Charging a Segway...

[Bwettt]

Hello all,

If I missed a thread with the available information please direct me, I've tried looking this up without a clear answer.

Can I charge a Segway MiniPro through the 12v battery in a model 3 with a converter of some sort? Or am I better off getting a mobile generator?

Ive seen that you can void the warranty with using the battery for high output devices, and that many converters don't seem to work even to power a laptop. I know this thing pulls quite a bit of wattage so Im trying to plan how I can do this in the most efficient way possible. Ill be charging this everyday from dead to fully charged so something reliable and not to destructive on the 12v battery is ideal but just want to figure out what my options are.


Any ideas are greatly appreciated.

Below are the specs of the AC charger and the battery of the Segway minipro.


Thanks for all over your guys help.

 

[dmurphy]

You REALLY don't want to do that. Not good for the 12V battery.

To be honest, you'd be better off with something like this for a MiniPro:
https://www.amazon.com/PRYMAX-Portable-Generator-Flashlight-Emergency/dp/B07R6H9KBH/

That said -- do you really need to charge the MiniPro all the way from dead to 100% daily? The MiniPro is good for, what, 12 miles on a charge?

Maybe upgrade to an S Plus? That's good for 22 miles.
Segway Ninebot S-PLUS | Segway

How about a Kickscooter MAX? That's 40 miles(!!) - I'm REALLY intrigued by this one.
Ninebot Kickscooter MAX | Segway

(says the guy with an old-school Segway!)

So can I ask what the use case is for the MiniPro and such a long distance daily?


Photo to keep things Tesla relevant.

 

[yuhong]

Hello all,

If I missed a thread with the available information please direct me, I've tried looking this up without a clear answer.

Can I charge a Segway MiniPro through the 12v battery in a model 3 with a converter of some sort? Or am I better off getting a mobile generator?

Ive seen that you can void the warranty with using the battery for high output devices, and that many converters don't seem to work even to power a laptop. I know this thing pulls quite a bit of wattage so Im trying to plan how I can do this in the most efficient way possible. Ill be charging this everyday from dead to fully charged so something reliable and not to destructive on the 12v battery is ideal but just want to figure out what my options are.


Any ideas are greatly appreciated.

Below are the specs of the AC charger and the battery of the Segway minipro.


Thanks for all over your guys help.

View attachment 506235View attachment 506236

I believe that most 12V sockets are able to do 120W, considering that it is basically 10A.

 

[Rocky_H]

The 12V system in the car overall should handle that pretty well, considering that some of the other heavy idle loads like Sentry Mode and the Summon Standby apparently add up to a few hundred Watts. So 120W if those other things were not running shouldn't be too big a deal for the 12V battery and the DC to DC converter system to keep up with.

I believe that most 12V sockets are able to do 120W, considering that it is basically 10A.

That would be the main question for this. If you are using a device that is an external inverter box that converts the cigarette lighter plug to a 5-15 type 120V AC outlet and then plugging in to that to charge the Segway, it's going to have a little bit of overhead power usage. So it may be trying to draw a little over 10A from that socket to supply 120W to the Segway's battery charger. I don't happen to know what the fuse level is for that cigarette lighter socket in the Model 3 is. It's likely only a 10A fuse, but possibly 15A. So you would have a good chance of just blowing that fuse.

 

[Kirby64]

The 12V system in the car overall should handle that pretty well, considering that some of the other heavy idle loads like Sentry Mode and the Summon Standby apparently add up to a few hundred Watts. So 120W if those other things were not running shouldn't be too big a deal for the 12V battery and the DC to DC converter system to keep up with.


That would be the main question for this. If you are using a device that is an external inverter box that converts the cigarette lighter plug to a 5-15 type 120V AC outlet and then plugging in to that to charge the Segway, it's going to have a little bit of overhead power usage. So it may be trying to draw a little over 10A from that socket to supply 120W to the Segway's battery charger. I don't happen to know what the fuse level is for that cigarette lighter socket in the Model 3 is. It's likely only a 10A fuse, but possibly 15A. So you would have a good chance of just blowing that fuse.

