Really considering putting in a DC fast charger at home

5259 Views 97 Replies 13 Participants Last post by R.I.P., 8 d ago

Wavshrdr

Discussion Starter · 9 mo ago

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

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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Wavshrdr

Discussion Starter · #21 · 9 mo ago

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.

xophere

· #22 · 9 mo ago

tcypher said:
I by NO MEANS am good at math, but doesn't 6kW (on the high end) seem more like 4.6 - 5hrs?
granted, that's nothing to smirk at, considering the typical 11-12 hrs.

Oh show your work then!

I have no idea. I assumed 13 KW of usable battery and variable slowing speed? But if there is a better way to understand. I would assume the slop off is not the same as with the 22kw I get at a public charger. I presume it holds the 6 most of the time? varying with temp and charge state etc etc.

tcypher

· #23 · 9 mo ago

xophere said:
Oh show your work then! I have no idea. I assumed 13 KW of usable battery and variable slowing speed? But if there is a better way to understand. I would assume the slop off is not the same as with the 22kw I get at a public charger. I presume it holds the 6 most of the time? varying with temp and charge state etc etc.

ok, not sure where I went wrong.
I typically hover on the 110/120 at 1.3kW

So, 15/1.3 is 11.5 (which seems accurate)
and so does 15/6

/palm face

Menoche

· #24 · 9 mo ago

well, charging is not a linear science

looking at a few CCS charging graphs, the first 15-20 minutes are done at 22kwh and then it slides down to about 9-10 when the battery warms up. for an 90% charge in about 40minutes
at 6Kw, if the temperature does not get too high, you could in theory charger 15kw RESS in 2.5 IF the temperature control does not drop the rate.
considering the CCS charging never dropped below 8 in my last 10 charges, I believe that at 6kw,it would charge full capacity in (15÷6) in said 2.5 hours which is not bad at all actually

MVetter

· #25 · 8 mo ago (Edited)

Menoche said:
enough arguing,
here's the info straight from the Service manuals:
View attachment 1195

Hahaha oh man that is phrased SO POORLY on their part. I apologize, no wonder y'all are confused. Let me break it down because I can totally understand why it's so easy to misinterpret.

First part describes the charge inlet itself aka the charge port. Inside the charge inlet is the pilot (CP), proximity (PP), locking motor (clampy lock servo doodad), and the combo coupler (CCS housing). This inlet is rated for use with DC Fast Charge Stations which have a rated output of min 200vdc to max 500vdc at 200 amps max.

All of this describes absolutely NOTHING about the capabilities of the battery. This is just describing what the inlet is rated to handle, and then it describes some basic industry standards. After going all descriptive on the inlet capabilities, they go super vague on the battery's charge rates as dictated by the Charge Table and BMS.

"The RESS accepts and stores HV energy from the OBC or external DC fast charger during charging."

That is technically correct but soooo vague. They go through all the motions of describing what the plug is rated to handle, and then say "THEN IT CHARGE BATTERY" with nothing more. To be clear, the LiveWire is set up to request no more than 80 amps at any point during the charge process. There will be at least one or more high voltage charge fuses down the line, probably 100 amps or so that will just pop if it goes over that value. Again, the LiveWire's voltage range is ~240-300vdc. You cannot put more than that into it.

Here's a really good video that shows the voltage and amperage breakdown during a typical charge process. I've timestamped it to the relevant part, but if that doesn't work then skip to 1:05.

Or, to put it another way:

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Reactions: 3

Wavshrdr

Discussion Starter · #26 · 6 mo ago

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.

Leoxxx

· #27 · 6 mo ago

Did you already buy this EV charger? What is the experience of using it? I am considering purchasing the SETEC Power 30kW Tesla charger for my Tesla.

Fast charger for Tesla - SETEC POWER

Most popular DC Wall Box Charger offers 20kW power. A typical electric car with 24kWh battery pack may be charged less than 45 minutes.

www.setec-power.com

detansinn

· #28 · 6 mo ago

Leoxxx said:
Did you already buy this EV charger? What is the experience of using it? I am considering purchasing the SETEC Power 30kW Tesla charger for my Tesla.

Fast charger for Tesla - SETEC POWER

Most popular DC Wall Box Charger offers 20kW power. A typical electric car with 24kWh battery pack may be charged less than 45 minutes.

www.setec-power.com

That unit requires 3 phase power, something that you won’t find in a lot of homes in the US.

Reactions: 1

Leoxxx

· #29 · 6 mo ago

detansinn said:
That unit requires 3 phase power, something that you won’t find in a lot of homes in the US.

Thanks for the reminder.

R.I.P.

· #30 · 5 mo ago

Wavshrdr said:
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

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.

Wavshrdr

Discussion Starter · #31 · 5 mo ago

My plan was to wire a Nema 14-50 connector onto the Setec and go that route.

R.I.P.

· #32 · 5 mo ago

Wavshrdr said:
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.😎

Wavshrdr

Discussion Starter · #33 · 5 mo ago

I was actually thinking along those lines with this.

J1772 to NEMA 14-50 Adapter – EVSE Adapters

www.evseadapters.com

R.I.P.

· #34 · 5 mo ago

Wavshrdr said:
I was actually thinking along those lines with this.

J1772 to NEMA 14-50 Adapter – EVSE Adapters

www.evseadapters.com

Yep, that's the one 😎👍

Nwfg

· #35 · 5 mo ago

R.I.P. said:
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.

R.I.P.

· #36 · 5 mo ago (Edited)

Nwfg said:
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.

Reactions: 3

Wavshrdr

Discussion Starter · #37 · 5 mo ago

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.

R.I.P.

· #38 · 5 mo ago

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.

Reactions: 1

xophere

· #39 · 5 mo ago

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.

xophere

· #40 · 5 mo ago

This idea could be really cool for a car like the leaf as CHAdeMO becomes less common. Might some day justify my purchase. Though the leaf at 6kWh L2w.

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