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[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

As far as J1772 connector...I think that will be up to each owner to decide how to mount.

Is it possible to mount this under the Charge Tank cover, so it looks OEM? Also, is the Charge Tank cover available as a part?

A Charge Tank cover has not been acquired and compared for suitability.

The inlet is J1772 which matches in principle but the charge tank plastics might put the mount slightly too close to the supercharger underneath. The first to try this should report whether it works.

For the power tank plastics, just ask your dealer what's available on hand before trying to order them. I personally found a spare center piece for the power tank plastics and DIY replaced my tank bin on the DSR with it. The installation guide covers how to modify the power tank (destructively) to mount the inlet.

[Doug S]

The inlet is J1772 which matches in principle but the charge tank plastics might put the mount slightly too close to the supercharger underneath. The first to try this should report whether it works.

I'm happy to be that guinea pig. As I said, I also have a J1772 which seems to be fairly compact -- the project box it's mounted in isn't very big, anyhow. If the one that comes with the charger doesn't fit, maybe this one will.

For the power tank plastics, just ask your dealer what's available on hand before trying to order them. I personally found a spare center piece for the power tank plastics and DIY replaced my tank bin on the DSR with it. The installation guide covers how to modify the power tank (destructively) to mount the inlet.

It seems like the plastic that surrounds the "tank bag" could pretty easily be removed from the rest of the plastic, and a simple cover cut to fit quite easily. If everything fits, that might be the quickest and easiest way to get there. But I do think I'll see if my dealer can get me a power tank housing quickly anyhow. Since my bike is wrapped, it would be nice to get the housing wrapped to match ahead of time.

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

The inlet is J1772 which matches in principle but the charge tank plastics might put the mount slightly too close to the supercharger underneath. The first to try this should report whether it works.

I'm happy to be that guinea pig. As I said, I also have a J1772 which seems to be fairly compact -- the project box it's mounted in isn't very big, anyhow. If the one that comes with the charger doesn't fit, maybe this one will.

I'm glad to hear that since your shipment should be up next! I don't personally know (not being one of the project engineers) whether J1772 inlets or cabling have a minimum current rating, but it would not hurt to consider the amount of current the Supercharger could possibly draw and see whether what you have is rated for it.

For the power tank plastics, just ask your dealer what's available on hand before trying to order them. I personally found a spare center piece for the power tank plastics and DIY replaced my tank bin on the DSR with it. The installation guide covers how to modify the power tank (destructively) to mount the inlet.

It seems like the plastic that surrounds the "tank bag" could pretty easily be removed from the rest of the plastic, and a simple cover cut to fit quite easily. If everything fits, that might be the quickest and easiest way to get there. But I do think I'll see if my dealer can get me a power tank housing quickly anyhow. Since my bike is wrapped, it would be nice to get the housing wrapped to match ahead of time.

Yes, so the join between the centerpiece and side pieces of a Zero tank plastic assembly is made by plastic weld using a soldering iron into soft hollow plastic pins on the centerpiece that melt and flatten around a lock washer onto holes in the side pieces. I've been able to break these welds using a relatively careful use of a pair of pliers to basically grip hard and twist on them until they break. It's a slightly frustrating process but pretty quick to achieve, in about an hour.

The original join process can be repeated for the new centerpiece.

Also, this means that the plastic centerpiece you remove will not be re-joinable.


EDIT: I've updated the wiki for this: http://zeromanual.com/index.php/Unofficial_Service_Manual#Tank_Plastics

[NEW2elec]

Make a tank like this.  Remember our buddy from ZEV?  I still loved this tank it's like a front GIVI

http://electricmotorcycleforum.com/boards/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=5179.0;attach=4943

http://www.zelectricvehicle.com/resources/tank+storage+nobk2+wb.jpg

[mrwilsn]

Must have missed that. I started just scanning that thread when it passed ten pages or so.

