OpenEVSE - Open Source Charging Station

[chris1howell]

I bumped into a problem with my Clipper Creek EVSE, and wondered if this might be a problem with the OpenEVSE. My car used to successfully preheat the cabin with the Blink charger, but not with Clipper Creek. In addition, the issue with an alert for a fault seems to have been addressed.

OpenEVSE should not have any trouble at all with timers or preheat.

 

[goldserve]

Is anyone willing to part with and sell me an Adafruit RGB LCD for firmware development? I built one EVSE with the RGB LCD and it is currently in use. I still have two sets of boards and I am doing development on one of them. I customized and added features for the command line prompt but now I need a LCD for development of the button menus. Please PM me if you have extra!

Thanks!

 

[chris1howell]

Is anyone willing to part with and sell me an Adafruit RGB LCD for firmware development? I built one EVSE with the RGB LCD and it is currently in use. I still have two sets of boards and I am doing development on one of them. I customized and added features for the command line prompt but now I need a LCD for development of the button menus. Please PM me if you have extra!

Thanks!

I have a new board coming in a few data. Its a clone of the Adafruit RGB LCD shield but in a much better form factor for OpenEVSE and several other improvements. It is the exact same size as the lcd board, the mouting holes line up, there are no components close to holes line and there are button headers with 5v and Gnd for lit buttons.

I would love to see you improvements to CLI and menus. You are welcome to submit changes to the OpenEVSE codebase at the github site maintained by lincomatic.

 

[goldserve]

I have code right now that uses a real time clock chip and I have CLI menus to set date/time and delay timer Start/Stop times. However, I am a hardware engineer and not really a C++ programmer so people will laugh their heads off if they see this code I have. It does work but it would need some code refactoring and cleanup to be github worthy IMHO. I can share this code with a few people and wish to see it end up in the repository sometime in the future. Those that want to test these features, please feel free to PM me.

Open_EVSE> help

Help Commands

help - Display commands
set  - Change settings
show - Display settings and values
save - Write settings to EEPROM
dt - Date/Time commands
timer - Delay timer commands

Open_EVSE>Show

Settings
Service level: 1
Current capacity (Amps): 12
Min Current Capacity: 6
Max Current Capacity: 80
Vent Required: enabled
Diode Check: disabled
Ground Check: disabled
Stuck Relay Check: enabled
Auto Start: enabled
Delay Timer: Disabled
Start Time: 0 hour 0 min
End Time: 0 hour 0 min
System Date/Time: 2012/12/25 21:57:9

Open_EVSE> set

Set Commands - Usage: set amp

amp  - Set EVSE Current Capacity
vntreq on/off - enable/disable vent required state
diochk on/off - enable/disable diode check
gndchk on/off - turn ground check on/off
rlychk on/off - turn stuck relay check on/off
autostart on/off - enable/disable autostart
sdbg on/off - turn serial debugging on/off

Open_EVSE> dt

Use 'dt set' to set the system date/time
2012/12/25 21:58:11

Open_EVSE> timer

Delay Timer: Disabled
Start Time: 0 hour 0 min
End Time: 0 hour 0 min

Use 'timer enable/disable' to enable/disable timer function
Use 'timer set start/stop' to set timer start/stop times

 

[chris1howell]

I have code right now that uses a real time clock chip and I have CLI menus to set date/time and delay timer Start/Stop times. However, I am a hardware engineer and not really a C++ programmer so people will laugh their heads off if they see this code I have. It does work but it would need some code refactoring and cleanup to be github worthy IMHO. I can share this code with a few people and wish to see it end up in the repository sometime in the future. Those that want to test these features, please feel free

I would not hesitate to post. Lincomatic gets the push first. I am in the same boat as you. In fact I submit my changes into Arduino style processing as I do not know C++ at all. Lincomatic cleans up my mess and converts my code to c++.

RTC and timers are a pretty popular request, I am sure your improvements would be greatly appreciated.

 

[GlennD]

Chris, making your own display boards is a great idea! Adafruit will not sell just the board so I have been hand wiring display drivers. Sign me up for a few. Here is my messy first version. The second one that is in service was much neater.

 

[bill]

I may have missed it, this thread has gotten so long
Has anyone thought about building a model for a custom enclosure and using a service like http://www.shapeways.com?

I'm not a modeler but I imagine the enclosure could be made more compact and include all the necessary mounts internal components as well as safety features like blast shields around the high voltage. It's not going to be as cheap as modifying an existing box but would make a very professional looking finished product.

