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[stevenh]

I am thinking about a charging upgrade for my DSR.  It sounds like DigiNow would like to install in the pan removing the built in charger (sounds like a good idea given the quality of the built in charger(s)).  I really don't need 9.9KW and was thinking about 6.6KW (2 stacked units).  Without the built in charger, how would this work for charging at home?  I assume both SCV2 units would be tied to the J1771, would it be possible to drive just one phase of the J1771 from 120v power for home charging?

Thanks in advance for any thoughts/suggestions.

Steve

[MrDude_1]

I am thinking about a charging upgrade for my DSR.  It sounds like DigiNow would like to install in the pan removing the built in charger (sounds like a good idea given the quality of the built in charger(s)).  I really don't need 9.9KW and was thinking about 6.6KW (2 stacked units).  Without the built in charger, how would this work for charging at home?  I assume both SCV2 units would be tied to the J1771, would it be possible to drive just one phase of the J1771 from 120v power for home charging?

Thanks in advance for any thoughts/suggestions.

Steve

You can directly ask them when you buy it, but the short answer is simple.
You plug it in like you did before with the 110v household cord, and the controller takes care of it... either by engaging only one at a appropriate wattage, or by doing both at half of that wattage.  Whatever one is more efficient.

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

DigiNow should actually publish their claims, features, and configurations, but I'll explain what I was told and how I use my pan-installed DigiNow setup.

Nitpick: J1772, not J1771 (which apparently applies to refrigeration equipment).

I use 3 units. 1 unit engages separately (through a J1772 inlet on my tank) from the other pair (through another J1772 inlet which is temporarily routed right now pending some further equipment installs).

Each unit is programmed to draw a specific amount of current, not power. So they're rated at 3.3kW each on 220V AC, but that's because they're programmed to draw 15A. If you use an adapter from your 110V outlet to the J1772 inlet OR arrange a separate inlet to a single SCv2 unit, it will draw 15A from that circuit or ~1.6kW.

My onboard charger failed and I decided to go with this arrangement for daily charging; I wish the cooling fan would turn down for cases like this because it is an unpleasant sound.

[MrDude_1]

DigiNow should actually publish their claims, features, and configurations, but I'll explain what I was told and how I use my pan-installed DigiNow setup.

Nitpick: J1772, not J1771 (which apparently applies to refrigeration equipment).

I use 3 units. 1 unit engages separately (through a J1772 inlet on my tank) from the other pair (through another J1772 inlet which is temporarily routed right now pending some further equipment installs).

Each unit is programmed to draw a specific amount of current, not power. So they're rated at 3.3kW each on 220V AC, but that's because they're programmed to draw 15A. If you use an adapter from your 110V outlet to the J1772 inlet OR arrange a separate inlet to a single SCv2 unit, it will draw 15A from that circuit or ~1.6kW.

My onboard charger failed and I decided to go with this arrangement for daily charging; I wish the cooling fan would turn down for cases like this because it is an unpleasant sound.

Since they're CAN controlled, having them watch the temp and kick the fan on/off as needed is possible as long as they control the fan (aka its not just hardwired to the 12v rail)
Also, having them share current load should be possible too... they both report what their power draw is, so start it low, and ramp up to 7.5a each... unless thats too far out of its efficiency curve.
Its all possible, just a matter of writing the code to do it.

[stevenh]

DigiNow should actually publish their claims, features, and configurations, but I'll explain what I was told and how I use my pan-installed DigiNow setup.

Nitpick: J1772, not J1771 (which apparently applies to refrigeration equipment).

I use 3 units. 1 unit engages separately (through a J1772 inlet on my tank) from the other pair (through another J1772 inlet which is temporarily routed right now pending some further equipment installs).

Each unit is programmed to draw a specific amount of current, not power. So they're rated at 3.3kW each on 220V AC, but that's because they're programmed to draw 15A. If you use an adapter from your 110V outlet to the J1772 inlet OR arrange a separate inlet to a single SCv2 unit, it will draw 15A from that circuit or ~1.6kW.

My onboard charger failed and I decided to go with this arrangement for daily charging; I wish the cooling fan would turn down for cases like this because it is an unpleasant sound.

