[dimitri]

Guys, since Soliton1 is no longer a prototype, but a real product available for delivery today, I figured it would make sense to start a customer review thread, where we can share the info about this controller.

I am one of the first customers of EVNetics and I was lucky to be a beta tester of Soliton1 for past 2 months, but couldn't share all the info under non-disclosure agreement. As of last night, I am a proud owner of the final product, my lips are no longer sealed , so I can start bashing this piece of c.... , nah, just kidding....

I will be posting in this thread as I go, I will be installing it and wiring it today, then configuring and testing, I will share the info as it comes up. If you have any specific questions post them here, whatever I can't answer I'm sure EVNetics team will jump in to the rescue.

First off, the link where Soliton1 can be purchased http://rebirthauto.com/soliton1byevnetics.aspx

I'm not going to repeat all the features, those are listed on the linked page. Here is what my unit looks like.

DSC_2622.jpg

More info to follow....

[RKM]

Dimitri,

Great specs on that contoller...1000A continuous with liquid cooling!

Unique appearance as well, prettier than most. Makes the blocky green Zilla look pretty dated. I know... it's function that is really important, but eye appeal helps to make sales. I think I saw one of these units regulating the flow of dilithium crystals in the new Star Trek movie.

I hope quality/reliability prove out for this new controller. Good to have another option. Competition is good.

Rob

[FarFromStock]

Good idea dimitri. I'm very interested in hearing your thoughts about it as I will soon take delivery of my BMW that Seb has been converting.

[dimitri]

Yes, 1000 Amps continuous is quite impressive, isn't it? Can't wait to actually apply 1000 Amps to my Warp9

Soliton1 comes with 2 cooling options, air and liquid. The unit has 2 integrated fans for basic air cooling and has 1/8 NPT threaded liquid cooling loop. To get full power from the controller its recommended to use liquid cooling, although you may get away with air cooling only for smaller power levels, but then why would you buy this controller in the first place if you don't plan to take advantage of 1000 Amps?

My EV has been setup with 12V electric water pump from one of German diesel cars, I found it on Ebay for $50. I like that its quiet and has rugged construction for automotive application, so it should be very reliable. Unfortunately it uses 3/4 inch hoses, so I had to step up quite a bit from 1/8 NPT, which resulted in a bunch of brass fittings, those alone set me back $30 or so . You could use any suitable 1-2 GPM pump, it doesn't need too much flow.

I routed my cooling loop thru my heater core, this serves 2 purposes, removes heat from the controller and provides a little extra heat to the cabin when needed in those rare chilly days in Tampa. For those of you in colder climates, I would recommend getting a small radiator from ATV or a motorcycle, there are plenty on Ebay.

[dimitri]

Soliton1 has 2 terminal blocks on the side for low voltage connections. There are plenty of extra connections for future features, such as inputs and outputs to drive various control circuits, which will be implemented in future software releases. For my EV needs I just use throttle control and error output light connected to old "check engine light" in my instrument cluster.

Soliton1 comes with integrated contactors and precharge circuit, so technically you don't need any external contactors at all, although I have one contactor just because I put it in before I settled on my controller choice.

I just finished wiring my low voltage side and battery connections, have not done motor connections yet. I connected my laptop to Soliton1 Ethernet port via regular Ethernet cable.

Open the browser and navigate to http://169.254.0.1 , you will see following main config page:

evnetics1.jpg

[dimitri]

I set my Minimum Battery voltage to 104 volts, which corresponds to 2.6V per cell in my 40 cell LiFePo4 pack. Once my pack is discharged to this voltage level Soliton1 will force current reduction limit to maintain this minimal voltage and allow me to "limp" home, rather than abruptly cut power as some other controllers do when they sense LVC event. IMHO, this is excellent safety feature, protecting both your battery and your life.

I set my Maximum Battery current to 600 amps, since I have 160AH cells and I don't want to accidentally exceed 4C discharge rate , which is not very difficult when you combine Soliton1 power with my wife's lead foot

I left Max Motor voltage and current settings as default. You would need to change Max Motor voltage to something higher than your fully charged pack voltage, but less than max safe voltage for your motor. This way controller will limit PWM duty cycle to protect the motor if your pack is higher voltage than motor can handle. This is very useful for racers who can build high voltage pack to overcome back EMF at higher RPMs. Its also useful if you build high voltage pack to store more energy for better range, but don't want to burn your motor out. I think this is the same feature that is present in Zilla controllers.

My pack is fully charged at 147 Volts, so having this setting at 150V is perfect for me.

[dimitri]

I have no idea what is "Throttle deadband" which is set to 0% by default.

EVNetics team to the rescue, please....

[mckemie]

Originally Posted by dimitri

I set my Minimum Battery voltage to 104 volts, which corresponds to 2.6V per cell in my 40 cell LiFePo4 pack. Once my pack is discharged to this voltage level Soliton1 will force current reduction limit to maintain this minimal voltage and allow me to "limp" home, rather than abruptly cut power as some other controllers do when they sense LVC event. IMHO, this is excellent safety feature, protecting both your battery and your life.

It IS as good a safety feature as can be put in the controller. However, it is not likely to prevent over-discharging LFP cells. The cells have a VERY sharp fall off voltage when they approach end of capacity and they have small variations from cell to cell. When the pack is near to being discharged, a few cells will have much lower voltage than the average. I would consider using 3.1 volts as the minimal threshold and I wouldn't expect that to be very effective in preventing single cell over-discharge.

If your pack voltage is an average of 2.6v per cell, you are almost certainly killing at least a few of your cells. You should not be "limping", you should be walking.

You should (and perhaps do) have some single cell low voltage detection mechanism.

[JRP3]

Originally Posted by dimitri

Soliton1 comes with integrated contactors and precharge circuit, so technically you don't need any external contactors at all, although I have one contactor just because I put it in before I settled on my controller choice.

Do you have a precharge on your existing contactor?

[dimitri]

Originally Posted by JRP3

Do you have a precharge on your existing contactor?

I don't need it, since controller will start precharge after my contactor closes on the ignition key signal. Internal precharge only takes 2 seconds, during which time the "check engine" light is on, then light goes off, you hear contactor inside the controller click and you are ready to drive.

If there was no external contactor, then precharge would begin after ignition circuit sends 12V to the controller and controller starts up.