Advice Needed: 110 plug will not fit in outlet enclosure

[Gullwingdmc]

https://smile.amazon.com/FIRMERST-1875W-Profile-Extension-Black/dp/B071XP7BZ2/ref=sr_1_36?crid=3BWM831PRBJYN&keywords=heavy+duty+short+extension+cord+3+prong&qid=1639623662&sprefix=heavy+duty+3-prong,aps,457&sr=8-36

I would want something 12 gauge though. I know it’s overkill, but I’d rather be safe

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[Xlch59]

Oh ya, I’m not an electrician and I could flip it easy (not hot). I just know they won’t want to change anything.

Sorry didn't mean to sound snarky. It actually should be flipped the other way. The ground side goes to the opening on the bubble cover. Use some electrical tape around the extension cord connection to keep any water out.

 

[Gullwingdmc]

Sorry didn't mean to sound snarky. It actually should be flipped the other way. The ground side goes to the opening on the bubble cover. Use some electrical tape around the extension cord connection to water out.

Don’t worry I didn’t take it that way.

 

[RickMachE]

110 won't precondition worth a darn. Our Fusion Energi drew down the battery and barely got warm.

 

[kltye]

I use this with my Turbocord with no issues: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B008DIYCS2

 

[ChasingCoral]

I would want something 12 gauge though. I know it’s overkill, but I’d rather be safe

I don’t blame you. I was assuming you’d want to close the cover and it might be tough to get a 12ga through that opening. Order both and return the one you don’t like.

 

[Gullwingdmc]

I don’t blame you. I was assuming you’d want to close the cover and it might be tough to get a 12ga through that opening. Order both and return the one you don’t like.

Yeah that’s the balancing act. I do want to close the cover, so we’ll see.

 

[TTT]

I'd actually vote for a heavy duty 25' extension cord. I used to charge my first Volt at open plugs all the time.

First disclaimer - doing this never caused a problem for me, but if you aren't careful your experiences could differ.

With a longer cord, you can run the extension cord from the wall into the open rear hatch on the car. You then plug in the portable charger but keep the charger itself in the rear area as well, and only run the output cable back out of the trunk area and plug that into the car.

Then you gently close the hatch with the 2 cords passing through until it catches in the latch but does not close fully tight. Do not damage the weatherstripping or the wires. the latch should lock closed even if it's not tight.

Now you can use your charger in a public location with no real concern that it will be stolen. Even if work is totally secure, you may find you want to start doing this in more places - parking garages - etc.

Now if you really want to do this a lot, you might get two more accessories. First you get the little yellow or orange electrical tester plug at Lowes that has the lights in it - when you first find a new plug to use, plug this in and see if it has power and is wired correctly. Much faster than setting everything up and then finding out there is no power. If it's dead you may be able to drive to another outlet. If it's wired backward, you wouldn't want to plug in your charger to it anyway.

The second accessory is a bit more involved - you need to make it yourself. You can use this to get the charger to safely work when there is power at an outlet but the ground is no good - more common than you would think, unfortunately. I tended to find these a lot because a few years ago an open outlet in a garage or similar would invite many drivers to try to plug in - but they would give up and drive to another floor if that outlet didn't seem to work. Lots of locations where nobody would try to charge at the outlet on level 3 because it didn't work right, so it was always available if you had this handy tool.

Insert all the disclaimers here - do this at your own risk - I take no responsibility for you doing this, etc.

Understand that in a standard 120V grounded electrical outlet that the ground wire is a redundant safety wore, but it is connected to the white common wire also running to one of the slots in the outlet. This connection happens at the circuit breaker panel, but if either wire is damaged or disconnected somewhere you charger will detect the fault - see that they are not connected together, and refuse to charge the car even if 1 of the 2 wires is still good.

