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Author Topic: #DubJay Charging  (Read 4718 times)

Electric Terry

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#DubJay Charging
« on: May 15, 2017, 05:58:10 PM »

So for those on the Facebook Zero Motorcycle Owners Group you know this hashtag is popular recently.  It refers to the plug and play Diginow Superchargers that are half the size and weight of the Elcon chargers we all used to use.  And even at half the weight and size they put out 50% more power and run cooler.  And they are waterproof.

But because they are so small, tiny, lightweight and powerful, many people have been able to carry more chargers easily than a single J plug can deliver. So with all these Zero owners now charging with 2 J plugs with their superchargers, the term #DubJay was born.

A year ago I was encouraged by all the DIY Charger projects going on, but with this new tiny, powerful, weather resistant charging unit, messing around with meanwells or Eltek flatpacks at this point is kind of silly as there is a better option.  A year ago my friend Luke and I both built Eltek flatpacks off instructions from endless sphere. 2 of the units died from moisture and it was always a pain to pull them out of a waterproof enclosure to use them and then pray it doesn't rain while you are charging and grab a bite to eat.  But then it was the lightest, cheapest most powerful option if you couldn't find places to mount the Hollywood Electrics Elcon 2500's which were waterproof. 

Hollywood Electrics is now selling the Diginow 3300 watt superchargers instead.  If you need cheap charging for home, and are good with building your own electronics, the Eltek flatpacks make a fair solution. But since they are still costly and break if they get any moisture, it's still kind of silly not to get the superchargers, especially because of you ever want to take them with you on the bike or mount them they won't break if they get wet.  I've had plenty of chargers break from water and corrosion which is why years ago I had mounted 9 2500 watt Elcons to my bike where meanwell power supplies would have been lighter. I learned my lesson and so I'm sharing with you.   If you want to charge fast at home, a open charger or power supply is fine, but if you are going to take it with you for remote charging, it needs to be IP67 or greater.  Perhaps if you live in the desert you can guarantee it won't rain in the summer, although this is an El Niño year and is still raining unexpectedly here in California.  Also sand isn't good to get sucked into air drawn open chargers either. Best just to travel with sealed units and use the open units at home in an enclosed garage.

Ok I felt it was necessary to say that as I see a lot of DIY threads and I don't want anyone new to get burned and spend money on something just to have it get damp, corrode and short. If you think you even might be tempted to take your charger with you on the bike, don't do it unless you are 100% certain it won't rain and the humidity is low.  Like I said there is a better option now so that you don't have to have these conflicts anymore.

Anyway this thread was to ask all those who are now #DubJay charging with the new superchargers to post pics of your charging setup at a charging station and talk about how much you like #DubJay charging.

To kick it off I'm posting a pic of my buddy Luke "Liveforphysics" on endless sphere and a previous Eltek Flatpack user on his Zero but now also converted to 6 of the new DigiNow superchargers and is now #TripJay charging at 19.8 and no longer has to carry flatpacks chargers in a ziplock plastic bag in his backpack because all 6 are permanently mounted to his bike!  3 in the tank and 3 under the battery in place of the onboard charger in the skidpan.

Luke's bike of course is special and he has special hardware and firmware to let him charge at 19.8 kW with 6 Diginow Superchargers and 3 J plugs, but the rest of us should be able to use either 3 or 4 chargers and 2 J plugs.

Tell us your #DubJay supercharger story! :D
« Last Edit: May 15, 2017, 06:01:33 PM by Electric Terry »
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Electric Terry

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Re: #DubJay Charging
« Reply #1 on: May 15, 2017, 06:22:53 PM »

Here is my bike with 4 of the Diginow Superchargers #DubJay Charging at 13,200 watts (6.6 kW per J plug) on a 24 hour 800 mile trip to LA and back I made to pick up 8 more boxes of superchargers for Electric Cowboy to finish installations in the Bay Area a few weeks ago.  (Edit: the forum is telling me that picture exceeds 600kb and can't be uploaded from my phone. This is a picture riding to Sonoma with a spare tire on the back instead. You can still see one side of the superchargers mounted to the crashbars). These were just replacement installations for people that had the supercharger version 1 which had manufacturing defects that unfortunately could not be solved.  All the new orders go through Hollywood Electrics and a plug and play kit gets sent out.  I believe they start shipping this week, I'm not sure. If you ordered from Hollywood Electrics and already got your superchargers please post and let us know. I'm out of the loop on that and would like to know.
« Last Edit: May 15, 2017, 06:32:04 PM by Electric Terry »
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nevetsyad

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Re: #DubJay Charging
« Reply #2 on: May 15, 2017, 07:33:10 PM »

Just got my Charge Tank plastics installed last week, installed the SC V2 last night. Had a connection problem and stayed up troubleshooting it, finally got it working and everything back together before 1AM. One little cable wasn't all the way in its connector. Snapped it in and everything came to life, charging at awesome speeds.

