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Need Suggestions to Neatly Hide Charge Cord

Discussion in 'Prime Plug-in Charging' started by m8547, Jan 2, 2020.

  1. m8547

    m8547 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 8, 2018
    927
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    Location:
    Colorado
    Vehicle:
    2018 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Plus
    I park in front of my one-car garage, and I need a better solution to hide the charge cord. Right now I run the cord under the garage door (not ideal, but a stick next to it mostly keeps the door from pinching it), and I coil the charging end of the cord on the ground when not in use. I also use a short extension cord to get it to reach, which is also not ideal.

    My garage has wood siding. There's a space next to the garage door about 1 foot wide on the rear driver's side, and about 8 inches wide on the rear passenger side (I always back in, so that would be closest to the charge port). I could make something out of wood and paint it the same color as the siding to hide the EVSE and any extra cord and keep it dry. I'm picturing something that looks like a bat house with a hinged front to access the inside. But if it looks like a bat house, how do I keep bats from living in it?

    [​IMG]

    What's the most convenient way to hang the cord inside, and also make it easy to get to the car? Maybe a hose/extension cord hanger? Or should I try to rig up something on a spring like a Chargepoint station?

    [​IMG]

    Does anyone have a better idea?
     
    #1 m8547, Jan 2, 2020
    Andyprius1 likes this.
  2. snakeshoes

    snakeshoes Junior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 3, 2019
    34
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    Location:
    Boston, MA
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    I'm in the same boat as you - park in front of my single car garage and have an extension cord to reach from nearest usable outlet as it's just a bit too long to make it with the OEM cable. Here's my current solution, but I doubt you'll like it:

    The extension cord is tucked discreetly at the edge of my garage door (cut a hole to run it through the frame in the space I'll eventually have a hardwired outlet installed. The charging cable stays in the compartment in the back of the car and comes out only to hook up to the extension cord when charging. When I leave the house, so does my charging cord - it's not hanging around at home without me.


    My future solution will be similar to one you've already hit on. You can buy one of those large-ish plastic hose reel boxes at most home improvement stores that can be anchored either to the ground or to a wall. The one I have for my hose has a lid on a hinge that lifts up to allow access to the reel. I'm going to install one right over the hardwired outlet when I get that done so it will be like the worlds largest outlet cover. With the hose reel removed, there's plenty of space in there to hang a cord wrapped loosely over a hook and a little DIY with some latches and foam or silicon sealant can easily make the lid of the box weathertight (and bat-proof ;) ).
     
    #2 snakeshoes, Jan 4, 2020
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