to get the wall box?
Do I need to register for any charging schemes?
I'm having my charging point installed by the guys at nuCharge - with the Government grant it should cost me £195+VAT for the install. My only complaint so far has been that their installer guy hasn't contacted me yet to arrange installation and should have done late last week, but I've not got the car yet so there's no big deal there.
nuCharge use Rolec chargers I believe.
Re. charging schemes - you need to apply for an Ecotricity card to use the rapid chargers at Motorway services. You can do this on their website. It says you need the reg. number of the car to apply, but some people over on speakev.com just put in "TBC" for the reg and their card turned up, so I've applied for mine today on the same principle.
There's also a "ChargeYourCar" scheme (CYC) which I believe is free or close to it and allows you to use many other schemes' chargers, although I've not completed research into this myself yet
Did you order from Greenhous in Telford, or Shrewsbury?
nuCharge use Rolec chargers I believe.
Re. charging schemes - you need to apply for an Ecotricity card to use the rapid chargers at Motorway services. You can do this on their website. It says you need the reg. number of the car to apply, but some people over on speakev.com just put in "TBC" for the reg and their card turned up, so I've applied for mine today on the same principle.
There's also a "ChargeYourCar" scheme (CYC) which I believe is free or close to it and allows you to use many other schemes' chargers, although I've not completed research into this myself yet
Did you order from Greenhous in Telford, or Shrewsbury?
pherlopolus said:
Same price as chargemaster for a polar one then...
It was Telford :-D
Likewise It was Telford :-D
Edited by pherlopolus on Friday 4th September 20:41
And I also placed the order very soon after handing the keys back from a 48 hour test drive!I think the guys there are doing quite well with Leaf sales by all accounts - I should (hopefully) be picking mine up in a few days!
We've had our Leaf a year now and I am starting to see quite a few on the road.
Great car, complete no brainer if it suits your driving habits.
Top Tip: At some point you will accidentally press the button which locks the charging cable into the socket. The feature is to stop other people unplugging your car.
Another Top Tip: assuming you have an Acenta or Tekna, get used to switching to B mode to slow down. You'll save wear on the brakes and add a reasonable amount of power back into the battery. After a while B mode becomes second nature, you'll leave a larger gap to the car in front and also think about slowing down further in advance.
Great car, complete no brainer if it suits your driving habits.
Top Tip: At some point you will accidentally press the button which locks the charging cable into the socket. The feature is to stop other people unplugging your car.
Another Top Tip: assuming you have an Acenta or Tekna, get used to switching to B mode to slow down. You'll save wear on the brakes and add a reasonable amount of power back into the battery. After a while B mode becomes second nature, you'll leave a larger gap to the car in front and also think about slowing down further in advance.
Chargemaster have been engaged, fitting (wait for it) 19th November! (car due early Oct)
Fitting a 3.xkw box with a type 2 socket and a non-tethered cable (handy for when I get my Tesla and can take 3 days to charge it LOL)
I guess that telford services (about 3m from home) will be getting a regular caller for a fix of Skinny Vanilla Latte for a while
Fitting a 3.xkw box with a type 2 socket and a non-tethered cable (handy for when I get my Tesla and can take 3 days to charge it LOL)
I guess that telford services (about 3m from home) will be getting a regular caller for a fix of Skinny Vanilla Latte for a while
I'm having my charger fitted on Monday - try giving nuCharge a call and see when they could fit you in.
Expecting delivery of the car in the next couple of days - can't wait Also, take your own Thermos with coffee to the services, otherwise you're nullifying the cost saving by buying their overpriced coffee!
Expecting delivery of the car in the next couple of days - can't wait
Also, take your own Thermos with coffee to the services, otherwise you're nullifying the cost saving by buying their overpriced coffee!gazchap said:
There's also a "ChargeYourCar" scheme (CYC) which I believe is free or close to it and allows you to use many other schemes' chargers, although I've not completed research into this myself yet
As mentioned in another thread their faq says that some points are free and some are pay as you go.All the ones near to us are payg, £5.50 for 45 minutes then 15p/min after that. Occasionally you also get stung for parking charges if it's in a pay and display.
Ouch.
FiF said:
As mentioned in another thread their faq says that some points are free and some are pay as you go.
All the ones near to us are payg, £5.50 for 45 minutes then 15p/min after that. Occasionally you also get stung for parking charges if it's in a pay and display.
Ouch.
Ouch indeed. Especially if they're normal 7kW chargers and not rapids!All the ones near to us are payg, £5.50 for 45 minutes then 15p/min after that. Occasionally you also get stung for parking charges if it's in a pay and display.
Ouch.
gangzoom said:
Or just use a normal 3 pin plug and a 13amp cable extension cord. The battery on the Leaf is so small the 3 pin plug works fine overnight
Would a weatherproof extension be totally safe overnight (out the window) even in rain? Bloke i was chatting to was telling me it's not a problem "only draws as much power as a kettle" etc.?the cable is fairly long, so would be able to plug into extension within house.
Charger has been fitted now, and we get car tomorrow (2 weeks early!)
Only fly in ointment was having to cancel a 3 day old insurance policy as COOP through AA wouldn't insure it, and AA's other insurers wanted £400+
Eventually went with Diamond for under £200.
Charger has been fitted now, and we get car tomorrow (2 weeks early!)
Only fly in ointment was having to cancel a 3 day old insurance policy as COOP through AA wouldn't insure it, and AA's other insurers wanted £400+
Eventually went with Diamond for under £200.
In theory it's fine to use an extension lead, but make sure it's a good quality one with thick cable. What you must do is uncoil it or it could overheat.
My advice would be to ask a local electrician to take a look at your fuse box and home wiring, and take his advice on which socket to plug into. An ideal situation would be something like a ring main dedicated to your garage with its own fuse and little else plugged in.
The charging point install would have a new fused connection provided, supplying only the car from that connection.
My advice would be to ask a local electrician to take a look at your fuse box and home wiring, and take his advice on which socket to plug into. An ideal situation would be something like a ring main dedicated to your garage with its own fuse and little else plugged in.
The charging point install would have a new fused connection provided, supplying only the car from that connection.
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