The cigarette lighter port doesn't use a traditional fuse, it uses a resetable 'efuse' type thing. If you tried it and it popped, no real harm as far as I can tell.

That said, it seems your brick for the ninebot can consume up to 2 amps out of AC (assuming best case, 100V input, that's still 200W). With all the inefficiencies of going from 12V -> inverter to 120V -> back into power brick it seems like it's almost certain to trip the efuse.

Is there any sort of 'cigarette lighter charger' for the Ninebot? If so, use that. You won't damage the battery if you pull off the cigarette lighter.

 

[KenC]

Does it really draw 2amps? If it draws a little less, you should be able to charge it. I suppose when you go camping mode, it would be nice to have the Segway around. I just gave the kids one for Xmas. A total blast. We had it out on the frozen, black ice.

 

[dmurphy]

Does it really draw 2amps? If it draws a little less, you should be able to charge it. I suppose when you go camping mode, it would be nice to have the Segway around. I just gave the kids one for Xmas. A total blast. We had it out on the frozen, black ice.

So cool! No issues with traction?

We have a Segway i2 SE and a pair of MiniLites for the kids. The original Segway - even after all these years - is still an attention-getter. I almost think of it as a precursor to the Tesla revolution.

One thing to watch for; I've found most campgrounds won't let us use the Segways. I'm 0/3 on different campgrounds so far... real bummer!

 

[KenC]

So cool! No issues with traction?

We have a Segway i2 SE and a pair of MiniLites for the kids. The original Segway - even after all these years - is still an attention-getter. I almost think of it as a precursor to the Tesla revolution.

One thing to watch for; I've found most campgrounds won't let us use the Segways. I'm 0/3 on different campgrounds so far... real bummer!

Just had to be careful, no sudden moves. Just magical to be on the black ice with the family. Only happens once every 10 years or so. First time for all the kids.

 

[user212_nr]

I believe that most 12V sockets are able to do 120W, considering that it is basically 10A.

That would be 10A at 12V. The unit he has does 2A @ 120V = 240W. So that would be 20A @12V plus inverter overhead.

It should be fine if you plug the inverter directly into the 12V battery and thus bypassing the fuse.

You REALLY don't want to do that. Not good for the 12V battery.
View attachment 506250

He can always buy another one. They are not so expensive, especially the Tesla one. He can upgrade to a lithium battery as some do.

https://www.ohmmu.com/product-page/12v-lithium-battery-for-tesla-model-3

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

That would be 10A at 12V. The unit he has does 2A @ 120V = 240W. So that would be 20A @12V plus inverter overhead.

It should be fine if you plug the inverter directly into the 12V battery and thus bypassing the fuse.

His unit is 59.5V x 2A input. The AC charger does 2A maximum, but that would be at lower end of AC Voltage.
Still, it takes almost 120W, so given losses, it'd need to be able to charge at a lower amperage so the e fuse doesn't trip.

 

[dmurphy]

That would be 10A at 12V. The unit he has does 2A @ 120V = 240W. So that would be 20A @12V plus inverter overhead.

It should be fine if you plug the inverter directly into the 12V battery and thus bypassing the fuse.



He can always buy another one. They are not so expensive, especially the Tesla one. He can upgrade to a lithium battery as some do.

https://www.ohmmu.com/product-page/12v-lithium-battery-for-tesla-model-3

We're also talking a 6-hour charge time or some such. Certainly won't work through the car sockets; maybe through the 12V battery directly but why would you bother? In that case, buy an extra 12V battery, discharge it and recharge it.

Which is, basically, the portable battery unit I already shared.

 

[Bwettt]

Thank you for all over your responses.

I ended up buying a 300W inverter off amazon and it works great. If the 12v battery degrades or goes bad I plan on just buying a new one.


