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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.
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.


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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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. 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.
You don't have to replace your Tesla charger, you can plug the Setec right into the Tesla charger for power.
My plan was to wire a Nema 14-50 connector onto the Setec and go that route.
That works well, it is just important to get the single phase version of the unit.

Add a J1772 to 14-50 pigtail, and you can use the unit at any L2 station, public or private (even Tesla destination chargers). The Setec plugs into the 14-50 end of the pigtail, the other end latches onto the J1772 supply and the juice flows.😎
I was actually thinking along those lines with this.

Yep, that's the one 😎👍
Has anyone tried to purchase the SETEC DC charger ($3,600)? If I remember correctly the “EVSE Adapters” website has listed this charger as “OUT OF STOCK” for over a year, and my request for a quote from the manufacturer SETEC has gone unanswered for about a year also.
I bought one directly from the manufacturer, it is fantastic. If you cannot get a response from them, PM me and I will get you the email of my contact. I paid $2,300 plus shipping to get it to Oregon.

I am into it about $3,000 after adding the 1450 plug end, and the J1772 adapter.
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I ordered exactly the spec you describe above: " 10kw version, single phase 240 with CCS1 connector." They knew exactly what I wanted, confirmed Max charging voltage of the vehicle and built it to that spec.
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I hope the connection is stable given all the issues with the public charging system. Be really cool if this was a real option for slow level 3. Looking forward to hearing what your performance is like.
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.
But have you tested on the LW yet? I don't know if the spark is as picky as the LW is about L3 charging connections. Oddly I did have my dad's leaf fail at the free airport L2 charging. But I presume that could have been poorly maintained charging stations.
No, I do not know anybody with a LW right now to test it with.
ok, so your only 400 miles away. 😁
Nice afternoon ride. I am on Plugshare, drop by for a charge if ever coming through. 😎
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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.
Chinese new years. I got some parts from them a couple of weeks ago, so they are alive & well. I talked with Angel day before yesterday.

These dcfc's are a side gig for them, so there can be a week at times with delayed communication.
Check this out

This looks promising for fast charging at home. It's says coming soon.
It does, but they have been teasing it now for about 3 years. I am on their email list for information, but cricket's about when it's going to be available. 🫤
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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.
Yes, I used a 14-50 plug from Home Depot. Let me know how it works!
Selling my spark EV, so I have a Setec unit for sale if anybody is interested in one.
$2,800 plus shipping. The unit is heavy, and the cables are bulky, so shipping is likely to be around $300.

Setec 10 kw. Connected to a 50 amp RV outlet the unit will output 9.6kw. Includes CCS1 connecting cables, 14-50 AC 240 connection, and a J1772 adapter which allows the unit to be powered off any existing public level 2 charger. The whole setup cost me $3,800 to put together.
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OMG I finally heard back from the place in Calgary that sells the same thing and they want $4500 USD! That's banana's!
Yeah, they are not cheap hardware.

I would love to test my unit with a Livewire to know if I should market it here, anybody reasonably close to Southern Oregon that would like to help me test it?
Man I am in PDX. I almost don't want to know. Could be very bad for my wallet. What you should do is sell it to paradise HD in Portland. Idiots. I would meet you in in Eugene. More then that is too far for the knowledge.
I'll meet ya in Eugene, it would be a worth while experiment.
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Yeah I'm really eager to find out if this works as well. Hey RIP can you tell us how much the unit weighs?
Without putting it on a scale my guess is about 35 to 40 lbs.
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If it does work and people are using LW's to ride around a lot during the day this makes a ton of sense. Ideally closer to $2K but whatever. If you need it you need it. If it maintains 6+kWh per hour it would certainly be a big deal. If it could do 10 like my Griz-E L2 in my garage and maintain it you have 2 hour charging. Be curious to see how it works for sure.
Hooked up to a 10Kw L2 or a standard 14-50 outlet I have seen charging rates as high as 8.6kw. obviously you have to dial it down if plugged into a smaller supply such as a 6.6... it obviously cannot put out more than it takes in lol.
What infrastructure would we need to test the device?
Any L2 EVSE, or 14-50 outlet.
OK so what weekends would work for you? I am sure we can fine a working L2 somewhere in Eugene. I think the only 14-50 outlet I have access to inside there. So once we find a weekend we can research and get a good location. I can arrive at like 50% charge and we can see what rates we get. Hopefully we can find a 6-10kWh unit and test with decent speed. DM me and I can get you my contact info.
I am retired, so I have a wide open schedule. Let me know when works for you.
😎
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