Recent content by jwallace3

That's great Chris! I checked it out. We chose very similar and in many cases the same parts. I'm using the same optocouplers for 120/240 detection and ground path monitoring. I'm using a CR magnetics CT for GFI, but a cheaper model. Power supply is similar 89-259 AC input/12 out @3W. The...

Yes...Yes. We are going to continue with the simpler ESVE design. He will offer assistance with testing, design, etc. The smart grid integration is more of a "being a better consumer" item. I am a power systems guy so having mobile "loads" that have the demand of a house is a problem we've...

Just FYI for all the contributors to the conversation. Just got a call from a University of Louisville professor and his EE grad students. He is an engineer from GE who used to design motor controllers and control panel electronics for consumer products. He now is working with Grad students...

Once again, thanks for the feedback guys and gals. It's good to have a community of smart minds all over the country to share what they would like to see in the next generation of ESVE.

To address Smkettner and DTB..... Yes, this is an excellent suggestion. In this case we will have to implement a few other safety items in the final design. After your comments, I'm envisioning something similar to how a plasma/LCD TV mounts on a small set of rails with a lock. Just the...

You bring up a very valid point. 50 amp outlets are available at most camp grounds. The problem I have isn't the ESVE, its available connectors and safety. At this point it would have to be hardwired into the charger because of the type of connection. There are other 50 amp twist lock...

We are investigating our own portable "fast" charger as well. Wouldn't be the same rate as the one's on the road, but more in the 1-2 hour range using the chademo currently on vehicles like the LEAF, but I think we will wait until the J1772 for L3 is finalized before we jump fully into L3...

That could be the case, but it's a worth while exercise. For those of us leasing we would have to buy another charger to get modified, plus if someone didn't feel comfortable with the mod or isn't on this site, they may prefer to opt for something else.

Our build cost was less around $400, but I had free labor, it hasn't been UL listed yet, PCBs were made in house so that cost wasn't tracked, and other little components such as transistors, resistors, etc weren't tracked because they had them in stock. Plus the housing for our next model will...

I know most manufacturers are coming out with EVs this next year and that a few others besides Nissan have some out. Since I leased my LEAF last year I haven't really looked at others much besides the Testla model S. I can't get another until my lease is up in 2.5 more years. I wasn't aware...

I will say thanks for all the feedback. Most of you on here are savvy enough to build your own charger. Either from scratch or open source. This is more for the folks who aren't. All things aside, does $700 sound like a reasonable price for a production model? UL listing is probably going...

How in the world did you get to 32 amps? There isn't a car that can charge at that rate yet that I'm aware of and that would take one hell of a power resistor to dispate that energy if you used a test setup.

Absolutely it can be done. But from a production standpoint there are more rules you have to follow. I am using the connectors you stated so to be to code those can't be exceeded. They will tolerate higher current rates, but a production model can't touch them or it will never pass any sort...

The students did use traces in the prototype design, which I don't agree with either, but then again they were learning. We have that changed with our newer design to accommodate metering CTs. As far as single phase 240 as of right now there are 2 parts that monitor the AC lines paths to...

We are not building this unit for cars that would use state D so we just error out in this area. We do constantly monitor the ground path while charging. This is also how we detect whether it's 120 or 240. We do a stuck relay check at startup. We check the GFCI at startup as well just as any...