Thanks Brian (J1772 vs J1771 is not nitpicking in my book!  Thanks for the correction).  I did talk to Morgan at DigiNow and it sounded like I may need three units to do what I wanted to do, have one unit for wall charging at home, and the other two for level-2 charging.  Since I really don't need 3, I was hoping I could achieve the same workflow by just connecting one of the DigiNow units (assuming each of the 3.3KW units connected to the J1772 would be on it's own phase) with a hacked J1772 cable for home use.

Sorry for what may be silly questions.

Steve

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

It's not silly; DigiNow needs to just explain what they offer better.

I believe that it may be possible to offer reconfigurable charging paths, but DigiNow is a very small operation and has to attend to developing more urgent improvements than this.

The concerns from a safety standpoint are:
- Ensuring that the reconfiguration from 1 to 2 chargers is only performed while no live power is connected.
- Ensuring that the mechanism for disconnect and reconnect has safety protections and can be operated in a weathered and vibration environment repeatedly with minimal wear.

I've seen someone do this on the AC side with C19 connectors (rated for 16A; Harlan's Elcon 2500 units were fitted this way), but this was a DIY rig for testing the concept, not something I would recommend without further refinement.

NEMA 6 outdoor-rated locking connectors seem appropriate, but arranging all of that and waiting for DigiNow to clear their current hurdles to address this is going to take time. The fact that you're paying for capacity that you don't need because of such issues isn't reasonable, though, because the charging units are the mass of the component expense. Unfortunately, custom configurations cost man-hours that DigiNow seems in very short supply of.

In short, if you could buy two units and disconnect/reconnect one easily using a NEMA 6 locking connector while routing the cable for minimal movement and covering the cable end while disconnected... I think it'd be a reasonable setup with 2 units. But for now you'll have to ask whether a professional (DigiNow or local electrician) can fit it for you to ensure good crimps etc.

[stevenh]

What I really wanted, and asked for, was a single stand alone unit (3.3 external) to replace my quiq charger.  But somehow we got to pan mounting...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[togo]

I use 20A rated C19 and C20 connectors, and each one feeds only one 3.3kW brick.

[stevenh]

I use 20A rated C19 and C20 connectors, and each one feeds only one 3.3kW brick.

So they sold you the bare bricks?

Steve


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[MVetter]

Alright. Apparently I've gone and confused things. This was not my intent. I apologize. Let me try and clear things up.

To start, generally we don't sell standalone units unless we are making some sort of station for home charging. Which we don't really do. Our chargers are compact and weatherproof which isn't something anyone cares about in a garage. Being able to take them with you mounted in the pan is, frankly, a really good solution. This is how we intend our chargers to be used. (or mounted to the frame like we've shown in some pictures)

Because of the questionable capability of US EV J1772 stations, we pair no more than 2 charger units per J plug, meaning it pulls 6.6kW. When we put 3 chargers in the pan we have the third wired independently and have a second J inlet. Together you get 9.9 from 2 stations. *This is because J station output is unreliable and wildly inconsistent above 6.6kW*

A single 3.3kW unit can be plugged into the wall outlet without tripping the circuit breaker of your average US home, but 2 tied together will.

All of our chargers have the option to turn down the charge rate via bluetooth. So far, every single customer I've told this to hasn't been thrilled with the idea of turning down their charger for the wall and then turning it back up for J1772 stations. "I could explain this again or I could just add a third charger and have him use the single unit for wall and all 3 for 9.9kW charging at J stations because it's so, so fast. Everyone should be able to experience the ridiculous speeds it offers." I thought to myself.

Then I thought, "Oh no what if the customer is charging at 9.9kW and is suddenly plagued with having extra free time spent not charging"

I dismissed that last thought as silly and suggested Steve might want a third charger. So, anyway Steve, you can turn down our chargers via Bluetooth. This requires no hardware, just remember to do it and switch it back when you're at an EV station. I hope this clears somethings up and wish everyone a pleasant day.

[togo]

> > I use 20A rated C19 and C20 connectors, and each one feeds only one 3.3kW brick.

> So they sold you the bare bricks?

