Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Semper Why]

Greetings, Earthlings! I don't have the electrical engineering chops of some of the other members. So I'm afraid I can't comment on the more advanced charging solutions. Being an electrical idiot, I can comment on some of the more plug-and-play solutions.

Problem: My office building has forbidden me from charging my Zero S via the extremely convenient 120v plugs outside the rear entrance. They claim it "looks bad", like they're the head of some sort of corporate homeowners association. They also told me the reason they had the EV charging stations installed in the nearby parking garage was to encourage electric vehicles (and the fees they charge doesn't hurt). The Zero doesn't come with a J1772 socket and the Charge Tank is not yet released. The J1772 adapter from Zero is not sold direct to customers, costs $300 and the nearest dealership is outside the range of the motorcycle.

Solution: Rather than pay Zero money to buy the adapter and the dealership money to ship it to my address, I ordered up the J1772 to Zero adapter from Tuscon EV. For a third of the price, you get the ability to charge via the Chargepoint station. Does it work? Yes! Is it slow? Yes! But I'm stuck at work for 8 hours minimum every day. So it's not like I'm trying to find ways to kill time whilst my bike charges.

So that's my review. Until the Charge Tank is released and my dealership can install it, this is my solution. For those of you who don't want to solder things, this may help.

[KrazyEd]

You should be able to order one through Zero, and, have it passed through your nearest dealer and shipped directly to you.
A better option might be to contact Harlan through Hollywood Elcectics. I believe that they have one with several ends
so that you can add an additional charger as well. Not quite as fast as the Charge Tank, but, a fraction of the price and
about 2/3 the charge time.

[Doctorbass]

I have bought my J1772 from Tucson EV and had great experience buying from him.

I bought 3 total J1772 plug. Actually one is on my 6.6kW fast DIY Zero charger and it charge very well at 30A on the 240 J1772 charge stations. the plug is very nice quality

Doc

[benswing]

Thanks for the review, Semper Why.  They seem like a good group, but I hadn't heard about anyone who had actually used their products.  Cheers!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Semper Why]

A better option might be to contact Harlan through Hollywood Elcectics. I believe that they have one with several ends
so that you can add an additional charger as well. Not quite as fast as the Charge Tank, but, a fraction of the price and
about 2/3 the charge time.

I looked at that when I was originally contemplating the Zero. I agree with you about the charge time & price, but those were not my priorities. There were several factors that went into my decision:

• The Zero is replacing a V-Twin cruiser, because a hard look at my motorcycle habits indicates that I use it for commuting and occasional trips to friends houses or social events in the local area. No long distance trips.
• I'm fairly conservative, so immediately voiding my warranty on my $14K motorcycle seemed like a significant risk.
• The Charge Tank was new for 2016 and it would nicely work with the charging station not 100 yards from my office. This was before I knew that it wasn't quite released yet.
• Bolting on side bags to house the chargers and hide the wires seems... unseemly. It's a commuter bike, not a science project. The tech should be to the point where the bike will perform its intended job (commuting) without having to do arts & crafts.
• I am, as was mentioned before, an electrical idiot.

Now, I love love love what Benswing and the other members of this forum have done with their Zeros. But I do not use the bike as they do. So I wanted to approach this bike as a consumer, not as a tinkerer.

[josequinones]

Quick question, have you installed it somewhere on the bike or are you just laying it on the ground where you use it?

[Semper Why]

I just lay it on the ground.

[Delnari]

I really like a vendor is selling the same type of J1772 connector for the Zero for 1/3 the price!  Ordered one today for my new '17 Zero SR coming next week.

[GdB]

Here is how I used the J1772 Adapter from TusconEV:

Parts:
heavily sanded 2 inch ABS pipe and cap.
J1772 port from http://www.tucsonev.com/
3ft 14AWG Right Angle Power Cord Cable w/ 3 Conductor PC Power Connector Socket (C13/5-15P)
AVC2 J1772 board from http://modularevpower.com/ or http://www.evwest.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=107
  requires 9-18V, powered by 12V
AC-DC Converter 110V 220V 230V to 12V Isolated Switching Power Supply Board DIY from ebay

Tapped into DC/DC converter ~102V under the seat to feed a small 12V regulator on the switch.

Glued with black polyurethane glue from a caulk tube.

It does not interfere with my legs when riding, unless I put my feet on passenger pegs.

Thanks to all who contributed (zero wiring diagrams, ...) !!!






*Moderator edit* Add width to img tags

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

Thanks for the photos. Perhaps some of us with dual J plug DigiNow configurations can replicate this for our ancillary plugs.