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Total Members Voted: 86

[Doug S]

"There was a delay at the manufacture due to the Thanksgiving break. The Chargers will be shipping soon. "

I got the same message, which was very welcome. Since I asked, Michael also told me that the input will be a J1772. I'm not quite sure what to make of that, since most J1772 sockets can't handle 50A. I had thought there would be some sort of generic input connector (probably an Anderson), with adapters for the various connections.

I guess at this point I'll just wait to see what arrives. It won't take long to assemble a 14-50 cable once I'm sure what I need.

[Burton]

I guess at this point I'll just wait to see what arrives. It won't take long to assemble a 14-50 cable once I'm sure what I need.

I have a feeling if you use a 14-50 you are going to have to spoof the J1772 signal given from a standard external charger for it to work :/

That said I have seen Brandon running around with a 14-50 to J1772 but idk what was done with signaling. ... might just be ignored if not present. (i hope so )

[Doug S]

I have a feeling if you use a 14-50 you are going to have to spoof the J1772 signal given from a standard external charger for it to work :/

When we ordered our chargers, they asked what connectors we wanted, and I asked for J1772 and 14-50....they indicated that wouldn't be a problem, and the invoice shows two charges, $22 for a "Super Charger modular power connector - J1772", and $80 for a "Super Charger modular power connector - NEMA 14-50 and mount". So I assume all the interfaces are worked out. The NEMA entry also says "Allows charger to connect to any NEMA 14-50 outlet. This is not a smart connector, so you will need to adjust amperage manually via the DigiNow Super Charger App.", which is actually pretty exciting -- obviously there's going to be an app to give the user control. Good stuff!

I'm just thinking about cabling. The J1772 chargers have a cable, with a J1772 jack on the end that fits into the bike's socket. But a NEMA 14-50 outlet is just that, an outlet. I just want to figure out what's the most expeditious type of cable to hook up with. I'll probably use the 14-50 hookup much more than the J1772.

[MostlyBonkers]

Justin: Have you ordered one yet? They'll need to fit a Mennekes compatible input for the European market unless I'm mistaken.

I didn't know that J1772 sockets couldn't handle 50A. That's only 5,500 Watts at 110V. So you'd need at least two together to get anywhere near the claimed 10kW charge rate. I think Mennekes is higher voltage and capable of much higher power output too.

[Electric Cowboy]

Hey guys!

Sorry for the absence on the forums, update time :

So manufacturing of the first chargers went pretty well. I never realised just how hard it is to get manufacturing all set up, even with experienced help, and how many moving pieces there are! We had a slight delay over the holiday and an issue with one the j-plug supplier just before that which EMW has been able to take care of, they are such an awesome team up there! And as soon as the first production model was ready we got it to Terry, the first paid customer on our list. Thanks so much for believing in this Terry!

Since Terry received his charger he has given some awesome feedback on usage and data and we will be reviewing his charger state and data on top of all of this to make sure it is as perfect as the final prototype was. Just want to make sure the little tweaks that were made for the production model from the prototype are all performing fantastic as expected.

And as you guys know, I am pretty sure Terry is the God of charging, so we will be implementing some changes to our charging algorithm as well as android and iphone apps. I'm glad Terry was number one because I think his feedback will make the whole charger easier for people to use, as well as make it possible for us to do over the air firmware updates when they come out. But to do so, there is one more wire we need to run out of the chargers.

While we could ship out chargers upto invoice #9 right now, I think you guys will be pretty stoked with these updates, so we want to make them before we ship otherwise the first 9 wouldn't have as awesome of a charger as the rest of the people who got into the first production run. The rest of the chargers are almost complete, but we are building them with the new features as well.

So what we want to do is incorporate the feedback we have so far and then deliver the second and third chargers all of which are pretty close to here. These guys and myself will test the new updates to make sure everything is stable and reliable, which it should be because it's just one minor hardware modification and and writing a bit of new code.

I estimate with the next holiday coming soon that this would mean we should have enough testing data on the updates to start releasing the remaining chargers between January 11th and 22nd. Just incase there are any additional updates to the apps that need to be made. We will have to test the Over The Air firmware updates as well since that is a totally new feature.

Apologies for the delay in feedback, I really did not understand how complicated all the different business interactions between manufacturers and developers are nor the difference between building the prototypes and production versions. It seems anyone can build a few prototypes, but building a production product, now that is complicated! Also, if anyone does not want to wait until then, we will totally refund your investment in the awesome Super Charger. We really appreciate everyone being so excited to get their chargers, and all the help we are getting too.

Also, @Burton you know me well we decided to build a NEMA 14-50 to JPlug adapter which ignores the signal. You control the charging wattage through an app. When you are plugged into a 14-50 it's upto you how much power to draw. Everyone who ordered the $80 connector will be getting the new NEMA to J connector at the price they paid which is basically a 50% discount for the cost of the new connectors. It just makes things very very easy for everyone to use. That said people can still build their own special connectors and hook them up via an anderson just as promised. But this is so easy and safe!

@Mostly bonkers the Jplugs and NEMA plugs should be providing power between 200 and 240 volts so that should help you with the amperage calculations. It mean a lot fewer amps are needed on the charger in from plug side, and a lot more can be pushed from the charger out to battery side

[Doug S]

THANK YOU Brandon! You're more than absolved; your hard work (and everybody else's) is extremely appreciated. I'm an EE and it really is amazing just how hard it is to get a product shipped, even for people that do it all the time.

I have unit number five, and by all means, keep it until the latest change is implemented. Over-the-air updates are a dream for those of us who deal with Zero's three-years-obsolete app. I also have some experience with that sort of thing, and if the first version of firmware has bugs that's one thing, but if the updater has bugs then you can't update to fix the bugs. The updater has to work correctly out the door.

