Hi,
I bought a Vectrix bike yesterday. I have been reading these forums for quite some time now and it helps for people like me that were on the fence to make a decision by reading about real peoples experiences rather than advertisements.
So far I am really happy with my first day of riding. I kept driving around town until battery life read zero. Afterwards I planned to recharge the battery at home. But I have an an issue when recharging. When I plug in to recharge my bike, I always am blowing the AC circuit breaker in my house's AC fuse.
I was wondering if anybody else has this problem. I eventually was able to recharge the bike, but I had to reset my circuit breaker in my house several times, and turn off other stuff on the same breaker to get the bike to charge. So I was wondering, is there a way to control the Vectrix power input requirements? I dont really mind if it takes longer to charge.
Also, the Vectrix manual does not really state what the max AC power input is on the charge controller. If I hire an electrician to add a new circuit breaker for my Vectrix, I would like to know what max load for the AC power would be, but I do not see this information on the manual.
I could have sworn I read this in the Owner's Manual, but perhaps I picked it up somewhere else.
Your new Vectrix requires a DEDICATED 20 amp circuit for charging. That means nothing else is running on that circuit. One or two lights on the circuit won't make much difference, but if your circuit also serves any appliances, fans, entertainment systems or multiple rooms that are being used, it will overload the breaker. Also, if you are using an extension cord, it should be no longer than 25 feet and be 12 guage or heavier and rated 20 amps. (Vectrix does not support the use of extension cords, but we live in a real world where they are just sometimes necessary).
Glad to hear you had a good first day on the bike!
I don't believe this - certainly for European voltage (which is 230V AC) the maximum draw is 10amps, although the plug has its own 13amp internal fuse (in UK models). It might be worthwhile to state your territory as voltages are different around the world!
- Raymond
Good point. I'm located in USA use a 110 VAC 60Hz plug. I noticed my Vectrix plug has a NEMA 15A plug on it.
O.K. now that I know you are in the U.S.A. this one is easy. During the initial (CP) constant power charge cycle the vectrix draws 1700 watts. Divide your line voltage into 1700 to get the current requirement. In my case the line voltage is 115.7 (under load) the amperage draw is 14.72. Pretty much all you can get from a 15 amp circuit so if you can find a 20 amp circuit, you will be better off. The charger must be power factor corrected as I am reading 99% PF--almost a resistive load--which is about as good as it gets. If you are interested in monitoring what you Vectrix is costing you to charge, Northern tool (www.northerntool.com) sells a thing called a "Kill A Watt" electricity usage monitor that plugs into a wall outlet. You can put in your utility company rate and it will show you costs for the power that goes through the outlet. They are only $39.99 (sale price of course) and the item # is 457007. If you don't want to buy from them it is a model P4460 marketed by P3 International. This model is for US only, they may have one for European usage.
I have found that a dedicated 15A circuit is fine, but I went ahead and put in a 20A GFCI in my garage, as the added headroom and protection can't hurt.
There is considerable danger of fire if you continue to reset the breaker while charging without allowing the house wiring to cool, as the wiring to the outlet could heat up to the point of starting a fire. Most circuit breakers recommend replacement if they trip a few times, they simply wear out and then cannot provide the same level of protection.
Be careful!!
Arlo
Simon
does the kill A Watt correct for harmonic distortion?
alot of the cheap meters don't.
switch mode power supplies (of which the majority of good quality chargers are) have alot of harmonic distortion, meaning the cheap meters dont give an accurate reading (i once had a ms6115 meter tell me i was drawing 90w from the mains when i was getting 450w DC out of the charger).
Check the accuracy against a good quality meter (a true RMS meter) before trusting what it says.
Matt
Daily Ride:
2007 Vectrix, modified with 42 x Thundersky 60Ah in July 2010. Done 194'000km
I don't know much about the Kill A Watt, which doesn't sound like a cheap unit. My cheapo bargin basement one seems to register more or less what the info plate on the appliance states, so I'm pleased with that.
We can get the Kill A watt in a UK version:
http://www.reuk.co.uk/Buy-UK-Power-Meter.htm
It seems much better than mine and it measures up to 15amps. 5 more than my unit, so easily will cover the 13 amp maximum in the UK household standard socket.
Simon.
Simon
Cripes! That UK link shows the 'Plug-in Power Energy Monitor' device Maplin sell at £14.99 and regularly have it on sale at £9.99! There is a better one than this - it looks identical and is also sold by Maplin (currently at £7.99). In addition to the calculation of current drawn, you can enter a currency amount per KwH and it will actually read out the COST of your consumption until it is reset - a MUCH better and more useful device.
- Raymond
the vectrix was design to pull a max of 15 amps. most houses have 15 amp circuits but nothing else can be on that same circuit.typical current i have found is about 13 amps max. or cource the speedo will tell you the exact current you are pulling during charge cycle. overseas 230v devide the current by 2.
Robo
The speedo is showing the charging current going into the battery pack, not what the charger is drawing from the AC line. The difference between the two numbers is the charger efficiency.
Hi,
I added a dedicated 20A GFCI 110VAC circuit to the garage. I could have used a 15A circuit, but I figured if I was going through all the hassle to drop wire and such I might as well get more power to the socket. I also upgraded my extension cord to 12AWG wire although my 14 AWG cord seemed fine as long as I did not coil it up. Things work great now I recharge without tripping a circuit.
I also added a 15A wall timer from the previous posts to start and stop charging. I set it up to start and stop charging when I am asleep since I figure the battery pack be cooler during this time.
Well thanks for the info guys. My first 250miles on the bike has been great. Cheers.