# Onboard Charging Question



## the gas wizard (Apr 19, 2008)

i am going to be mounting the battery charger in my car that i'm build for one reason only. 
it make it able to be charged off any 240v outlet. what i wanted to know is do you have to put a big diode in the charger line so that it doesn't flatten the batteries when its not being charged? or am i thinking too much?


----------



## Coley (Jul 26, 2007)

Mine has a timer that shuts if off when I set it to.

BUT, I don't always shut it off with the timer. I just pull the 220 volt AC plug and drive away.

You don't need a diode or anything in the line. I think it is because the rectifier that controls the output, is still on the job, even when power is shut off.
I hard wired mine right to the pack, so it is connected at all times.

I just make sure I unplug power to it, before turning the relays and contactor on...


----------



## the gas wizard (Apr 19, 2008)

thanks. that makes sense.


----------



## michaeljayclark (Apr 3, 2008)

could you have a set up where you have a generator onboard that produces 240 VAC and the charger is plugged into. Then when you are driving down the road, the generator is on producing 10,000 watts and the charger is drawing 30 amps at 240 VAC.

can you drive, drawing from the battery pack and have it being recharged with the charger at the same time while being plugged into the generator?


----------



## the gas wizard (Apr 19, 2008)

sorry mate but my idea is to go completely off the grid . ie wind and solar plus my electric car and no fossil fuel! but a good idea for a hybrid! but then again .....could you not just run the car off the 10kw generator motor instead in that case


----------



## michaeljayclark (Apr 3, 2008)

You could be totally not on fossil fuel if you run a diesel generator with bio-fuels or have a propane tap and then run it on compressed hydrogen.

The motor can demand up to 500 amps on hard acceleration so a 10K, 15K, or 17.5K generator could no way keep up with the demand by the motor. A go between has to give the motor what it needs and then something has to replace what the motor takes.

range extension has been studied by ac propulsion. they say it is possible with the right generator. Just have to build on, test it and get the hard numbers.


----------



## joseph3354 (Apr 2, 2008)

GM is banking on the same idea with the volt,ICE powered generator charging batteries on the fly,if your generator puts out enough power it should work.i dont know what kind of fuel savings you would get but GM seems to think it will work pretty well.


----------



## michaeljayclark (Apr 3, 2008)

the average speed of the EV will depend on the MPG on a trip.

If your generator burns half a gallon per hour of gas and you average 30 miles per hour, youll see 60 miles per gallon.

if you drive an average of 40 miles per hour, then youll see 80..... an so forth.

driving slow then means you will start wasting gas, so speed up america! and you know that will work because people love to drive fast!!!!!

the real question would be as you are driving how much of the battery gets depleted and then how fast can the charge be replaced....

acceleration the charger could not keep up and you would use more of the battery then the charger can replace. its on slower speeds and stops the charger will begin to charge more then you are using.


----------



## the gas wizard (Apr 19, 2008)

i still dont like the idea of having an ICE onboard. oil for lubrication and bio diesel still has emissions and i've played around with hydrogen. you need lots of hydrogen by weight to make an ICE run for any distance, even a small one. and to make the hydrogen.....well thats another story. sorry i'll stick with my wind generator and solar power.


----------



## michaeljayclark (Apr 3, 2008)

there are many people that will want a purely electric car. I want a purely electric car as well. I am not talking about producing hydrogen. I am speaking of compressed hydrogen that you buy in cylinders like propane.

A long range EV is just not possible unless you have an unlimited budget. Met a guy yesterday that spent 55 thousand on his XB to be converted by AC Propulsion. Has a 130 mile range.

The general masses are not ready for an electrical car with limited range. They want a car with unlimited range like a gas car. If we keep telling them the longer ranges are only possible after spending 100K they will just simply say they will by gas at whatever price.

Unlimited Budget = Long Range


----------



## the gas wizard (Apr 19, 2008)

sorry i opened this thread to ask about diode protection while charging and we might have got a bit off track!


----------



## joseph3354 (Apr 2, 2008)

whenever you get more than 2 people trying to contribute to an idea it happens,but then thats a good thing sometimes.


----------



## michaeljayclark (Apr 3, 2008)

Everything falls into the onboard charging topic I think...


----------



## the gas wizard (Apr 19, 2008)

check my first question!


----------



## joseph3354 (Apr 2, 2008)

i wouldn't think that you would need a diode,when you charge a battery or pack the fact that the charger is still connected doesn't drain them any detectable amount.


----------



## the gas wizard (Apr 19, 2008)

thanks mate, i just wasn't sure


----------



## michaeljayclark (Apr 3, 2008)

speaking of onboard charging in general..

as far as an onboard charger, all the EVs I have seen had onboard chargers. I dont think they drain when the vehicle is off.


----------



## O'Zeeke (Mar 9, 2008)

I dont have the batteries in my Mustang yet but i plan on only connecting the charger during charge cycle with an Anderson connector just to avoid any potential problems while driving


----------



## Da_Fish (Apr 28, 2008)

I would think you would like a charger that charges the batteries and when the batteries are fully charged it would revert to trickle charge to keep them max until you pull it off the charger and drive away. Does this exist? As for a Diode I would check your charger and see if it has the ability to shut down when the system is fully charged. You can overcharge batteries damaging them and reducing their life span if you are not careful. Fire and explosion is also an issue with some types of batteries if overcharged.


----------



## michaeljayclark (Apr 3, 2008)

smart chargers are the only ones I have seen used.... cooking batteries is a BAD thing.

you need a smart charger with a good battery management system and a good battery equalizer system which I know there is a better word for. BattEQ I have heard is an excellent system


----------

