Battery Backup Project

[awefulspeller]

The more I think about this the more confused I am. Have you actually thought about opportunistic charging - scavenging where you can?

You go someplace in the car during the day, and stay there for some time. Then return home. You seem to be charging on your way home and spending a lot of time doing that.

Why wouldn't you try to find a 110V outlet where you leave the car during the day? Most light poles have 110V outlets at the bottom of them. Almost every workplace has a 110V outlet outside for doing yard work. I'm thinking an extension cord and you would be in perfect shape. 8 hours of 110V charging will get you 30 miles of range.

Some jobs sites I go to power outlets aren't available for public use.

Also, my 3-year free towing service that came with the FFE has expired...so I need an emergency charge kit that can be used if I get into a bind again. One time I was at zero battery, at a location with no cell service. Found a 110v outlet, but it was up a hill and the FFE wasn't moving. Had to turn the FFE off, open the door (I think it resets something), wait for a few minutes, turn the car back on...just to creep forward for a few more feet. Did this several times, maybe 10. Finally I got within extension cord distance of the 110v outlet and charged for 2 hours til I had enough juice to make it to the nearest level II charger (5 miles away).

 

[Pearl]

Can you make a Tesla Powerwall portable?

Or just stuff this in your trunk. Less than 300 lbs.
http://powerequipment.honda.com/generators/models/eu7000is

 

[awefulspeller]

Can you make a Tesla Powerwall portable?

Or just stuff this in your trunk. Less than 300 lbs.
http://powerequipment.honda.com/generators/models/eu7000is

Tesla Powerwall is super expensive and not available yet. Generators are smelly and that thing is HUGE!

 

[michael]

Here's one...1.5 kW, $200, less than 2 cu ft

https://www.walmart.com/ip/WEN-1800W-Generator-CARB-Compliant/43310329?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=984&adid=22222222227031716718&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=59241870992&wl4=pla-122254424192&wl5=9031022&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8453308&wl11=online&wl12=43310329&wl13=&veh=sem

Plug in whenever possible, use this for absolute emergencies???

 

[Jamez]

Hate to echo other people's opinions, but: Square peg, round hole here.

The FFE - however great for commuting and city work - is clearly not a great fit for you. A 2017 Volt would be much more appropriate given what you've mentioned so far. Yes, taking a hit on the money may be an issue, but not having a functional car for your use is clearly not working, the stress that you face alone has got to account for something. Sometimes you just have to cut bait.


But looking at the other side, necessity is the mother of invention. If you're committed to doing this - go for it. I'll follow it eagerly.

Range extenders are nothing new, perhaps you're onto something and if you're able to make a "portable" range extender that can fit the FFE's form factor you'd sell a couple of them - but realize that within the next 5 years there won't be a need for them as OE range/capacity increases.

I'm amazed that it would be even possible to put THAT much more power into the remaining space. Thermal management would most definitely be an issue when charging the extender pack (and a Pelican case won't help that at all). You're basically about to create another charging and power system within the EV itself. I suppose if you leave the "guts" of the system at home, and just "carry" the extender "charging" pack with you you'd save a bit on the weight.

Too bad you can't just go to the main "plug" and "swap" to go to the extender pack. Kind of like switching to an external tank.

Perhaps the form-factor of a tow trailer will solve some problems for you (you can leave it when you don't need it, and you can fit better cooling systems into it).

 

[triangles]

fbitz777 - in the Chicago area, you can't buy an i3 without the range extender. The new bigger battery version absolutely do have the range extender option. BMW kept that around.

The horrible part of that nonsense - you lose the EL plates in Illinois. If there is a gasoline engine in the car, doesn't matter why, you can't have EL plates.

Oh I saw somebody do the math on using a gasoline generator to charge an electric car. It is reprehensible, from just about every viewpoint possible. Charging is super slow, the generator is noisy, you have to carry around gasoline, and it pollutes. A generator is an all around bad idea. Unless you will be somewhere in the middle of absolutely nowhere, with no electric plug anywhere - that's the only time one of those makes even a remote amount of sense.

