Just to make you all aware I recently ordered the parts to make a final 20 of the 350ma cc grid chargers/kits. Once they are gone I will not be getting any more as they distract me from my other Insight projects. Most will probably go to UK owners.
But you can have a kit and make it up yourself if you are quick.
Kit includes the four power supplies, enclosure, label, connectors, diodes etc cost is £150 inc delivery worldwide or i'll make one up for you for an extra £50.
I have supplied over 10 of the 350ma cc chargers so far and the results have all been very positive. They are simple devices and seem to give a useful improvemnent to poor IMA battery performance. The are not a universal panacea for every battery issue and you might still need Ron's service but they are def worth a try.
They come with no warranty whatsoever and are used at your own risk. A signed disclaimer is reqd before I will supply a kit.
Mike's newer charger will be the best option for those wanting a quick recharge time and phev function. His charger will supersede mine once it is finished and my supplies are exhausted.
The beauty of the single stage 350ma cc charger is that it can be forgotten once connected within reason and should not cause any serious damage to the batteries if it is accidentally left on for more than my recommended 16 hours or so.
PM me for further details or download my gridcharger docs from my website.
http://www.solarvan.co.uk/insight/GridCharger.pdf
http://www.solarvan.co.uk/insight/Disclaimer.pdf
Regards
Peter
PS Some recent fedback
Quote:
Dear Peter,
I know it is still early days for my use of the battery
charger - but to date I would rate it a great success. The initial charge
took a long time but the result has been that the "assist" mode (and the
"charge" mode) has been much more responsive than it has been for a long
time. A week after initial use of the charger I again plugged in - this
time the charge period was much shorter. The IMA system continues to be
much better than before. MPG figures are not too good at present, but
probably reflect cold weather/cold starts/ short journeys + my wife, who
uses the car most, always running to catch up with herself.
One feature of the charger that is mentioned in the
instuctions is the LED light. On my charger the light comes on after a
period of charging - but does not go off again, as the instructions say it
will.
Count me a very satisfied customer.
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and another
Quote:
Peter
My CVT was doing a recal every 2-3 days and showing an IMA light which I would reset and all would be well for a couple of days again. I used the charger over a weekend for 16 hours. I don't think it completely rebalanced the batteries. However immediately the IMA was more lively. I had two further "recals" within 2 weeks, one positive and one negative.
All was well again for a few weeks after which it performed a positive one. I put the charger on again and this time the led indicated a completed process. Since then it has been performing as I would expect.
Several 300 mile weekend journeys and all seems very well. Last weekend I had another positive but that, I think is to be expected every couple of months or so since I mostly do shorter journeys since moving closer to work.
My view is that it has saved me a lot of money and/or effort by not replacing perfectly good but unbalanced battery piles. If the pack lasts another 40K or so I will be happy. After that I might be talking to you about replacing the batteries with an alternative of some sort and building a new battery pack.
All the best
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