Nope. Got a 3-set and controller, which I run in my tank area, under a CBR600RR cover, a couple of J-inlets and a T-inlet as a diginow system.  Then I made a patch panel so I could do dub-J or power all three from Tesla or NEMA14-50 or twist lock welder or 2-J plus onboard (since the better ChargePoint stations deliver 8.4kw without complaint). I selected C19 and C20 for their availability and rugged molded construction.  Many of the cables are made for 16A but it's easy to find 20A cables and connectors despite what Brian said. 

[stevenh]

Thanks Morgan, it sounds like the 2x (6.6K) solution should work for me then, I don't mind a configuration change as I rarely use level II stations anyway, but would like to have the capability when it's available.   It's not that I don't like power, I just like cash too!

Steve

[stevenh]

> > I use 20A rated C19 and C20 connectors, and each one feeds only one 3.3kW brick.

> So they sold you the bare bricks?

Nope. Got a 3-set and controller, which I run in my tank area, under a CBR600RR cover, a couple of J-inlets and a T-inlet as a diginow system.  Then I made a patch panel so I could do dub-J or power all three from Tesla or NEMA14-50 or twist lock welder or 2-J plus onboard (since the better ChargePoint stations deliver 8.4kw without complaint). I selected C19 and C20 for their availability and rugged molded construction.  Many of the cables are made for 16A but it's easy to find 20A cables and connectors despite what Brian said.

Wow, very cool.  Lots of options!

Steve

[togo]

Thanks.  First patch panel ended up really rough, what with epoxy-darkened displays and such.

I think v2 will be more suitable for an Howto writeup and presentation.

Mounting the inlets close together turns out to be really valuable in a patch panel.

[Neuer_User]

Sorry to hijack the thread briefly, but IS THERE ANY WAY HOWTO GET IN CONTACT WITH THE DIGINOW GUYS, if you do not happen to live close by or use fb?

I have been sending several emails to the email address on that "company" website. Tried to contact Burton and Morgan. Never got any answer.

I have a similar interest as the original poster (although he apparently was able to talk to one of them). Looking at a replacement of the original charger with 2-3 diginow chargers in the pan. Been following Doctorbass' project. I would like to know what the price of these chargers is, how long the delivery time, and what are the options for using them on the different outlets we have here in Europe (so probably 80% home charging at 230V/10A, 15% Type2 3phase, 5% 230V/16A).

Is there a reliable way to contact these guys and get some asnwers to these questions? I haven't seen any publicly available information on their chargers such as pricing, availability, usablity, not even on their one-page-website.

Thanks

Michael

Alright. Apparently I've gone and confused things. This was not my intent. I apologize. Let me try and clear things up.

To start, generally we don't sell standalone units unless we are making some sort of station for home charging. Which we don't really do. Our chargers are compact and weatherproof which isn't something anyone cares about in a garage. Being able to take them with you mounted in the pan is, frankly, a really good solution. This is how we intend our chargers to be used. (or mounted to the frame like we've shown in some pictures)

Because of the questionable capability of US EV J1772 stations, we pair no more than 2 charger units per J plug, meaning it pulls 6.6kW. When we put 3 chargers in the pan we have the third wired independently and have a second J inlet. Together you get 9.9 from 2 stations. *This is because J station output is unreliable and wildly inconsistent above 6.6kW*

A single 3.3kW unit can be plugged into the wall outlet without tripping the circuit breaker of your average US home, but 2 tied together will.

All of our chargers have the option to turn down the charge rate via bluetooth. So far, every single customer I've told this to hasn't been thrilled with the idea of turning down their charger for the wall and then turning it back up for J1772 stations. "I could explain this again or I could just add a third charger and have him use the single unit for wall and all 3 for 9.9kW charging at J stations because it's so, so fast. Everyone should be able to experience the ridiculous speeds it offers." I thought to myself.

Then I thought, "Oh no what if the customer is charging at 9.9kW and is suddenly plagued with having extra free time spent not charging"

I dismissed that last thought as silly and suggested Steve might want a third charger. So, anyway Steve, you can turn down our chargers via Bluetooth. This requires no hardware, just remember to do it and switch it back when you're at an EV station. I hope this clears somethings up and wish everyone a pleasant day.