How to build and connect a 220/240v to 110/120v adapter for your Alta Rapid Charger

[C5tor]

I put together a couple videos on how to build an adapter so that you can plug your Alta Rapid Charger into a standard 110v/120v US receptacle.

These are obviously pretty simple tasks if you have done them before. But for folks new to the Alta Redshift or ones that are considering buying one, it probably makes more sense to show you the steps than to try and explain them. Hope they help!

The first video shows how to build the adapter.

The second video simply shows how to connect the charger to the bike, and the steps to get it to charge.

 

[Redwolf]

Excellent reference material for those who need it.

Nice clean workshop too, almost makes me ashamed of my barn... Almost.

 

[Philip]

Awesome, @C5tor! Thank you for posting this.

I have moved it to the Chargers sub-forum, stickied it, and added a link to it from the Videos as well. I am sure many new owners will find this extremely useful.

 

[Mxchamps]

Thanks to this video I ordered the parts and built the adapter this evening. Thanks a lot! Too bad I found the video after cutting my wall apart to run 220 from my dryer outlet to the garage. Oh well, I have both options now

 

[flintpunk]

Is there a difference in charge time required when using 120 V. power vs. 240 V.?

 

[snydes]

In general it’s close to twice as fast on 240v.

 

[Philip]

It should be about 2.67 times faster. You get twice the voltage and 16A instead of 12A.

 

[flintpunk]

Thanks for sharing all this. So at the track during the day, I can charge with 240 from the generator and at night, I can plug into the camper and charge using 120 for peace and quiet! Love it!

 

[C5tor]

Just a little tip after using this adapter setup for quite a while.

Try to avoid using a thin (16 gauge) appliance cord like I used in the video. It tends to get really warm after a while. Go with at least a 14 gauge, or even better a 12 gauge wire. I couldn't find any 12 gauge appliance cords, so I ended up buying some cheap 6-foot 12-gauge extension cords from amazon (actually cheaper than the appliance cord I originally bought), and cutting one end off of them. They have been working great, and no more heat buildup. I would actually consider this a safety issue, as the plug would get pretty warm.

 

[TCMB371]

 

[C5tor]

Me attaching my new adapter to the charger. “Overheat now, b*tch.”

 

[Amoney]

I put together a couple videos on how to build an adapter so that you can plug your Alta Rapid Charger into a standard 110v/120v US receptacle.

These are obviously pretty simple tasks if you have done them before. But for folks new to the Alta Redshift or ones that are considering buying one, it probably makes more sense to show you the steps than to try and explain them. Hope they help!

The first video shows how to build the adapter.

The second video simply shows how to connect the charger to the bike, and the steps to get it to charge.

My GFCI went out on my fast charger. If I plug the bike into a power strip it trips it every time. Do you know what size GFCI I need to replace it with? Thank you. great video by the way

 

[C5tor]

First, I should point out I am NOT an electrician, although it sounds like I might play one on YouTube. So take my advice with the grain of salt you would give for any advice received from some anonymous bloke on the internet that may or may not know squat about what they are talking about. But here are my thoughts.

Are you sure the GFCI went out on your charger? When you plug the charger in, is the GFCI that trips on the charger or on the power strip? I would say that these would very rarely "go out" and if a GFCI is tripping, it is properly detecting an imbalance in the circuit. That would indicate faulty wiring, like an improper ground, another GFCI on the circuit is tripped, etc. Have you had any electrical work done recently? (I'm assuming the charger worked at some point, but is not working now? Or did it ever work?)

I would believe the GFCI indicator unless somehow proven otherwise.

I would start by taking the power strip out of the equation. Always divide and conquer for this type of problem. If the power strip also has a GFCI, it could be causing problems. Plug the charger directly into the wall. Also, try a completely different circuit in your house. (You can plug the charger in and test the GFCI without having the bike plugged in, so just carry it to some other part of your house.) It also might not be a bad idea to test at your neighbor's house if possible, just to see if it is your house ground at fault.

If you don't have one yet, pick yourself up one of these inexpensive little circuit testers and make sure that your ground isn't faulty, etc. Your local hardware store should have them, or order on Amazon, etc. Also handy for checking if a circuit is energized or not.



As far as replacing the GFCI if it is faulty, I can't really comment on that. Haven't done it, and I don't know parts required. It would probably work without it, but I wouldn't recommend it. It is there for a reason. But I can let a real electrician comment on that, as I think we have a few genuine electricians here on the AOF.

 

[Amoney]

First, I should point out I am NOT an electrician, although it sounds like I might play one on YouTube. So take my advice with the grain of salt you would give for any advice received from some anonymous bloke on the internet that may or may not know squat about what they are talking about. But here are my thoughts.

Are you sure the GFCI went out on your charger? When you plug the charger in, is the GFCI that trips on the charger or on the power strip? I would say that these would very rarely "go out" and if a GFCI is tripping, it is properly detecting an imbalance in the circuit. That would indicate faulty wiring, like an improper ground, another GFCI on the circuit is tripped, etc. Have you had any electrical work done recently? (I'm assuming the charger worked at some point, but is not working now? Or did it ever work?)

I would believe the GFCI indicator unless somehow proven otherwise.

I would start by taking the power strip out of the equation. Always divide and conquer for this type of problem. If the power strip also has a GFCI, it could be causing problems. Plug the charger directly into the wall. Also, try a completely different circuit in your house. (You can plug the charger in and test the GFCI without having the bike plugged in, so just carry it to some other part of your house.) It also might not be a bad idea to test at your neighbor's house if possible, just to see if it is your house ground at fault.

If you don't have one yet, pick yourself up one of these inexpensive little circuit testers and make sure that your ground isn't faulty, etc. Your local hardware store should have them, or order on Amazon, etc. Also handy for checking if a circuit is energized or not.

View attachment 8068

As far as replacing the GFCI if it is faulty, I can't really comment on that. Haven't done it, and I don't know parts required. It would probably work without it, but I wouldn't recommend it. It is there for a reason. But I can let a real electrician comment on that, as I think we have a few genuine electricians here on the AOF.

Thanks for the reply. It charges fine and the charger works. It just the GFCI tripped all the time. Was looking to replace it with the same amperage gfci.

 

[snydes]

McMaster-Carr did have exact replacements for the Alta charger GFCI’s, I’d look there.