You all may remember that in Europe the Type 2 Mode 3 (sometimes called mennekens plug) was adopted as the standard charging plug for cars.
After 1 year of hassling a lot of people I finally got hold of an adapter cable that works for the Vectrix!
The Dutch motorcycle lobby also pitched in and got agreement that motorcycles are now allowed to charge at car chargepoints.
As it arrived today I immediately took the bike for a ride to Amsterdam to test it out. It works perfectly, I only wish they made the cable long enough to keep the extension socket in the buddy seat but maybe I can sort that out myself sometime.
Forgot to mention where I got it from:
http://www.oscarmotorservice.nl
Price was €285,- excluding shipping.
Once you go EV, Gas is history!
Just a little correction, the connector's developer is not called "Menneken" (which I believe means "little man" in Dutch? :-), but rather Mennekes.
My rides:
2017 Zero S ZF6.5 11kW, erider Thunder 5kW
285 eur for a connector? Quite expensive...
When I ride 2000km extra because I can charge en-route it will be break even :-)
Once you go EV, Gas is history!
I would love to find a us version of that cable, it sucks not being able use the car chargers.
You can buy one from Zero Motorcycles! I had one in my hands at the Zero EU headquarters a few months ago.
Once you go EV, Gas is history!
How many amps can this adapter handle? Can it handle 16A?
In theory it should do 32Amp.
But the Vectrix will never draw more than 7Amp as we have 230V everywhere.
There is a wiki page on the standard.
Once you go EV, Gas is history!
What exactly did you get? Is it a Mennekes product and if so, what is the part number?
Joe McCarthy, MCC Energy, Dublin, IRELAND
I don't think it is a standard part. there is no part number on it.
Best way to find out is to call Oscar...
Once you go EV, Gas is history!
Look here for cheaper cables (not my shop):
http://www.grossrollerteile.de/shop/index.php/cat/c1131_Vectrix.html
For the Vectrix I would look after loooong cables (minimum 2m) so you can lock the connector in the trunk. He also offers kits - if the cable is not long enough you can simply add your own cable.
Regards
Tido
Would any UK Vectrix owners be interested in buying a 'Mennekes' IEC 62196 "Type 2" to 13A, 3 pin (standard UK mains) socket adapter cable? This would allow you to use the more recent IEC 62196 "Type 2" charger sockets that are starting to appear around and about the UK - and probably the rest of the EU - these days.
It would be 2.5m long, have a nice IEC 62196 "Type 2" 16A male plug on one end and a good quality trailing socket on the other which would accept a standard UK 3 pin plug - such as the Vectrix is equipped with as well as some other EVs (Twizy?). The cable is also rated at 16A. I suppose you could use it as a source of power for other means eg charging a camper van battery etc but I wouldn't know about that! The cable would weigh a little under 1kg.
To use it, you would waft your Source London (or whatever) RFID card at the charging post which would then release the Mennekes socket flap. You then insert the Mennekes plug into the charging post socket, plug your Vectrix's charging lead plug into the trailing socket and flip the switch on the trailing socket to lock the Mennekes plug in position in the charging post and activate the charging post power supply. You then put the trailing socket with Vectrix plug into the Vectrix under-seat storage box, route the cable through the provided 'eye' at the front (either side) of the storage box and shut & lock the lid. This leaves the Vectrix end of things secure and as previously mentioned the Mennekes plug is already locked in the charging post as part of the their standard functionality.
On returning to your Vectrix, you open the storage box, flip the trailing socket switch 'off' and remove the now unlocked Mennekes plug from the charging post whose display will tell you how many kWh your V has consumed. Lock the charger flap behind you and off you go!
If so, what would you think would be a reasonable price to ask (bearing in mind the previous post's link which has someone selling a Dutch version for 300 euros!)?
RedVectrix
Enfield, UK
Hi,
Further to my previous post, I am now able to provide an adaptor cable to allow anyone with an EV that has a charging cable with a standard UK 13A (Type-G) plug on it to charge their EV from any IEC 62196-2 public charging point (i.e. ones with a Mennekes socket). The ones I have confirmed compatibility with thus far are, PodPoint, ChargeMaster and Elektromotive.
The same applies to the Renault Twizy, Mitsubishi i-Miev (and Peugeot Ion/Citroen C-Zero), anything, indeed, that has a charging lead which terminates in a Type-G plug.
As for other countries, I see no reason why the same cable would not work with any other plug - as long as the maximum current that the EV draws is less than 13A or 3kW. If you want a cable for a country other than the UK, send me the relevant socket and £150 and I'll send you a cable.
Regards, RedVectrix.
RedVectrix
Enfield, UK