2 Prong AC 72V charger doesnt work with my 3 prong generator...

Anyone knows if there is an adapter that I can buy to make my 2 prong 72V charger work with my 3 prong gas generator? The generator works with my 3 prong 36V charger so it is fine and producing power... I know 2 prong is not grounded. But, just looking to make it work otherwise I need to buy a 3 prong 72V charger... thx

An ungrounded AC plug should work on a grounded AC socket. There has to be something else wrong in this setup.

Are you absolutely certain that the charger works in a regular outlet?

Yeah, I think I know what is going on. 2 Prong tools work with the generator. I think what is happening and please confirm this for me. The charger is 84V3A output so 252W and the input saids 100-240VAC 1.5A. But, my generator is a 120VAC only, which means at 120V X 1.5A = 180W. The charger works in a regular plug because its probably truly 100-240VAC but it is blinking green to red (charge) when in charger meaning its not getting enough power from the generator to work. So, what I need to do is find a true 100-120VAC 72V charger? THX

charger should derate current output to accommodate upstream source limits

link to charger?

can you limit current output on it?

It is a cheapo... Here it is . What happens is that it blinks green (hold or full) to red (charging) but does not charge so that is what I think is happening. It is stuck at 1.5A input and generator cannot provide enough power. Let me know what u think...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/72V-2-5A-10ah-Electric-Bike-Lithium-Battery-Charger-Ebike-Scooter-Lifepo4-Li-ion/153036097553?hash=item23a1a98811:g:XnQAAOSweoBbB78u

And, it worked for my 36V charger because it reads 100-240VAC 1.7A input and output is 44VDC 1.8A. So at 120VAC 1.7A I am well over the output. I have two 36V batteries in series to make 72V. Ahhh, any thoughts on what I should do? I really dont want to do all this work to have to go back to 36V system and a mobile 88W charger. This generator is 800W. I like a 200-300W charger and then a 600-700W fast charger setup.

Sorry last thing is that there is some noise from inside the charger like something is loose or a small screw or something. Could the charger be defective? The part that modulates the amperage?

Yes of course charger could be broken.

I assumed a PSW generator, but guess I shouldn't if you're using such cheap gear.

Link?

In that case I'd certainly be carrying spares. . .

Here is the charger that I bought.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/72V-2-5A-10ah-Electric-Bike-Lithium-Battery-Charger-Ebike-Scooter-Lifepo4-Li-ion/153036097553?hash=item23a1a98811:g:XnQAAOSweoBbB78u


Yeah, and the plug prongs are the same; usually one is bigger than the other for a two prong plug. With this plug, it can go either way into the house socket and work. As I mentioned before, there is something loose inside like a screw or something. Here is what I need to figure out.

Should I exchange it for another or refund it? (if its defective then exchange)

Should I get one of those 110V to 220V adapters? If the generator just isnt pushing enough VOLTS for the charger? such as below

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Power-Bright-VC500W-Voltage-Transformer-500-Watt-Step-Up-Down-converter-110-120/162828589088?hash=item25e9571820:g:2I8AAOSwBkRaSEFT&frcectupt=true



I really hope I dont have to go back to 36V...

I meant a link to the genset, idea being maybe the charger requires cleaner AC input than the gennie's putting out.

Yes, I would order another charger and process yours for a spare.

okay, tell me if this make sense. so the charger has a type B plug without the ground pin. the two blade pins are live and the generator is not grounded (has a ground pin not connected). so therefore, the charger will not work. the charger works in a wall socket because the breaker box connected to that socket is grounded. and, my two prong type A dremel works in the generator because the larger blade on that plug is a ground and smaller is live.

this leads to the conclusion that i need to find a 72V charger with a type B and ground round pin or a type A plug. let me know if this is right, LOL :lol:

No I personally think your problem has nothing to do with ground / earth, reference, common, nothing like that.

