My Open EVSE Build Thread

voila! and now you have a portable evse in your trunk.

 

very nice! i'm going to need something for when i charge at work. i hang an ext. cord out my office window, so that keeps the brick elevated. but the coil lays on the ground and will get a bit messy in rain or snow. now that i think of it, i wonder if i can just hang the coil on the open charge door? but in high winds, that might make it bang against the paint.

 

that's a good idea! i have double hung aluminum windows, so i lift the lower sash and raise the screen an ich. then i toss the cord out and close the screen, put down a piece of styrofoam pipe insulation and close the window. there is a lip on the outside i think i can hang something on. it will have to be stong enough not to unbend with the weight of the evse.
hmm, i think a metal close hanger might work. sounds like i'm in for some experimenting. thanks trent!

 

i'll have to see what they have at the depot.

 

For 110V charging, is all this needed? I know that there needs to be a square wave with around 20% duty cycle to inform the PiP how much current is available. My question is: will the PiP electronics cut off charging when the battery voltage hits is upper threshold, regardless of any other behavior from the EVSE side. I see that it is very cool to have the information and flexibility on the EVSE. Just wondering if it is necessary and if it could be less expensive with just the proper cord and a squarewave (like a 555 timer).
-Bill (REVOLT, new 2012 silver PiP)

 

Go for it. But there is a clearly defined J-1772 protocol, and you should follow it, it's for safety.
It's more complex than a simple timer circuit. The major costs are not the electronics anyway, it has been and continues to be the J-1772 cable assembly, putting it in an enclosure, wiring up AC inputs etc.

 

are you asking what is needed for 120v charging? you have a pip with a 120v evse, yes?

 

You know the day you sell the OEM EVSE your homebrew will die, right?

 

Mitch - is there a quick summary of what is needed to reprogram the OpenEVSE? I built one a year ago, but started with a prebuilt/preprogrammed one from Chris and would like to upgrade the FW version. But, I don't have either an Arduino setup installed or the USB programmer. I can do both as needed.

Thanks!

 

i would put it on ebay and see what you can get for it, i haven't seen anything for less than $500.

 

LoadingFirmware - open-evse - How to load firmware to the Open-EVSE. - Open Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) - Google Project Hosting

 

I was looking at building one as well. I've spent some time on Open EVSE, and there's a lot of different guides and things to read. Do you have suggestions on where to start? What's a good reference on what to order? I'm an EE by background, have decent soldering skills etc..but there's so much I'm trying to cut through to what's important so that I can get started. Thanks!