EVs have been around since the 19th century. Suppose an EVSE were built with the parts / looks of that era, but to J1772 specs? A lot of people would refer to this as "steampunk" (and I'm familiar with the OpenEVSE steampunk contest), but I don't really think of it that way -- not as a combination of modern and old-fashioned, so much as entirely old-fashioned (well, to the extent possible), but compatible with modern cars. For this and other reasons, I wouldn't want to base it on OpenEVSE, but perhaps on AnalogEVSE. (I'd really prefer to build it out of vacuum tubes, etc., but designing such a system is beyond me. Interestingly, one of the few references to AnalogEVSE that I found was a post by the designer on a tube-oriented forum, so apparently he's into that, but didn't do a tube version of the EVSE.)
I picture a wooden box, with analog volt and amp meters, and a set of indicator lights (probably LEDs, but with a classic appearance). For the connector, I envision something almost like a classic telephone receiver, and indeed, I want to hang it from a hook like a classic telephone, which would also serve as a power switch ("on hook" = off).
This EVSE would live in the garage, and I'm not interested in making it a product; but of course, I do want it to be reasonably safe. I wonder about two things: the case, and the power switch. Over on the OpenEVSE forums, there was always concern about the possibility of overheating -- but, rather than use ventilation to keep things cool, they took it to the opposite extreme, trying to make the case airtight so that, in the event of a fire, it would quickly burn itself out. I always thought that was kind of bizarre, but, as I look at other EVSEs, some of them are similar. Is this really a thing -- i.e., to make it airtight to limit fires, and not just as weatherproofing? (I could always do something like a metal box inside the wooden case, but it wouldn't be my first choice.)
As for the power switch (of any kind), that's something I hardly ever see on an EVSE. Why? I get that it could be an extra step, but combining the switch with the handle holder would bypass that. And to me, it seems like the most obvious and effective way to eliminate the vampire draw, and hopefully even to protect the device against power surges when it's off. Am I missing something here?
So... any advice? Am I crazy?
I picture a wooden box, with analog volt and amp meters, and a set of indicator lights (probably LEDs, but with a classic appearance). For the connector, I envision something almost like a classic telephone receiver, and indeed, I want to hang it from a hook like a classic telephone, which would also serve as a power switch ("on hook" = off).
This EVSE would live in the garage, and I'm not interested in making it a product; but of course, I do want it to be reasonably safe. I wonder about two things: the case, and the power switch. Over on the OpenEVSE forums, there was always concern about the possibility of overheating -- but, rather than use ventilation to keep things cool, they took it to the opposite extreme, trying to make the case airtight so that, in the event of a fire, it would quickly burn itself out. I always thought that was kind of bizarre, but, as I look at other EVSEs, some of them are similar. Is this really a thing -- i.e., to make it airtight to limit fires, and not just as weatherproofing? (I could always do something like a metal box inside the wooden case, but it wouldn't be my first choice.)
As for the power switch (of any kind), that's something I hardly ever see on an EVSE. Why? I get that it could be an extra step, but combining the switch with the handle holder would bypass that. And to me, it seems like the most obvious and effective way to eliminate the vampire draw, and hopefully even to protect the device against power surges when it's off. Am I missing something here?
So... any advice? Am I crazy?