Is there an alternate PFC charger in the same price range that has the
same abilities/features as the Elcon PFC-2500 for Chuck's 96V VW Rabbit
EV with a PbSO4 6V-wet-cell pack?
Is there a manual showing how to adjust the PFC-2500 so the finishing
voltage can be adjusted either because of the aging of the pack or of
climatic temperature changes (pack aging and temperature affect the
finishing voltage).
I had a Zivan charger like what Chuck has. It worked fine except it was
not as efficient as a PFC charger. A high PFC (power factor corrected)
charger wastes less power/energy as heat thus puts more into the pack,
which translates to a faster charging time.
Chuck is using a long extension cord from his Apt. down to the car port
below. So, some power is lost there. Non-PFC chargers are harder on
receptacles, plugs, cords, etc., thus need to be replaced more often.
What chargers are discussed here for the purpose of charging their EV
either off level-1 or level-2 will be advantageous to other drivers.
There are likely many drivers that have been happy and successful
charging off level-1 at home. But today, being able to tap into the
public EVSE infrastructure will have several benefits even if rarely
used.
To name a few:
-With a pack at the end of its life, the range falls off. Being able to
get a fast charge to get that last bit of usefulness out of the pack
while a new pack is on order would be advantageous.
-Of course be able to use the public charging to push your driving
ability is always nice.
-And having the ability to charge at both levels and tap into the public
infrastructure increases the resale value of the EV.
{brucedp.150m.com}
-
On Sat, Jan 26, 2013, at 10:12 PM, EVDL Administrator wrote:
> I hope someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the Elcon is a
> Chinese charger imported by some of the same folks who are/were behind
> the
> US distribution of Zivan chargers.
>
> Quite some years ago, a friend of mine bought a Zivan for his EV's 6v
> golf
> car batteries. He thought the finishing voltage was too high, and spent
> a
> great deal of time and money arguing with the distributors and shipping
> the
> charger to and from them. They outright refused to set it up the way he
> asked them to. They told him - in almost as many words - that they knew
> better than he what his batteries needed.
-
-
On Sat, Jan 26, 2013, at 09:37 PM, Chuck Hursch wrote:
> I have been on the fence regarding buying one of these Elcon chargers.
> I would really like to know how they behave regarding aging flooded
> lead-acid batteries of the 6V variety. The lack of real answers from
> the charger vendors isn't really going to cut it. I've gotten no answer
> or answers like:
>
> -----
> AFIK, the charger output current should naturally compensate for
> aging batteries as a function of the change of internal resistance of
> the battery pack (i.e., load to the charger). As the resistance of the
> batteries increases with age, current output will change proportionally.
> Voltage charging points will remain the same.
> -----
>
> Unless there is something going on I don't understand, this is BS. Not
> being able to change the constant voltage charging level is going to
> result in never getting there as the pack gets to be two to three years
> old.
>
> Would someone who has navigated the lifespan of a set of floodies with
> one of these Elcons like to share their experience?
>
> I think the set of curves in the charger is set with no input from the
> buyer. I'd be surprised at this point if a vendor would load a set of
> curves to account for aging.
>
> One of the primary reasons I would buy an Elcon is to make more
> efficient use of my 120V/20A line at my apt., plus give me the eventual
> flexibility to set up for 240V/J1772 charging. US Battery and Roland,
> plus some personal experience have pretty well convinced me that getting
> as close as possible to C/10 bulk charging rate (~23A) is worth some
> effort for pack life/performance. Well, 13ADC on a 120V line at 11A AC
> is a lot better than what I can do with my Zivan K2, charging untended
> into the night, safely and repeatedly. However, I've seen varying DC
> charging rates for the 2500:
>
> 96xx model, pdf manuals are on p1:
> 13A:
> Elcon: (TCCH-96-18):
> http://www.elconchargers.com/catalog/item/7344653/7638094.htm
> Evolve Electrics: (96XX):
> http://evolveelectrics.com/PDF/Elcon/PFC2500%20Manual.pdf
> 11A:
> KTA-EV: (96XX):
> http://www.kta-ev.com/v/vspfiles/assets/images/pfc2500.pdf
>
> I suspect it really is 13ADC (since Greg McCrea did write 13A, but, hey,
> he's reading a manual too), which is almost too good to be true from 11A
> off the line. 11ADC is not worth buying the charger. Anybody have a
> 96V pack and what are you seeing?
>
> My current pack is at 4 years and 12K+ miles, including a lot of hill
> climbing. I'm juggling low-cycle spares from my 2005-vintage pack into
> this pack, and my range is getting to that nasty iffy point to deal with
> the hill climb to my apt. I'm probably looking at a new pack within the
> next six to nine months (if I can justify it as I ride my bike to work
> most of the time now), and I'd like to deal with this charging rate
> issue for the new pack.
-
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