As I said unit broken, or

genny output too dirty - for the third time, link please

sorry i thought u meant link to charger. here it is a Sportsman 1000. my 36v 2a charger with type 2 ground pin works with it. good reviews for this generator

http://sportsmangenerators.com/gen1000i.html

Broken unit then IMO

Okay, sorry for the spam guys, I am so damn close... But, here is what I think is happening with this 72V charger. It is a Japanese/Asian style type A plug with no dedicated live or neutral pins. I think this USA/America generator does not like that and hence will not charge. The charger works in a wall socket where the breaker box can accept this type of Japanese Type A and the charger works plugged in both ways.

The generator works with USA style type A plugs (dremel and induction burner) and type B 36V chargr (dedicated neutral, ground, and live). Because if it was the charger was broken then it would not work in the wall socket but it does. That is what I think is going on so what the hell am I going to do.

You haven't answered my question of whether or not you have tried the charger in a working socket other than the generator.

cal3thousand said:

You haven't answered my question of whether or not you have tried the charger in a working socket other than the generator.

Click to expand...

The post right above yours seems to:

bakaneko said:

The charger works in a wall socket where the breaker box can accept this type of Japanese Type A and the charger works plugged in both ways.

Click to expand...

and a previous post

bakaneko said:

the charger works in a wall socket because the breaker box connected to that socket is grounded.

Click to expand...

What I would guess (without knowing what hte rattling inside the charger is) is that the generator output is not clean enough for the charger that doesn't work on it, and the one that does work on it is just more tolerant.

Guessing on the rattling (since no investigation has been done) is a blown cap, which could cause the intolerance problem. But it could be any kind of damage or loose parts shorting things out, causing all sorts of havoc in there.

I have no idea why people think it's safe to use electrical stuff with known faults inside (that they don't know the cause of) that could cause fires, but it is apparently very common. :/

bakaneko said:

okay, tell me if this make sense. so the charger has a type B plug without the ground pin. the two blade pins are live and the generator is not grounded (has a ground pin not connected). so therefore, the charger will not work. the charger works in a wall socket because the breaker box connected to that socket is grounded. and, my two prong type A dremel works in the generator because the larger blade on that plug is a ground and smaller is live.

Click to expand...

No.

Regarding the two vs three prong: It doesn't matter. If a device works on the wall socket it'd work on the generator. Grounding has nothing to do with it. None of the current should ever flow thru ground, it is only there for safety. If current does flow thru ground with a two-prong device plugged in, then the socket is miswired.

Two prongs use only line and neutral, and require the casing of the device be specifically insulated from all of the interior electrical connections (because there is no ground to hook to the case to redirect any internal shorts of the case to interior electrical connections). Most things using two prong connections have plastic cases, and those that don't usually have at least two forms or layers of insulation between the case and elecrical stuff inside.


The type with two narrow prongs is "universal" and does not have a specific Line and Neutral; they are interchangeable inside in the electronics.

The type with one narrow and one wide does have a specific Line and Neutral, sometimes because of the way the interior insulation works, and sometimes because of the electronics, and sometimes just because that's a common enough plug type that it is cheaper so they used that kind.

You're dreaming if you think that genny isn't a Chinese cheapie with a Champion label slapped on it, USA has not been domestically making small quality consumer gensets for a long time.

Remember when B&G meant quality?

Not saying that means terrible necessarily, all brands but Honda & Yamaha (Robin Subaru RIP) operate that way, in fact, the only difference is design / engineering and investment in QA processes.

So yes, whether the fault lies in the cheap charger or the cheap genny doesn't matter, try to get a refund on the charger, if not, settle for replacement, maybe it is some weird issue goes away with the next one. Or write it off.

And order a different model charger as well.

What I meant was that it is a generator designed for USA electrical conventions. Yeah, with the exception of Generac (local company by me) I think the rest is overseas manufacturing. I am gonna return the charger and am deciding on either switching over to 36V ebike system again from 72V and using my slow 36V charger to prove it out (works with generator) and buy a Luna 300W 36V charger or 72V charger with plug type that I know work with my generator. Yeah, I mean I know why that charger company made it a Japanese type A plug. It works with all USA wall sockets, but I mean not for the generator unfortunately. I am emailing some eBay sellers for high amps 72V charger to see what their plug types are but I don't think its gonna be good news. So, that means, I am left with only Luna. While 300W is no where close to 800W capacity of the charger its better than 84W one I am using now I guess.

