ZJ Beny EVSE

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doug
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ZJ Beny EVSE

Post by doug »

Hi,
currentlky considering the Beny EVSE. These are similar to the Tesla wallpoint (Coffin shaped)
charger, but I suspect the firmware will be different. ZJBeny builds some Wallboxes for Tesla)

https://ultipower.com.au/collections/ev-charger

Ultipower seems to have the best price atm.
There is a model coming that has OCPP ver 1.6, which allows the power retailer (with permission)
to load shed during critical periods (that you would hope is attached to a good power rate!)

There is a DLB box connected by RS485 (using cat 5 network cable) that can Dynamically Load share
by measuring Grid consumption & option of PV monitoring, with a retail abt $750 so very reasonable.

I have been in contact with ZJBeny & they said they will publish the RS485 API in June. This
will suit me because I am on a 2 phase 180deg rural supply, so need to monitor more than the DLB
box provides. (There is a project on Github to interface Tesla wallbox, & this unit will be similar)
Fairly easy interface with rPi & RS485 dongle.

fyi, my current monitoring is IOTaWatt (a reasonably priced OpenEnergy project from the USA) for
Loads, & currently setting up a Node Red interface on my Victron Venus GX (Beta firmware) for the
Generation/Battery side. This stores on an OpenCMS database, which will then talk to the rPi
to control my EVSE.

btw, a General question: does anyone know if you can power 2 phases/180degree phase on a multiphase
EVSE? I have looked but never found a definitive answer.

regards, Doug
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coulomb
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Re: ZJ Beny EVSE

Post by coulomb »

doug wrote: Thu, 12 May 2022, 10:53a General question: does anyone know if you can power 2 phases/180degree phase on a multiphase
EVSE?
Interesting question. I'd never heard of 480 V "two phase" in Australia. I can't even find what the outlets would look like.

My guess is that the answer is: it's undefined. It might work in many circumstances, but the 480 V phase to phase might cause problems in some cases. And if it does, it will likely be an expensive problem, from flash-over or over-voltage of some protection device. Of course, you can only supply neutral and two phases, so in the best case you could get 2/3 of rated power to a vehicle expecting 3 phases. So 7 kW from a vehicle capable of charging at 11 kW, for example. Charging power might be measured on one phase and multiplied by three, thereby reporting 50% more power than is actually being delivered.

As far as I know, no vehicle actually relies on the phase to phase voltage, i.e. they are all star loads, not delta.

The safest way would be to connect just neutral and L1 to one of the phases. Many vehicles charge from only L1 anyway. Single phase installations are common, so the vehicle should not throw fault codes if phases L2 and L3 aren't live.
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doug
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Re: ZJ Beny EVSE

Post by doug »

Thx. The 480v/2 phase 180deg are an old rural oddity. It allows smaller supply cables.
Mine is 100+M underground, with 35 sq mm cables. Essential still wanted to limit my PC export to 4+4 Kw.
Not that it matters: I try to use it before export, & my inverters are Voltage controlled, so I sometimes see 10Kw
going out. I had to switch to vge control because the inverters were always tripping! (Never miss a beat now)
shallowal
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Re: ZJ Beny EVSE

Post by shallowal »

I think the Tesla HPWC supports 2 phase charging as split phase is common in USA. I dont know if it supports 480V though.
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Re: ZJ Beny EVSE

Post by Audi E5 »

Any news on that ZJ Beny RS485 API? Would be interested in it.
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PlanB
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Re: ZJ Beny EVSE

Post by PlanB »

Be careful doing business with ultipower, that will not refund if you are unhappy with the product.
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