ERIC Charger and using a timer

[fstop]

My charger works fine, but I've always had an automated outlet powering my cart charger so that no charging takes place overnight for safety reasons.

My question is, when the ERIC charger power goes off at 10pm, and then comes back on at 9am, does it start a complete cycle again, or does it realize it is already at 100% or close to it and not begin a voltage ramp to 61 volts or so (like it does for a normal charge)?

I guess I could watch it and see what it does each morning but thought I'd ask and see.

As far as I know, if you don't remove AC power from the ERIC, you could just leave it plugged into the cart whenever you aren't driving it - but it's the unplugging ERIC / plugging it back in that has me wondering if that is causing some excessive battery boiling etc...

Thanks

[NoleFan4Ever]

The ERIC is a fully automated HF charger. It will not charge if not needed. Even if you unplug it and plug it back in.

[fstop]

Originally Posted by NoleFan4Ever

The ERIC is a fully automated HF charger. It will not charge if not needed. Even if you unplug it and plug it back in.

Battery was at 50.7 this am and I plugged in the AC to the ERIC, and it went through around a 2.5 hour cycle with voltage getting to around 61v.

Seems like it didn't need all that...

I'll see what happens if I don't remove AC power overnight.

[NoleFan4Ever]

That is a HF charger, they really pump the voltage up, but at a very low amperage on the finishing charge.

[fstop]

Originally Posted by NoleFan4Ever

That is a HF charger, they really pump the voltage up, but at a very low amperage on the finishing charge.

Thanks.

[Fairtax4me]

I think the original question depends if the charge cycle has finished or not. Usually if the charger is left plugged in when the charge cycle finishes, it will not start a new charge again for about two weeks.

If the cycle is not finished it will re-start about the point where it left off.
If the cycle is finished, I think it should not start again, but I may be wrong on that.

If you have an owners manual fr your cart the basic charger operation is described in there. If you don't have an owners manual you can get one from Club Cars website free.

[fstop]

Originally Posted by Fairtax4me

I think the original question depends if the charge cycle has finished or not. Usually if the charger is left plugged in when the charge cycle finishes, it will not start a new charge again for about two weeks.

If the cycle is not finished it will re-start about the point where it left off.
If the cycle is finished, I think it should not start again, but I may be wrong on that.

If you have an owners manual fr your cart the basic charger operation is described in there. If you don't have an owners manual you can get one from Club Cars website free.

Thanks - I read the manual but there was no clear explanation of the result of disrupting AC power.

I gathered that leaving the cart and charger plugged in would lead to a finished charge cycle w/out a restart until either a time period elapsed or voltage dropped to a certain point.

I just wondered what interrupting AC power would do, with a concern that it would restart the process, or at a minimum be more aggressive in the charging than it would if AC power hadn't been removed.

I think it is safe to say that fires involving golf carts / chargers almost always occur during charging, which is why I've always had my home control system switch off the charger outlet during night hours.

The old EZGO charger I had didn't seem to behave like this one - I can smell a slight charging gas odor in the mornings sometimes, when the cart was already charged the night before.

The way I have my e-bike charger set up is that I press a wall keypad button (or ask Alexa to "Charge the bike") and the charger starts, and if it gets to 10pm and the charger has not been on for at least 5 hours (max time to charge bikes 52v lithium pack), then the automation program shuts off the charger but makes a note of the fact that it didn't finish so that in the morning at 9am the charger comes back on to finish. It won't come back on again once it is finished, unless I initiate another charge command. Problem is that I think with the way the ERIC system seems to work, when it comes back on it may still cook the batteries for a bit before deciding to back off, even if it only comes on for 2 hours before automation turns it off because it ran for 8 hours previous evening. Maybe mild boiling for moderate periods isn't detrimental - I don't know, but I just don't remember any charger I've had doing it unless it was finishing a full charge - not topping one off that was mostly already full.

I know there are multiple profiles which can be applied by USB that may change this behavior but I just don't know it if matters that much, or if it is anything that would impact battery lifespan to any degree. I think it keeps me busier with watering, if I had to guess though.

[NoleFan4Ever]

It's maximum DC output voltage is 72v and it is a HF charger with a little over 91% efficiency. Powerdrives were 79-81% based on model. (The ERIC is basically an IC650 by Delta-Q)

[Sergio]

fstop, does your automation plug track energy used?

If it does you can see the charging impact when AC power is restored in the morning.

You can also look at the charging log using a USB memory stick to verify the previous night charging cycle was completed.

[fstop]

Originally Posted by Sergio

fstop, does your automation plug track energy used?

If it does you can see the charging impact when AC power is restored in the morning.

You can also look at the charging log using a USB memory stick to verify the previous night charging cycle was completed.

I'll try putting in a USB stick and take a look at the log file generated. The particular outlet it is plugged into does not monitor AC current draw - I've just been checking it manually as it turns on and watching the voltage over an hour or two.

Thanks for the USB suggestion!