One could go to Lowes and buy a 3 prong replacement plug to put onto the end of a cut wire - the kind where you remove the cover and you have screw terminals to hook up t the 2 blades and 1 more for the ground pin. Then someone might buy a heavy duty automotive fuse holder, it's a fuse socket with 12 gauge wire or so. They could wire one wire from the fuse holder to the common blade on the plug and the other wire to the ground pin, and reinstall the cover. A 25 amp fuse would then be installed into the fuse holder that hangs out of the back of the plug, creating another small device similar in size to the tester mentioned above - no wires running to anything else, just looping out of the back of the plug and back in.

When your outlet tester shows the power is good but there is no ground, someone could plug in this fused jumper into the second outlet on the box and suddenly everything should show as being cool on the tester.

Then you can unplug the tester and plug your extension cord going back to the trunk into one outlet on the receptacle, and leave the fused jumper plugged into the other plugin the receptacle while you are charging.

As others have said, this is a slow way to charge the car for sure, but for an 8-hour workday, you would get about 15-25 miles of range. If it's a parking garage for dinner and a movie, half that.

In general, you can probably do more by just driving 5mph slower and keeping the air pressure up in your tires than you can by charging for a couple of hours at a 120V outlet, but the 120v is better than nothing.

Before you hate - don't. This works if you are mindful and careful - if you aren't - don't do it. I expect everyone here is an adult and can make good decisions for themselves.

 

[ChasingCoral]

I'd actually vote for a heavy duty 25' extension cord. I used to charge my first Volt at open plugs all the time.

First disclaimer - doing this never caused a problem for me, but if you aren't careful your experiences could differ.

With a longer cord, you can run the extension cord from the wall into the open rear hatch on the car. You then plug in the portable charger but keep the charger itself in the rear area as well, and only run the output cable back out of the trunk area and plug that into the car.

Then you gently close the hatch with the 2 cords passing through until it catches in the latch but does not close fully tight. Do not damage the weatherstripping or the wires. the latch should lock closed even if it's not tight.

Now you can use your charger in a public location with no real concern that it will be stolen. Even if work is totally secure, you may find you want to start doing this in more places - parking garages - etc.

Now if you really want to do this a lot, you might get two more accessories. First you get the little yellow or orange electrical tester plug at Lowes that has the lights in it - when you first find a new plug to use, plug this in and see if it has power and is wired correctly. Much faster than setting everything up and then finding out there is no power. If it's dead you may be able to drive to another outlet. If it's wired backward, you wouldn't want to plug in your charger to it anyway.

The second accessory is a bit more involved - you need to make it yourself. You can use this to get the charger to safely work when there is power at an outlet but the ground is no good - more common than you would think, unfortunately. I tended to find these a lot because a few years ago an open outlet in a garage or similar would invite many drivers to try to plug in - but they would give up and drive to another floor if that outlet didn't seem to work. Lots of locations where nobody would try to charge at the outlet on level 3 because it didn't work right, so it was always available if you had this handy tool.

Insert all the disclaimers here - do this at your own risk - I take no responsibility for you doing this, etc.

Understand that in a standard 120V grounded electrical outlet that the ground wire is a redundant safety wore, but it is connected to the white common wire also running to one of the slots in the outlet. This connection happens at the circuit breaker panel, but if either wire is damaged or disconnected somewhere you charger will detect the fault - see that they are not connected together, and refuse to charge the car even if 1 of the 2 wires is still good.

One could go to Lowes and buy a 3 prong replacement plug to put onto the end of a cut wire - the kind where you remove the cover and you have screw terminals to hook up t the 2 blades and 1 more for the ground pin. Then someone might buy a heavy duty automotive fuse holder, it's a fuse socket with 12 gauge wire or so. They could wire one wire from the fuse holder to the common blade on the plug and the other wire to the ground pin, and reinstall the cover. A 25 amp fuse would then be installed into the fuse holder that hangs out of the back of the plug, creating another small device similar in size to the tester mentioned above - no wires running to anything else, just looping out of the back of the plug and back in.

When your outlet tester shows the power is good but there is no ground, someone could plug in this fused jumper into the second outlet on the box and suddenly everything should show as being cool on the tester.

