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Really considering putting in a DC fast charger at home

5182 Views 97 Replies 13 Participants Last post by  R.I.P., 
W
The L1 charging rate is pathetic and understandable. Capping the L2 charging rate at pretty much the L1 rate is not. So at this point I've been really considering putting in the Setec 10kW fast charger for home.

10kW DC Fast Charger - SETEC POWER

SETEC Power Portable 10kW DC Fast Charger is the best budget compact DC fast charger for individuals and small fleets.
www.setec-power.com www.setec-power.com

Theoretically this would give me the ability to charge from 0-100% in about 90 min. Maybe a bit longer if the charge rate starts to taper when near full.

What I find happen with my usage is I go out for a spirited ride, come home, and my battery level is low enough it really inhibits my ability to use the bike until the next day unless I just want to putter about locally and keep the speeds low. So basically the bike becomes a one and done for me unless I seek out an L3 charger which I don't have near me and sitting around for 40-50 min the hot Texas sun, is not how I want to spend my day.

So I've been seriously looking into the Setec. It has the ability to dial back the max charge rate from 10kW down to almost nothing. So I can balance how quickly I need to charge with the additional wear of the battery pack. Regardless it will still be less stress than going to a normal L3 charger which from what I understand the LW can only take a max of 25kW charge rate anyway.

So basically I could add about 1% charge per minute at max input. Or basically about a mile for every minute of charge based on my overall riding energy usage. This is a game changer for how I could use the bike. At home all I would need to do is replace one of my Tesla charges with this Setec and use my CCS adapter to charge the smaller Tesla. It would charge faster than the mobile charger I am using so a win/win.

The price is $2790 shipped to my door with a 2 year warranty. Even that isn't as bad as it seems. The electric vehicle charging station credit is back in the IRA bill that just passed. So I can deduct 30%, up to $1k, off my taxes. That puts me at about $1953 net to do this. I won't have to do any rewiring of my existing install. I already have a 60 amp circuit in place.

So it seems like a good option to circumvent the lack of faster L2 charging without a lot of additional stress on the battery pack. I can dial it up or down as I need it. This should significantly expand the usability of my bike by reducing the charging window when needed. When I have time, I'll just dial the charge rate back to 2kW or so. When needed a quicker top off, just dial it up.
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W
It is only a 10kW "portable" charger. Portable in the sense that you don't have to wall or floor mount it. I have asked Setec if they give any sort of quantity discounts for more than one but we need at least 5 and then only a $100 discount per unit. So no real benefit there.

They quoted me $2400 for the charger and $390 DHL shipping to the US. As mentioned upstream the total is $2790. They can ship other places than the US but would need a quote for that area. For less than 2k all in after EV charging credit, I am going to do it. It will work with my Tesla and if I buy an Energica down the line as well.
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W
I will. I am doing a lot of traveling over the next few weeks so I'll order when I know I'll be back home and have time to set it up. So hopefully all done by mid-Oct.
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thanks for all the insight. If I can get a consistent 5kW to 6kW, I am good. it is still worth it for me. Time is the one resource I don’t have enough of.

In the end it isn’t that much more than the charge tank would’ve been on a Zero.
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Supposedly the pack is an 15kW pack. So that puts a full recharge at about 2.5 hrs if going from 0-100%. Or looking at another way, basically on my typical usage, I can reclaim 40 miles of range for every hour of charging. Or about 40% per hour as well. That is a no brainer for me.

I'll just put a Nema 14-50 on the end then I can use it in many places. Lot of those at campgrounds, tracks etc. I already have a 50 amp circuit with a Nema 14-50 outlet. I can do 40 amps continuous with will still charge one of my Teslas at about 9kW which is better than the mobile charger of about 6kW and I can then do a moderately fast, and less stressful than high output L3 on the LW.
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Thanks for sharing. Unfortunately it looks like most of the ATESS chargers require higher voltage (260-485) than what we typically have in the US (220) and most of them are CCS2 chargers. I need 220V input and CCS1 for my LiveWire.
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My plan was to wire a Nema 14-50 connector onto the Setec and go that route.
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I was actually thinking along those lines with this.

