OpenEVSE build

[frodus]

I got the OpenEVSE last year and totally slacked on building it. My Brammo came with an EVSE, so I had very little reason to build it. Decided to finish it up this last week while it was rainy. Very easy kit. It's flexible enough such that you can spend as much or as little as you want. I went inexpensive on this build.

I first bought my OpenEVSE kit when they were getting the orders in. Now they have an online store.

The main page is here:
http://code.google.com/p/open-evse/
The store is here:
http://openevse-store.myshopify.com/

Here's what I bought:

• 1 - OpenEVSE Plus v2
• 1 - Current Transformer
• 1 - RGB LCD
• 1 - Leviton J1772 15A charge cord
• 1 - NEMA 5-15P from the hardware store
• 2 - cable glands from the hardware store
• 2 - 3' length of 12GA 3-conductor SO cord
• 2 - 120/240VAC 20A relays with 12V coils from a local surplus supply
• 2 - CC type DIN rail mount fuse holders with 20A time delay fuses installed
• 1 - 20A terminal for ground connections

Stuff I scrounged:

• 1 - Plastic enclosure with switch from the trash at work
• 1 - 20A terminal for ground connections
• 1 - 4" length of DIN rail
• 2 - DIN Rail clamps
• Various screws, cables, etc that I had laying around.

Assembly was pretty easy. I decided to just mount the LCD to the plastic subpanel that was already installed inside the enclosure I got. Relays, DIN rail and the OpenEVSE board mounted right to the back panel. Wiring was pretty clean and easy.

Here's what it looks like:




When I first plugged it in, I could hear the relays clicking (part of the test routine), and the LCD was lit, but it didn't display anything. On the back of the LCD, there's a contrast potentiometer and it was turned all the way one direction. After removing the LCD and adjusting, the LCD displayed a few boot screens, then "READY".

There's a few settings the user can get to using long-press on a pushbutton. It allows to enable/disable some of the tests, setting of MAX current, etc. The LCD has an RTC, so it keeps the time. You can also set up charge delays. I haven't flashed the latest firmware and I'm not sure what any of the new the options are, but it's all Open, so it would be fairly easy to change things a little. I know there's a serial connection available for a remote terminal. Right now this is for setup only. The Current Transformer is so that the OpenEVSE can detect a ground fault and stop charging.

Overall it was pretty easy to build and will allow me to do L1 and L2 charging at 15A, which is the limit of my motorcycle. I could have built it a bit smaller, but I could fit this in a backpack, or in my topcase when I finish designing a rack for the Empulse

[protomech]

1 - NEMA 5-15P from the hardware store

Are you hard-wiring this to 120V? It could be plugged into 240V to charge more quickly, right?

[frodus]

It's got a plug on it for 120v at the moment.

I'll remove the plug and make an adapter later for 240v and make a 120v adapter. I only have 120v in the garage right now. I don't really need the 240v ability at home. It didn't cost me more than maybe $275 including the J1772 plug.

[RolfC]

Does it charge any faster then the origional EVSE? I'm looking at an old kickstarter project. http://www.emotorwerks.com/products/online-store/product/show/44-emw-juicebox-level-2-15kw-ev-charging-station-kit-or-assembled-unit. I'm hoping that it will charge it faster than the standard charger.

[protomech]

The onboard charger on the Empulse supports 85-270VAC 14A maximum, up to 3.36 kW AC at 240V.

The Clipper Creek EVSE included with the US Empulse supports 120VAC 12A maximum, up to 1.44 kW AC.

The OpenEVSE I assume supports 120/240VAC 80A maximum, although frodus selected a 15A J1772 cable set. Fine for the Empulse or 2010-2012 EV cars, will be a limitation for more recent EVs.

The Juicebox EVSE supports 240VAC 60A maximum.

Both the Juicebox and the OpenEVSE should be able to deliver 2.33x as much power as the Clipper Creek to the Empulse .. but because it is limited by the onboard charger, the Empulse will still only draw 14A from either of the higher-powered EVSE.