16amp is the max on Tesla 12V battery btw!


Cheers!

 

[user212_nr]

Thank you for all over your responses.

I ended up buying a 300W inverter off amazon and it works great. If the 12v battery degrades or goes bad I plan on just buying a new one.


16amp is the max on Tesla 12V battery btw!


Cheers!

Any interest in elaborating what you will be doing with the Segway, driving 22+ miles off-grid?

I know people who have or had had Segways and I always suspect them of not using it.

 

[webbah]

I do this all the time. I actually had a 12v socket installed in the trunk tapped into the 12v system near the driver footwell with an inline kill switch. I use a pure sine 12v inverter to charge both of the following:

1) Segway Ninebot ES4
2) Evolve Carbon GT Electric skateboard

Both have chargers that are less than 150 watts. Yours is 120 watts so should be fine, however I changed my 12v battery to an Ohmmu which is LiFePo4 (Lithium phosphate) and holds a higher rate of charge longer, is 1/3 the weight of the original 12v and has ~2500 charge cycles. The Lead Acid will lose volts faster than this and 1000 charge cycles. You can see this chart for reference:

https://www.ohmmu.com/12v-battery-performanmce

I did this change for mainly 2 reasons. First, I have a dual channel Blackvue Dashcam setup and second an onboard wifi automotive router. Both these use 12v at max 5 watts each. Adding the 12v socket to the rear was an afterthought and is very convenient for charging my toys and also for a 12v Dometic fridge when camping.

 

[Bwettt]

I do this all the time. I actually had a 12v socket installed in the trunk tapped into the 12v system near the driver footwell with an inline kill switch. I use a pure sine 12v inverter to charge both of the following:

1) Segway Ninebot ES4
2) Evolve Carbon GT Electric skateboard

Both have chargers that are less than 150 watts. Yours is 120 watts so should be fine, however I changed my 12v battery to an Ohmmu which is LiFePo4 (Lithium phosphate) and holds a higher rate of charge longer, is 1/3 the weight of the original 12v and has ~2500 charge cycles. The Lead Acid will lose volts faster than this and 1000 charge cycles. You can see this chart for reference:

https://www.ohmmu.com/12v-battery-performanmce

I did this change for mainly 2 reasons. First, I have a dual channel Blackvue Dashcam setup and second an onboard wifi automotive router. Both these use 12v at max 5 watts each. Adding the 12v socket to the rear was an afterthought and is very convenient for charging my toys and also for a 12v Dometic fridge when camping.

Was the trunk 12v install DIY or did you have it done professionally?

 

[webbah]

Was the trunk 12v install DIY or did you have it done professionally?

I had it installed at the same time I was doing some soundproofing with the carpets pulled.

 

[Bwettt]

I had it installed at the same time I was doing some soundproofing with the carpets pulled.

Did you do it yourself then? I would love to do one myself but haven't seen any DIYs on how to do a simple set up.

 

[webbah]

Did you do it yourself then? I would love to do one myself but haven't seen any DIYs on how to do a simple set up.

I did it with a friend whom owns an audio installation shop. I’m happy to help if you need! It’s best to tap into the 12v system rather than tie into the battery directly in a Tesla. The Tesla monitors the 12v battery charge levels, etc, and if something else is drawing power it doesn’t know about it will throw errors.

 

[Bwettt]

Ended up charging at peak amps all summer daily with absolutely no issues. Stock 12v battery still holding up.

 

[Ivanzhu]

I can usr 12V to charge my KickScooter, and the AC Adapter looks same as MiniPro's.
The AC Adapter Input is 100-240V/2A。
The first time I use 12V to 220V inverter box(we use 220V in China) and Max support 200 Watt, and it's not work because 220V 2A is more than 200 Watt.
Now I use 12V to 110V inverter box and Max support 300 Watt, and it's work.

KickScooter AC Adapter（Input：100-240V 2A）

Inverter box（Output：110V, support 300W）

My Model3 and KickScooter​