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-bus
Both 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.
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