Inverter Charger Question

[privateer703]

I'm considering buying a salvaged Tesla battery to charge my Alta through an inverter. Assuming I get an inverter that can handle the 13-14A draw of the standard charger, does anyone see a reason that this can't be done? The tesla battery packs I see are 24VDC, so I would need a step down transformer. The next question would be, what charger could I use to charge the tesla battery pack?
Yes, I'm aware generators are cheaper.

 

[Philip]

You can make this work in several different ways. If you do not need fast charging at 240V, then a 2kW 110V inverter will work.

Make sure to buy a pure sine wave inverter. It should charge your Alta quicker and you will be able to use TVs, microwaves and coffee machines with it.

Batteries are often the biggest expense in such systems. I have 4.8 kW (400A of 12-volt) worth of batteries, but I wish I had twice as much. Having a plenty of power would have made so many things so much simpler. Things like interior heating, A/C and water heating are often simpler if they are electric. With a larger battery capacity you can store more solar energy, or charge at home fully and not worry about charging on the road as much.

If I had to do it all over again, I would have bought 2-3 used Tesla batteries and ran a 24V system. Not because I like a higher voltage, but because this is what the cheap Tesla batteries use. The downside is that I would have to add my own BMS, figure out safe voltages and temperature limits, build battery enclosures, and figure out how to draw 12V out of this 24V system.

An inverter-charger will charge your batteries from the generator/grid., but you may also want to think about charging from the 12V car alternator.

 

[schwankl]

I went the tesla model s module route and works good - have not upgraded to the 240v split phase option but i kept it simple with:
inverter charger:
victron multiplus 24/3000/70
victron bmv 712
victron bp 100
(few other components/switches and 0 gauge for 24v lines)
... electronics in a pelican 1650 (have some dashboarding into 1/4 pvc work to do, just hasn't been a priority - will take pics after)
... battery in a 29 Inch steel 81mm mortar ammo can with custom padding - weather proof and has handles / stackable / throw in back of truck

 

[privateer703]

So is this in your motovan? And how do you power the charger to recharge the battery?

 

[schwankl]

no van - i have a truck and just throw the pelican case and motar ammo can in the back. I use 120vac from generators (harbor freight predator 4000 or honda 2200) or shore/grid power to recharge the battery. Solar in the future for longer stay camps.

 

[privateer703]

Very cool, thanks for the info!