[ausev] discrete charging

[Brian Lasseter]

On Mon, Mar 2, 2009 at 2:48 PM,  <tomsmail at wtez.net> wrote:
> Gary, Joby, Michael,
> The Soneil 15A 12V smart charger I was eyeing is indeed isolated.  That
> Tempest (BC-12-8000F) charger may in fact be even more cost effective than
> the Soneil charger if one can wait longer per charge. Thanks for the input!

The Soniel 12V 15A chargers will draw a max of 2.9A from the 115VAC
supply.  (Nominal seems to be about 2.0A.)
http://soneil.com/Completesets/1230S.pdf

12x of those chargers would try to pull 34.8 Amps from your 120V wall
socket.  There are no 120V plug types that allow you to pull that much
current from the wall.  You could pull 17.4A from each leg of a 240V
circuit... but they you are limited to always using 240V circuits with
neutral connections.  (Oven plugs... Dryer plugs do not have a
neutral.)

Really I like having one large Manzanita Micro charger because of the
convenience... light weight... and single point of failure.

1)  12x Soneil chargers weighs 12 x 2.8lbs, or 33.6 pounds.  The PFC30
weighs 17 pounds... and takes up much less area.  (Or so I presume...
I'm not going to take the time to do the volumetric calculations to
see if 12x170x90x63mm is less than 13x9x5.5 inches.)

2)  12x Soneil chargers means I have 12 sets of LEDs to look at to
determine when I am done charging.  So you'd have to mount all of
those things in a location where it is convenient to see all of the
LEDs.

3)  The Soneil chargers only charge at 15A, the PFC30 can charge at
upwards of 35A or so on a 144VDC pack.  So the PFC30 charges twice as
fast.

4)  The PFC30 has an amp knob.  So when I'm charging at someplace like
Eanes Elemtary that has an old electrical infrastructure I can turn
down the Amperage to only sip 10A to not melt the extension cords or
blow old circuits.

5)  The PFC30 is Power Factor Corrected (hence the name PFC)  That's
why the PFC30 only draws 18A at 120V to charge my 144VDC pack at 15A,
while the Soneil chargers would pull 24-34.8A to charge a 144VDC pack
at 15A.

6)  While you save money on the chargers, you will be expending money
to have a battery-by-battery monitoring system (like the PakTrakr) to
make sure that your pack is balanced once it is done charging.

7)  You also have more weight and cost in wiring.  15A per battery
will require #14 gauge wires running to the positive and negative
terminals of each battery from your bank of chargers

8)  More wires and more chargers creates more points of failure.


I'm not saying it can't be done... and it may be cheaper, but you will
have a heavier and more complex electric vehicle.  You just have to
take these considerations into account.  I also just like the PFC30
charger.  It lets me charge at any voltage 80-350VAC, and at any
amperage 0-30A.  The Soneil charges at only one voltage 115VAC and at
only one amperage (about 2.0A nominally).


-- 
TTFN,
Brian "Lasso" Lasseter

"No Sane man will dance."   -Cicero (106-43 B.C.)