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Repurposing two Juice Boxes with Open EVSE inners - a question about clamps and LEDs.
17 CommentsSorted by Oldest First
I have an old Juicebox 75 Pro in the unpainted metal box. I have it set to about 45 A, but a couple times when the power was off it reverted to 75 A. When that happened I had to call Enel to be able to connect to the Juicebox and readjust the current. So I am expecting that to happen next time the power is out.
If there was a drop in replacement controller, that would be basically like a dream come true!
I will attach some pictures, unless it’s better to post them somewhere else and provide a link?
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I would use an ESP for the wifi, and not spend time on the type used on the Frankenstein wifi module currently in the juicebox. ESPs are so inexpensive. Also you can easily get them with a UF.L connector.
I'd say a display is less important to me as well, since my EVSE is in the corner of the garage and I don't look at it much, relying more on accessing it via web (or HA), and the app.
From what I could tell, in my Juicebox Pro 40 it has two processors, both Atmel processers, one is a mega328P-AU. Isn't the current openevse using an ESP32?
btw, don't be afraid to ask the community if there is some way we can help develop a replacement?
OpenEVSE Support
said
3 months ago
@Michelle OpenEVSE is using the ATMEGA 328P-AU for the safety controller and the ESP32 for WiFi.
Aminorjourney
We're repurposing two JuiceBox Pro 40 with Open EVSE hardware, with the ultimate goal of replacing the s****y firmware EnelX Is forcing on everyone with open source hardware and firmware inside the original cases. We'll be using MQTT and power sharing for two Open EVSEs sharing a single 50A single-phase supply.
The relays in these units are notorious, so I'll be ordering a new relay and connections, but I think I can repurpose much of the rest of the unit.
The case is high-quality metal, with a proper seal and a rubber dome with integrated WiFi antenna. I'll be ordering a WiFi board with external connector for compatibility there.
The back plate is solid metal, and looks like it can be drilled for additional screws to hold components securely on nylon standoffs. There's also a nice three LED setup with four-connector ribbon to the front of the case, and I'm hoping to be able to find a way to drive these for charging, power, and wifi connection status.
I see that the current clamps used on the JuiceBox are CR8450 and CR8420. If I'm reading the documentation correctly, Open EVSE uses two CR8420s, one with a ground fault, and one without. Is that correct? If so, I assume I can repurpose my existing CR 8420 and order a new one with the current clamp and ground fault combined?
Cheers!
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