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[c0t0d0s0]

OK, I know that this is basically the opposite of what everyone else wants...but can I slow do the onboard charger on my 2011 DS?

The reason that I ask is that my truck has a 1,000 watt inverter but the inverter is only designed to do that for like five seconds. If I could dial the charger back to 850 watts that would be perfect.

Any options?

[benswing]

FYI, the charger draws less than 970W at all times.  The charging curve starts lower (depending on how low the battery is) and gradually works its way up to 970, then it finishes charging at a much lower rate.  I have included the measured charging curve for my 2012 Zero S from yesterday because it is typical of what it looks like every time.  This is measured at the outlet.

On this particular day i had used all but 3 bars.

[trikester]

Interesting. On my 2010 DS and my 2012 DS the charger input starts out at about 1050 watts and stays there until it starts dropping down as it approaches full charge. I didn't know that Zero did something different for 2011 than they had for 2010 and 2012.

Bottom line, however, for his question, it is not adjustable and I among others wish it were, so we could use a smaller power source to charge over a longer time, just as he wants to do.

Trikester

[protomech]

benswing,

What tools are you using to produce those graphs? Pretty cool.

Can the Delta-Q be programmed with an alternate charging profile for lower amp charging?

[trikester]

That graph looks like some of the topography I'm riding in here in S. Utah.

Another use for being able to lower the charging rate would be when having to use a very long extension cord or charging in an outbuilding that is wired with small gauge wiring from another building. I've seen a few of those. Not everyone, it seems, is an electrician.

Trikester

[protomech]

Alternatively, you might want to charge on a partly-loaded circuit.

[benswing]

That graph looks like some of the topography I'm riding in here in S. Utah.

Trikester

Trikester, every time you post something like that I want to go riding with you!  I got a taste of offroad riding on the Ride the Future Tour and want more!

I use Powersave equipment (formerly CurrentCost).  There are a couple of clamps connected to a transmitter, which sends data to a central hub in my home, which sends the data to the interwebs and I can access it at any time.  The graph function is particularly useful, but you can print reports in excel if you really want to crunch numbers. 

I use it to measure my electricity draw for motorcycle & car charging and discovered that charging my car and motorcycle simultaneously draws LESS electricity than my air conditioner.  Oy!

There are other systems that are similar, such as TED - The Energy Detective or Efergy or TheOwl.  I've been pretty happy with it and have saved a lot of electricity since I now am keenly aware of when it is being used or wasted.

[Doctorbass]

OK, I know that this is basically the opposite of what everyone else wants...but can I slow do the onboard charger on my 2011 DS?

The reason that I ask is that my truck has a 1,000 watt inverter but the inverter is only designed to do that for like five seconds. If I could dial the charger back to 850 watts that would be perfect.

Any options?

Open the delta Q charger and find the current sensor shunt inside. grind it a little bit until it decrease to teh desired current. That's it!

Doc

[KrazyEd]

I am not sure how you might be able to force this, maybe with a LONG extension
cord, but, I charge at an outlet at work that is so far from the power supply that
it only produces about 90 volts. I would think that if you are pulling fewer volts,
then you would also be pulling fewer amps. My Volt will refuse to charge on the
same outlet because of the lower voltage, but, the Zero is always fully charged
when I come out of work.

[protomech]

Since the Zero accepts a wide range of input AC voltages, I think it will pull harder from a lower voltage source.

[Doctorbass]

Since the Zero accepts a wide range of input AC voltages, I think it will pull harder from a lower voltage source.

Exact!