OpenEVSE - Open Source Charging Station

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Maybe consider dropping the dual voltage requirement. The advantage of using the OpenEVSE instead of the stock unit on 120v is negligible.

After a cooked relay (my fault) I just switched over to an inexpensive definite purpose contactor like the one Chris sells and in the process gave up dual voltage, but in two years I've never used my OpenEVSE on 120 so it was no loss. The simplicity and the robustness of the contactor makes me feel better about the whole system now. The removal of the fuses and crimped connections got rid of multiple potential failure points (including my less than perfect crimps).

Whatever you chose, be sure to let us know and share some pics.
 
camasleaf said:
Thank you Glenn. I will likely go with a 40A contactor and sell my SSRs and my 40A semiconductor fuses (they are big). I know that the car dictates the current, but if I spend the money and put the effort into building an EVSE I want to have the full 40A continuous capability. I am not sure how I will make it work at 120V, I am still brainstorming about that.

If you go with the Chinese relay it has a 12V coil so it will work on either 120V or 240V.

By the way, the 40A cable from Quick Charge power that Chris sells has a cable that is about the size of an ITT L1 cable. Using paired #12 wires makes it very small.

I have ordered half a dozen relays from AliExpress. Just do not give them your main email address since they spam it to death. They cost about $15 shipped. You can also get it from the JuiceBox people but it is $15 plus shipping and sales tax in California. I have got relays from 3 separate companies all with the same part number. It truly seems like a generic part.

If you are local and replace the relay you can have my spare. I try to keep spares so I can support the units I have constructed. So far none have been needed.
 
AlanSqB said:
Maybe consider dropping the dual voltage requirement. The advantage of using the OpenEVSE instead of the stock unit on 120v is negligible.
Except a LEAF (with the 6.6 kW charger) will charge at 27.5 amps on 120 volts (although not part of the original J1772 protocol) if you have an EVSE capable of delivering that current level (with a NEMA TT-30R RV type supply outlet common in campgrounds) and it will charge about twice as fast on such current than with the stock unit. Most every US campground that has electric service offers 120 volt 30 amp service, but you might not want to look too closely at the wiring behind that plug at a lot of them. :eek:
 
jpadc said:
AlanSqB said:
Maybe consider dropping the dual voltage requirement. The advantage of using the OpenEVSE instead of the stock unit on 120v is negligible.
Except a LEAF (with the 6.6 kW charger) will charge at 27.5 amps on 120 volts (although not part of the original J1772 protocol) if you have an EVSE capable of delivering that current level (with a NEMA TT-30R RV type supply outlet common in campgrounds) and it will charge about twice as fast on such current than with the stock unit. Most every US campground that has electric service offers 120 volt 30 amp service, but you might not want to look too closely at the wiring behind that plug at a lot of them. :eek:

I can verify that the Leaf will charge at 27.5A at 120V. You can modify the OpenEVSE L1 current table or simply force it to use the L2 table. The display will say L2 but that is no big deal. The EVSE does not really care about voltage. It is simply modifying the pilot duty cycle.
 
jpadc said:
Most every US campground that has electric service offers 120 volt 30 amp service

I have never looked at the RV plugs at the campgrounds. But if they have 120V 30A does that mean they do not have the 240V (30-50A)?
 
Many RV sites have 14-50 240V sockets. I have users say that some are cop out with both l lines strapped to 120V. It would be nice to check before plunking down your money. If the RV uses an L to Neutral than they will not notice. Plainly L to L would then be zero voltage.
 
Lately I have been playing with a drop in replacement VFD display.

http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/CU16025-UW6J/286-1068-ND/2177072

It is available on Ebay for 37.20 shipped from Texas.

It only uses 14 pins. The color pins are unused so I ran a RGB LED from them. The cyan filter is brighter but I like the blue one best. I got a 4 color Neewer set from Amazon.









 
GlennD said:
Lately I have been playing with a drop in replacement VFD display.

