Putting a charger in an old gas pump.

[Jeepxj]

This thread will most likely take months to years to see me complete it. But curious if anyone else out there has done this/had the idea.



So the localish ice cream shop has this setup. Sitting there licking my cone and got to thinking; it'd be neat to use a current transformer, arduino and stepper motor to control the old "computer" counter as you filled up. Then if it detects no current for a while to reset back to 0. change the faceplate to reflect KWH and pricing.

years pass. then. suddenly. someone beat me to it.

Berkeley Gas Pump EV Charger

www.thisoldpump.com

Whole album here: iCloud Photo Sharing

So mr Robert Mathews. thanks for beating me. its spurred me into doing it.


So my hunt for a cheap(LOL) oldie time gas pump begins.

I like this style. I envision the cord hanging in a loop under the main body on a new hook I make for it. I can bend acrylic to replace ethyl with "electrons" and light it with addressable RGBs.

So up first on the project; obtain arduino, stepper motor, motor control and a CT for bench building.

and burn some miles trying to find the right old pump within reasonable driving distance.

 

[RTPEV]

Will it ding after every kWh transferred?

 

[swaltner]

There was at least one thread here in years past. Neat project. I really like the custom charging installations. Also saw one here where someone used their woodworking skills to make a nice place to install the EVSE.

Right now, the biggest issue might be the Arduino board. I’ve got some Raspberry Pi projects on hold because I refuse to pay the 3-5x retail price that scalpers are charging right now for those boards.

 

[RTPEV]

BTW, if you are considering building an EVSE from scratch (as opposed to using a Tesla wall connector or mobile connector as the EVSE), I would start with OpenEVSE as the electronic "guts" of the charging station. You could always start from scratch, but it's probably well worth your time to start with a proven system. OpenEVSE is an Open Hardware / Open Source project so you can certainly use it as a starting point and add your own spin on it, provided you are willing to share back your enhancements to the public.

Here are some helpful links:

OpenEVSE github page: OpenEVSE
OpenEVSE store: OpenEV Store - All Products

(I'm not 100% familiar with the OpenEVSE store, but it doesn't appear that they are selling the base OpenEVSE board itself--the WiFi board they are selling appears to be an expansion board, not the base board itself). I built my own EVSE, but I started with a derivative design (that supported two outlets). Maybe someone else that has built their own OpenEVSE can point to the actual board.

 

[Jeepxj]

There was at least one thread here in years past. Neat project. I really like the custom charging installations. Also saw one here where someone used their woodworking skills to make a nice place to install the EVSE.

Right now, the biggest issue might be the Arduino board. I’ve got some Raspberry Pi projects on hold because I refuse to pay the 3-5x retail price that scalpers are charging right now for those boards.

operation EBAY was a success. full starter kit for 40 bucks to my door. we shall see if i got taken for a ride.

 

[Jeepxj]

BTW, if you are considering building an EVSE from scratch (as opposed to using a Tesla wall connector or mobile connector as the EVSE), I would start with OpenEVSE as the electronic "guts" of the charging station. You could always start from scratch, but it's probably well worth your time to start with a proven system. OpenEVSE is an Open Hardware / Open Source project so you can certainly use it as a starting point and add your own spin on it, provided you are willing to share back your enhancements to the public.

Here are some helpful links:

OpenEVSE github page: OpenEVSE
OpenEVSE store: OpenEV Store - All Products

(I'm not 100% familiar with the OpenEVSE store, but it doesn't appear that they are selling the base OpenEVSE board itself--the WiFi board they are selling appears to be an expansion board, not the base board itself). I built my own EVSE, but I started with a derivative design (that supported two outlets). Maybe someone else that has built their own OpenEVSE can point to the actual board.

im most likely just going to put a grizzle in there. small. known. easy to mount.

 

[Jeepxj]

Will it ding after every kWh transferred?

i dont see why it wont play the jetsons car sound when you unhook the charge cable from stored location.

 

[Jeepxj]

Every journey begins with a single step. err LED.

CT coming on the slow boat.

 

[Jeepxj]

I did a thing.

went from just unload it to....

https://imgur.com/HIRGGYe

 

[Jeepxj]

solid light on one side. charging light on the other.

https://imgur.com/86JmONW

 

[Jeepxj]

 

[Silicon Desert]

Will a bunch of guys in uniform and caps still run out to meet me as soon as I drive in there so they can check my tires, wash my windshield and pump the electrons for me?

 

[swaltner]

Will a bunch of guys in uniform and caps still run out to meet me as soon as I drive in there so they can check my tires, wash my windshield and pump the electrons for me?

Only when the EV pump is located in New Jersey or Oregon or within the city limits of Huntington, New York.

 

[Jeepxj]

Only when the EV pump is located in New Jersey or Oregon or within the city limits of Huntington, New York.

Is now a bad time to bring up that this is in NJ?

 

[Rocky_H]

Is now a bad time to bring up that this is in NJ?

Everything is legal in New Jersey.

 

[RTPEV]

Is now a bad time to bring up that this is in NJ?

Oh geez, I hope nobody sees you plugging in your car to that thing then!

 

[Jeepxj]

no dings. but it moves

https://imgur.com/CxHWEYr

 

[Jeepxj]

got it reading charging status and moving the meter finally.

https://imgur.com/ZZjTXcr

 

[Jeepxj]

a bit of an update:

handle status lights working. sleep mode is all white. j1772 unhooked is steady green

https://imgur.com/9fcF22B

then it detects charging, resets the meter, and runs the meter up while charging.

https://imgur.com/a/OD4Fvzy

 

[Jeepxj]

colors and timing better. now we await the homeflex to shove inside and figure out the cord retractor. then onto watt monitoring

https://imgur.com/IufuIw0