How can we help you today?

Start a new topic
Discussions OpenEVSE Forums OpenEVSE Hardware

Backup battery for display

 I'm almost done building my 30A Standard Charge Station Combo (no longer available I think), which includes an RGB display. On the display board, there is no slot for a backup battery. Is there any other way of hooking up a battery, or even rechargeable batteries?

5 CommentsSorted by Oldest First

Hmm, normally on the RGB display backpack there is a little battery bracket for a CR1220 battery.  You say it is not mounted on your PCB?  Can you post a picture if it is no trouble for you.


If I were you I'd order this little breakout board and solder a few wires for the + and -.  I just think it is easier to solder than the metal battery bracket itself.


Maybe Chris will read this.  I suppose the battery bracket may have been omitted from the RGB LCD by some mistake.  Also maybe you have the MONO LCD that does not have the DS3231 RTC chip and in that case there is no purpose for the battery and it is normal to have the bracket not mounted.  That is why posting a picture can helps us figure out how best to move forward.


-Craig K.

The Standard kit includes a Monochrome display and no real time clock. Without a clock there is no need for a battery.


The Deluxe kit adds Color Reg - Green - Blue Display, Real Time Clock, Temperature sensor, and Current measurement coil.

Hi,
Is CR1220 indeed the right battery type? I have several flat lithium cells in stock but not that one. Maybe pop one in the kit going forward so we can close the box and be done for at least a while? How long does the battery last when the kit is always plugged in? Just figuring out if I should buy 5, 10 or 20.

Thanks,

   Sander


 

Hi Sander,  The battery is CR1216, CR1220 or CR1225. We do not ship with a battery for a couple reasons... The battery is optional and only required if you use charging station based timers and you wish to keep time after a power failure. We are looking at using WiFi to set the clock and introduce more advanced features such as automatic DST adjustment so it may not be needed at all for WiFi equipped charging stations very soon.


Additional shipping lithium batteries including small coin cells introduce many restrictions that varies from carrier to carrier country to country. Not sending the battery makes shipping much easier.



Hi Christopher, thanks for explaining. I didn't realize even small button cell non-rechargeable batteries caused shipping headaches. I think that setting the time using NTP or some other protocol would be a terrific enhancement of the wifi module. I like accurate clocks :-)

At the moment I don't have a need for the charger to know the right time but I'll probably get some batteries anyway. Now to convince oven and microwave manufacturers to put a backup battery in their gear. My charger will be backed up by a Tesla Powerwall 2 if my electric company ever gives me permission to enable the damn thing. After that I suppose it will be on a big UPS. I'll be able to charge my Volt using the sun even when the grid is down.

 

Login or Signup to post a comment
More topics in OpenEVSE Hardware
See all 308 topics