Charging from TT-30 socket at RV campgrounds

[JoulesThief]

I have no intention of ever using any timing features with this setup. Charging usage will be as primitive as it gets. The EVSE will be plugged in upon arriving at the campsite and unplugged in the morning when we park at the trailhead and head to the backcountry.

The perception that somehow persists around 240V 50amp service being widely available is a myth. Here in the Ontario there are 3,000 electrified Ontario Parks sites. How many have 240V service? Exactly 0.00%. Likewise for most private campgrounds. The TT-30 socket is mainstream, so being able to use it to charge at 24A is *hugely* beneficial to the type of road trips we do.

The e-Golf was first offered for sale in the USA. There are many, many RV parks that cater to 5th wheel and Motor homes, that require 50 amps at 240v in the pedestal. It's just the standard here in the USA, for RV's. Using RV's as charging stations was only an afterthought, after the fact, that it was possible and a source of recharging electrons for an electric car. Find newer RV parks, and I bet you find newer pedestals and fixtures with 14-50 NEMA outlets for recharging.

 

[egolf2017toronto]

Find newer RV parks, and I bet you find newer pedestals and fixtures with 14-50 NEMA outlets for recharging.

Being limited to staying at RV parks with 50 amp service would completely defeat the purpose of the exercise. I want to go to places that are wilder and are often barely electrified. I usually stay just one night at a campsite and keep moving the next day. I want to do that in the e-Golf. And luckily, it's totally doable.

My upcoming charging solution is flexible enough to be used in any electrified campground in the region. As I mentioned, fully 100% of our provincial campgrounds and the vast majority of private campgrounds here have 30 amp service only. Now I can go to any campground and get close to a full charge during a camping night. This makes the difference between being able to go on a trip with the e-Golf vs. having to ICE it. If I am lucky enough to stumble upon 50 amp service, great, the e-Golf will charge even faster.

There is a wider world out there beyond California

 

[BarryMW]

Just FYI
Juicebox determined many moons ago, why egolf did not like or function with charge timers implemented in the EVSE itself.
It's fixed, and has been for some time.

My egolf sleeps til 11pm every night until the EVSE wakes it up and offers cheap TOU juice.

I also implemented current sharing. The two Juicebox Pro's are permitted a total of 48amps and share it between them if both are charging. Else if one is in use the full 40amps is available.
Only drawback, current sharing confuses the cars departure timer. Not that I care, it completes the charge early. Not an issue in California. But in a cold climate a warm and just off charge battery might be an advantage you won't get with current sharing.

Support has been awesome. As was a very quick turnaround repair one device required.

Can you tell.......... very happy customer here.

You'll be happy you purchased one.

Barry

 

[bizzle]

Can you change the current yourself like an OpenEVSE? It sounded like they had to set it from the factory for him. I thought the juicebox was a fork from OpenEVSE not sure why they made it less user configurable if that's the situation.

Do they have a phone app to change settings? Mine has an LCD with a button and you can select different current and program timers right from the EVSE itself.

 

[BarryMW]

The wifi connected version of Juicebox has an app and website to configure amps and delay


Barry

 

[JoulesThief]

Find newer RV parks, and I bet you find newer pedestals and fixtures with 14-50 NEMA outlets for recharging.

Being limited to staying at RV parks with 50 amp service would completely defeat the purpose of the exercise. I want to go to places that are wilder and are often barely electrified. I usually stay just one night at a campsite and keep moving the next day. I want to do that in the e-Golf. And luckily, it's totally doable.

My upcoming charging solution is flexible enough to be used in any electrified campground in the region. As I mentioned, fully 100% of our provincial campgrounds and the vast majority of private campgrounds here have 30 amp service only. Now I can go to any campground and get close to a full charge during a camping night. This makes the difference between being able to go on a trip with the e-Golf vs. having to ICE it. If I am lucky enough to stumble upon 50 amp service, great, the e-Golf will charge even faster.

There is a wider world out there beyond California

Yes there is, however, VW introduced the car in California. VW sells probably 70 to 75% of all of their e-Golfs to Californians. Which makes you an outlier, as far as Volkswagen is concerned. Wanting to go to wild places and not being self sufficient in your power for your transportation needs is just plain, IMHO, silly. Like making silk purses out of sows ears. Some of those remote places, if like here, are running diesel generators to make electricity in the RV park, I would bet, if it's as remote as you suggest it is.

VW designs this car to be driven in places that are urban with high levels of pollution problems from urban high density commuters in a big city. Where you want to take it hardly fits that parameter, yet that's probably how 95% of all the miles accrued on all the e-Golfs in the USA are traveled. Somewhere in or near, or commuting to the hustle and bustle of a large metropolis area.

 

[egolf2017toronto]

Can you change the current yourself like an OpenEVSE? It sounded like they had to set it from the factory for him. I thought the juicebox was a fork from OpenEVSE not sure why they made it less user configurable if that's the situation.

Do they have a phone app to change settings? Mine has an LCD with a button and you can select different current and program timers right from the EVSE itself.

The model I ordered was the older base-model Juicebox 40. It has two trimpots for setting the current. One is for 120V and the other for 240V. The trimpots are behind screws in the case. So the max current setting can be customized by the user (subject to possible warranty considerations), but it's certainly not intended to be changed frequently. This fits my needs.

The Pro model has an app. You can easily change the current from there via WiFi. I would've bought the Pro but Juicebox did not have a Pro model in stock with separate 120V settings.

Some more details at https://emotorwerks.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/215838667-V8-12-Current-Limit-Classic