Out with the old, in with the new

You might remember from a few posts ago that I was having trouble with the charge point installed at my house. Well, I just thought I'd give you a quick update.

The old unit is a Chargemaster type, which is a well known brand of charger. It came free of charge (no pun intended) with the car when I bought it. Around about the end of October it started acting up, where it would trip the RCD switch at the fuse board, to the point where I couldn't charge at home. These units come with a 3-year warranty, so I sent the serial number off to the manufacturer, to be told that the warranty ran out in mid-2017. So, it's over 4 years old. Time for a change.

The new unit is a Rolec 32a charger, so it has an output of about 7kW. The unit was supplied by an Irish based provider, and was couriered within 24 hours of purchase. It is a much more modern unit, with better water resistance rating, and it has an RCD built in to the front of the charger, for safety. This design means that the RCD is no longer needed at the fuse board, and so it was swapped out for a higher rated MCB (40a Type C, if anyone is interested). This has been up and running for over a week now, with no issues with switches tripping.

For anyone looking for a recommendation about a supplier and installer, I would be happy to share the details of who I used if you want to send me a PM.

Maintenance

In terms of maintaining an EV, there is very little required, and even less that you can do yourself. No oil change, no timing belt, no gasket seal that can break.

As part of the regular service carried out by the main dealer (around €120), the cabin pollen filter gets changed, and that's about it. Obviously, if wear and tear items such as wipers and brake pads need to be replaced, then that has to be done too, just like with any car. The service carried out by the main dealer is required mostly to get the service book stamped, as the warranty depends on a full history. The warranty with the version of LEAF I have is 3-years bumper-to-bumper and 5 years on the batteries and motor. My car won't be 5 years old until 2020, so I will get the service from the main dealer as necessary to keep the warranty in place.

But apart from that, the car is pretty much maintenance free. Top up the brake fluid if necessary (it hasn't been necessary on my car so far), and keep the windscreen washer tank filled, and away you go.