Wow Glenn, that is really nice! Do you have a project page somewhere for this, including the enclosure? We're looking at OpenEVSE for our L2 charger. We are new Leaf owners.
 
I used to post here but Mike, the forum owner decided I had too many posts and he removed my listings. He wanted me to become a vendor. Since I built OpenEVSE's at cost to keep busy that is not going to happen.

I have basically stopped building OpenEVSE's unless I get a really good deal on the parts so it does not hurt to sit on the unit for a while.

I encountered the VFD on the Trimble Thunderbolt page and I taught they were neat. They are brighter then the LCD displays even with a blue filter.

If you want a complete EVSE then look into Clipper Creek's web site. Unlike most they have the required circuit not the charging current in their Model numbers.

Chris Howell offers OpenEVSE stuff at his web store. You can buy complete kits or if you are a geek like me, just buy what you need.
 
Here is a link to Chris' store. He also has posted tutorials that can help your understanding.

http://store.openevse.com/
 
Well, I have tried the cyan filter for several weeks. It is definitely brighter. I just put back in the blue filter. It is not as bright but bright enough and it looks so cool. I favor the less bright blue filter. Any filter is better than none.

I purchased a 2X20 display from eBay that came with a blue filter bonded to the glass. It works fine as a 2X16 display with 4 digits on the end not functioning. An escutcheon will fix that and only show the active digits. It was only $20.
 
I'm a new Leaf (2016 SV) owner, lurking and learning here. I'm also a geek and data nerd. I like to build electronics projects (ham radio stuff, arduino and r pi stuff, etc). So naturally I'm drawn to OpenEVSE.

Since my Leaf has an onboard 6.6 kW charger, the max charge current at 240VAC is going to be 27.5A, therefore I have no need for a 50A EVSE. Am I missing anything here? Accordingly, I'll plan on building a 30A kit. I have no need for portability, so I'll *probably* be hard wiring this in my garage.
 
The 30A kit is limited to 24A ( 80% of 30A) That is fine for a Leaf but you are limited to slightly less than 3A. 24A vs 27.5A. The Leaf follows the J1772 specifications so the slightly longer charging time is usually OK.
 
GlennD said:
The 30A kit is limited to 24A ( 80% of 30A) That is fine for a Leaf but you are limited to slightly less than 3A. 24A vs 27.5A. The Leaf follows the J1772 specifications so the slightly longer charging time is usually OK.

So perhaps I should build the 50A kit for nominally the same cost and gain that extra 3.5A?

I was also thinking about interfacing with an arduino hat would activate charging when my home PV system production reached some threshold value.
 
I just build basic menu controlled EVSE's but some have used Lincomatic's RAPI to do some amazing things. Chris Howell has even interfaced a wi-fi unit to it. Controlling your EVSE with solar power should be possible for someone with programming skills.

Just remember that the NEC considers an EVSE to be a continuous load and you have to derate to 80%. Thus a 50A EVSE is good for 40A etc
 
BudT said:
So perhaps I should build the 50A kit for nominally the same cost and gain that extra 3.5A?

I was also thinking about interfacing with an arduino hat would activate charging when my home PV system production reached some threshold value.

I'm in the final stages of arduino based control using RAPI interface to control the amp setting on the OE. Having no prior experience in IDE programming and arduino hardware, it's been a "learning" experience. You can PM me if you would like to know more.
 
Hello,
I read what I could find on OpenEVSE. The plans for an Android app and web interface were discussed a while ago, however I didn't see anything on the current development status. Is OpenEVSE still under active development?
 
stopeject said:
Hello,
I read what I could find on OpenEVSE. The plans for an Android app and web interface were discussed a while ago, however I didn't see anything on the current development status. Is OpenEVSE still under active development?

If you post specific requests on the OpenEVSE forum, Chris Howell will get back with you - very helpful developer.
 
Thanks. I found a link to this thread in on of the OpenEVSE documents, and since I already had an account I decide to post here.
http://www.fveaa.org/fb/J1772_386.pdf
 
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