Enginer Plan B

I'm just trying to educate people to be careful...a lot of vendors make promises they cannot keep, and because of this there are a lot of unhappy PHEV customers out there.

Enginer is far from the best PHEV solution in the market...however it's fair value and supported fairly well....if you have modest performance requirements it is worth considering.

Do your research, have realistic expectations you should be ok.
Talk to end users instead of the manufacturer...that way you'll get the most honest information.

 

You chill out .....what would you know about honesty, contributions, and creditability .....You are always telling pc posters what not to do ......

 

Hey NortTex,
You are out of line. Please calm down and stop name calling. Your message is not appropriate no mater howyou feel about anyone posting on a forum.

Paul is one of the best and most reputable installers of PHEV systems. Clearly you are making comments without ever having met Paul or visited his shop. I have met Paul. I have visited several shops and done Email and phone communicatiuons with a dozen installer over the last 3 years, and I would recomend Paul to anyone without reservation.

Thanks,
Dan Lander

 

Please
I have a Enginer V6.Neither or between the two you(Dan21&Paul) have you truly "enlighten" or "educated" my pathway into the PHEV(EnginerDIY knowledge base) that I am calm. I do not need or desire for either of you to tell me how to form an opinion,comprehend, educate myself, and state an opinion on where to install, purchase, source, and otherwise find vendors for PHEV materials. If you want me to call and label you names I could do so with no reservation. This thread has nothing to do with(not buying from shanghi fountain,shops, installers, best installers, or recommened installers.)

 

Please
I ask you to post image on a different thread and you go hostile on me . You apparently have not understood, read, comprehend, and critically thought to form a complete opinion on this thread Enginer Plan B
whatever dude

 

I agree however when other pc posters (anyone) make statements with little or no veracity I will openly challenge that.

 

this thread became a trashy one not worth it to fallow any more tanks to the troll.....

 

If you were referring to Electric Motor Werks' 10kW charger, the price for parts itself is $999.

Electric Motor Werks!

We probably should raise our price from $600 to higher one

 

Getting back on track.

The first thing to remember about the Enginer kit is that it is precisely that. A KIT! As such it needs a bit more care and feeding than a system you get from a car manufacturer. The number of these kits is in the hundreds or maybe thousands not millions. From that perspective, the kits are doing what they were meant to do. Upgrading a great hybrid car into a super high mileage vehicle. In addition, the cost is exceptionally affordable considering that the competition is selling kits and upgrades for more than 3 times what Enginer charges.

The Enginer kits have been available for more than 2 years. I’ve had mine for 2+ years. Yes, I’ve had some component failures. But every time there is a problem a quick e-mail to Jack, gets a nearly immediate response. The problem is solved by Enginer sending me a replacement component.

So far, it appears that plan B does not need to be implemented. The kits are being upgraded and are still being advertised and sold. Replacement parts are available. My bottom line is that if you want to have bragging rights to the highest MPG vehicle in the parking lot, then this is the most cost effective way to go. And yes you may need to do some extra work to keep those rights.

 

Plan B charger posted by another user 立冠企業|電動車充電器|鉛酸、鋰電、鋰鐵電池充電器|電池檢測設備|變流器|代步車充電器|電源轉換器|

 

I am exploring making a Plan B dc/dc converter.
That seemed to always be the missing link for Plan B.

The other items seemed easier to source.

 

Hi Eric,
Good luck with the Plan "B" converter, the latest Enginer converter seems much better than earlier versions but my kit is only a couple of months old, so early days yet

Best regrads

Mike

 

Are Fountainhead ready for a comeback with their own PHEV kit?

I had trouble finding the Enginer patents for the PHEV kit. If anyone knows the Enginer patent numbers please pass them on. I had a look around on Google patents, I found PHEV kit patents registered by Jianhua Fang, of Fountainhead Electronics. But nothing by Jack Chen or Enginer.

I was trying to get the Enginer kit certified for European import, everything went well until I asked for the manufacturers addresses, for "conformance in production" EMC certification. Then I heard nothing, then they went bust. I wish Jack all the best.

I wish Mr Fang all the best. Mr Fang is soldiering on. He is working with University postgrads, fixing component issues, BMS active balancing, a BMS sleep mode function, BMS CAN protocol for com, charging profile suitability for Li-ion, converter efficiency is up to 93%, reducing waste energy lost as heat, converter EMC noise has been reduced to vehicle safe limits and electrical safety certifications have been attained.
Can it all really be true??? Estimated time for delivery is December 2012.

