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Building a fast and configurable off board charger for a Zero electric motorbike
Gérard Tayeb:
I have explained elsewhere what I am expecting for my Zero Motorcycles FXS 2016
- fast charger (about 3.3kW)
- that I can use only when I need it, i.e. not fixed to the bike, but transportable in the top case or elsewhere
- that plugs easily to the input current source on one side, and to the bike on the other side
- not too heavy (5 kgs) nor bulky
- that I can use alone, or with the inboard charger of the bike
- that can be used on a domestic plug 220V/16A
- that can be used on a weak domestic plug 220V/10A for instance, or less (configurable "on the road")
- that can be used on Mennekes Type 2 plugs (charging stations)
- that can charge to full charge (100%) or less (80% for instance), and configurable "on the road"
- waterproof and insensitive to vibrations
After looking around for some time, it appears that nothing that matches these criteria seems to be available at the present time.
But it could be possible to build it from these two main components:
1) The TC Charger HK-J. It is the 3.3kW model 96V32A, with CAN-bus, cooled with a fan. I chose to buy it from Otten, where I got very kind advices and support, and where I could get it with all its wiring and connectors adapted to my wishes.
2) The ThunderStruck EVCC-Basic Controller.
At page 6 of their manual, you can see that it can store 4 user-configurable settings and can easily switch from one to another (it only needs a contactor with 4 positions, addressing 4 different resistances).
It could be used for instance to switch between 4 settings like these ones (or any other since you can define for each of them a lot of parameters):
| Full power| Reduced power| Full final voltage 116.2V (SOC 100%)| setting 1| setting 2| Reduced final voltage 109V (SOC 80%)| setting 3| setting 4|
Shortcut to this page: https://bit.ly/fast_charger
Gérard Tayeb:
All the units (TC Charger, Elcon, Diginow) are based on the same unit, and generally have the same CAN addresses. The one I get from Otten should have a receiving CAN ID 0x1806E5F4, and transmitting one 0x18FF50E5. These are the addresses used in the EVCC Thunderstruck Controller, as said in the manual. Perfect!
I have ordered the EVCC-Basic Thunderstruck Controller. They asked me if I want them to program it before sending. I was initially thinking to program it myself, but since they proposed to do it, I asked them to program 4 different charging templates:
1) full power (should be 3.3kW and about 32A), max final voltage 116.2V
2) full power (should be 3.3kW and about 32A), max final voltage 109V
3) reduced power (20A), max final voltage 116.2V
4) reduced power (20A), max final voltage 109V
I will be able to change these programs later, but as it, I should receive everything almost "plug and play". I will just have to make the wiring according to the online manual, using a commutator and some resistors to select the 4 programs, and that's should be all!
Gérard Tayeb:
I have finally found a solution that matches all my wishes :)
- fast charger (3.3kW when used at the maximum power)
- that I can use only when I need it, i.e. not fixed to the bike, but transportable in the top case or elsewhere
- that plugs easily to the input current source on one side, and to the bike on the other side
- not too heavy (5.44 kgs with connectors and a 1 meter long Anderson cable), nor bulky
- that I can use alone, or with the inboard charger of the bike
- that can be used on a domestic plug 220V/16A
- that can be used on a weak domestic plug 220V/10A for instance, or less (configurable "on the road")
- that can be used on Mennekes Type 2 plugs (charging stations)
- that can charge to full charge (100%) or less (80% for instance), and configurable "on the road"
- waterproof and insensitive to vibrations
After examining many solutions, I have decided to buy my charger from Otten (Germany), where I got very kind advices and support, and where I could get the charger with all its wiring and connectors adapted to my wishes.
Otten proposed me two solutions:
* A 3.3 kW charger "ready for use". You plug it on 220V/16A domestic plug on one side, and on the Anderson (brown) connector on the other side. You can use it with the charger of your bike at the same time
* The same charger, but controlled by CAN-busBoth chargers are waterproof, shock-proof (in fact they are the same as Diginow, Elcon, TC Charger HK-J,...) and Otten sells both at the same price 699€, that is quite interesting ;)
I decided to opt for the second option, since the CAN-operated charger can be controlled and programmed externally, which offers more possibilities.
Some people use Arduino's to control their chargers (you can for instance find information on Lennart's Github, but since I have not used Arduino's myself before, I chose another option.