I've used propane with a generator to charge my car at 5.8kW. It's a gasoline 7.5K continuous generator. On propane it's down rated to 6.5kW or 6.3kW I don't remember. The generator didn't sound happy at 6.5kW continuous so I backed it off a bit so I don't kill the generator. If there were a cheap way to feed the generator into the DC bus to either be used at the wheels or charge the battery, I'd consider putting it on a trailer for the very occasional times I'd go where there is no charging.

I've only used the generator once to test that it would work. I would only ever use it if I ran out of juice and needed an emergency charge to get home or to the nearest charge station. I figure it would be about as quick as waiting for roadside service assuming I'm not too far from home.

 

[Robert123]

I've used propane with a generator to charge my car at 5.8kW. It's a gasoline 7.5K continuous generator. On propane it's down rated to 6.5kW or 6.3kW I don't remember. The generator didn't sound happy at 6.5kW continuous so I backed it off a bit so I don't kill the generator.

How did you "back off a bit" on the charge rate? Is that an option on your level 2 charger?

 

[triangles]

How did you "back off a bit" on the charge rate? Is that an option on your level 2 charger?

Exactly. I can set the current limit on my evse. By default I leave it at 32A and the most the FFE pulls is 28-29A. I don't remember exactly what I bumped it down to but I think it was about 24A or 25A.

Back when the JuiceBox was a DIY kit I made one and strayed a bit from the original design. I added a LCD screen, current transformer, and remote so that I could track how much power I was using as well as be able to easily adjust current to use the max available depending on what I am plugged into. I have noise problems related to the screen that I still haven't fully worked out yet but that's another topic of discussion. I believe the deluxe version of OpenEVSE allows you to adjust max current but I'm not sure what increments it allows you to adjust. It's hard to find an adjustable EVSE I suspect because the average idiot would try to charge at 30A out of a 15A outlet and then sue the manufacturer when they burn their house down.

 

[Robert123]

Nice option you incorporated in there. My GE Level 2 can be amped up or down via some jumpers, but it's hard wired into the house so I set it up for maximum current draw. Only time it would matter is if my grid goes down and I'm running on the genney (like you described).

My portable level 1 / 2 charger combo cannot adjust current. It's a flat 16 amps. Would be nice to have the option to drop it based on available source. Then again, I guess there really aren't that many 240v sources with sub 20 amp breakers. Sure would be a good option for the original poster though so as to limit heat generated by the inverter.

 

[triangles]

My EVSE is portable and I have adapters to plug into just about any outlet I am likely to encounter. That's why I wanted to easily be able to adjust current. The slowest I've charged at was 120V @ 8A I was going to be parked for days and it was an unknown 120V circuit I was plugged into. I didn't want to pop a breaker while I was gone. If I remember correctly I had about 20% battery and it took about 20 hours to charge!

 

[awefulspeller]

Ok, so I hooked up the Tesla battery to the inverter and nothing exploded. EVTV and some dudes from Australia get all the credit for this crazy idea I have, and looks like the battery backup project will become a reality soon thanks to them.



-Next I'm going to wait for EVTV to release their controller for the Tesla modules so I don't overcharge/discharge the module and send it into thermal runaway.
-Attach the Clipper Creek LCS-15 to the inverter
-See if this setup will charge the FFE
If so,
-Find a good grounding point on the FFE with trunk access for the inverter and Tesla module.
-Put it all in my trunk and have a battery backup, with ability to charge where I want!

EVTV's latest episode:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVVH69Twfbc

 

[ATL-FFE]

I have to give you credit for attempting this. Watching to see how it goes... good luck!!

 

[awefulspeller]

As of now, I've totally given up on using the Tesla battery pack for backup battery. Instead, I found an even more expensive solution, safer solution...

connected to

connected to

 

[jjsv1]

Really cool. Certainly interested in your findings.

Why don't you test with the included L1 charger over the Clipper Creek?