another charger option for 914ev

[Dave Hale]

hi all,

Before I bought my kit I heard from various sources that the Manzanita Micro PFC-xx chargers were good chargers. I tried to add it as an option but was told by EA that it wouldn't fit in the front luggage compartment where the Zivan NG3 is designed to sit. I wanted to maintain that location so I went with the Zivan. Now, for various reasons I wish I had the flexibility of 220V charging, plus the NG3 has other issues (it takes 14+ hours to charge if I've driven round trip to/from work, and it boils the batteries with every charge, both of which are not advised by US Battery). So I made a mock-up of a PFC-30 out of foam core board to see where I could place it. I found that it fits in the same position as the Zivan NG3 charger. Now, it just *barely* fits, so if there are any variations between vehicles then it might not fit in yours. But this is just to let you know that you might be able to consider this option if you are tired of the Zivan over-charging your batteries but didn't want to fill your rear luggage compartment with another box.

The PFC-30 is stated as residing in a box 13 x 9 x 5.5 inches. From the photos it seems there is a bolt flange. Does anyone know if this bolt flange is included in those dimensions?

Attached is a photo of my mock-up in place. You might notice that my 5-year-old helped me make it.

--Dave

http://www.evalbum.com/2500

p.s. Has anyone noticed that the search feature on the 914ev google group is no longer working? Searches return either nothing, or very limited results. I can search for a term that I can even SEE in a discussion and it will claim to not find it.

[Terry M Brown]

So, how do you know that your Zivan "boils" your batteries?
 

Terry B

---

From: Dave Hale <da...@halestorm.us>
To: 914ev <91...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Friday, September 25, 2009 12:57:53 AM
Subject: [914ev] another charger option for 914ev

[Dave Hale]

I can hear, see, and smell it.

The first indication was that every morning my PakTrakr was issuing an overcharge alert on all batteries, accompanied by the smell of battery acid in my small, rather well-sealed garage. So I started going out to the garage earlier to watch what was happening towards the end of the charge cycle. The batteries were being held at 192.6V (this on a 18*8V = 144V nominal pack) for about a few (~2~3?) hours. I could also hear the bubbling. I removed the top from a battery and sure enough, I could see the boiling.

I contacted Zivan about this "overcharging" and they claim this is in the design of their charger, that they batteries must be boiled like this. I asked US Battery about it and they said no, not every charge cycle, certainly not twice per day as Zivan advised me, but rather more like every six months.

--Dave

[Randy Pollock]

Hi Dave,

I've set my Manzanita charger at about 187V. I get a little boiling,
but not much. Once the 187V is reached, the charger cuts back on
current. I've got it set to hold the voltage for 60 minutes, but on
most charges the current is essentially zero within 10 minutes of
reaching the set point. I've been thinking of dialing the timer back
to 20-30 minutes, but it seems to take longer right after I've watered
the pack. With the current so low, it doesn't seem to be hurting
anything to let it be.

If you want to come over and measure mine, you can make sure you
understand the dimensions. You can even bring that artfully designed
mock-up to check.

I bought the PFC-20B. The "B" means that it is "buck enhanced".
They claim that gives me 30 amps on 220 but only 20 amps on 110.
Since 110V 30A circuits are quite rare, I figured that was good
enough. I would also recommend that you spring for the current gauge
built into the display. I love mine.

Happy driving.

- Randy

On Sep 25, 2009, at 1:14 PM, Dave Hale wrote:

> I can hear, see, and smell it.
>
> The first indication was that every morning my PakTrakr was issuing
> an overcharge alert on all batteries, accompanied by the smell of
> battery acid in my small, rather well-sealed garage. So I started
> going out to the garage earlier to watch what was happening towards
> the end of the charge cycle. The batteries were being held at 192.6V
> (this on a 18*8V = 144V nominal pack) for about a few (~2~3?) hours.
> I could also hear the bubbling. I removed the top from a battery and
> sure enough, I could see the boiling.
>
> I contacted Zivan about this "overcharging" and they claim this is
> in the design of their charger, that they batteries must be boiled
> like this. I asked US Battery about it and they said no, not every
> charge cycle, certainly not twice per day as Zivan advised me, but
> rather more like every six months.
>
> --Dave
>
> On Fri, Sep 25, 2009 at 12:17 PM, Terry M Brown
> <tbrow...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> So, how do you know that your Zivan "boils" your batteries?
>
> Terry B
>
>

[David Dymaxion]

I ran my Porsche 9Electric on the Salt Flats! I didn't go very fast, but it was fun and much was learned. Look for a faster run in 2010.

http://ExplodingDinosaurs.com/9electric/2009saltflats/

[url=http://ExplodingDinosaurs.com/9electric/2009saltflats/]http://ExplodingDinosaurs.com/9electric/2009saltflats/[/url]