OpenEVSE Charging Station any Users?

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lobster
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OpenEVSE Charging Station any Users?

Post by lobster »

I need to purchase a 7kW EVSE for home and use on interstate trips.

There are some compact devices that would seem suitable for travelling and taking on board the vehicle.

This Khons product is available from the manufacturer in China or Re-branded from local suppliers at well over $1000.

https://www.khonsevse.com/product/porta ... charger-2/


On these Forum Pages I have noticed brief mentions of the American made OpenEVSE Charging Station. These are available as Kits or fully assembled units.

An Advanced Series - 32A IEC Type 2 Mennekes Kit Bundle is priced at US $459.00 plus freight & GST.

This seems ideal for me, as I hold an A Class Licence I could assemble it as a portable plug-in unit.

https://store.openevse.com/products/adv ... kit-bundle


Could anyone who has used an OpenEVSE product, please share their opinion on their experience?

Cheers
Last edited by lobster on Wed, 01 Jan 2020, 19:47, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: OpenEVSE Charging Station any Users?

Post by lobster »

Bump.

Forum searches for OpenEVSE show these members jonescg, doggy, brunohill, reecho, and seem to indicate possible assembly, use or ownership of an OpenEVSE charge station.

I would appreciate any feedback on these type2 capable chargers.

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Re: OpenEVSE Charging Station any Users?

Post by reecho »

OpenEVSE has been brilliant so far. I have assembled a single phase version with 32A 3 phase plug for my Kona and also a 3 phase 32A version with long leads for a spare. They don't out of the box have DC offset protection but that can be mitigated with a correctly chosen RCBO in the supply. I use the firmware releases from here https://github.com/openenergymonitor/op ... /releases/ as they are correctly setup for EU limits. The Wifi function is great. You can use it in client or standalone mode. Kwh metering isn't entirely accurate as there is no voltage offset but it's reasonably close. Timed charging works with no issue.
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Re: OpenEVSE Charging Station any Users?

Post by jonescg »

I've been using @reecho 's OpenEVSE on the Prelude while I test it. Unfortunately it's the only EVSE which seems to work reliably with the Prelude conversion. So I will be inclined to buy it (or a similar single phase version) for leaving with Francess. The 3-phase cables are way too heavy for the job.
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Re: OpenEVSE Charging Station any Users?

Post by reecho »

Pics:
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Re: OpenEVSE Charging Station any Users?

Post by lobster »

Thanks for your replies, Those OpenEVSE photos are great. Is that 3 phase unit squeezed into a smaller local box, I can't judge the dimensions of box and those thicker cables?

Chris, I will also require a single phase unit for my EV, so the convenience of lighter weight and more flexible cables should suit my needs well.

For portable use charging an EV at showgrounds, workshops, caravan parks etc, I suppose a long extension cord would be better than having a much longer input cable than the one shown in the top photo?

I need the Type2 socket but their cable is only 5 metres or 16.45 feet long and their J1772 cable is a more useful 25 feet. I think having the shorter output cable could possibly have the EVSE box lying on the ground to be accidentally damaged by pedestrians or other adjacent vehicles. Can anyone share their thoughts length vs convenience?

Is the 32A OpenEVSE with Type2 socket interface able to adapted to an input supplied from a 15A or 10A socket and then limit the output current to the EV? I believe the Khons EVSE has selectable output modes to achieve this.

Richard, an RCBO installed in the home switchboard is achievable, but when taking the openEVSE on trips would you be recommending to have a portable RCBO? Would it not require a ventilated and water resistant enclosure?

Regarding the firmware changes is that done over WiFi, USB or a special programmer?

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Re: OpenEVSE Charging Station any Users?

Post by reecho »

lobster wrote: Thu, 07 Nov 2019, 21:31 Thanks for your replies, Those OpenEVSE photos are great. Is that 3 phase unit squeezed into a smaller local box, I can't judge the dimensions of box and those thicker cables?

Chris, I will also require a single phase unit for my EV, so the convenience of lighter weight and more flexible cables should suit my needs well.

For portable use charging an EV at showgrounds, workshops, caravan parks etc, I suppose a long extension cord would be better than having a much longer input cable than the one shown in the top photo?

I need the Type2 socket but their cable is only 5 metres or 16.45 feet long and their J1772 cable is a more useful 25 feet. I think having the shorter output cable could possibly have the EVSE box lying on the ground to be accidentally damaged by pedestrians or other adjacent vehicles. Can anyone share their thoughts length vs convenience?

Is the 32A OpenEVSE with Type2 socket interface able to adapted to an input supplied from a 15A or 10A socket and then limit the output current to the EV? I believe the Khons EVSE has selectable output modes to achieve this.

