berlingo help

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woofy
Posts: 13
Joined: Mon Sep 09, 2013 7:29 pm

berlingo help

Postby woofy » Thu Sep 12, 2013 3:33 pm

Hi, I have bought a berlingo van with no battery,s i have various problems to sort out,
1,can I use lead acid traction batterys ,
2,i need to know the wireing of the main feed cables to the batterys ie what total volt to distributer
the van is in excellent order thro out 12000 mls. and all the controller ,motor and elec, seem all there,
I just need a short (cheap) run about, any help gratefully accepted, :|
woofy

Beemer
Posts: 294
Joined: Sat Jun 04, 2011 12:10 pm

Re: berlingo help

Postby Beemer » Thu Sep 12, 2013 7:21 pm

Hi Woofy, if you do the numbers, SLA's are not cost effective any more against the likes of CALB or Sinopoly LiFePo4's. These are 3x the charge for half the weight and last a very, very long time if not abused with over charge or over discharge.
However, the charging profiles of any completely different chemistry requires a different type of charge profile. The latter I just mentioned are easily charged at constant current until the first cell hits 3.4V. At that, bottom balance all the cells so no pack kills the weakest cell when it fails first.

I think you need 143V? Tim or Grumpy-b are the men. Tim *might* have what you need in 180AH cells too!

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timpootle
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Joined: Wed Mar 14, 2007 12:13 pm
Location: Chorlton-cum-Hardy, UK

Re: berlingo help

Postby timpootle » Fri Sep 13, 2013 2:49 pm

Nominal voltage for the controller is 162v, going up to about 188v at top of charge. I don't have enough spare 200Ah cells for one full set, so suggest you buy your own from newelectric.nl if you can afford the initial outlay.

http://evtv-amsterdam.eu/proddetail.php?prod=CA180

260EU x 50ish cells = 13,000EU and will give you about 100 miles range. When you put it like that, you would be better to go out and buy a LEAF.
Tim Crumpton

woofy
Posts: 13
Joined: Mon Sep 09, 2013 7:29 pm

Re: berlingo help

Postby woofy » Fri Sep 13, 2013 7:43 pm

Thank you both for your replies, first thing to try is does the motor and electronics work, will try to do that and and then decide the path to follow,will be on touch soon,many thanks all

Beemer
Posts: 294
Joined: Sat Jun 04, 2011 12:10 pm

Re: berlingo help

Postby Beemer » Fri Sep 13, 2013 7:44 pm

If SLA's were considered then there's no need for more than 25 miles.. The drop in weight shouldn't overstress any batteries.
I have a Leaf and I'd do this just for the craik :)

woofy
Posts: 13
Joined: Mon Sep 09, 2013 7:29 pm

Re: berlingo help

Postby woofy » Sun Sep 15, 2013 8:04 pm

Hi, Beemer, yes the mileage would be ok at 25 mls, on traction lead acid bats, I now have found out that the on board charging unit would not be suitable to charge lead acid bats, the power curve is not correct, however is it possible that out there someone has the tech and knowledge to re prog the chip, it seems the best way to sort out the problem , unless any of you know any better!
have up to now fitted the 12v battery for the van electric, lights etc. every thing now working , a bit of work to sort out heater, had to remove fuel pump and flush out old fuel, blow out lines, bleed thro new fuel, switch on and hey presto it works! next job to get 15 sec hand LAB together to test main motor, and awaiting 15 prs off terminal clamps,
will let you know soon results of test,woofy :roll:

Beemer
Posts: 294
Joined: Sat Jun 04, 2011 12:10 pm

Re: berlingo help

Postby Beemer » Mon Sep 16, 2013 7:36 am

Lead batteries lose capacity from day one. They hate going low so your mileage will be dropping from day one. If you can squeeze a couple of years out of them just for the shops and back you'll be doing well. :(

You could have 45 cells of 60AH that should weigh 200lb and give 9KWH if you invested in LiFePo4's. They'd disappear under your van sealed in boxes underneath would be perfect. Cost, about £4,000.

If you divide your vans total weight in lb's by 100 that sort of gives you its general consumption in wh/mile. So 2400lbs = 240watt hours per mile. Using 80% of the pack capacity (say 8KWH) is 8000/240 = 33 miles. Not really for touring the UK but you can add to them in parallel ;)

The charging system. Either go for 2.4KW continuous for an ordinary plug. or up to 6.6KW so you can upgrade for a real EVSE charging point. That current will have you fully charged in about an hour and a half. :twisted:
It's still possible to have a home installed EVSE (charging point) installed on your home for free.. Chargemaster, British Gas, DAS, etc. etc. On reflection go for the Euro standard plug (IEC 62196-2) otherwise known as a "type 2". Then you can charge from hundreds of points around the UK. At the moment it's free.

woofy
Posts: 13
Joined: Mon Sep 09, 2013 7:29 pm

Re: berlingo help

Postby woofy » Sun Sep 22, 2013 7:56 pm

evening all, I have done test on van motor, 15 LAB batterys and turned the key loud clunk, put gear in drive and off we went, very pleased with the result, now its down to what type of battery to use to properly power the van, i would like to use the on board charger, is this system suitable for NI CAD or can I use Lithium which don,t appreciate the on board charger, any thought anyone?
Woofy

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timpootle
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Location: Chorlton-cum-Hardy, UK

Re: berlingo help

Postby timpootle » Mon Sep 23, 2013 4:13 pm

Great news! As for choice of chemistry, I've already told you all I know. I need to research how compatible the charge curve of the OEM SAGEM charger is with lithium for my own car. Using this would speed my charge time up nicely, and make your car project much simpler.

Anyone?
Tim Crumpton

Beemer
Posts: 294
Joined: Sat Jun 04, 2011 12:10 pm

Re: berlingo help

Postby Beemer » Mon Sep 23, 2013 6:53 pm

Maybe something to monitor for the first cell to hit 3.4V then it simply switches the thing off?

If anyone is fitting one of those sockets to charge from any ev point consider this little control module here, "AVC2"
http://modularevpower.com/
http://www.ebay.com/itm/J1772-Active-Ve ... 3a83da6562
That little thing will tell the charging post/EVSE to slow down or stop. It's also fitted with a relay so you can wire it to refuse you driving away while connected etc.
See this weeks latest video on EVTV. Also on youtube where he sets one up to do this.
Having an EVSE fitted to your house is free at the moment, if the vehicle can be parked within your (landlords) grounds.
Being a US business its all "type 1" (J1772) stuff but we can use these or fit a EU "type2" (IEC 62196-2). Same comms signals and future proof.


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