Charging on 110V

[srl99]

GlennD taught me this trick. You may be able to select L2 service and have the L2 amp settings available, even if running on 120V. Your mileage WILL vary.

 

[GlennD]

GlennD taught me this trick. You may be able to select L2 service and have the L2 amp settings available, even if running on 120V. Your mileage WILL vary.

That will work. In the first menu item select L2 instead of auto. In the second menu select 20A. The only downside is strictly cosmetic. The display will say L2.

 

[jimbo69ny]

GlennD taught me this trick. You may be able to select L2 service and have the L2 amp settings available, even if running on 120V. Your mileage WILL vary.

That will work. In the first menu item select L2 instead of auto. In the second menu select 20A. The only downside is strictly cosmetic. The display will say L2.

That's interesting. Does it charge faster at 16 amps on level 2 than 16 amps on level 1?

 

[fromport]

That's interesting. Does it charge faster at 16 amps on level 2 than 16 amps on level 1?

Normally:
L1 (120V) x 16 amp == 1920 Watt
L2 (240V) x 16 amp == 3840 Watt


In this case, it's only cosmetic:

Openevse normally auto detects 120V (L1) or 240V (L2) charging.
on L1 it won't pull more than 12 amps (80% of 15 amp socket)
By manually switching from "auto" to "L2"
you can choose/limit the amp draw manually and set it to 20 amp.
You can do that when you would charge at an RV ground where you would (only) have a 120 volt / 30 Amp plug available.

 

[jimbo69ny]

Oh I see or you can use a firmware that allows 20 or 24 amp charging on 120. Both achieve the same thing right?

 

[fromport]

Oh I see or you can use a firmware that allows 20 or 24 amp charging on 120. Both achieve the same thing right?

Openevse is not "configurable" on 120 Volt (L1) at the moment.
Unless you make special firmware.

 

[jimbo69ny]

Oh I see or you can use a firmware that allows 20 or 24 amp charging on 120. Both achieve the same thing right?

Openevse is not "configurable" on 120 Volt (L1) at the moment.
Unless you make special firmware.

Im not sure which version you are using but you can indeed select a max amperage in both 110 and 220. In my portable dual voltage evse my max at 110 is set at 20 amps and 46 amps at 220. I can change it to one of many options based on the source I am pulling from.

 

[fromport]

Im not sure which version you are using but you can indeed select a max amperage in both 110 and 220. In my portable dual voltage evse my max at 110 is set at 20 amps and 46 amps at 220. I can change it to one of many options based on the source I am pulling from.

I don't have a openevse working with a display/button yet.
I always use the serial port to limit the amp.
So you might be right.

 

[jimbo69ny]

Im not sure which version you are using but you can indeed select a max amperage in both 110 and 220. In my portable dual voltage evse my max at 110 is set at 20 amps and 46 amps at 220. I can change it to one of many options based on the source I am pulling from.

I don't have a openevse working with a display/button yet.
I always use the serial port to limit the amp.
So you might be right.

I am. :lol:

 

[GlennD]

The car decides whether it is L1 or L2 depending on the voltage. The OpenEVSE uses a pair of Mid400s to look at the lines. If only one goes low it says their is only 120V and it uses the L1 table and it puts L1 on the display. If both go low is says there is 240V and it uses the L2 table and marks the display L2. When you take it out of auto it uses the table you select.

The EVSE always behaves the same and the car decides on the status.

A stock unmodified OpenEVSE sets L1 at 12A and L2 at 16A. The default current can be edited and when you have a select button you can step through the table currents.

If you do not have the RTC and you have CLI you can set the current with the serial port up to the max. For L1 it is 16A and for L2 it is 80A.

 

[fromport]

If you do not have the RTC and you have CLI you can set the current with the serial port up to the max. For L1 it is 16A and for L2 it is 80A.

What firmware to use for openevse with LCD (no rtc) and what version to use for no lcd with CLI ?

 

[Dsinned]

You did not ask about firmware in the case of JuiceBox, however fwiw, the JB's firmware would be the same regardless of the hardware configuration. A JB by design is "intelligent" enough to "auto-select" L1 or L2 input voltage, and if it has the LCD optional display, it also can auto-select the capability to be remotely controlled via menu driven commands using the 4-function key fob. The latter is then used as needed to "manually" adjust the J1772 current limiter up or down in 1A increments. It's a very simple but clever control scheme all included in the - one size fits all - firmware.

 

[ehelmholtz]

What firmware to use for openevse with LCD (no rtc) and what version to use for no lcd with CLI ?

It's the same firmware; there's only one stable current firmware for all openEVSEs. Here's the link to it: https://github.com/lincomatic/open_evse

This firmware can be edited with whatever parameters that you want. I set mine to L1 from 6A-28A defaulting to 18A. L2 from 6A to 42A, defaulting to 40A. These are adjustable by whatever increments you want, usually 1-2A increments (Well, on L2, I set 6A, 10A, 12A, 14A, 15A,16A,18A,20A,24A, 28A,30A,32A,35A,38A,39A,40A,41A,42A) As you can see, you can customize this to whatever values your heart desires. Since my cables are rated for 40/42A, I saw little reason to have the firmware go up to 80A (stepping through all of that is wasted time even if fast); if I ever get cables rated for 80A, I can easily edit the firmware accordingly.

 

[GlennD]

If you do not have the RTC and you have CLI you can set the current with the serial port up to the max. For L1 it is 16A and for L2 it is 80A.

What firmware to use for openevse with LCD (no rtc) and what version to use for no lcd with CLI ?

That is a compile option. Because they ran out of ram, if you select the RTC it automatically disables CLI or RAPI. The OpenEVSE in later versions will bypass the LCD if it is not present. If you have the RGB LED it operates like the LCD and the LCD must be selected.

Both Basic JuiceBox boards I have had on hand had two pilot pots. The L1 one was set for 16A.

I know we have a major JuiceBox Fanboy here but I have used 2 Basic JuiceBoxs and many OpenEVSE's. Both work but I prefer the OpenEVSE.

 

[ehelmholtz]

...I have used 2 Basic JuiceBoxs and many OpenEVSE's. Both work but I prefer the OpenEVSE.

I've used both too and whilst they both work, I find OpenEVSE much more elegant an implementation; JuiceBox isn't anywhere as refined.

 

[Dsinned]

Each to their own I guess. What sold me on the JuiceBox was the display and user interface capabilities. Also, I bought a JB in part, because of what may come in the future. I understand existing JB sales are going very well, but I believe eMW is still working on several enhancements to the old design. In addition, they are working on an entirely new enclosure design for their "next generation" JB which should be UL approved. I believe they are also working on: 1) more accurate AC measurements (perhaps equivalent to a public utility company's RGM metering capability), 2) Updated WiFi functionality, perhaps something akin to web hosted remote control and additional data gathering and reporting, 3) a possible IP Camera option, and 4) a cell phone application.

Some or all of these new JuiceBox capabilities should be coming within the next 3 to 6 months, and some or all may be retrofit-able into existing JuiceBoxes (excluding UL approval).

To make all these things a reality will stretch eMW's resources pretty thin, but I believe they are hiring more people, so they can expand their market.