Richard, an RCBO installed in the home switchboard is achievable, but when taking the openEVSE on trips would you be recommending to have a portable RCBO? Would it not require a ventilated and water resistant enclosure?

Regarding the firmware changes is that done over WiFi, USB or a special programmer?

Cheers
1) Yes it's a three phase unit. There is a 40A 4 pole Clipsal contactor squeezed in there.
2) With single phase Type 2 you can generally order any length you want. The Blue Mennekes cable (bought from Tesla AU) was 7.5m for reference. That seems like a good length for travel. Oh and the black cable on the 3 phase was salvaged from a dead Tesla destination charger. Yes they fail....A lot..
3) You can adjust current on the OpenEVSE from 6 to 32A in 1A steps. Very good for sites with lower quality supply. The Khons and other might only have 3 or 4 steps.
4) The OpenEVSE has GFCI included in the kits. While Making an inline RCBO is an option I haven't considered it yet.
5) Firmware updates are done via USB Programmer. The separate WiFi module gets updates via web gui.. https://store.openevse.com/products/openevse-programmer
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Re: OpenEVSE Charging Station any Users?

Post by lobster »

Chris & Richard,

thanks for the good advice and installation photos.

I have ordered an Advanced Series - 32A IEC Type 2 Mennekes Kit Bundle with a 7.6m /25ft cable and a USB Programmer.

Cheers Steve
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Re: OpenEVSE Charging Station any Users?

Post by doggy »

I also built an OpenEVSE last July, so 17 months ago. It is a three phase unit in a bigger box (I still have the single phase box that came with the advanced kit if anyone wants one). I use it for single phasre 32A at home and three phasesat Showgrounds et al. I included a three phase RCD inside the box and also use their own fault detection so if plugged into an outlet with RCD, there end up being THREE protection devices not counting the car. I got the coloured display and am running the European three phase firmware. It has not missed a beat and is my "GoTo" charger. I am using the Eco Solar facilities whereby it tracks excess solar (I am using MQTT). I would like to mod the firmware a bit because you have to divide the kWHrs by 3 when running one phase. I would make Type1 be for 230V single phase and Type 2 (or auto) three phase. At the moment, Type1 assumes US style 120V.
One thing- there is a lot of RFI from the included power supply which affects AM radio reception (badly) in low signal areas. I added a suitable mains-rated capacitor of 0.47uF across the power supply and problem cured (and negligible impact upon power factor). When going for European Certification, they discovered something similar in the EU.
Cheers,
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Re: OpenEVSE Charging Station any Users?

Post by jonescg »

Good to know - I have just ordered the single phase version to go with the Prelude. At least this will work from any socket. I have also ordered a Type 1 to Type 2 muzzle adaptor so Francess can use Chargepoint and RAC chargers which are still all Type 1.
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Re: OpenEVSE Charging Station any Users?

Post by reecho »

doggy wrote: Mon, 02 Dec 2019, 18:42 I also built an OpenEVSE last July, so 17 months ago. It is a three phase unit in a bigger box (I still have the single phase box that came with the advanced kit if anyone wants one)
I might grab the box Dave if it's no longer required. PM the details... :-)

Are you using OpenEVSE firmware or EMONEVSE firmware?. The latter has single and 3 phase variants. https://github.com/openenergymonitor/op ... /releases/

But yeah no autodetection. That's a hardware design limitation..
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Re: OpenEVSE Charging Station any Users?

Post by doggy »

I am using the Emon SW latest version.
D
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Re: OpenEVSE Charging Station any Users?

Post by doggy »

This is the unused box.
Will dig out photos of the 3Ph unit. As I already had a Type2:type2 cable, I mounted a Type2 socket on the box rather than have a flying lead.
Cheers,
Dave
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Re: OpenEVSE Charging Station any Users?

Post by doggy »

Herewith the 3ph box.
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Re: OpenEVSE Charging Station any Users?

Post by doggy »

Not showing 0.47uF as I added this later....
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Re: OpenEVSE Charging Station any Users?

Post by doggy »

The OpenEVSE box is STRONG!
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Re: OpenEVSE Charging Station any Users?

Post by doggy »

Lobster & Jonescg,
Just a note about the OpenEVSE. If the advanced one, the temperature sensor is on the LCD panel. If you wire it well, the only heat generating object is the AC:DC converter (aforementioned for RFI). If you use the box flat- as shown above- the heat of the converter artificially inflates the reading which on a very hot day and under extreme circumstances could lead to throttling of the charge rate. If you run the box vertically, things are much better. In extremis, put it upside down and vertical so the heat goes up and away from the LCD. I have operated it as in reecho's first photo and run on a 45deg day at 22kW AOK. But I did (another time) have it out in the open on a 45deg day pulling 22kW and had to invert it which reduced the temp. reading.
It has a lot of features, many already mentioned. One I like is that it connects to a WiFi AP and you can access it locally or remotely. If you are out in the bush, you can connect to its own internal AP and control it with your phone. I once had it connected to my hotspotted phone (which was in the car) and then I could check on it from the restaurant where I was having lunch (with another phone). The WiFi phone app is good.
Cheers,
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Re: OpenEVSE Charging Station any Users?

