EV TRACTION BATTERY CHARGER COMPARISON
All information is a snapshot taken in September 2009 and is subject to change without being updated here. Issues highlighted in yellow or red. Sorted from left to right by popularity on EV Discussion List Photo Album per www.evalbum.com/chrgr. Updated 9/11/09.
| Parameter | Comment | Chargers: | |||||||||||
| Make | Zivan | Manzanita Micro | Quick Charge | Lester | Soneil | Russco | Schumacher | Delta-Q | Brusa | Kelly | Elcon/Netgain | ||
| Number of users on EVDL | 355 | 153 | 89 | 86 | 72 | 69 | 37 | 34 | 26 | 4 | 0 | ||
| Nominal DC Output Voltage | 12 to 96 for NG1 12 to 312 for NG3 24 to 312 for NG5 | 12 to 450 | 12 to 144 | 12 to 48 (96 historically) | 12 to 72 | 72 to 156 | 12 to 72 | 24 to 96 | 0 to 520V for NGL503 0 to 720V for NLG51X | 24 to 144 | 24 to 144 | ||
| Isolated | Isolation provides single fault tolerance against electric shock. | yes | no | ? | yes | yes | no | ? | yes | yes | ? | yes | |
| Verified Input Surge Protection | Insures unit will not be damaged or catch fire in the event of a power line voltage or current transient such as a nearby lightning strike; covered by UL or CE. | yes, CE | ? | ? | yes, UL | yes, UL and CE | ? | ? | yes, UL and CE | yes, CE | applying for CE | yes, CE | |
| Output Overcurrent Protection | Supplies maximum continuous current or current foldback in the event of excessive current draw including a short circuit. | yes | yes | yes | ? | yes | yes | ? | yes | yes | yes | yes | |
| Temperature compensation | Reduces regulated voltage in higher temperatures to protect the batteries from thermal runaway. | yes, via temperature probes | yes, via Manzanita Micro BMS with RegBus interface | yes, via internal ambient temperature probe | ? | ? | ? | ? | yes, via negative terminal ring | yes, via temperature probes or BMS via CANBus | ? | ? | |
| Overtemperature protection | Cuts back output current in the event of excess temperature detected in the power stage to protect the charger. | yes | yes | ? | ? | ? | yes | ? | yes | yes | yes | yes | |
| Electro-Magnetic Interference regulatory compliance | Will not interfere with wireles equipment such as radios and cell phones; covered by FCC or CE. | yes, CE | ? | ? | ? | yes, CE | ? | ? | yes, FCC and CE | yes, CE | applying for CE | yes, CE | |
| Models | NG1 NG3 NG5 | PFC20 PFC30 PFC40 PFC50 PFC75 | SCO (117VAC) SCOXU (230VAC) | Lestronic II | Low Power (on-board) | SC 18 SC 30 | SE 1072 plus many 12V models | QuiQ | NLG503 NLG51x | HWC1B HWC4 HWC4B | PFC-1500 PFC-2000 PFC-3000 PFC-4000 PFC-5000 | ||
| Stackable | Multiple chargers in parallel can provide faster charging, but need to be designed to do so. | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | yes | ? | ? | |
| Maximum DC Output Power, Watts | 4,350 for NG5 | 15,000 for PFC-75 | 1,440 for SCO14410 | 2,160 for 13570 | 192 for 2416SRF (but up to 24V only) | 3,000 for SC 30 | 720 | 1,000 | 9,900 for 3 NLG51x in parallel | 2,160 for 144V 15A HWC4 | 5,000 for PFC-5000 | ||
| Price | $567 for NG1 $1,071 for NG3 $1,527 for NG5 from Electro Automotive | $2,050 for PFC20 $2,650 for PFC30 $2,850 for PFC40 $3,300 for PFC50 $4,400 for PFC75 direct | $529 for SCO14410 from Cloud Electric | $629 for 9695 (48V 25A not listed on datasheet) from EV Parts | $180 for 2416SRF from Cloud Electric | $1,195 for SC 30 direct | $344 direct | CAN EV is only seller, but prices not listed | $2,681 for NLG503 $3,700 for NLG51x air cooled $6,248 for NLG51x water cooled from Metric Mind Engineering | $760 from Cloud Electric | $555 for PFC-1500 $699 for PFC-2000 $1,099 for PFC-3000 $1,477 for PFC-4000 $1,699 for PFC-5000 from KTA Services | ||