The plug type does not matter.

Yes, red herring chasing wild geese down a false trail. . .

yes, i know i misspoke about ground on type A plug. charger works in wall socket. yeh, i would agree that an universal socket should work on the generator otherwise half the functionality would be gone. so either its a faulty charger or the power from the generator is not clean enough. could the charger still be faulty and work in a wall socket? i tested this in garage near open door and checked voltages so nothing was done inside. ill try to find a universal socket widget tomorrow to test on generator. i mean this is a good generator ive seen test where it ran an air conditioner fine at near max power.

its a mystery to me wat is going on. and yes im a noob at this AC stuff and am learning. if you want to be a sarcastic nit then go fook off. ill figure it out but appreciate constructive criticism.

bakaneko said:

so either its a faulty charger or the power from the generator is not clean enough. could the charger still be faulty and work in a wall socket?

Click to expand...

It could be both a faulty charger *and* generator not clean enough power, *and* it could still work in a wall socket.

It could just be a cheap design, leaving out various power-filtering parts that cost money but don't make the charger function (except on noisy power).

But, since there is something rattling around in there, you should open it up to find out what it is.

If it is conductive, it could short across something that can cause a fire. If you're not using this anywhere near a building, that might not matter. But if you're using this near a non-fireproof structure, I'd strongly recommend finding out what's in there, if only because of the fire risk.

If it's not conductive, then it's harmless, unless there is a fan it could stop from spinning.

If it is a component remnant, then whatever it was supposed to be doing it wont' be doing anymore. For instance--a capacitor would filter electric noise; if it's an input-side cap it would have filtered noise the generator could be putting out, that wouldn't likely be a problem with wall-power.

amberwolf said:

If it is a component remnant, then whatever it was supposed to be doing it wont' be doing anymore. For instance--a capacitor would filter electric noise; if it's an input-side cap it would have filtered noise the generator could be putting out, that wouldn't likely be a problem with wall-power.

Click to expand...

Yeah, that makes sense. I am returning the charger though since that noise is obviously not right. The question now is do I try buying another one or go for something more expensive and hence perhaps better quality. Like I am not sure you seen this, but the charger when plugged into the generator turns green. Then when I plug the charger into the battery it flashes charge, blank, green and repeat. The issue is that it takes like a week for the charger to get here so I like to figure out what is happening before hand. :lol:

bakaneko said:

Yeah, that makes sense. I am returning the charger though since that noise is obviously not right. The question now is do I try buying another one or go for something more expensive and hence perhaps better quality. Like I am not sure you seen this, but the charger when plugged into the generator turns green. Then when I plug the charger into the battery it flashes charge, blank, green and repeat. The issue is that it takes like a week for the charger to get here so I like to figure out what is happening before hand. :lol:

Click to expand...

This is similar to how a UPS cycles when powered through some generators. The power from the generator is distorted, and distortion increased under load, and the UPS cycles back and forth between its battery power and generator power due to sensing the distorted signal. The power supply may not have a similar cutover circuit to deal with, but it does have a charge cutoff circuit that could be confused by a distorted input. There's probably some articles out there that describe this better.

EDIT: If the light is green when you plug it in and if that's normal (assumption), then maybe the charger adding its own noise, confusing the BMS.

I've been looking into getting a generator to power my house, and ended up moving my research to inverter generators, due to the sound and size. Way more expensive then the Harbor Freight one I started researching, but I knew i'd use it more if its more portable and quiet. That one you have is OK, its one of those units that every story puts their label on, so it has to be at least decent.

The type of electronics we're talking about are manufactured where tolerances are pretty big, so if you put two or three components in a row, who knows what comes out the other side.