 

[TonyWilliams]

I may have missed it, this thread has gotten so long
Has anyone thought about building a model for a custom enclosure and using a service like http://www.shapeways.com?

I'm not a modeler but I imagine the enclosure could be made more compact and include all the necessary mounts internal components as well as safety features like blast shields around the high voltage. It's not going to be as cheap as modifying an existing box but would make a very professional looking finished product.

Certainly a great idea, at least until such time as the design gets more settled, and a "permanent" enclosure could be made.

Has anybody used a solid state relay???

 

[chris1howell]

I may have missed it, this thread has gotten so long
Has anyone thought about building a model for a custom enclosure and using a service like http://www.shapeways.com?

I'm not a modeler but I imagine the enclosure could be made more compact and include all the necessary mounts internal components as well as safety features like blast shields around the high voltage. It's not going to be as cheap as modifying an existing box but would make a very professional looking finished product.

Certainly a great idea, at least until such time as the design gets more settled, and a "permanent" enclosure could be made.

Has anybody used a solid state relay???

There is an OpenEVSE builder designing and testing an enclosure now. Hopefully I can post more info soon.

A couple folks have tried SSRs but they are not the best option for EVSEs. At high currents they put off a lot of heat and are less efficient than mechanical relays. Also they have the tendency to fail closed which is not the desired falure mode for an EVSE.

 

[chris1howell]

Here is a preview of the RGB LCD "backpack". I plan to build a few today. I am goint to use right angle headers for i2c and the Select button, should be very slim...

 

[mitch672]

Looks nice Chris. Here is an assembly tip I use that works well.
Get some nylon 4-40 washers, or say a 1/4" 4-40 nylon spacer, put that between the LCD display and the backpack and install some 4-40 screws/nuts to hold it all together, then after you solder it, you have a nice assembly, where the screw holes all line up, and you have spacers where you need them and at the correct distance apart, so you can now mount your assembled LCD display/backpack.

 

[goldserve]

Chris,

The source trunk only has version 0.5.0 and not the version 1.0.0 that I have been working off of found in the downloads section.

 

[chris1howell]

Chris,

The source trunk only has version 0.5.0 and not the version 1.0.0 that I have been working off of found in the downloads section.

The most up to date code is at github.com search open EVSE or lincomatic. Major releases get copied over to the code.google.com site.

 

[goldserve]

Thanks. I didn't know it was at github. I merged all my changes into his latest 1.0.8 and now i've got to test it out and a bunch of cosmetic stuff to do.

 

[goldserve]

I made some modifications to the LCD screens to indicate if a timer is set via a time icon. See them here: http://sdrv.ms/UbcUGk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Once the delay timer has been set, the EVSE will not auto start on power-up. Instead, it will go into Stopped state, waiting for the timer to activate. At this point, you can still use a short button press to activate manual start. The timers will still kick in and turn charging off if the stop time has been reached. One last feature is if the EVSE charger is turned on during the charge interval, it will start charging right away.

One last thing to implement is button menus to set the date/time and start/stop timers.

Cheers!

 

[chris1howell]

I got a chance to test the first prototype and it works great. I have a batch of displays coming in, I may need to tweak the resistance values for Red, Green, and Blue to achieve optimal performance. A few boards will go out to "beta testers" early next week.

I used right angle headers for both the i2c and Select button to keep a low profile.

Adafruit did a great job with the original RGB LCD shield, this new "backpack" should be an improvement for OpenEVSE use...

 

[goldserve]

chris,

Can't wait to test one of these packs! BTW, I released some new firmware (1.5.5) and the details can be found here: http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=11064

 

[garygid]

If it is not too late,
It would be nice if the new RGB LCD interface board had provisions
for mounting the RTC chip, the "2032"?? coin battery, and any
extra needed components for the new Real Time Clock feature.

Maybe the DS3231 chip, as used in the ChronoDot
http://www.adafruit.com/products/255" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[fotajoye]

I built my EVSE based on the first board and I am completely happy with it and it's operation. But, I've watched the progress and workings of the product and I'm completely enamored with what you guys are doing and the fun you are having.

I just gotta jump back in and upgrade pretty soon...a plain old reflective led is not that cool when you can have a digital display and now a clock,,,wow! Excellent Work!

 

[bill]

Can someone recommend an inexpensive ratcheting crimper for the spade terminals? I'd like something under $50 bucks. It will go mostly unused but I still don't want to buy a piece of garbage.

Thanks,

-Bill