Yeah, I'm not sure why but I thought it was a lot more obvious than it really was after going back and looking through the whole thread.  I could definitely see where others might have missed it.  I have unused power tank plastic for my bike because Zero sent it to me as part of a warranty repair after the Z fell off one side of my tank (honestly can't believe they didn't just send me a decal pack or tell me to take a hike).  I thought I posted about it but I must have decided not to thinking nobody would care that I already have a fresh tank ready.

Turns out its really only eluded to by BrianTRice when he says they used SR tank plastics on his "bastardized 2013 DS" because they didn't have power tank plastics on hand.

That happens to be my bastardized 2013 DS. The mirrors are from a flea market sale that I happened to get in on. We threw on the SR tank plastics because I didn't have power tank plastics on hand. The bike itself will get more bastardized as I customize it further with the 15 flea market finds; hopefully I can make it look better with some paint or vinyl.

These articles from autoblog and cleantechnica both have the exact same quote which I can only assume means it came from Brandon or someone else directly associated with DigiNow.  Articles in Motorcycle.com or insideevs don't have the same quote though.

"Once installed, the stock Zero Power Tank cover will fit directly over the Super Charger. Dealers like Hollywood Electrics can order the tank cover for you and install the Super Charger as well."

http://www.autoblog.com/2015/10/13/diginow-super-charger-electric-motorcycles/

http://cleantechnica.com/2015/10/17/zero-motorcycles-releases-supercharger-add-on-for-1-hour-charging/

[Doug S]

I don't personally know (not being one of the project engineers) whether J1772 inlets or cabling have a minimum current rating, but it would not hurt to consider the amount of current the Supercharger could possibly draw and see whether what you have is rated for it.

I assume you mean a MAXIMUM current rating...well, I got it from TucsonEV.com, and I specified the 8GA wires, so they're saying it's good for 40A. That doesn't quite reach 10kW but it's fairly close (8.8kW @ 220VAC). I'm worried about the connector itself though, since all the J1772 sockets I've seen are rated for 32A, since that's the max J1772 is supposed to provide (though Wikipedia says that in 2009 a 90A variety of J1772 was introduced) -- 32A only gets me to 7kW. Makes me wonder how the one Diginow is supplying is rated. But since I've heard raves about the app, I should be able to crank it up slowly while carefully watching for excessive heat. Ben, if you're watching, are you using the connector Diginow supplied? Any heat issues?

Yes, so the join between the centerpiece and side pieces of a Zero tank plastic assembly is made by plastic weld using a soldering iron into soft hollow plastic pins on the centerpiece that melt and flatten around a lock washer onto holes in the side pieces. I've been able to break these welds using a relatively careful use of a pair of pliers to basically grip hard and twist on them until they break. It's a slightly frustrating process but pretty quick to achieve, in about an hour.

Ah yes, I've staked many of those plastic thingies with my soldering iron in my day. In fact, I keep an old soldering iron around for doing stuff like that so I don't get crap all over the tip of my good soldering iron. But I'll be keeping my old "gas tank" intact anyhow.

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

I don't personally know (not being one of the project engineers) whether J1772 inlets or cabling have a minimum current rating, but it would not hurt to consider the amount of current the Supercharger could possibly draw and see whether what you have is rated for it.

I assume you mean a MAXIMUM current rating...well, I got it from TucsonEV.com, and I specified the 8GA wires, so they're saying it's good for 40A. That doesn't quite reach 10kW but it's fairly close (8.8kW @ 220VAC). I'm worried about the connector itself though, since all the J1772 sockets I've seen are rated for 32A, since that's the max J1772 is supposed to provide (though Wikipedia says that in 2009 a 90A variety of J1772 was introduced) -- 32A only gets me to 7kW. Makes me wonder how the one Diginow is supplying is rated. But since I've heard raves about the app, I should be able to crank it up slowly while carefully watching for excessive heat. Ben, if you're watching, are you using the connector Diginow supplied? Any heat issues?