Post by doggy »

Well, after 18months my OpenEVSE has DIED! Temperature was 33degC (inside the box).
Upon checking, I found that the 5v+12V DC supply is DEAD.
Fortunately, I have a backup EVSE so am not stuck.
The DC power supply in the unit is its Achilles Heel because it runs quite hot and they run it close to its max ratings. Also there are wattage deratings to apply. The quoted MTBF is very large so this is a very premature failure and rather disappointing.
Fortunately, I have a whole spare board. When I first purchased it, the RF interference was totally unacceptable and even affected our neighbours. The OpenEVSE people replaced the whole board under warranty and told me to keep the old one. So, I have now installed the old one which is noisy even with the 0.47uF cap on the input but at least it is working again and the RF onto the powerlines is acceptable for now.
I have unsoldered the old ABF-04D125 converter (somewhat of a chore with the plated through holes (x7). I am going to replace it with a Traco TMPM04225 from RS Components. Specs are pretty much identical. However I have had good results with Traco DC_DC converters over a number of years and hope this is better.
I'll update this post when I have tried out the new power module. The module is coming from overseas so it will be a little while.
Regds,
Dave

PS- I suspect the cumulative hours and a number of high temperature days probably killed the power module.
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Re: OpenEVSE Charging Station any Users?

Post by jonescg »

Thanks for the update, David. I built one for Francess which also gets quite hot, but as you mention, it's likely to be the DC/DC converter generating all that warmth. The cable which came with it was dual ~2.5 mm2 cable which when paired up is good for 30 A continuous, but with a 30'C temperature rise. Also, the contactor gives off a bright flash when you interrupt the charge by pressing the button. Which hopefully won't burn out the contactor too quickly. Surely that's better than burning out a pin on the car.
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Re: OpenEVSE Charging Station any Users?

Post by antiscab »

The car should be interrupting the charge before the contactor opens. Contactors don't last long when switching under load
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Re: OpenEVSE Charging Station any Users?

Post by doggy »

In my unit, the only thing generating heat is the AC/DC converter.
Also, if you build a 3ph unit, you need to be careful not to take any additional DC (for the contactor) from the AC/DC PSU which is on the limit.
Also, cabling should be crimped in the Mennekes and where possible elsewhere (reduces resistance). I crimped and then soldered (to fill any voids). At 22kW none of the cabling or joints goes up any more than 5degC.
The TracoPower replacement PSU (which is on order) has better derating figures over 60degC than the original one so it might have a longer life. On 42+degC days my unit has registered up to 55degC internally (all due to the PSU) and at that internal ambient I am prepared to bet the PSU is over the 60degC limit above which it should be derated. There have been murmurings about the PSU on overseas forums. In summer, in showgrounds, I erect an umbrella over the OpenEVSE!
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Re: OpenEVSE Charging Station any Users?

Post by jonescg »

antiscab wrote: Thu, 26 Dec 2019, 21:24 The car should be interrupting the charge before the contactor opens. Contactors don't last long when switching under load
Which is why I was concerned to notice spark nibble on the plug of the EVSE...
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Re: OpenEVSE Charging Station any Users?

Post by doggy »

Hi Chris, I have not checked the code. However, my understanding of pressing the pause button (either directly or via the web interface) is that the uP should tell the car via the Pilot signals to turn off charging. I have frequently used the pause button (both ways) and not detected an issue.

However I did (in the early days, August 2018) once pull out the Type2 cable from the OpenEVSE. That was a mistake. I was charging three phase at 22kW and this action triggered both the internal three phase RCD, the GCFI on the unit and the three phase RCD at the Showground. I had done it without thinking and never did it again!

Very strange to see evidence of sparking on the Mennekes Plug which should be physically latched into the car when there is any juice around and so sparking should be impossible.

Regds,
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Re: OpenEVSE Charging Station any Users?

Post by jonescg »

Well this is a conversion, so none of the latching features are in place. However the AVC2 should detect when the pilot pin is disconnected, and open the relay which disables the charger. It's likely that this process takes longer than it does to reef the plug out of the car.
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Re: OpenEVSE Charging Station any Users?

Post by doggy »

The replacement PSU arrived quicker than expected from RS Components and I have installed it. I also needed to replace one of the 1.6A non-resettable PCB fuses which had blown (there is one in each of the neutral and live connections to the PSU). The module is working fine again, has less RFI and will likely last longer. Here are some before and after photos. Red is the new PSU:
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