Satiator Charger with Specialized?

[gadgetnut]

Hello, all. I am interested in acquiring a 2nd battery charger for my Como 5.0. Several aspects of the Cycle Satiator appeal, including its weather resistance and the convenience of setting it to charge the battery only up to a specific percentage charge- idea being that if you recharge the battery to, say, only 85% instead of 100% each time, you’ll get more cycles out of an expensive battery, etc.

I reached out to Sales at Grin and they wanted to know if the Specialized Rosenberger connector just provides + and - DC power or if any of the other four contacts carry CAN or bus data between battery and charger.

Has anyone already used the Satiator with Specilzied batteries or have input on whether there is a data connection on that plug?

 

[bazzapage]

On the classic Turbo they have something on the low voltage side. Not sure about the Brose bikes but the Rosenberger connection is specifically designed that way so that you don't get arcing across the contacts when you plug it in.

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

Hello, all. I am interested in acquiring a 2nd battery charger for my Como 5.0. Several aspects of the Cycle Satiator appeal, including its weather resistance and the convenience of setting it to charge the battery only up to a specific percentage charge- idea being that if you recharge the battery to, say, only 85% instead of 100% each time, you’ll get more cycles out of an expensive battery, etc.

I reached out to Sales at Grin and they wanted to know if the Specialized Rosenberger connector just provides + and - DC power or if any of the other four contacts carry CAN or bus data between battery and charger.

Has anyone already used the Satiator with Specilzied batteries or have input on whether there is a data connection on that plug?

Satiator is the best charger on the market bar none!
the CANBUS data ports on the battery communicates with the rest of the bike to transfer data like state of charge, temperature etc.
Here are the data pins and power pins. Images below.
pins

It is safe, reliable and doesn't cause cable snags.

So, what GRIN is asking is, do you know if the data pins carry data during the charge, is it pre-requisite or can you just use the power pins?
If charging is only dictated by the power pins, you can use the satiator. If it does carry data during the charging process, then Satiator needs to provide that data before you can safely charge your battery.

Hope this helps.

Ravi

 

[gadgetnut]

Hello, @bazzapage and @Ravi Kempaiah, thank you for the feedback. What you’ve described makes sense. Grin was suggesting I could cut or open up the cable on my existing Specialized charger and see if there are only two conductors (= power only) or more (= power + data.) I’m not too keen on cutting into the cable yet. I was hoping someone in the forum had already experimented with this. Perhaps we’ll get a lead from someone. To be clear, my goal is to preserve and perhaps extend the life of my battery and I don’t want to harm it by charging incorrectly, etc. Thanks again.

 

[JRA]

Wouldn’t there be a detectable signal emminating from the data pins of your standard charger if they were in use? Not sure if a voltmeter would do the job or something else. Ravi would know.

 

[tomjasz]

It appears the battery does not communicate with the system. But the difficulty may be getting an adapter for the Satiator. That said, I’ve quite a few happy users and I’ve had mine for as long as they’ve been around. Fantastic. And Grin did OS X software too. Pretty much unheard of elsewhere.

GRIN DOES HAVE A SATIATOR ADAPTER!

 

[tomjasz]

From manual.
The Brose e-Bike System can be combined with a large number of battery chargers (33). Detailed information on your model can be obtained from your bicycle dealer and the bicycle manufacturer.
Battery charger 2 A
Dimensions
140,0 x 70,0 x 40,0 mm
Weight
475 g
End-of-charge voltage
42 V "
Rated output current
2A
Working temperature range
-10 to 40°C
Storage temperature range
-20 to 70°C
Battery charger 4 A
Dimensions
206,0 x 94,0 x 61,0 mm
Weight
770 g
End-of-charge voltage
42 V "
Rated output current
4A
Working temperature range
0 to 45°C
Storage temperature range
-25 to 70°C

 

[tomjasz]

Further reading finds little clear information, but Brose does appear to have some level of communication between components. A shame, adding a battery should be easy.

 

[JRA]

There is a guy in the UK that has developed an aux battery for the Levo which has a Brose system. www.trailwatts.com

Not sure how he handles the CAN Bus communication issue but he may know the charging answer?

 

[tomjasz]

There is a guy in the UK that has developed an aux battery for the Levo which has a Brose system. www.trailwatts.com

Not sure how he handles the CAN Bus communication issue but he may know the charging answer?

One source mentions ANT/BT. Antenna? BlueTooth?
(Grin DOES have the correct adapter!)

 

[coffeemaker]

Try putting tape over the small low voltage contacts on the Rosenberger charger cable and see if charging still works.

 

[gadgetnut]

Try putting tape over the small low voltage contacts on the Rosenberger charger cable and see if charging still works.

Great idea, @coffeemaker, thanks!

I put electrical tape over the data contacts on the Rosenberger charger cable that came with my Specialized charger. With the tape in place, the battery does not start charging. I removed the tape, tried it again and the charging process started right up.

So, I guess this means the Satiator won't work with my bike?

 

[coffeemaker]

Unfortunately that means there is some communication between the battery and the charger.

Unless the Satiator can emulate the authentication signals (CAN probably), it won't work, as stated in Satiator's website.

What I do to extend the battery life is to unplug the charger around 70-80% of its full capacity, unless I'm going on a long trip.

I just set a timer to remind myself to unplug it.

 

[gadgetnut]

Got it, thanks. They don't call me gadgetnut for nothing, I control everything in the house including espresso machine by iPhone. Right now I have the Specialized charger set to self turn off x minutes after it starts... so it can only charge the battery in pre-determined blocks of time and charges to "satiety" only on my specific direction.

 

[coffeemaker]

Haha should have known that.
That's a neat solution. What are you using to control the power? An IOT power outlet?

 

[gadgetnut]

I'll say hello to you in PM with additional details so as not to bore everyone else here, but in a nutshell I use a beautifully developed and supported home control software for Apple macOS called Indigo and most actions (lights, appliances, dead bolt locks, etc.) are facilitated by Insteon software and hardware.

Someday I'll provide some more details about this, but when I return home from a bike ride, when I turn into the alley I say aloud to my Apple Watch, "Siri, open the Bike Door," and instantly an electric deadbolt throws and the garden gate opens.

 

[tomjasz]

as not to bore everyone else here

Jeez, NO! Share, lots of us love to learn new things. Sounds great!!! I have Satiator customers and even more timer users! Lots of Grin buyers are Apple heads!!

 

[Ftrey]

None tried to feed 5v to the data pin? (Brown cable inside battery)

 

[Hammick]

Reviving an old thread here. I am a battery geek and really want a Satiator. See below from their website. Does anybody have one working on a Specialized Turbo?


"This adapter cable uses the straight version of the Rosenberger plug and has one of the signal pins connected to a 5V supply, making it compatible with Specialized ebikes and other factory ebikes using the Brose based drive system. The right angle version of the Roesenberger plug does not fit inside the charge port cavity of the Specialized battery enclosure"

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Straight way to invalidate your warranty.