Charging While Driving Works w/ Gas Generator in Bed (Range Extending for F-150 Lightning)

[ZSC100]

What excites me the most about this is the potential to add an additional battery pack in the bed for when it's needed, especially if there's one people could get from junkyard evs or something that would fit well in the bed. I'd prefer that over a generator, but obviously the cost would be higher. Either way, this discussion is very interesting and I'm excited for the potential!

The problem with batteries is and will always be standardization. Batteries just are not standardized in any way, voltage, cell arrangement, physical size, weight, chemistry, thermal characteristics, instant load capability, etc. and all these things are intertwined and require extensive engineering and testing to get right. Ohh, and new battery designs happen yearly . I'm afraid there will never be a simple way to BYOBatts to any EV. The best we can hope for is an extremely versaitle and open source DC-DC converter with uber flexible BMS capabilities and uber flexible CAN communications and user interface. The sad thing is that even if such a thing existed it would take engineering level maker skills to just go buy a used EV battery or any other batteries and make it all work. Generators are just the opposite and standardized to almost level Ludicrous.

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[ZSC100]

The problem with batteries is and will always be standardization. Batteries just are not standardized in any way, voltage, cell arrangement, physical size, weight, chemistry, thermal characteristics, instant load capability, etc. and all these things are intertwined and require extensive engineering and testing to get right. Ohh, and new battery designs happen yearly . I'm afraid there will never be a simple way to BYOBatts to any EV. The best we can hope for is an extremely versaitle and open source DC-DC converter with uber flexible BMS capabilities and uber flexible CAN communications and user interface. The sad thing is that even if such a thing existed it would take engineering level maker skills to just go buy a used EV battery or any other batteries and make it all work. Generators are just the opposite and standardized to almost level Ludicrous.

My bad with the ONE exception of the UPS used as a turn key item like Robert mentioned above producing standardized voltage/freq AC just as a standardized generator does. This may actually be an elegant alternative use for industrial UPSs, but I suspect the total losses will be ugly. Maybe tolerable, but ugly.

 

[Yellow Buddy]

The problem with batteries is and will always be standardization. Batteries just are not standardized in any way, voltage, cell arrangement, physical size, weight, chemistry, thermal characteristics, instant load capability, etc. and all these things are intertwined and require extensive engineering and testing to get right. Ohh, and new battery designs happen yearly . I'm afraid there will never be a simple way to BYOBatts to any EV. The best we can hope for is an extremely versaitle and open source DC-DC converter with uber flexible BMS capabilities and uber flexible CAN communications and user interface. The sad thing is that even if such a thing existed it would take engineering level maker skills to just go buy a used EV battery or any other batteries and make it all work. Generators are just the opposite and standardized to almost level Ludicrous.

Without overcomplicating it, I would imagine it’s an AC inverter tied to the battery bank to retain the method used in the video. To get a charging rate of 80A/240V assuming 0.1c would require a massive battery though, one bigger than what’s available on the truck.

The other problem i see is that at 70mph, our trucks already travel 4+ hours (ER) how much more can a bladder take? And in a towing situation, a heavy battery will eat up payload and gawr…unless someone builds a custom trailer with its own battery pack. But we’re no longer talking easy implementation.

 

[PJnc284]

Just pull an out of spec. They put an extra battery in a leaf. Shame we can't all have one of these following us

 

[Shaw1984]

I just drove my 24 ER Flash from Tulsa to Amarillo. This would have made the trip way easier. Not a lot of charging in certain directions. As well as trips to Dallas and back in the same day. And South Arkansas. And Louisiana. And Houston. And when doing lots of towing. This makes an insane amount of sense. I don’t want the maintenance of a big engine, I want my frunk, and I can remove it when not needed

I love the lightning and it is hands down better than a gas truck. Just wish it had a better range and charge rate/curve. I work in electrical and automation. I would love to try this solution. I got a 13kw generator sitting at home with nothing to do but make my long road trips easier….

maybe there is a way to tap the chargeport from the back, route the cable under the cab, and connect to the generator in the bed for a clean look?

