# Three 48v chargers to charge 144v pack



## Tesseract (Sep 27, 2008)

You need to see if there is any continuity between either battery side output and ground (i.e. - on the plug). 

Now, whether you SHOULD do this or not is another story. Surely there are better options for charging a 144V battery pack than this kludge?


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## BHall (Aug 1, 2007)

Thanks for the reply. I will try to contact Soneil again. No doubt there are better chargers out there but I haven't found any comperable for the total $477 + shipping these are. Any suggestions for a better charger under $500 would be appreciated. 

I initially was going to get one of the new Netgain chargers but things have changed and $1k is a little out of range right now. 

Lastly, what makes this charger a kludge? I see people use Soneil chargers all the time with no issue. Any input would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Brian


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## Thaniel (May 25, 2008)

I hear you. The price of high voltage EV chargers seems pretty out of whack if you ask me. Then there is balancing the pack and or BMS and it starts to be a little much.

Personally I'm looking into multibank marine chargers. Then each battery has it's own personal charger if you will.

Something like this just for example (there are 4 bank versions too)http://www.anchorexpress.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=1823300

I haven't done it yet so I'm not much help but thought I'd toss out the idea since you were looking at multiple chargers to charge one pack.


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## dataman19 (Oct 7, 2009)

How about building your own???
..
I posted a quicky 0-130VAC Charger in this thread:
;;;
http://www.diyelectriccar.com/forums/showthread.php/2-amp-vs-12-amp-charging-38597p2.html
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I use a 0-130VAC Variactor to give me o-130VDC using a 45-Amp FW Rectifier and two 250V 5,600 uf Electrolytics.
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the variacs can be bought here:::
http://www.circuitspecialists.com/level.itml/icOid/9441
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For 0-260VDC all you would need is to use a Voltage Doubler Rectifier instead of a Full Wave Bridge Rectifier. This would double the output voltage, but would reduce the available current by half (a fact of physics - and life!). Naturally, you would need two 1,800 uf 500V electrolytics - but hey, its still doable.
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Now who wouldn't want a 0-130V/0-260V Power Supply/Charger around?
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Then you could charge just about any battery pack (assuming the required charge current doesn't exceed 15-17.5 Amps DC...
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Hey- If you are energetic you can buy two variacs and physically link them (stack Them) to recover the half current loss in the voltage doubler. Then you can literally arc weld with it too!!! Plasma Balls anyone?????
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Seriously with high voltage and high current plasma fire becomes a threat and needs to be on your mind at all times. All of you vetran EV enthusiasts know what a plasma fire is....
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Plasma fires start with a arc of power at high voltage and high current. This is why people use arc suppressors and blocking diodes accross contactors and contactor contacts. Not using arc suppressors - you should be.
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Dave Mason
dataman19


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## elevatorguy (Jul 26, 2007)

Thaniel said:


> I hear you. The price of high voltage EV chargers seems pretty out of whack if you ask me. Then there is balancing the pack and or BMS and it starts to be a little much.
> 
> Personally I'm looking into multibank marine chargers. Then each battery has it's own personal charger if you will.
> 
> ...


I use a 4 bank version for my EV ATV, works great. Each battery gets it's own charger, i do see a difference in the charge times, I hope to make the AGMs last a while.


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