The flatmate compliant charger

[cwah]

Hello all,

Just wanted to post today about my new charger set up.

I was using initially a 200W charger (Kingspan) but it was damn noisy when charging. I had my flatmate telling me they can't sleep while the charger is on lol.

And as the charger was on the floor, people would just stumble over the wires... damn annoying.


I decided to replace it with a new set up:

I'm using a recycled 20V laptop power supply with a voltage converter to adjust the output to the desired one for my battery!

I'm using it since one month and it's working quite well (both at home and at work).


To avoid people to stumble upon the wire, I've found a little gap on the extinguisher holder that would allow me to hold the charger:

It would have been easier to drill a hole on the wall, but I don't think the landlord would ever agree on that lol.

 

[cwah]

My charger is holded by a thin aluminium sheet of 1.5mm drilled to a wood board:

Note that it also helps on cooling the charger

 

[cwah]

I drilled few holes on the aluminium sheet to allow the wires to go out:

And you can see, the charger is now out of reach

So I'm globally very happy with my new charger. I come back home, plug it and leave it charge overnight. And it stops annoying everyone because now it's completely silent and people don't stumble on the wires on the floor


I still have few question for the expert here, how do you drill clean rectangular holes on aluminium sheet? I've tried that with my dremel cutting disc and drill, and you can see it's awfully ugly.
Also, I'd like to put some grommets on the wires output. But I suppose I can't find any rectangular ones?

And my last point is that most sheets are quite expensive. Acrylic, polycarbonate or aluminium sheet are not cheap. That's why I used wood. But it's not very clean. Do you know any place to get cheap sheet?


Thanks and I can tell I'm proud of my charger lol

 

[Old_Dave]

Lol. This is a good wind up


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Scimitar]

Good grief. Let us know when any of your flatmates electrocute themselves, will you?
You need, urgently, to get a bit of hands-on experience making boxes, cabinets, etc. If you're at the stage of not knowing how to cut a neat hole and put a grommet in it, you really need to get down the library or Amazon or somewhere and get a book on that basic art.
The tools you need are simple - a tank cutter, snips, files, etc.
Sheet aluminium isn't expensive and is even free - look around the skips and you're bound to find tossed domestic items, many in alloy cases made of bent sheet (might be steel sheet, but in that thickness is just as easy to work with).

 

[jerrysimon]

Located conveniently for possible fires

Re electric shock, I think the voltage in the exposed part is quite low given that cwah is putting it through a step down 20v power supply first ?

I am sure the landlord would have a fit if he saw it though.

As stated some kind of enclosed container would be better and any holes in metal casings that have wires going through them should always have rubber grommets to prevent chaffing of wire shielding. We lost a building at work to fire when this was not done.

PS one other thing restricting access to the fire extinguisher (if the charger is switched on they might not want to pick it up!) is not a good idea either.

PPS My wife just saw this and her first response was who is paying the electric bill in the shared flat lol

Regards

Jerry

 

[Deleted member 4366]

To cut nice holes in aluminium sheet, you need these tools,=:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0035PS3MO/ref=asc_df_B0035PS3MO9799746?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&tag=googlecouk06-21&linkCode=asn&creative=22206&creativeASIN=B0035PS3MO
You don't need to pay that much. You can get the set of four included in an accessory set from Lidl or Aldi for £5.99.

You drill a hole to make a start and then carefully mill away the rectangle, which will have slightly rounder corners. If you need square corners, you need to finish with a square needle file. You can use the same technique on plastic, but you have to turn the speed right down otherwise the plastic melts and sticks to the tool.

You can get high impact polystyrene sheets from this supplier fairly cheaply. They also have a good range of electronics, heatshrink etc, and nice educational kits for the kids at Xmas.
High impact polystyrene sheet

 

[wurly]

I am lost for words

 

[funkylyn]

Nothing like a good laugh to brighten up a miserable rainy sunday......at least before my world is brightened even more by a hopefully resounding hamilton win in Singapore......

Honestly cwah......what did we do without you.....but seriously that doesnt look safe, its restricting use of the fire extinguisher and if your flat mates are so concerned at the 'noise of your charger ?? !!' ......would moving it into your own bedroom not be an easier solution ?

What sort of charger are you using for goodness sake...mine is silent....

Lynda

 

[cwah]

ahah,

My set up doesn't look safe... but it's actually quite safe!!

The main charger is the laptop charger of 20V 3A output. So a maximum of 60W. (but I was able to pull 145W from it lol). The only area that can catch fire is between the laptop charger wire to the main plug. On all other side, the voltage and amperage is too low to cause any harm.

And as a bonus, I've installed my charger in a way that the extinguisher can still be removed easily!!!


