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Outdoor charging station ideas?

Discussion in 'Gen 1 Prius Plug-in 2012-2015' started by Larry Barnett, Aug 11, 2014.

  1. Larry Barnett

    Larry Barnett New Member

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    Hi all,

    Just received my 2014 plugin. Here's the deal: I don't have a garage. I'll be parking the car in the driveway next to the house. My previous car (a 2004 Prius) was recently stolen out of that driveway. So, you can imagine that I'm a tad paranoid about leaving the $1500 charging cord out at night.

    Here's my question: I'm soliciting ideas for buying or building an outdoor charging station that attaches to the house. It should: 1) Secure the cord to the house; b) provide some weather protection when the cord is stowed; c) not be a hassle to deploy and stow the cord; and d) last, but not least, not be so expensive that it obviates the car's lifetime gas savings benefit! Anyone seen or done anything like that?

    Thanks!
     
    #1 Larry Barnett, Aug 11, 2014
    Last edited: Aug 11, 2014
  2. GregP507

    GregP507 Senior Member

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    Haven't seen anything specifically, but you might consider incorporating a steel cable parallel with the charging cable, which could be locked to the car in some way. There is a small hole in the charging plug trigger which can take a small luggage lock, but it's not good for much more than preventing someone from casually "lifting" the cable.

    There are threads in this forum which have dealt with this issue. You can search for "charging cable lock." if you wish.
     
  3. Astolat

    Astolat Member

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    At the risk of making you jealous, here in the UK there was a scheme to install these free, so I got a Chargemaster:
    Home Units

    The reason for saying it is that the nearest for you seems to be the ClipperCreek:
    HCS-40, 30A, 240V Charging, 25 Cord | ClipperCreek EV Charging Station | ClipperCreek Vehicle Charging Station

    My experience of having the Chargemaster is that it is fine outside on the wall under the eaves without any real additional protection. The safety features built in to the system mean you don't run any risk of electrocuting yourself. If you wanted, you could just screw a little waterproofed ledge over the top of it to keep the worst of the rain off, but mine has coped with everything, and the ClipperCreek looks as if it is built on exactly the same principles.

    But anyway, I just looked at where you are based. I think if it can cope with our level of rain, it can certainly cope with yours...
     
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    are you handy with carpentry tools?
     
  5. Larry Barnett

    Larry Barnett New Member

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    Adequate, but since I'm also a cheap b*****d I'll probably go the luggage lock route.
     
  6. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    all the best! but if they stole your car, did you leave the fob in it?
     
  7. Larry Barnett

    Larry Barnett New Member

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    Back door (to the house) was unlocked. They grabbed the first thing they saw which happened to be my bag ... which contained the fob :-(
     
  8. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    bummer.
     
  9. Bill Collins

    Bill Collins Junior Member

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  10. Bill Collins

    Bill Collins Junior Member

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    Here's a picture of my charge Station on the edge of my driveway. Been installed now over a year and still looks as the day it was installed. Been rained on , covered with snow and never a problem and no one is going to steal it The 220 volts of juice will see to that
     
  11. GregP507

    GregP507 Senior Member

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    Fob 1 stays in my pocket. Fob 2 stays in a well-hidden location in my house.
     
  12. zhenya

    zhenya Active Member

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    Mine is semi-permanently installed under my carport. I don't have much worry about theft in my neighborhood, but my method was to screw two large eye bolts into a stud of the carport, and use a heavy duty lock through those and the plug end of the charging cord between the box and the plug end. Cheap and effective.
     
  13. kenmce

    kenmce High Voltage Member

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    I believe it's "only" $500. Maybe less as people start to total their cars.

    When I bought my Clipper Creek charger it came with a cord permanently attached to the unit. You would have to saw it off to steal it.


    My unit is built to be out in the weather. It would not be too hard to build a little closet around it.


    For me it came to about $1,000 to buy and have installed the unit, however I got a few extras. The wiring is sized for 40 amp service, I had a parallel dedicated 120 volt/20 amp outlet run at the same time, and I got a long cord for the charger.

    $1k is about 250 gallons of gas, which is what, 12,000 or 13,000 miles?, however I plan to have the car a while, and I am doing most of my driving on electric. "Most" in fact to the point where I had to figure out which button opens the gas door...
     
    #13 kenmce, Aug 12, 2014
    Last edited: Aug 12, 2014
  14. -1-

    -1- Don

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    :)This is my outdoor Level 2 charging setup at work. Including the cost of the modified EVSE, no more than $450. I was able to reroute a unused 220v line which saved on cost.

    IMG_0154.jpg

    IMG_0241.jpg
     
    SAronian and Chazz8 like this.
  15. SAronian

    SAronian Active Member

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    This thread shows exactly what you're looking for.

    Thinking of Adding Charge Station
     
    Greenwave likes this.