DIY Open Source EV Charger

[TheSGC]

Originally Posted by adamj12b

Hey Dave,

Jacks problem right now is he doesn't have a service big enough that is readily accessible to power the charger that wont cause a tripped breaker or the light dimming!!

Also, right now he only has 48V (4 batteries), but is getting 6 more very shortly.

I dont know how much you have done on your charger already, But I have a PCB of this charger all drawn out in eagle that I will be proto-typing in the next few weeks. Im working on a kit basically that this will be the logic, you supply the power stage which is just a rectifier, caps, IGBT, and inductor.

I could use a beta tester that is local...your only an hour away...If your interested.

-Adam

I have done very little, except for a few schematics and looking up parts at Mouser and my schools stock room. I haven't had my 240v plug (or my 120v plug for that matter) installed yet, but when the electrician returns to finish up our house wiring, I have having those installed next to my EV.

I am interested! I forgot you are so close by! I have been collecting enough parts to build a small 6 AMP prototype, but I haven't purchased anything until I figure out what I want it to do. I think too much, and make things was more complicated than they need to be.

[TheSGC]

Ok, so I am in the process of designing my charger, so I have made a list of what I want it to do:

1) 120/240v charging, with automatic current adjustments for those voltages
2) Charge my 96 volt pack
3) Be able to fit in the EV
4) 3 Stage programmable, with shutdown at the end. (my K&W just floats forever)

That's the basic stuff, now I get insane:
5) Monitor each battery in the string
6) Estimate SoC and remaining time to charge batteries
6) LCD status of batteries/charger
7) WiFi Connectivity

Yes, I am looking to install WiFi, ZeroG WIFI/O from Microchip. Being an EV nut, I am always going outside to check my battery voltages, see how the charging is coming along, etc so I figure how sweet would it be if I could have that data streamed to me over the network. I have WiFi at home, and at school where I park (Its a computer engineering facilty, it BETTER have WiFi ) so having that data streamed to my laptop would be sweet. Of course it's a dream, but the more I look up this good Microchip has, it could happen.

[jackbauer]

Well the charger will fullfill all 4 of your requirements as is. Regards battery monitoring I use a Victron BMV602 which can be used to log data to a website and send and receive sms messages to a phone relating to battery parameters. Also can be hooked up to a laptop and download historical data such as deepest discharge etc.

[TheSGC]

Originally Posted by jackbauer

Well the charger will fullfill all 4 of your requirements as is. Regards battery monitoring I use a Victron BMV602 which can be used to log data to a website and send and receive sms messages to a phone relating to battery parameters. Also can be hooked up to a laptop and download historical data such as deepest discharge etc.

Do you have your charger setup to count Ah as they go into the pack? The hardware is already there, so it would just be a software thing to deal with. I'll look up that Victron. I only really need my first 4, but I like to over do things in the long run. Most of the things in my EV are overkill, so an overkill charger would fit perfectly.

[apowers]

I made this charger. It is basically the bonn charger with Paul's motor controller limiting how many voltscomes out. I have recharged 4 times and I am satisfied. I leave the pot all on till the 120 volt pack reaches 144 then I turn the pot down to hold it there till the amps are near 0. At the begining of the charge it starts at 12 amps. It all takes 6 to 8 hours.
Alvin

[adamj12b]

Originally Posted by apowers

I made this charger. It is basically the bonn charger with Paul's motor controller limiting how many voltscomes out. I have recharged 4 times and I am satisfied. I leave the pot all on till the 120 volt pack reaches 144 then I turn the pot down to hold it there till the amps are near 0. At the begining of the charge it starts at 12 amps. It all takes 6 to 8 hours.
Alvin

Very Cool!!

Do you have more pictures?

What did you change for the software?

-Adam

[apowers]

I did not change anything. It was the chip from my motor controller with the software from last summer. I was thinking maybe it could control the voltage and other things. I don't write code I'm not sure that I could load someone else's code.
Alvin

[MPaulHolmes]

Alvin is amazing!

[adamj12b]

What are you using for an inductor??

-Adam

[apowers]

I have 2 inductors. The first one is on the ac side ,before the rectifier, that I made from a microwave transformer. The second I got from the forklift and it is on the dc pos side right before it leaves the box. I have no idea what the inductance is.
Alvin