Tesla Powerwall charging trailer

[Silenthorse]

I’m curious if anyone on the forums would be interested in helping with a Tesla power wall installation to charge Alta bikes in a trailer. I’ve made the deposit and need a licensed electrician. I’d like to offer the work to forum members first. This community is awesome! I never expected to get this with the bike!

 

[Silenthorse]

The project will also include solar on the trailer roof. Does anyone on the forum have experience with Tesla roof tile cell installation?. I was blown away by the 100mph hail testing video.

 

[Redwolf]

Sounds like an interesting project, nobody here has discussed using this approach yet.

 

[Philip]

This sounds like a very cool project. But last time I checked, Tesla was not happy about their power walls being installed into anything other than homes, so make sure not to tell them.

 

[privateer703]

I was looking into using reclaimed tesla car batteries sold on ebay to do something similar. Can't wait to see how this turns out.
I did check out the hail test videos, and while impressive, you'll notice they placed their tile in a landscape orientation while the other tiles were placed in portrait. The difference in aspect ratio does change the relative strength.

 

[Silenthorse]

This sounds like a very cool project. But last time I checked, Tesla was not happy about their power walls being installed into anything other than homes, so make sure not to tell them.

Thanks for the heads up! Knowing what to say and when is really important sometimes. I would have thought Tesla would want the technology used in every way possible but maybe it’s a warranty issue when not used in a conventional grid tie situation. I really hoped the idea was to beat the grid. Optimism sometimes leaves one feeling confused.

 

[Philip]

Thanks for the heads up! Knowing what to say and when is really important sometimes. I would have thought Tesla would want the technology used in every way possible but maybe it’s a warranty issue when not used in a conventional grid tie situation. I really hoped the idea was to beat the grid. Optimism sometimes leaves one feeling confused.

I considered the Powerwall for my van. Even put down a deposit. But the local distributor/installer refused to cooperate. Also, the wait was longer than 6 months. Else, I would have probably had a Powerwall in my van now. It could easily go flat on the floor under the motorcycles, or even under the van, if kept safe from rocks and various hill crests.

I guess I would talk to the distributor very careful and ask if they would let a licensed electrician of your choice to install it. If that doesn't work, I would find others who installed Powerwalls in their vans and campers and ask how they did it. Of course, you could have it installed into your house, and then move it into the trailer, but that would be more expensive.

 

[Philip]

Tesla Powerwall

 

[Jayfox911]

Any updates on the plans to put the Tesla wall into your trailer?

 

[Silenthorse]

It’s been months since I put the deposit down on the power wall and no word from Tesla. I have 2 of the SM’s and I don’t need a lot of power to charge them. I m thinking of just buying a used Tesla car battery and a good 240v inverter to add to the toy hauler.

 

[bluefxstc]

If you can't get a powerwall, you might want tolook at this. I don't know anything about these storage systems. I am looking at their inverter for my motorhome and just happened to see them. They make a pretty nice 6kw split phase inverter that looks like it will charge an Alta pretty well. Not sure how they charge the battery, but their inverters include a charger so this may also. I have exchanged several emails with them and they have been pretty responsive.

 

[C5tor]

My main concern would be weight, since they are almost 300 lbs. I think you would want them low for center of gravity of the van/trailer. You might need to worry about too far forward or back, especially with a trailer, unless you will be counterbalancing with bikes or a generator, etc. While you can put them on the floor, I don’t know if you’d want to stand on them. And you’d definitely not want to put them somewhere where you’d be tempted to drill into them.

 

[Silenthorse]

It’s been a long wait for the power wall. After talking to an electrician who has installed Tesla power walls, he says it’s a no go. Tesla needs powerwalls attached to the grid for iot charge/discharge control. It all gets really wacky with insurance and underwriting I guess. The power walls aren’t engineered for mobile applications.

 

[schwankl]

The power walls aren’t engineered for mobile applications.

My mobile version works good: I put a tesla model s 5.2kwh into a padded ammo can, and a programmable victron inverter charger in pelican case... use solar and honda gen to charge the battery when away from camp... Silent charging later in the day.

 

[Rashid510]

@schwankl thats a clean setup you got there. That victron is an awesome box, got a see one not too long ago (one of there dealers is near my work). Care to share layout details?

 

[schwankl]

Its basically Solar Phase 2 - The Tesla Battery ...he has some wiring diagrams and videos.
I have some different parts tho - mainly because they have bluetooth and have a nice mobile app to visualize / set:
victron bvm 712 and victron smartsolar 75/15 ... just make sure to set voltages correctly else you will have a big fire if overcharge, plus will last longer if you don't charge to 100%... I use max/min 24.5/19v ... roughly 90/10% SOC.
Cases: pelican 1650, 29" tall 81mm mortar can. Used 3/8" thick hdpe to mount the multiplus, bp220, 200a fuse and shunt. And 1/4" thick hdpe to mount the bvm 712 display. For connecting the mounting brackets to the pelican case, I found that 3M VHB 4952 worked good... tho pelican suggests some >$50 epoxy. Can search videos for attaching to pelican cases for more info.

 

[Philip]

My mobile version works good: I put a tesla model s 5.2kwh into a padded ammo can, and a programmable victron inverter charger in pelican case... use solar and honda gen to charge the battery when away from camp... Silent charging later in the day.View attachment 5134

I am having issues with my 6.0 kWh 12V setup with Battleborn batteries and AIMS inverter. I am drooling over this Tesla 24V battery setup now, I wish I had gone this route. It would have been way cheaper and maybe even simpler, considering all the wasted time I already spent on the phone with Battleborn and AIMS tech support.

@schwankl -- if you had to, how would you add a 12V charging capability from the alternator and a12V discharging capability to power various small 12V lights and appliances?

 

[schwankl]

Your 12v 6kw is split-phase right? My current system is 110v / slow charge system, but scalable ... you can put 6 of these victrons in parallel for party time. For the fast charge 220v split-phase I need another inverter charger ($1200), but I deemed the design safer, flexible and more reliable to have 2 inverter chargers and 2 batteries to independently charge @24v/70a each, and can take one if just going camping w/ my kids.

to charge from 12v would have to step-up converter and limit to 24.5v ... there are a few programmable dc-dc chargers out there, and more all the time. Maybe even a solar charger would work.

for 24v (tesla battery) to 12v I use the bp220 (so it doesn't go below 19v) and a step-down:
New High-Power Waterproof DC 24V Step-down to 12V 60A 720W Car Power Converter 709874031522 | eBay
the 24v out of the pelican case I use a xt90 connection and have the 12v step-down stand-alone to cut down weight of the case ... have room for it, but its adds another 10+ lbs.

 

[Philip]

Your 12v 6kw is split-phase right?

Yes, 240V split phase AIMS inverter-charger. It can change the Alta with 110V just fine, but that does me no good because it is too slow. But if I plug into 240V, then after 30 seconds the voltage drops for a split second, the GFCI trips, and the charging stops.

Battleborn blames AIMS and AIMS blame Battleborn. I think it's the Battleborn's problem though because if I start the engine and connect the alternator in parallel with the Battleborn batteries, then the inverter works fine and I can charge one bike and then some.

 

[VINSANITY]

My mobile version works good: I put a tesla model s 5.2kwh into a padded ammo can, and a programmable victron inverter charger in pelican case... use solar and honda gen to charge the battery when away from camp... Silent charging later in the day.View attachment 5134

How much time does it take to charge your Alta with this set up - also can you add more Tesla cells for more storage

Very cool