If Mr Fang is going to get the rug pulled out from under him now, new customers would like a heads up. I found out from Mr Fang that the non-compete agreement between Enginer and Fountainhead is not valid following one year after the end of business, which has passed now, it was for the US territory only. RFE told me that Enginer lost exclusive rights to the RFE 16F80H battery in April 2012. So the road looks clear for Fountainhead.

I hope this is some good news for those wanting to find new kits. For older kits the way forward with spare parts is a murky one, due to the backwards compatibility issues. I'll pass this issue on to Mr Fang for future versions.

I should be getting hold of the MD-Tech, Fountainhead - European certified, version in December. I'll keep you posted.

Regards
Sush

 

E

thanks for all updates .....Enginer website is dated(old info) for sure and hosted/design out of Colorado firm...

 

Hello Mike,

I guess you do not have much choice for a DC Converter supplier but I can tell you first hand that I have already done what you are doing and I received a Version 5 DC Converter from Mr Fang which blew up after two weeks of usage. The one he supplied me was modified/improved? and probably was one which was returned and replaced under warranty from Enginer. It had the Enginer copyright mark on the PCB. They rebadged the outside of the Converter. The transformers were also replaced and they put out a stink for a month or so. They smell like a rat crawled inside the converter and died, no kidding!!!

I had to pay by telegraphic transfer, first time ever for me. Paypal was not an option.

The old version 5 design has a cooling problem and the FETs will blow up due to overheating/thermal runaway despite Mr Fang having upgraded the FETs rating from 100 to 200 amps. My advice is to install the converter outside the box in the open and allow for maximum airflow to transfer heat away to allow the converter to run cooler. Even installing CPU cooling heatsinks/fans on top of the converter is a good idea.

There are two versions of the 5kw DC Converter - old Version 5 which will probably eventually blow up in hot climate and the latest version 6 which is taller and has improved design with the cooling fins inside instead of outside and larger cooling fans which provide for more airflow.

Mr Fang was very kind to supply me with replacement FETs but soon after Jack Chenny came out with a improved design Version 6 so I just keep Mr Fang's as a spare DC Converter which I have yet needed to use.

I am using a 8KWH kit using a v6 5kw Converter with a another V5 5kw Converter mounted on top of each other so that overall converter cooling is improved for both with a layer of white thermal paste for heat transfer between converters. The V6 Converter runs at a higher voltage than the version 5. I go through two relays to operate each converter so they automatically switch off when HV battery reaches 240Vdc. The two DC converters are connected in parallel and each output is individually protected by a 100 amp DC circuit breaker (used for Solar power systems). I cannot prove it but the two circuit breakers also seem to act as noise filters. Since doing this I have had no DC Converter issues.

As far as I am aware Mr Fang is not aware of Version 6 or its improvements.

- from what I saw from the DC Converter I received it is probably BS.

That sounds about right. Mr Fang had sent out his FH business catalogues to all of Jack's customers outside the US. I expect that now that Jack has ceased trading that Mr Fang will use all the Enginer Installer contact details from the Enginer.us website to sell the kits directly to the US.
If I was a Enginer installer I wold expect to be contacted in one way or another by Mr Fang.

You may want to check this fact MR FANG IS NOT SELLING THE VERSION 6 PHEV KIT

Anyhow I am sure we are all interested in what you end up receiving from Mr Fang. We would like to see pictures of the PCB if you get the chance. You can tell by just looking at the state of the PCB that the converter is a second.

I am sure that right now that whilst you are waiting one of Mr Fang's University graduates is getting paid about 40 cents an hour to modify one of the Enginer failed warranty DC Converters, one after the other until he can get one working.

My Experience with Chinese vendors is that they build it after you order it and their idea of good customer service is providing it as cheap as possible and after sales service is not part of Chinese business culture.

I hope you get a better Converter than what I did.

Good luck.

 

Hi Lopez,

Mine is the V6 kit and so far the converter has not caused a problem - no smell and runs quite cool. I am pleased with the kit, I was just looking for options now I have no warranty. From what I hear the earlier converters had lotts of heat issues
So far the only major issue has been the BMS which Jack repaired under warranty just before Enginer went bust it works so far but I don't trust it and also use Cell Logs to monitor the cells.

Best regards

Mike