Electric charge points for MH?

[BillWeb]

Maybe I'm the only one dumb enough to ask.
Could hab leisure batteries be topped up at electric car charge points?

 

[Bailey58]

I think this has been mentioned on Fun before and I think the concensus was no on some technical issue? There's always the moral issue too as it could be seen as depriving a needy motorist who is "doing his bit for the environment".

 

[Insider]

I know close to nothing(about most things) but wouldn't there be some communication protocol about how much power can be transferred etc at what voltage etc. It's likely an open standard given the wide variety of chargers and cars so I imagine someone somewhere has managed to do it.....

 

[tonyidle]

Be hard to find 12v coming out of them! Otherwise the question should be is 230v available for my battery charger (or any other mains appliance).

 

[LesW]

Because of the hap-hazard way charging battery cars has been introduced, ie no standardisation, the output voltage could be anything between 110-400 volts.

You'll need plenty of differnt leads and various inverters for this to get off the ground (which it probably wouldn't).

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[VXman]

No is the simple answer. All sorts of problems from voltage to connections and electronic communication issues. They are not designed for this.

 

[Lenny HB]

autorouter knows all about it & has his van setup for it.

 

[68c]

They are there on most residential streets. Using the triangular key, open the panel at the base of street lamp to access the 240volt supply. Once conected tie your lead up above head height for safety and attach a danger sign.

 

[TizzyOnTour]

They are there on most residential streets. Using the triangular key, open the panel at the base of street lamp to access the 240volt supply. Once conected tie your lead up above head height for safety and attach a danger sign.

I think if you attach decorative lights to the lead at this time of year, people will be more understanding and appreciative

 

[enark]

No….

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[autorouter]

It's not simple but it's not very difficult either. As LesW says, there are many different charging connections. Some are standard 230V AC, some are AC 3-phase, some are DC at various voltages, and some are even AC and DC combined in one connector.

The 'Type 2' connector, also called the Mennekes connector, is a European standard, and is common throughout UK and Europe. It has seven pins, five high-current and two signal.

The five high-current pins are Earth, Neutral and three lives, L1, L2 and L3. The two signal pins are Proximity Pilot and Control Pilot.

Earth, Neutral and Live1 correspond exactly to a standard house supply. The charge point is designed to supply over these connections as one of its charging modes. There are two power level capabilities. Some can only supply 3.5kW per phase, but most can supply 7kW per phase. Note that 3.5kW is about 15A at 230V, and about 290A at 12V. So it's unlikely a standard, or even an upgraded motorhome mains charger will over-stress even the lowest 3.5kW supply.

The charge point will not switch on unless it has satisfactory Proximity and Control signals. These are designed for foolproof safety and to communicate the charge point and vehicle charger capabilities, so that neither are overstressed.

The Proximity signal tells the charger that a suitable cable is connected, and what power it will take. There is a resistor with a specific value built into the cable to provide this information, so that for example a thin 3.5kW cable isn't used to charge a 7kW vehicle.

The Control signal is more complicated. The charger puts out a 1 kHz square wave that flips between
+12V and -12V. A specific resistor value in the vehicle will drop the voltage to various levels, like 9V, 6V and 3V. This is used by the vehicle to tell the charger what power is it capable of using.

The charge point varies the square wave width (Mark-Space Ratio) to indicate what power it is capable of supplying. Because the motorhome charger is more than happy with the lowest possible charge point power level of 3.5kW, it can be safely ignored for this application.

Then later, when power levels are sorted out, the Control signal is used to tell the charge point to start and stop the charging process. This means a different resistor value is switched in. The charge point then locks the connectors so they can't be removed by a casual passerby.

When the batteries are full, or the user decides to stop charging, the Control signal must be switched to tell the charge point to turn off and unlock the connectors. Then the cable can be removed.

Of course there's also an appropriate App to download, and enable you to pay for the charging. Each charge point company has its own app. There are some apps that will pay a number of different companies, but I don't know much about this side of things, I'm sure those who use it every day will have more experience.

 

[68c]

I think if you attach decorative lights to the lead at this time of year, people will be more understanding and appreciative

Funnily enough I do help put up our local Christmas lights, guess how they are powered.

 

[BillWeb]

It's not simple but it's not very difficult either. As LesW says, there are many different charging connections. Some are standard 230V AC, some are AC 3-phase, some are DC at various voltages, and some are even AC and DC combined in one connector.

The 'Type 2' connector, also called the Mennekes connector, is a European standard, and is common throughout UK and Europe. It has seven pins, five high-current and two signal.
View attachment 699295
The five high-current pins are Earth, Neutral and three lives, L1, L2 and L3. The two signal pins are Proximity Pilot and Control Pilot.

Earth, Neutral and Live1 correspond exactly to a standard house supply. The charge point is designed to supply over these connections as one of its charging modes. There are two power level capabilities. Some can only supply 3.5kW per phase, but most can supply 7kW per phase. Note that 3.5kW is about 15A at 230V, and about 290A at 12V. So it's unlikely a standard, or even an upgraded motorhome mains charger will over-stress even the lowest 3.5kW supply.

The charge point will not switch on unless it has satisfactory Proximity and Control signals. These are designed for foolproof safety and to communicate the charge point and vehicle charger capabilities, so that neither are overstressed.

The Proximity signal tells the charger that a suitable cable is connected, and what power it will take. There is a resistor with a specific value built into the cable to provide this information, so that for example a thin 3.5kW cable isn't used to charge a 7kW vehicle.

The Control signal is more complicated. The charger puts out a 1 kHz square wave that flips between
+12V and -12V. A specific resistor value in the vehicle will drop the voltage to various levels, like 9V, 6V and 3V. This is used by the vehicle to tell the charger what power is it capable of using.

The charge point varies the square wave width (Mark-Space Ratio) to indicate what power it is capable of supplying. Because the motorhome charger is more than happy with the lowest possible charge point power level of 3.5kW, it can be safely ignored for this application.

Then later, when power levels are sorted out, the Control signal is used to tell the charge point to start and stop the charging process. This means a different resistor value is switched in. The charge point then locks the connectors so they can't be removed by a casual passerby.

When the batteries are full, or the user decides to stop charging, the Control signal must be switched to tell the charge point to turn off and unlock the connectors. Then the cable can be removed.

Of course there's also an appropriate App to download, and enable you to pay for the charging. Each charge point company has its own app. There are some apps that will pay a number of different companies, but I don't know much about this side of things, I'm sure those who use it every day will have more experience.

Thanks. So, beyond all the variables, it is possible.
I find frequently in servos and elsewhere plenty of unattached charge points. And in winter with little solar input, an occasional boost charge to top up the leisure battery could justify a small expense.