Portable QC from 30A J1772 or other 240v source

[garygid]

How is this project doing?

From a 30/32 amp L2 J1772 it could charge at about 7 kW.
From a 50-amp (240v) RV source it night charge at 11 kW.

Such an in-car charging upgrade Project is being investigated,
but what is the state of the effort?

Does it still require "open" information on the QC-CAN bus messages?
If so, someone is almost ready to gather, decode, and "publish" that information.

Are the (3?) other "handshake" signals well understood yet?
If not, what is known (or missing) there?

Thanks, I do not want to duplicate effort.

 

[GeekEV]

Being investigated by who? I know I've seen it mentioned from time to time, but I'm not aware of an active investigation. Although I doubt I can contribute to such a project, I am willing to help test...

 

[davewill]

Ingineer has mentioned something once or twice, and I recall someone trying to order samples of the CHAdeMO connector. The sticking point has always been CHAdeMO protocol info. It could likely be reverse engineered if someone could get reasonably unfettered access to a quick charger.

 

[EVDRIVER]

For safety it requires a reasonably sized ISOLATED charger, I suggest finding an affordable one of those before doing anything else.

 

[TEG]

I know of more than one group that suggested they are working on something.
But I have no idea how close any of them are to having something ready.


Certainly there seems to be an established idea that quicker charging would be useful, and lack of public CHAdeMO suggests that "do it yourself" might be the only option. Also the slow 3.3kW J1772 Leaf on-board charger makes it all the more desirable to get something faster.

 

[mitch672]

I had sent an email to Rich Rudman (Aka "the madman") from Manzanita Micro a long time ago (more than a year), he expressed interest in getting an adapter made for one of their PFC chargers , or comming up with something new. He said he was willing to work with someone who had a Leaf w/ the quick charge port. I would suggest if someone is local to him, that would be a good place to start. He did also say he was "tapped out" and couldn't buy his own Leaf to do this work, as he was all tied up with hybrids.

Here is a link to the PFC series of chargers they make:

http://www.manzanitamicro.com/products?page=shop.browse&category_id=14&vmcchk=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

FYI if you checkout their homepage, they are again making the "Zila and Hairball" (legendary EV motor controller...)

 

[TEG]

I think someone is already working with him on a possible design...

 

[N952JL]

A portable DC quick charger that could plug into an RV outlet at a camp grounds would be really great!

 

[planet4ever]

A portable DC quick charger that could plug into an RV outlet at a camp grounds would be really great!

I'm not so sure about that. You are obviously thinking of something that you could carry in the LEAF on a trip, but it seems to me that a fully isolated, fully smoothed, 9.6kW DC charger with variable current and voltage on demand from the car would be likely to be quite large and quite heavy. You might mess up the weight distribution pretty badly and not have any room left for luggage.

Ray

 

[DarkStar]

The sticking point has always been CHAdeMO protocol info.

Exactly. With the SAE moving forward with their "standard" and the changes at CHAdeMO, hopefully they start opening up the specification to be available to the general public.

 

[TEG]

At least one of efforts was talking about having it all fit under the front hood.
Not sure where there is enough space, but they thought it could fit.

 

[davewill]

At least one of efforts was talking about having it all fit under the front hood.
Not sure where there is enough space, but they thought it could fit.

That was Phil. He was going to connect it to the J1772 inlet, and charge at whatever rate the J1772 supplied, then hand off to the internal charger when charge level reached 80%.

 

[TEG]

Yeah, I am trying to be vague about who said what, as I think everything is "subject to change" at the moment...

Also, I don't want one effort to stop because they think another might be closer.
Hopefully we end up with multiple options, not zero.

 

[GeekEV]

That was Phil. He was going to connect it to the J1772 inlet, and charge at whatever rate the J1772 supplied, then hand off to the internal charger when charge level reached 80%.

That would be awesome! Especially if it can take a full 70A from a converted Tesla charger...

 

[smkettner]

A portable DC quick charger that could plug into an RV outlet at a camp grounds would be really great!

I am not sure I would want to carry it but if available as a low cost poor man's QC it might be a great business solution. Especially because a 50a circuit is a slam dunk install. With plug in portability and charging less than three hours you could crank it right to 50 amps and really cut the time off the onboard LEAF system. The campground could charge a decent fee for the service and not tie up a campsite.... just put it next to the office parking.

 

[Otmar]

A portable DC quick charger that could plug into an RV outlet at a camp grounds would be really great!

Keep in mind, if your charger is isolated there is no need to stop at just one. I'm thinking about putting two J1772 inlets in my conversion. 12kW at a normal L2 charging station would be nice. It's rare that I see just one EVSE by itself.

Charger size is an issue, but they are not that big and are getting smaller.

-Otmar

 

[EVDRIVER]

A portable DC quick charger that could plug into an RV outlet at a camp grounds would be really great!

Keep in mind, if your charger is isolated there is no need to stop at just one. I'm thinking about putting two J1772 inlets in my conversion. 12kW at a normal L2 charging station would be nice. It's rare that I see just one EVSE by itself.

Charger size is an issue, but they are not that big and are getting smaller.

-Otmar

This would have been a great set up for my old PFCs and Zillas! Welcome to the forum!

 

[TEG]

Yeah, I have been throwing out the idea that QC could be multiple J1772s. You pull up to a lot and find 4 unused EVSEs so you start charging from all of them in parallel. Then if someone else drives up and needs one, they just unplug one of your cables and you finish off charging at a slower rate.

 

[fiestatrio]

Yeah, I have been throwing out the idea that QC could be multiple J1772s. You pull up to a lot and find 4 unused EVSEs so you start charging from all of them in parallel. Then if someone else drives up and needs one, they just unplug one of your cables and you finish off charging at a slower rate.

This would be so helpful. I've stopped twice at the Miller Ave garage in South SF needing nearly a full charge and I cringe at seeing 3 J1772 not utilized when what I really need is 1 L3 (or the ability to QC using your idea of multiple J1772s).

 

[JimSouCal]

Yeah, I have been throwing out the idea that QC could be multiple J1772s. You pull up to a lot and find 4 unused EVSEs so you start charging from all of them in parallel. Then if someone else drives up and needs one, they just unplug one of your cables and you finish off charging at a slower rate.

What would something like this look like? How would it function (in the abstract)? I myself, independent of any discussion, and actually, any real knowledge, presumed that the fast charge port would be the likely way to have a home charger that could really have a fast rate for those times you need it.

I have no idea of the details, but can speculate that for under $4K there would be lots of takers, especially if the drop to the home could handle it with or without a basic upgrade of service drop, and a sub panel run to the garage.

I am remodeling and am making sure the service main enters in the garage area just for this reason.