I am controlling the CAN-bus charger using the ThunderStruck EVCC-Basic Controller. They provide a detailed PDF manual with many useful instructions about the way to wire it and to configure it. At page 6 of their manual, you can see that it can store 4 user-configurable settings and can easily switch from one to another (it only needs a contactor with 4 positions, addressing 4 different resistances). Thunderstruck support was very nice, and I was surprised to be asked, at the time I was buying it: "How would you like that we configure your controller?" :). I asked for:
- mode 1: 116.2V and 32A (full charge, draws 16A on the 220V plug)
- mode 2: 116.2V and 20A (full charge, draws 10A on the 220V plug)
- mode 3: 109V and 32A (about 80% charge, draws 16A on the 220V plug)
- mode 4: 109V and 20A (about 80% charge, draws 10A on the 220V plug)
And it works as is. Perhaps I will make more fine settings later, but these 4 are already pretty nice.
Note that the controller needs a 12V feeding, that is supplied by the charger itself. The 4 wires between the charger and the controller are: Ground, +12V, CAN-L, CAN-H.
Here are some pictures. I still have to get a 4 positions commutator (instead of my ugly piece of plexiglass with 4 plugs), and a box to put everything inside.
Gérard Tayeb:
Mise à jour: ajout d'une traduction en anglais. Update: the post has been tranlated in English.
Pour répondre à des questions qu'on vient de me poser, je joins le schéma de câblage de mon adaptateur de prise "Mennekes Type 2" vers 3 prises de 220V. Mise à jour: nouvelle version du fichier plus bas (message du 01/02/2022).
Le fichier contient 2 pages. La première était mon idée de départ (tout mettre sur une seule phase). Puis je me suis dit qu'il valait mieux profiter des 3 phases, ce qui correspond à la deuxième page. Il semble que quasiment toutes les stations qui utilisent les prises de Type 2 sont en triphasé, et de toutes manières "qui peut le plus peut le moins!".
Update: new version of the file, see below, message dated Feb. 01, 2022. Attached is the wiring diagram of my "Mennekes Type 2" plug adapter to three 220V sockets. The file contains 2 pages. The first was my original idea (to put everything on one phase). Then I decided to take advantage of the 3 phases, which corresponds to the second page.
Certaines stations de charge peuvent bloquer la prise. Pour la libérer il faut ouvrir l'interrupteur entre CP et PE. Au départ j'ai utilisé un connecteur provisoire (qu'on voit sur les photos). Je viens d'acheter un interrupteur à clé que je vais installer à la place.
Dans tous les cas, il n'est pas recommandé de débrancher la prise de la station de charge pendant que la station débite du courant. Donc si la moto ou le chargeur n'ont pas déjà coupé la charge, il est recommandé de la couper en ouvrant cet interrupteur avant de débrancher la prise.
Some charging stations may block the socket. To release it, you need to open the switch between CP and PE. Initially I used a temporary connector (which can be seen on the photos). I then bought a keyswitch which I will install instead.
In any case, it is not recommended to disconnect the plug from the charging station while the station is delivering power. So if the motorcycle or charger has not already cut the load, it is recommended to cut it by opening this switch before unplugging the socket.
J'ai acheté le matériel ici / Here is where I bought the stuff :
https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/Duosida-Dostar-EV-PLUG-32A-IEC-62196-2-European-standard-Type-2-male-connector-for-electric/32812965439.html
https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/Key-Switch-ON-OFF-Lock-Switch-KS-01/32490689557.html
Autres infos / Information about the Type 2 socket :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_2_connector
Attention, si vous démontez la prise sans précaution, vous vous retrouvez avec 2 broches de longueurs différentes pour PP et CP. Pour la remonter, il faut savoir que la broche la plus longue est PP.
Be careful, if you remove the plug carelessly, you end up with 2 pins of different lengths for PP and CP. To reassemble it, you should know that the longest pin is PP.
http://evbitz.uk/EVBitz.uk/EPC_Wir_Diags_%26_Description.html
https://www.evchargeking.com/fr/t/charginginfo
http://electricmotorcycleforum.com/boards/index.php?topic=8248.0
Si vous ne voulez pas le fabriquer vous-même, vous pouvez acheter un câble de ce genre tout prêt:
If you don't want to make it yourself, you can buy a ready-made cable like this:
ici : https://eauto.si/metron-shop/product/adapter-type-2-3-x-schuko-16-a/
ou ici : http://evbitz.uk/EVBitz.uk/Welcome.html où il faut le demander spécialement car il n'est pas au catalogue, mais ils peuvent le faire pour 170£ port compris (avec des prises Schuko). You have to ask for it specially as it is not in the catalog, but they can do it for £ 170 including postage (with Schuko plugs).
Gérard Tayeb:
J'ajoute quelques précisions postées par ailleurs:
Vidéos montrant le connecteur Anderson, et qu'il n'est pas nécessaire de découper le cache en caoutchouc sur une FXS:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VZz5fbscx0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0f5c62LlI0
Une réponse sur les chargeurs dans cette discussion:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/zmcowners/permalink/1867283203340879/
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