Tesla chargers

Shadowcatcher
Shadowcatcher Solar Expert Posts: 228 ✭✭✭
I am bringing this concern from one of the RV forums.
One individual who is a Tesla fan listed two web sites offering Tesla chargers
http://www.sunlightbioelectric.com/battery-charger.htm
http://www.r-charge.com
Neither web site has any genuine information as to how these work but both seem to be channeling Tesla. This in my opinion sends up a big red flag.

Comments

  • Cariboocoot
    Cariboocoot Banned Posts: 17,615 ✭✭✭
    Re: Tesla chargers

    From the first site: "SunLight Inc. is introducing to the world this breakthrough technology to the battery industry which is so revolutionary that it is difficult to compare it with any traditional concepts."

    Nikola Tesla: 1856 - 1943
    Yep, that's breakthrough, revolutionary technology all right; about 100 years old if Tesla designed it.

    Using his good name to promote products. There ought to be a law against it.
  • john p
    john p Solar Expert Posts: 814 ✭✭✭
    Re: Tesla chargers

    They make claims the "rejuvinated" batteries can hold more more power than when new,??? OH REALLY ????
    Would like to se a few independant tests to show that if they dont mind.

    If they would care to send me one for testing I will give it an honest rating after tested. Im open minded.
  • waynefromnscanada
    waynefromnscanada Solar Expert Posts: 3,009 ✭✭✭✭
    Re: Tesla chargers

    Hummm, strikes me that this thread was started to draw folks to into clicking on the very links it purports to condemn. Cute.
  • Cariboocoot
    Cariboocoot Banned Posts: 17,615 ✭✭✭
    Re: Tesla chargers
    Hummm, strikes me that this thread was started to draw folks to into clicking on the very links it purports to condemn. Cute.

    Always a risk in this section of the forum.
    The links could be broken, but then what?

    "There's no such thing as bad publicity."
  • Shadowcatcher
    Shadowcatcher Solar Expert Posts: 228 ✭✭✭
    Re: Tesla chargers

    Actually the question was absolutely serious and further searches brought enough information and some test data that show these are bogus claims and they are no more Tesla related than the items on Warehouse 13, maybe less so!

    I did a search on the forum and there is some information.
    "I got intetrested in these bedini motors a few years back. As a battery charger, they work on high frequency, high voltage spikes to help breakup sulfation.
    The theory is the high frequency and harmonics of this essentially shake the sulfates free."

    "from a brief read from the link you provided it seems to use a pulse/frequency type of charging and thats exactly what my B&D vector charger which has a desulfate mode does. I have used it to successfully bring up a couple of old wet car batteries a few tenths of a volt but not to like new voltage as this claims. my B&D also runs a 24hour cycle to desulfate and this claims to do it much faster.

    "Update,
    After a few months of side by side testing against an OB FM, The Tesla switch solar charger is a good pulse De-sulfate`r but an awful charger,"

    I did find one web site that has a scope trace about 1/3 down the page and there appears to be a high voltage spike, which would help desulfate but I see no real evidence of much else, http://www.examiner.com/breakthrough...ini-conference [note: broken link fixed--I think this is the original/desired link. -Bill B.]
  • waynefromnscanada
    waynefromnscanada Solar Expert Posts: 3,009 ✭✭✭✭
    Re: Tesla chargers
    The Tesla switch solar charger is a good pulse De-sulfate`r

    Just curious how you came to that conclusion.
  • Shadowcatcher
    Shadowcatcher Solar Expert Posts: 228 ✭✭✭
    Re: Tesla chargers

    That was a quote from some one else based on their experience. My basic feeling is that the claims for the charger are BOGUS and what I forgot to say is that inquiries to both of the manufacturers went unanswered, a big red flag.
  • MiamiSunrise
    MiamiSunrise Registered Users Posts: 22
    Re: Tesla chargers

    The extent of my experience with the Tesla Solar Tracker was having a customer call me up who was really unsatisfied with the energy harvest they were getting with one of them in use. It looked like it was just a really big, super-expensive PWM controller with pulse desulfation. It has a "TRACKING" light on the front that made him think it was MPPT, but its behavior would very much suggest it was not. It just shut down if you fed it any voltage above 22vdc or so, instead of buck converting it.

    He returned it to the manufacturers (who also make all sorts of hilarious gravity engines and other PEDs*) and bought an OutBack Power FM60 from us... and was happy as a clam.

    You can buy pulse desulfators as standalone devices. I'm a little skeptical of how well they can work, as they are going to be feeding a huge capacitive load (the battery!) as well as lots of smaller capacitive loads (smoothing caps in your charge controller, inverters....) The pulse amplitude is going to be squashed to almost nothing from the battery, and will be damn near nonexistent when inverters or charge controllers that have smoothing caps are connected. Still, I guess they couldn't hurt. Has anyone ever done a proper trial of battery life on identical systems with and without a desulfator?

    * Placebo Effect Devices
    ^ I just pulled this out of my, uh, gravity generator ^
  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,431 admin
    Re: Tesla chargers

    MiamiSunrise,

    We did have one confirmed installation with a pair of FM/MX outback solar charge controllers and several desulfators... The desulfators did cause confusion for the MPPT function in the Outback charge controllers.

    Once the poster turned off the desulfators, he saw a fairly significant increase in harvest.

    I believe another poster here saw issues with the 120 Hz of an inverter current/noise causing an older design MPPT controller (still shipping) to act confused too and reduce harvest.

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
  • MiamiSunrise
    MiamiSunrise Registered Users Posts: 22
    Re: Tesla chargers

    Ouch, I can see how that'd happen... maybe it'd be better to set up the controllers so the AUX output comes up in Night Light mode to enable the desulfators via a relay... charge by day, pulse by night, when you wouldn't be throwing away your PV energy?