ElectricMotorcycleForum.com
Makes And Models => Zero Motorcycles Forum | 2012 and older => Topic started by: oobflyer on February 07, 2012, 11:07:20 AM
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Just a mile from my house, Walgreens installed the first (and only) public charging station in Stockton, CA.
I asked Zero Customer Support about charging with the J-1772 adapter, specifically - it won't charge more quickly?
Hello,
Your [sic] correct, the J1772 will not charge the bike any faster than the regular 120V. I hope this clarifies your inquiry and if you have anything else, feel free to contact me.
Kind regards,
Jonathan Mairena
Customer Relations Specialist
Zero Motorcycles
I had hoped that it would charge faster - it would make the bike much more practical.
I don't understand electricity like an engineer, but I did learn some of the basics, such as the equation:
V = I x R, where V = voltage, I = current (in Amps) and R = resistance (in Ohms)
If the current and resistance remain the same, and the voltage is doubled... why doesn't it charge faster? It would seem that the current must be cut in half to maintain the slow charge... would this be done on... purpose? Curious.
I was really excited about getting this adapter, but now I wonder how useful it would be. If I ride 50 miles and then have to wait nine hours to recharge - I'd be better off using something like www.PlugShare.com (http://www.PlugShare.com) and the optional high-speed charger.
Decisions... what would you do?
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The charging power is basically limited by what the charger can put out (1kW) rather than the wall plug. Because the charger's maximum power is less than a standard 110v 15A NA wall outlet supplies, doubling the voltage (J1772 or a euro outlet) doesn't allow the charger to charge more quickly. Being able to charge at 110v or 220v just makes the charger more flexible, since with the right cable it can be plugged into any standard socket in the world.
Charger specs from the spec sheet (http://delta-q.com/products/720-0001_Rev-5_QuiQ_Data_Sheet_compact.pdf):
AC Input Current - maximum/nominal 12 A / 9.5 A rms @ 120 VAC or 5 A rms @ 230 VAC
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According to my Kill A Watt meter the most I have ever seen while charging my 2012 Zero is 950 watts, or 7.5 amps (input), and at that rate it appears that it would take about 12 hours to fully charge my 9 kWh battery pack, assuming that the energy used gauge is accurate. I don't think the charger is quite meeting the advertised performance. These numbers are backed up by the charger needing almost exactly 6 hours to recharge the pack after using an indicated 5 bars on the "fuel" gauge.
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Yes the charger is a controlled charge rate. If connected to a 220 volt supply it will be drawing 1/2 of the current that it drew at 110 volts, thereby maintaining the same input wattage (power draw).
FC
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The battery charger is the limitation in the case of the J1772 kit. If there was a charger with higher output, the J1772 could deliver more power through the 220V connector, but since the Delta-Q is capped at ~1kW, that's all you're going to get out of it regardless of input voltage.