Now I need to buy another 3.3kW module to stuff in there. :) Great product!
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Neuer_User

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Re: #DubJay Charging
« Reply #3 on: May 15, 2017, 07:54:13 PM »

While I completely agree that the diginow chargers are the most prefereable and best solution, and I really long to have them, I simply cannot spend another 3-5k on chargers. :(

If the prices were lower, I would not even consider a different solution, but with these high prices, it is like "Yes, I'd love a Ferrari, but the Nissan must suffice." ;)
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nevetsyad

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Re: #DubJay Charging
« Reply #4 on: May 15, 2017, 08:00:38 PM »

$1,500 gets you started with a 3.3kW unit...
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Electric Terry

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Re: #DubJay Charging
« Reply #5 on: May 15, 2017, 08:25:54 PM »

While I completely agree that the diginow chargers are the most prefereable and best solution, and I really long to have them, I simply cannot spend another 3-5k on chargers. :(

If the prices were lower, I would not even consider a different solution, but with these high prices, it is like "Yes, I'd love a Ferrari, but the Nissan must suffice." ;)

The stock delta q accessory chargers are 12 pounds, do 1000 watts and are $600.  The new DigiNow superchargers are 7 pounds, do 3300 watts and are less than 3 delta Q's! And if you get a second (don't need the control module for a 2nd unit) its less than 2 delta Q's.  So for better technology that is smaller and lighter you would expect to pay more per watt right? With the supercharger you actually pay less per watt AND get something smaller lighter and still waterproof and durable.  Wouldn't you say that's pretty cheap as far as charging goes?
« Last Edit: May 15, 2017, 08:36:30 PM by Electric Terry »
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anton

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Re: #DubJay Charging
« Reply #6 on: May 16, 2017, 12:42:14 AM »

Not a photo but a video of my setup:

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madcow

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Re: #DubJay Charging
« Reply #7 on: May 16, 2017, 01:57:30 AM »

Wtf :D How cool is that charging port at the tail of the bike  8)
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togo

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Re: #DubJay Charging
« Reply #8 on: May 16, 2017, 02:11:25 AM »

Not a photo but a video of my setup:



Fourth connection is mysterious.

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mistasam

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Re: #DubJay Charging
« Reply #9 on: May 16, 2017, 02:26:03 AM »

That tail charger is SICK!  I'd love to do that and replace the taillight with a red ring that goes around the charger.  Mmmmmm so exciting.
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togo

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Re: #DubJay Charging
« Reply #10 on: May 16, 2017, 02:33:12 AM »

That tail charger is SICK!  I'd love to do that and replace the taillight with a red ring that goes around the charger.  Mmmmmm so exciting.

That'd be awesome.  You could rig a microcontroller to do normal taillight behavior and also detect charging, glow according to the battery voltage, low, midrange, and full.

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mistasam

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Re: #DubJay Charging
« Reply #11 on: May 16, 2017, 02:34:42 AM »

That'd be awesome.  You could rig a microcontroller to do normal taillight behavior and also detect charging, glow according to the battery voltage, low, midrange, and full.

O_____O whoa
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liveforphysics

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Re: #DubJay Charging
« Reply #12 on: May 16, 2017, 02:35:07 AM »

Nice job sir!  That's a reasonable set of plugs!
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Electric Terry

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Re: #DubJay Charging
« Reply #13 on: May 16, 2017, 03:16:35 AM »

Yes Luke it's getting close. To me a reasonable set of potential J plugs is 4, since I started using 4 J plugs in early 2014 and realize most installations are 2 charging stations with 2 plugs each, meaning 4 potential sources of 6.6 kW.  Newer installations the past year or 2 are doing rows of 10 chargers with 2 J plugs each.

DC charging is complicated because of the non voltage compliance but J plugs are everywhere. And if in the wild, RV parks have 50 or more 14-50's sometimes.  So tapping 2 or 4 is pretty easy as the spots are so close together.  You just tell the manager you would like to pay for electricity from 4 meters. It's not as hard as you think. And there are 20,000 RV parks across the country everywhere if 4 J plugs aren't available on your area. 

Until a regulatory commission enforces the 50-500 volt standard for Chademo and SAE CCS Combo this is the way to go. And I have a feeling by the time that happens, there will be a different standard closer to the size of a Tesla plug which is smaller than a single J1772.

Congrats to all you #dubjay chargers out there and cheers to all those who will be #dubjay charging soon!!
« Last Edit: May 16, 2017, 03:20:33 AM by Electric Terry »
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gyrocyclist

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Re: #DubJay Charging
« Reply #14 on: May 16, 2017, 10:05:52 AM »

Not a photo but a video of my setup:



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Did you mean the third?
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