J1772 to NEMA 14-50 Adapter – EVSE Adapters

www.evseadapters.com www.evseadapters.com
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The factory was very helpful. I think I've been writing Mila there. I was getting ready to order after New Years. I was looking at their 10kW model, single phase with the CCS1 adapter. If you don't mind sharing what exactly you ordered and is working here, it will reduce the risk of ordering the wrong thing.

I asked them about a quantity discount as in sort of a group buy in case more people were interested in buying, but it wasn't significant. We'd only get a $100 discount if 5 people ordered.
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I don't know what happened to Setec. They've gone silent or maybe closed down for some holiday. I've been trying for several days to get the 10kW charger ordered without luck.

The weather has been good enough that I can ride quite a bit each day and the slow L1/L2 charging is really irritating me again. It was about 70F today and a lot of fun to ride.

They told me about a week to build, another week to ship to the US from the time I ordered. So maybe, if they come back online so to speak, I might have it by the end of the month.
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Looks interesting but probably will cost more than it is worth to me. The LW is just a specific use case I am trying to find a solution for at a price point that is worth it to me.

If it has faster L2 charging, I'd be happy, even if it I had to give up L3 charging. This is not a bike I plan to ride 500 miles in a day. The Experia would be a much better option for something like that.

The lack of fast L2 charging is my main area of buyer's remorse about the bike. That and the crappy rear shock annoys me more every day.
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Heard back from Setec, Should have it ordered soon.

I like how the LW looks better than the DelMar. Also it is an unknown quantity at this point. Pretty much most of the warts of the LW are well known by now. There is a lot to like about the bike and I find it I ride it despite its flaws far more than my other bikes (if the range is enough).

As soon as there is a better shock available for it, I am replacing mine. The slow L3 charger will resolve my other complaint. With any luck I'll be using it by the end of the month.
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W
The Setec is finally ordered. I'll let you all know when it arrives and when I can finally get it installed.
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R.I.P. said:
This unit does not mesh with or replace L3. It takes the juice from L2's and converts it to L3 to overcome the limits of vehicles with a small L2 onboard charger. I am using it with a Chevy Spark EV, which has a pathetic 3.3Kw L2 onboard. This makes for extremely slow L2 charging. The Setec unit allows me to take everything a 7kw L2 station can put out, stuffing it into the L3 pins on the vehicle instead of the slow L2 pins. It is no replacement for real L3, but more than doubles my L2 charging speeds.
Click to expand...
My Setec is finally being built and with any luck I might have it next week. Did you wire yours with a NEMA- 14-50 plug on it? If so, what one did you use?

I am excited to finally get this and try it out of the weather will stay enough above freezing to ride.
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The Setec has been built and will be shipping shortly. Unfortunately, it will likely come while I am on vacation. With any luck, I can have it operational by Feb 22 or so when I am back.
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Just a quick update. My bike has been taken to the dealer since it wouldn't start up. It has been there a week and still no updates but they are working on it according to service. My septic arrived in 2 boxes but can't really look at.

I had an injury to my leg that required surgery. I won't even be able to walk for probably 2-3 months, add 1 month before I can to PT. Then a month of PT before I can probably ride. I am basically living on one level and totally off my leg for about the next month. Garage is on the first floor so and most everything else is on the 2nd and 3rd floors.

I chose the level with the kitchen so I can at least crawl to the fridge for food and drink since I can't walk and need to stay off it almost 100% of the time. The surgery was a biatch and pain the last week has been intense. None of that compares to the intense cabin fever I am dealing with. I can't go outside (too many stairs to navigate and need to be off my leg). I can't get my leg wet. Can't see or ride my bikes, drive a car, etc.

Injury turned out worse than the doctor could see from the MRI so it has pushed all my initial recovery estimates outward. This is the time of the year it isn't too brutally effn hot and by the time I can ride, we'll be back in the mid to high 90's to stay.

I just hope the repair is good and I can walk and ride again. The doctor wouldn't give me a straight prognosis. It was a generic outcome and couching their words. When I asked specifically can I do "X", the comment was given the nature of your injury, you'll see marked improvement from that but nothing approaching "things will be pretty much as they were before the injury".
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