Elcon TC Charger 3.3kW 18-99VDC - 40A

This is the high current model in the 3.3 kW pair. Forty amps into an 18 to 99 V pack, which is where a 48 V or 72 V system sits. Because the voltage is low, the amps have to be high to reach 3.3 kW, and 40 A is the most of any charger we list in this range.

An Elcon TC onboard battery charger, 3.3 kW, for pack voltages from 18 to 99 volts, delivering up to 40 amps. Air cooled and sealed to IP67.

An onboard charger is what lets a vehicle be charged from an ordinary supply rather than from a bench power supply in a workshop. It takes mains AC in and produces the controlled DC a lithium pack needs, following a charge profile rather than simply pushing current at it.

Air cooled is the practical advantage of this family. A liquid cooled charger has to be plumbed into a coolant loop, which means a pump running whenever the car charges, hoses to route and another circuit to bleed and maintain. This one needs airflow and nothing else, which removes a whole subsystem from the build. The trade is that it must be mounted somewhere ventilated, not buried.

Match the charger to the pack, not to the nominal voltage. The figure that matters is the output range: this one covers 18 to 99 volts, and your pack has to sit inside that at both ends. A pack that rises above 99 volts at the top of a charge is outside this charger's range even if its nominal voltage looks comfortable.

IP67 and fully enclosed means it survives the position it usually ends up in, which is low in the vehicle where road spray reaches it.

Key specifications

Features

• 3.3 kW without a coolant circuit, which removes a whole subsystem from the build
• IP67 fully enclosed housing, for a position exposed to road spray
• Internal temperature sensing with over temperature protection
• Wide output range, so one charger suits a spread of pack voltages
• Elcon TC series, a widely used and well understood charger family

Compatibility

For lithium packs whose voltage sits inside 18 to 99 volts throughout charge and discharge.

Other models in the TC range cover other pack voltages and currents. The 3.3 kW models cover 18 to 99 V at 40 A and 50 to 198 V at 23 A. The 6.6 kW models cover 50 to 198 V at 46 A and 110 to 440 V at 20 A.

Mount it somewhere ventilated. Forced air cooling only works if the air can get in and out. A charger in a sealed box will throttle back on temperature or shut down, and both look like a fault.

Check the charge profile matches your chemistry. A charger configured for one lithium chemistry will not charge another correctly, and getting that wrong damages cells rather than simply charging slowly. Tell us your cell chemistry and pack configuration and we will confirm before you order.

It needs a BMS. A charger following a profile with nothing watching the individual cells is charging blind.

In the box

• 1 x CHARGER33-99V onboard charger

Downloads

The charger datasheet is in the Documents tab, with the charge profile, the connector pinout and the mounting dimensions.