| Cost performance, $/W | $0.35 for NG5 | $0.29 for PFC75 | $0.37 | $0.52 | $0.94 | $0.40 | $0.48 for SE 1072 | TBD | $1.12 | $0.35 | $0.34 | ||
| AC Input Voltage | 120V and 240V desired for maximum flexibility. | 115 or 230 for NG1/3 230 for NG5 | 100 to 240 | 117 or 230 | 120 or 240 | 90 to 264 | 120 | 120 | 85 to 265 | 90 to 264 | 120 or 240 | 90 to 260 | |
| Power Factor Corrected | More efficient, and will work in public charging stations. | no | yes | no | no | no | yes | no | yes | yes | no | yes | |
| Sealed | More reliable long term in automotive environment if heat dissipation adequate. | no | no | yes | no | no | no | no | yes | yes | no | yes | |
| Cooling method | forced air | forced air, or liquid for PFC40 only | passive | passive | forced air | forced air | forced air | passive | forced air, or liquid for NLG51X only | forced air | passive | ||
| Use model | Automotive or industrial on-board provides durability and flexibility. | on-board | on-board | on-board | off-board | on-board | on-board | off-board | on-board | on-board | off-board | on-board | |
| Operating temperature range, degrees C | -20 to 50 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | -30 to 50 | -25 to 70 | -10 to 40 | -30 to 50 | ||
| Field adjustable voltage setting | Good to adjust down as batteries age. Also versatile for different battery packs or vehicles. | no | yes | battery type only | no | no | yes | 12V increments only | yes | yes | no | through timing sensitive manual switching | |
| Field adjustable current setting | Important for >13A AC draw to not trip some circuit breakers. | no | yes | no, but only 13A | no | no | yes | no | yes | yes | no | through timing sensitive manual switching | |
| Monitor port | Aids in verification testing, instrumentation and troubleshooting. | no | no | no | no | no | no | no | no | RS232 | no | no | |
| Control port | Allows VMU or BMS control to better protect components and passengers. | no | no | no | no | no | no | no | no | CANBus | no | no | |
| Dimensions, inches (model) | 11.9X6.3x3.1 for NG1 17.0x8.7x3.6 for NG3 21.7x10.7x5.2 for NG5 | 13x9x5.5 for PFC20/30/40 19.5x10.5x6.5 for PFC50/75 | 6x9x8 | 12.5x12.15 | 7.6x3.6x2.6 | SC 18: 8.2x7.3x6.4 SC 30: 10.0x8.0x6.4 | ? | 11.0x9.7x4.3 | 13.2x10.4x3.5 for side cooled 10.6x10.4x5.4 for top cooled | 10.9x7.9x3.8 for HWC4 | 13.9x10.0x6.6 | ||
| Weight, pounds | 4.9 for NG1 12.2 for NG3 19.9 for NG5 | 16 for PFC20 17 for PFC30/40 42 for PFC50/75 | 42 | 57 to 99 | 1.8 | SC 18: 13 SC 30: 20 | ? | 11 | 13.7 | 11 | 21.5 | ||
| Distributors: Canadian EVs | Errington, BC | yes | yes | yes | |||||||||
| Cloud Electric | Clarkesville, GA | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | |||||
| Electro Automotive | Felton, CA | yes | yes | ||||||||||
| EV Parts | Sequim, WA | yes | yes | yes | yes | ||||||||
| EVs of America | Wolfeboro, NH | yes | yes | yes | |||||||||
| EV Source | Logan, UT | yes | yes | ||||||||||
| KTA Services | Ramona, CA | yes | yes | yes | |||||||||
| Metric Mind | Happy Valley, OR | yes | |||||||||||
| Thunderstruck Motors | Sebastopol, CA | yes | yes |
Note: Total chargers listed on EVDL is 1408. Top 10 make up 1005 or 71% of total. 9 of the top 10 are shown above. K&W are also popular chargers with 84 users, but they are no longer available so they are not included above.
Manufacturers known to have chargers but do not serve individuals and hence were not included above include AC Propulsion, Enova, UQM, TM4 and Reliance.
If you have any corrections, questions, updates or additions to the information on this page, please contact the NBEAA per information posted on www.nbeaa.org.