Maybe I could test next???

 

[hturnerfamily]

I remained amazed that so many of us are intent on these forums about considering hauling around 'gas powered noisy and fuel-guzzling generators', while we pontificate and enjoy the value of our 'green' and 'silent' EVs...

why don't we just drive a gas truck?


oh my

 

[fhteagle]

I haven't read the whole thread, but I did watch the video posted by OP. Looks like the only "innovation" here is tricking the truck into going into gear with something plugged into the charge port. That's against FMVSS or SAE specs AFAIK.

But the way you have this genset set up, there is a completely unnecessary AC to DC conversion step. Find a DC gen and get it connected to the HVDC bus instead, a la what James Klafehn did. I do not recommend copying his safety culture, but at least he proved external DC to Lightning is doable.

 

[ZSC100]

I haven't read the whole thread, but I did watch the video posted by OP. Looks like the only "innovation" here is tricking the truck into going into gear with something plugged into the charge port. That's against FMVSS or SAE specs AFAIK.

But the way you have this genset set up, there is a completely unnecessary AC to DC conversion step. Find a DC gen and get it connected to the HVDC bus instead, a la what James Klafehn did. I do not recommend copying his safety culture, but at least he proved external DC to Lightning is doable.

This mod has nothing to do with FMVSS or SAE because we (owners) are not bound by any of that as owners. We are making a modification for a specific function, so yes, we are simply bypassing the warning/interlock that keeps people from driving off with a charger plugged in which would most definitely happen often if not in place. I can't tell you how many times I've jumped in my truck in a hurry and not been able to take off b/c the IPC says, "disconnect charger before starting vehicle".

For this reason I will take very special care to retain this functionality 100% b/c if I don't I will be the first one to rip my Level 2 charger off the wall.

2nd, ALL electromechanical/rotational generators generate AC. That's a fundamental physics truth based on the nature of electromagnetic induction. So, in fact there's no better way to do it than what is being done with the truck's built in on board charger(s).

Of course if your source is a battery (DC by nature) then going straight to your truck's HV battery (DC to DC) is best. If the goal is ever to go beyond the truck's max onboard chargers' capability of 11.5/19kW then we're probably talking about a completely different project at that point and the charger would probably be better housed with the generator and providing HV DC directly to the truck's battery.

 

[RLXXI]

Lets discuss !
I have this equipment:
3-12kW SRNE 120/240 inverters (two of these run my home and business, one is Spare)
10 - 304Ah 48V LiFePO4 (15kW each) rack batteries

But I don't know how this can charge while the truck is moving ? Your bed-attached J1772 port idea has my attention - since it could plug and play with several options for alternative power.

I'd like to have your storage capacity lol. Only have 850ah at 51.2v so far. As to using them in the truck I'm going to have to say the weight would be prohibitive. You'd be "squatting" every where you went.

 

[ZSC100]

I'd like to have your storage capacity lol. Only have 850ah at 51.2v so far. As to using them in the truck I'm going to have to say the weight would be prohibitive. You'd be "squatting" every where you went.

""
I have toyed with the idea of making a frame for the truck bed to hold 3, 15kWh 48v server rack packs, about 650 lbs.
""
45kWhr for 650lbs, that's a great power density, same weight as 3 adults for an extra 100mi of range. What truck would that "squat", I wouldn't even notice that much weight in my truck?

Now for convenience of throwing it in the truck once a week, yea, that's too much for even 2 strong men to lift, so, this would require a unique solution and an unique use case, but it's doable.

This is why a generator just works, it's easy enough to throw in the back whenever you need it, and you'd be blown away by how many are sitting in garages around the country, like brand new, only been used a couple of times.

 

[RLXXI]

This is why a generator just works, it's easy enough to throw in the back whenever you need it, and you'd be blown away by how many are sitting in garages around the country, like brand new, only been used a couple of times.

Actually I wouldn't be blown away by that, I have one of the very same in my garage lol. It's my backup to the whole home genset I have. I live in hurricane alley so it's a no brainer for me. Still brand new only fired up once just to make sure it ran then shut it off.

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