Just be sure to keep us updated! We're a bunch of five-year-olds waiting for Christmas to arrive. Lots of milk and cookies on the hearth waiting for you.

[MostlyBonkers]

Thanks EC. Is there a website for more info yet? Apologies if I've missed it.

[Burton]

@EC, Thank you sir

This means I can splice into your adapter and make other adapters for various plugs (like 120v or drier plugs) (And you know me, I modify everything I own lol)

At work I "need" to charge with a standard nema 5-20 since I don't want people messing with my bike if it is parked in a J1772 slot.

Knowing there is an  app is a big plus!

[Electric Cowboy]

Thanks Doug! It's really good to hear that, as a software engineer and racer, I am very critical of everything and I do not like being late, if you're late at the racetrack it's not good.

@MostlyBonkers believe it or not even though websites are one of my specialties, with everything going on and all of the updates that are happening, we have not put one up yet. It's no trivial matter to keep it up to date in this sort of fast paced process, however now that we are starting to wind down that will make it's way up the priority list.

@Burton, probably easier just to build a splitter on the anderson inlet, but just make sure you don't plug into two different AC outlets at the same time. One awesome thing is depending on what wall outlet your connected to, the app can set constant WATTAGE!! So you set it to charge at say 1.9 or 2kW from a wall outlet and you are good to go because it will auto adjust the draw not to exceed 1.9 or 2kW continuous! and if your wall outlet isn't that good, then you can set it to be 1.4 or 1.6kW but in anycase you're still charging faster. I am able to do 2kW continuous from the regular outlet in my garage, but if I set it to 2.2 the breaker flips, so for these app controlled plugs, you might have to test out your outlets to see what the maximum allowable wattage is.

[ultrarnr]

I have seen J1772 stations that couldn't even handle the 6300 watts of my current charging set up. Would it be possible to set up a Y adapter to be able to plug 2 J1772 plugs into this charger? This sounds like the only way to really make the most use of this charging system.

[Burton]

I have seen J1772 stations that couldn't even handle the 6300 watts of my current charging set up. Would it be possible to set up a Y adapter to be able to plug 2 J1772 plugs into this charger? This sounds like the only way to really make the most use of this charging system.

This is a lot harder than it sounds.
http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/showthread.php/8661-Adapter-to-combine-two-30A-level2-into-one-60A-J1772-faster-charging/page2?s=f0ec5b7cc22e6ecdee17b48857d8da7d

If you follow this thread you will find it is technically possible but hard to find two stations where it would be "work;" in quotes as it could still fail in so many ways.

[Burton]

@Burton, probably easier just to build a splitter on the anderson inlet

@EC that makes a lot more sense ... for some reason I thought it was J1772 only and you plugged in adapters to that

I melted a GFI in my garage with my stock chargers once :/ ... the app would allow this NOT to happen, very cool.

Having had a past as a technician who assembled laboratory electrical equipment I understand just what it takes to make something this complex.

[MostlyBonkers]

From what I can gather, a bunch of enthusiasts have got together and produced something that beats the hell out of Zero's own effort at fast charging via AC. Wow! I'm sure said enthusiasts are actually very experienced electrical engineers in their own right, but still, this is a monumental achievement! Congratulations to you all. Once I finally get on a long awaited Zero, I'm sure a super charger will be at the top of my wish list. [emoji4]

[mrwilsn]

So manufacturing of the first chargers went pretty well. I never realised just how hard it is to get manufacturing all set up, even with experienced help, and how many moving pieces there are!

THANK YOU Brandon! You're more than absolved; your hard work (and everybody else's) is extremely appreciated. I'm an EE and it really is amazing just how hard it is to get a product shipped, even for people that do it all the time.

I have unit number five, and by all means, keep it until the latest change is implemented. Over-the-air updates are a dream for those of us who deal with Zero's three-years-obsolete app. I also have some experience with that sort of thing, and if the first version of firmware has bugs that's one thing, but if the updater has bugs then you can't update to fix the bugs. The updater has to work correctly out the door.

Just be sure to keep us updated! We're a bunch of five-year-olds waiting for Christmas to arrive. Lots of milk and cookies on the hearth waiting for you.

Electric Cowboy, as a fellow EE I am well aware of the challenges in bringing a product like this to market and as such I echo all of Doug's comments.

While we could ship out chargers upto invoice #9 right now, I think you guys will be pretty stoked with these updates, so we want to make them before we ship otherwise the first 9 wouldn't have as awesome of a charger as the rest of the people who got into the first production run. The rest of the chargers are almost complete, but we are building them with the new features as well.

As the future recipient of serial #9 I also don't have a problem waiting for the bugs to be worked out and I appreciate your dedication to shipping a quality product!

@Burton, probably easier just to build a splitter on the anderson inlet, but just make sure you don't plug into two different AC outlets at the same time. One awesome thing is depending on what wall outlet your connected to, the app can set constant WATTAGE!! So you set it to charge at say 1.9 or 2kW from a wall outlet and you are good to go because it will auto adjust the draw not to exceed 1.9 or 2kW continuous! and if your wall outlet isn't that good, then you can set it to be 1.4 or 1.6kW but in anycase you're still charging faster. I am able to do 2kW continuous from the regular outlet in my garage, but if I set it to 2.2 the breaker flips, so for these app controlled plugs, you might have to test out your outlets to see what the maximum allowable wattage is.

This is AWESOME!  Will the output voltage also be programmable?  If I want to use it to charge a battery with a different nominal voltage will that be possible (e.g. a 36V or 48V e-bike battery)?

[Patrick Truchon]

Thanks for the update Brandon!  I'm really excited to get it, but I'm glad you're being thorough and have the chance to get feedback from Terry.

Terry, I'm glad you got the first one too!  Thanks for helping!!