A solidly crimped and assembled to specification J connector should not emit any heat. I've used my digiNow J inlet now at 9+kW (yes, there are J stations that go beyond 6.6kW) without a problem. I would expect TucsonEV's cable builds to be good, but it doesn't hurt to check when you start one the first time. The digiNow inlet cables are rated for NEMA 14-50 input, anyway.

It's worth mounting your J inlet and the cabling as statically as possible, not contacting any hot or chafing surfaces directly and not bending any more than necessary for long cable life.

[Killroy]

How much is the charge tank cover plastics.

It would be nice to have a clean look.

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

How much is the charge tank cover plastics.

It would be nice to have a clean look.

I was going to suggest you ask your dealer, when I realized that I could just do that tomorrow. So I will! Unsure how that will go because my dealer hasn't received any charge tanks yet at all.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Doug S]

How much is the charge tank cover plastics.

I just ordered one; my dealer is charging me $182. No availability information yet. There's also a power tank housing, which I'm guessing has a different top/cover (not sure whether the charge tank housing has the J1772 connector or not), which was $125. I figured the charge tank one was closer to what I want.

He did mention when he talked to Zero, the guy said he'd had four inquiries today. Apparently I'm not the only eager beaver awaiting a Diginow charger!

[MostlyBonkers]

I've just dropped a line to Hollywood Electrics enquiring about cost with shipping etc. to the UK. Anyone other Brits ordered one yet?

[Doug S]

A solidly crimped and assembled to specification J connector should not emit any heat.

Actually, with power connectors, it's all about the heat. Some of Molex's high-power connectors don't even have a "current rating" per se, just a family of curves showing temperature rise versus current flow. It's up to the engineer using the product to keep temperatures at safe levels in his equipment. When a manufacturer does give a current rating, it's based on the temperature rise curves, together with what the manufacturer thinks will be the worst-case circumstances his connector will experience. In reality, if the temperature isn't excessive, neither is the current.

Wires are no different. We talk about the "ampacity" of wires, but that's really about heat too. 8AWG wiring is 'rated' for 40 amps, but that's based on only a 30C temperature rise above ambient. Regular THHN-insulated wire can handle 90C, so 45C rise is generally quite acceptable, at which point 8AWG wire can handle 50 amps. A good chart is located at http://www.cerrowire.com/enginering . Note that we're talking about free air here -- putting wires in an insulated area or packing several of them in a chase or conduit can require considerable derating from these values.

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

I'll raise your "well, actually" with another: I've worked with 4160V and 450V AC and 300V DC power equipment on naval aircraft carriers, so yes I know this and was simplifying for sake of discussion. What I mean is you won't feel it warm up appreciably.

I've worked on inverting IGBT and MOSFET-based power conversion electronics in the late 90s when this was still novel.

Pick someone else to "well actually", please. You were already petulant with me before and I have no desire to entertain your rhetoric.

[MrDude_1]

I'll raise your "well, actually" with another: I've worked with 4160V and 450V AC and 300V DC power equipment on naval aircraft carriers, so yes I know this and was simplifying for sake of discussion. What I mean is you won't feel it warm up appreciably.

I've worked on inverting IGBT and MOSFET-based power conversion electronics in the late 90s when this was still novel.

Pick someone else to "well actually", please. You were already petulant with me before and I have no desire to entertain your rhetoric.

well actually....

just kidding.

But I do know that some of the J1772 connectors do get warm when running at 40a or higher. they are not overheating or anything, but they will get another 10 or 20 degrees F over ambient with sustained max power.  I suspect that some of it is from the EVSEs using 12 ga cables, and some of it is from the quality of the power connection pins themselves. They are not overly long, nor springy..  if you end up with a plug/socket combo on a pin with a minimal connection, it will warm a tad. Nothing dangerous though.

Ive only witnessed this on Teslas with dual chargers though. You need a large pack AND pull sustained high amps. Most other cars (and zeros) have smaller packs and/or dont pull as much power.

[Gimli1844]

Is the power tank plastics going to fit my 2013S ?  I am assuming the fake plastic gas tank connectors have not changed but want to make sure before I place an order.