Good Day Mike,
I'm thinking that in addition to posting links to the charger videos and online info, you are suggesting that we start this new thread for ACTUAL USE of the charger here, yes?
Today I am slightly bummed... Tried to start my 3rd charge. After the 2 minute start period the charger shut down. I'm pretty sure the first "R" code was R9. I came back into the house to find user info (thanks for the links!). Went back outside and now have a R14 code.
I'm not surprised that it is too cold outside today. I'm not sure when I will get my garage cleared enough for me to get the car INTO the garage so that the air temp will be warm enough for grid charging.
Hi Cindy,
I am sending you the new code today, so you should see a lot more reliable topping operation.
The down side of being a beta tester.
Sorry
Mike
I have see that several times, and one of them was the fan shroud that let go while I was using it as a handle to carry the pack. It was onlt luck that it let go right over the rear hatch, so it did not hit the ground.
I just want to go into a bit of detail about why we have set the low temp and the Hi temperature limits we have set for the charging.
Got this from a NIMH battery manual:
Low temperatures (e.g. -15C (5F)) will obviously reduce Ni-Cd and Ni-MH battery discharge rate. At -20C electrolyte is at its freezing point, charge speed will greatly slow down. At low temperature (under -15C (5F)) charge will raise the internal gas pressure and probably unseal the safety vent. Ambient temperature of 5C (41F) to 30C(86F) is the best range to get effective charge. Generally with temperature rising charge efficiency will become higher. But when the temperature rises to 45C (113F)or higher, the materials performance in the battery will be degenerated and battery service life will be shorten greatly.
If we want to charge in the cold, take the car for a ride to get both the car and the pack heated up. If the ambient is very cold, one could put a small electric heater in the car, since we have an AC cord for the charger going in anyways.
The pack heat and the electric heater will keep the car and the pack in the 41-86F range
We also need to consider the situation where the pack is frozen, but the car has warmed up in the sun. I still advise taking a ride to warm up the pack, before charging, as the warm air will take some time to thoroughly thaw the pack.
We do not allow charging when the ambient inlet air temp is < 40F, or >97F or when the outlet temp (battery temp) is < 48 F or >107F . these conservative values will minimize the chances of the pack being charged when in a temperature zone that could damage or otherwise reduce the effectiveness. The Max inlet and max outlet temps are adjustable via the tech edit, but the minimums are fixed constants at this point.
Thank you Mike. I knew there was a good reason for the min / max charge temperature. I just did not know what that reason was.
Tim Glover
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike Dabrowski 2000
I just want to go into a bit of detail about why we have set the low temp and the Hi temperature limits we have set for the charging.
Got this from a NIMH battery manual:
Low temperatures (e.g. -15C (5F)) will obviously reduce Ni-Cd and Ni-MH battery discharge rate. At -20C electrolyte is at its freezing point, charge speed will greatly slow down. At low temperature (under -15C (5F)) charge will raise the internal gas pressure and probably unseal the safety vent. Ambient temperature of 5C (41F) to 30C(86F) is the best range to get effective charge. Generally with temperature rising charge efficiency will become higher. But when the temperature rises to 45C (113F)or higher, the materials performance in the battery will be degenerated and battery service life will be shorten greatly.
If we want to charge in the cold, take the car for a ride to get both the car and the pack heated up. If the ambient is very cold, one could put a small electric heater in the car, since we have an AC cord for the charger going in anyways.
The pack heat and the electric heater will keep the car and the pack in the 41-86F range
We also need to consider the situation where the pack is frozen, but the car has warmed up in the sun. I still advise taking a ride to warm up the pack, before charging, as the warm air will take some time to thoroughly thaw the pack.
We do not allow charging when the ambient inlet air temp is < 40F, or >97F or when the outlet temp (battery temp) is < 48 F or >107F . these conservative values will minimize the chances of the pack being charged when in a temperature zone that could damage or otherwise reduce the effectiveness. The Max inlet and max outlet temps are adjustable via the tech edit, but the minimums are fixed constants at this point.
That might be a problem around here, as our average lows in the winter are in the lower 20s. I have noticed that if the battery pack's temperature is below 32 degrees, the battery fan turns on to low. I guess they assume that the human will have the heat on.
I've seen talk here about the car performing a sawtooth pulsed charge when the battery is very cold, theorizing an attempt to warm it up gently. Would that be a feature useful for the grid charger? Sorry, I know it's too late to be thinking of software revisions.. just thinking aloud I guess.
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Using the Universal grid charger
Tried to start my 3rd charge. After the 2 minute start period the charger shut down. I'm pretty sure the first "R" code was R9. I came back into the house to find user info (thanks for the links!). Went back outside and now have a R14 code.
Updated Jan 2013