My initial charger was this one from Victpower:
Lifepo4 72V4A aluminum shell charger for e bike - Detailed info for Lifepo4 72V4A aluminum shell charger for e bike,72V4A aluminum shell charger,Lifepo4 72V4A aluminum shell charger for e bike, on Alibaba.com

I think from 200W onward charger, they are all quite loud because of the fans. I'm using it only for "fast charger" now



But you're all right, if it doesn't look safe, my flatemate and my landlord are probably not going to be happy... So I have to make it look safe!!

D8veh, thanks for your website, I'm immediately going to buy some HIPS and aluminium sheet from them. Too bad they don't provide thicker sheets... for more heavy duty application... but that's fine for now.

The milling bit is also quite nice, I'm going to get it. I tried to mill with my dremel mill bit but it was quite impossible to have anything clean...


I already have grommels at home, but they are used for round holes. How do you do to protect rectangular holes? These are the shape of my connectors.. I could use tape but I don't think it's a good idea.


Ps: Scmitar, I'll try to find some tossed domestic item, but I don't have much luck for now. And I don't like to look through trash bag lol

Pps: Jerry, my flatemate have exactly the same thought. They think that I'm using all the electricity on the flat lol. When the internet connection slow down, they all think I'm using all the bandwitdh... lol

 

[TylerD]

Thank you for making me

 

[Old_Dave]

OMG... It's not a wind up !!!

My years of hitting people over the head with regs have thankfully gone, but if I may make a few constructive comments.

1. What you can reasonably get away with as the sole occupier of a property has no bearing on what can be done in a building of multiple occupancy where you have no controll over other people.

2. Fire extinguishers should have clear and unobstructed access, and fire exit / escape routes shouldn't be blocked by anything.... even bikes

3. Wood ain't the greatest of materials to use in a power supply.

Whilst what you have achieved is very novel and indeed works, but can I implore you to throw it away and buy a charger that complys with safety standard.

That's it lol, sorry for initally thinking it was a joke








Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[banbury frank]

hi Everybody

I think postings like this should result in the poster being banned as we have somebody encouraging members to mess about with switch mode power supply s or chargers these carry LETHAL voltage in excesses off 1,000 volts Maybe not the one he shows BUT encouraging others to open power supply can result in a member DEATH If you have a problem with a CHARGER replace it or take to a professional for repair DON'T ever open it and explore it can KILL you DEAD



Frank

 

[jerrysimon]

Frank whilst I appreciate the reasoning behind your comment, you might also argue that by posting this we have been able to make cwah aware of the potential dangers which he would have continued to over look had he not ? Simply banning such posts and users I think would be more irresponsible. Also who would judge at what point the post becomes inappropriate. Would we then need a volunteer to act as H&S inspector for the work posted on the forum!

I didn't just say that did I lol

Whilst I have often found cwah projects and progress both mind boggling and frustrating they are also often very amusing. No one can doubt his enthusiasm


Regards

Jerry

 

[cwah]

I only opened the laptop power supply in order to replace the output wiring to the standard red and black. I didn't try to do anything else on the charger and now I completely sealed it again with my heatgun. So it should be quite safe.

And this is a very low power charger, so people really have to try it hard to make a fire from it. 20V short would only give a small spark I think.


I was using wood because it was the cheapest material available. But D8v3h pointed me to High impact polystyrene sheet so I'm going to create a new box from that.

I also plan to add a ground exit from the box when finalized.


So with a fully enclosed box + ground exit it should be safe enough isn't it?


ps: The extinguisher isn't obstructed at all. If you look at the photo, it can perfectly removed without ever touching the charger!

 

[cwah]

Can I use this one with my dremel?
10 pcs Tungsten Carbide Rotary Burr 1/8" shank cutter cutting set Engraving Bit | eBay

Seems to be the right size (1/8) and strong enough to cut steel!

 

[eddieo]

Are you an ex provisional freedom fighter like my grandaddy?

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Can I use this one with my dremel?
10 pcs Tungsten Carbide Rotary Burr 1/8" shank cutter cutting set Engraving Bit | eBay

Seems to be the right size (1/8) and strong enough to cut steel!

Yes, that's the ones.

 

[Cyclezee]

OMG cwah

This is just getting too scary and has gone beyond being funny to the point of being dangerous to yourself and others.

Why not just buy a half decent electric folder...........but not from Cyclezee.

 

[funkylyn]

You know cwah....looking at those pics again I hope you dont ever have a visit from the police about anything at all, because if they get a glimpse of that set up I think you would be frogmarched to the station very quickly......it looks extremely suspicious to anyone not aware of the seemingly difficult (to you) job of recharging electric bike batteries.

It could easily be mistaken for some kind of bomb.

Is it really worth upsetting your flatmates and risking being evicted by your landlord when all you have to do is charge your battery in your own room......is that really so difficult ?

You seem to be intent on making your life as complicated as possible......just relax and chill for goodness sake ........

before you give us all heart failure, end up evicted or heaven forbid in police custody .......

Lynda