Why all Home chargers are not fast chargers same as Ather grid?
Why can’t home chargers be DC like Ather grid?
are they costly?
Require any special equipment or power?
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Any thoughts on this Ather Owners?
Home chargers are supposed to be charged at home (obviously) and that’s where we have lots of time (Overnight to be specific). Home charging also happens frequently (almost daily) with the range of our 450s as of today.
Athergrid high voltage public DC chargers are meant to be charged in emergencies or to extend range by topping up. Generally we won’t have as much time to wait for the vehicle to charge as in our homes and hence it should be able to charge faster. Necessity of a public charger is Generally is very less (after 3 months and 1600+kms I’ve still not got the need to use the Athergrid).
The most important thing however is that frequent charging at Athergrid is not good for the battery (you can see the owners’ manual where this has been mentioned clearly). Once in a while is okay but not on a daily basis.
Cost will also be a factor but the above reason is a bigger reason why Home chargers are not like Athergrid Points.
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I was thinking of charging it from Ather grid daily If I get Ather bike (grid is just 1km from my place in Chennai)
In case I get any objection for installing home charger
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What do you expect will be the point for concern and objection from your Apartment association?
The most common objection point can be against drilling on a wall or pillar for the Point; in which case you can get the floor stand.
Wiring will be from your own meter and hence it won’t consume common power.
Of couse I’m assuming it to be your own home. If it’s a rented property, I can understand.
Show the FAQ paper on Ather’s website to explain and in most cases people will understand and oblige.
But in the worst case that you don’t get a permission at all, you better get the cable charger (and an extension cord from the plug inside your home of how much ever length is needed) instead of charging from the Athergrid daily.
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yeah I have the same set up at my home
Extension cord + portable charger
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Actually my situation is totally different, I am staying in an hostel like I pay for my room rent that includes power charges, we got lots of parking area bikes are allowed but i don’t know if they will allow home unit installation or how will they charge me for electricity if I get Ather bike even for portable charger, I have not yet asked them about this will figure out something when pre order opens and delivery starts here in Chennai.
thanks for taking time for explaining!
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Got the charger Installed yesterday morning, Here are the observations,
Initially there was no BESCOM power while installing the home charger, when tested there was single phase hence charger was showing red.
Later when the BESCOM power resumed I could see Green on the charging point,
I have this strange issue.
When connected to mains I see green , when connected via UPS it shows RED, however when plugged into the UPS the UPS does not trip and there is no overload indication or so .
Have attached photo when on KEB and when on UPS.
As UPS does not trip it indicated that 1KV inverter/UPS should be more than enough to charger the Ather scooter.
Any pointers on how to resolve the red light issue as my entire house runs on Solar power and during the day all loads run on solar and BESCOM power is cut off to the UPS
SINE Wave modulation issue maybe? It’s known that the charging point is a super sensitive piece of equipment. So I am not surprised.
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We are in India and there is not sufficient power to provide 24/7 from Govt, In area where I live there is frequent power cut and I have to rely on UPS power most of the time.
Not sure how to get this resolved as the charger is a super sensitive to power issues and Im not sure how ather can address this as it should be a simple way around to charge a scooter .
@Shreyas is there a plan to make life easier for people to charge their scooter to design a better charger that can be used anywhere irrespective of the earthing just like charging a cell phone.
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Are both points on common ground?
Not sure whether you have multi meter with you… If yes, you may check following in UPS socket. 1) AC voltage 2) Line to Earth Voltage 3) Neutral to Earth Voltage.
Yes, charger is sensitive in terms of voltage and leakage current. I guess this is more of safety rather than anything else.
Note, unless home charger is loaded, UPS will not trip.
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Yes they are on common ground .
I donot see charger turning off after charge is complete, anyone else facing this issue? Today morning charge was completed by 5 Am however when I went to see at 9 am it was showing as charging whereas battery percentage was already 100
At one point of time you will have to see ‘Charging Done’.
Point is that after 80% , it will change the charging mode to ‘very slow charging’. Probably takes around hour and half or two to reach 100%. Even after attaining 100% , it will be in trickle charging mode where it will turn on once in a while so as to compensate self discharge of the battery.
Do not worry, all these are taken care by BMS (Battery Management Service) of the vehicle.
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If that is the case then no worries, thank you
I don’t have a multimeter to check though. I may have to get it tested.As I do not have any issues with other sensitive equipments never bothered to check this.
Voltage from UPS is steady and regulated as its a network UPS from APC that is being used , not sure about leakage current ,any suggestions to check potential causes of leakage currents .
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Can we get details of power units consumed in Ather app for a particular period from home charger and Ather grid separately?
I would suggest you be prepared before pre-order with below things.
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You need to check if your hostel power point has grounding done correctly.
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How far is the parking space from your room
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If possible keep record of all the electricity bill before you get bike so you can personally track the changes. (easy to defend if there is any argument on electricity bill)
The more and better ready you are with your plans it will be easy for Ather to complete the work and you can get your bike faster.
Advantages of extension cord and portable charger its just plug and play. Only distance between power source to vehicle and grounding issue in the power source will matter.
I too stay in rented house so I had already made my plan to get extension cord and I just took portable charger from Ather.
Hope this helps… 
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you can check with these guys https://solarify.in/ I am not sure how far it will be helpful.
They have installed solar power in Ather Experience center…
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