Fast charging is not practical :-(
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aminorjourney
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Evan,
A web site said that you may have "..developed an interface which will allow you to access the other charge rates".
Can you provide more details ?
A web site said that you may have "..developed an interface which will allow you to access the other charge rates".
Can you provide more details ?
Tim wades in
Where to start? Right...
Robert- the link you found, http://www.rmsconsult.co.uk/berlingo/charging.htm is a frames page for http://berlingo-e.co.uk/, a fan site run by Robin Sanderson.
This is a very good resource for Berlingo information, including faults and rear seat conversion.
The faults information was badly translated by Google from an Italian site, which I have started to correct but never finished. (This will be a recurring theme- sorry Robin and everyone )
The site also has a guestbook, but more of that elsewhere.
Evan's website, as I believe you have found now, is http://www.tuer.org.uk/evs2/index.html. I haven't played with one of his EVLite machines, so I don't know what it will allow you to do.
What I do know is that the Berlingo can fast charge at up to 150amps with a fixed charger (this info is on the same page). There were fast charge points in Paris and La Rochelle, but none to my knowledge in this country.
This gets back to your original point, Robert. You asked for rapid charging, but you didn't give any indication of where this should be. There is no need for it at home, as you rarely need to quick-charge there and rush off again. (OK, some people might, but I think the situation unusual.)
If you want to use the rapid charging as Citroen invisaged it, you need high current charging at the shopping centre or motorway services. This is a big investment for such businesses to make for little percieved use.
Nikki has done a fantastic job getting a charging point installed at Cribbs Causeway, but even these are 16A max (am I right, Nikki?)
I bought a factory built EV rather than a conversion specifically because Citroen had done all that tedious R+D for me. They designed the battery pack, controller and charger to work together. If you can persuade a business to install a quick charger, Citroen will surely furnish you with all the specs and happily sell you a lead that plugs straight in.
I would like to see a standard set for fast charging, and would suggest that as Citroen has produced more EVs in the last 20 years , their specs and plug should be adopted.(That was a guess, but I challenge anyone to prove me wrong.) Then we get into the minefield of international standards, but even before that, as ChrisB says, we need production vehicles actually for sale. The technology is getting close now for cars with range enough for a whole days driving, and with that the need for charging away from home evaporates (go read http://www.teslamotors.com/blog2/?p=12 for Martin Eberhard's view. He has got it right, I think.)
Driving from Bristol to Edinburgh will always need a pitstop, and this is where the motorway service station fast charge and coffee shop idea is needed.
I shall stop now to allow someone a word in edgeways ;-)
Tim Crumpton, Altrincham
Robert- the link you found, http://www.rmsconsult.co.uk/berlingo/charging.htm is a frames page for http://berlingo-e.co.uk/, a fan site run by Robin Sanderson.
This is a very good resource for Berlingo information, including faults and rear seat conversion.
The faults information was badly translated by Google from an Italian site, which I have started to correct but never finished. (This will be a recurring theme- sorry Robin and everyone )
The site also has a guestbook, but more of that elsewhere.
Evan's website, as I believe you have found now, is http://www.tuer.org.uk/evs2/index.html. I haven't played with one of his EVLite machines, so I don't know what it will allow you to do.
What I do know is that the Berlingo can fast charge at up to 150amps with a fixed charger (this info is on the same page). There were fast charge points in Paris and La Rochelle, but none to my knowledge in this country.
This gets back to your original point, Robert. You asked for rapid charging, but you didn't give any indication of where this should be. There is no need for it at home, as you rarely need to quick-charge there and rush off again. (OK, some people might, but I think the situation unusual.)
If you want to use the rapid charging as Citroen invisaged it, you need high current charging at the shopping centre or motorway services. This is a big investment for such businesses to make for little percieved use.
Nikki has done a fantastic job getting a charging point installed at Cribbs Causeway, but even these are 16A max (am I right, Nikki?)
I bought a factory built EV rather than a conversion specifically because Citroen had done all that tedious R+D for me. They designed the battery pack, controller and charger to work together. If you can persuade a business to install a quick charger, Citroen will surely furnish you with all the specs and happily sell you a lead that plugs straight in.
I would like to see a standard set for fast charging, and would suggest that as Citroen has produced more EVs in the last 20 years , their specs and plug should be adopted.(That was a guess, but I challenge anyone to prove me wrong.) Then we get into the minefield of international standards, but even before that, as ChrisB says, we need production vehicles actually for sale. The technology is getting close now for cars with range enough for a whole days driving, and with that the need for charging away from home evaporates (go read http://www.teslamotors.com/blog2/?p=12 for Martin Eberhard's view. He has got it right, I think.)
Driving from Bristol to Edinburgh will always need a pitstop, and this is where the motorway service station fast charge and coffee shop idea is needed.
I shall stop now to allow someone a word in edgeways ;-)
Tim Crumpton, Altrincham
I think you've pretty much knocked it on the head Tim 
From memory the fast charge would require something in the region of a 60amp 230v supply
cant see councils putting these in 
As for the EVlite and the different charge profiles these are ONLY for carrying out maintenance on the batteries and does not change the actual charge rate, and in fact all the settings on it actually only INCREASE the charge time
I have done quite a lot of research on the charger and it may be a Brusa unit that has been shoe horned into the controller, now if it is it does mean that with the correct interface there is a chance that you could change the profile of the charge so the blingo could have different batts installed. This is all just guess work mind you .
ChrisB
From memory the fast charge would require something in the region of a 60amp 230v supply
cant see councils putting these in
As for the EVlite and the different charge profiles these are ONLY for carrying out maintenance on the batteries and does not change the actual charge rate, and in fact all the settings on it actually only INCREASE the charge time
I have done quite a lot of research on the charger and it may be a Brusa unit that has been shoe horned into the controller, now if it is it does mean that with the correct interface there is a chance that you could change the profile of the charge so the blingo could have different batts installed. This is all just guess work mind you .
ChrisB
I reject reality and substitute my own !!!!!!
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