Then you can unplug the tester and plug your extension cord going back to the trunk into one outlet on the receptacle, and leave the fused jumper plugged into the other plugin the receptacle while you are charging.

As others have said, this is a slow way to charge the car for sure, but for an 8-hour workday, you would get about 15-25 miles of range. If it's a parking garage for dinner and a movie, half that.

In general, you can probably do more by just driving 5mph slower and keeping the air pressure up in your tires than you can by charging for a couple of hours at a 120V outlet, but the 120v is better than nothing.

Before you hate - don't. This works if you are mindful and careful - if you aren't - don't do it. I expect everyone here is an adult and can make good decisions for themselves.

You can also just set up to charge, place the charging cord just ahead or behind the front left tire, then drive the car onto the cord. Sure, a thief could cut the cord but then the charger is worthless anyway.

 

[MachTee]

I also needed to enlarge my outside cover when I added another EVSE outside for my PHEV. This fits the beefy 12 gauge extension plug.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/TayMac-1-Gang-Rectangle-Plastic-Weatherproof-Electrical-Box-Cover/50411112

I had a similar cover before which wasn't even close to big enough to house the 12 gauge extension plug. I just bought that one from Home Depot and replaced the clear cover part, took less than a minute. From your picture, it too looks very similar so it may fit.

Buying a short extension with an angled plug is definitely easier, but I'd more comfortable if you can find a 12 gauge one. Even charging my PHEV with its tiny 8kWh battery the plug gets a bit warm, although I'm using a 25' extension.

Ah just noticed yours doesn't have the notch on the bottom left corner. Perhaps try to fine one of the same make.

 

[miata]

Both the 15A and 20A receptacles (and associated hinged covers) shown so far are correct per the latest NEC for outdoor locations...so expect to see more of this style, even if intended for yard tools etc, not EV's. The opening for the cord to exit the waterproof enclosure has to be down, so removal of a side knock-out basically ruins an installation. And you should use the generous size of the cover to make a large loop in the cord before exit. The orange cord in the 15A receptacle is being bent too much.

I agree a stubby 12AWG extension cord will be very useful, particularly if you regularly charge at one of these. But I also think carrying at least a 20-30' cord is a good idea since stuff happens and you may be stuck dead someplace...and the nearest outlet involves going through a window...so a long cord is like carrying an empty gas can in the trunk of an IC car.

I'm of two minds when it comes to the "free" 25 miles of charge you're being offered at work. By one way of thinking, it's a perk (a free ride home!) so why not use it...why leave money on the table, even if the $1 per day value is negligible to you? And you're being an evangelist for EV's!

On the other hand, workers w/o EV's can see this as you getting an unfair advantage...and then dwell on the other inequities they feel they suffer in life. And if you need to interact with these folks to get your job done, the $1 daily savings could end up really costing you. Plus they end up hating EV's and the drivers in them. Bad evangelism!

I just mention both outlooks so that y'all can be aware of different interpretations...I'd probably use the perk but be willing to quit if the haters became obvious.

My employer has felt the 2nd could be problematic and so "charges" you to use the outlets. The fee (~$15/mo, as I recall) is based on ~8A for an 8h day, 16d/mo at ~$.13/kWh. It will take decades at this price schedule to re-coup the cost of each installation and the associated accounting so it is still a perk (something with net cost to the employer in exchange for happy employees, at least those that need that extra 10kWh to get home). But at the same time those who can't use the perk have no cause to complain.

But by being so scrupulous about fairness, an increasing 95% of the EV's (esp those with 300mile ranges) don't bother with the outlets and just park in a standard lot. Thus the demand for these outlets has pretty much stagnated.

 

[breeves002]

I would want something 12 gauge though. I know it’s overkill, but I’d rather be safe

It's 12A max designed for a 15A circuit so 14 gauge is acceptable. Especially on that short of a run.

Personally I'd do the stubby extension cord for this use case unless you worry about the charger getting stolen, but hopefully your place of work isn't like that.

 

[RickMachE]

While the point about getting free charging is valid, I believe the $1.00 estimate is way too high.

But that's not the point. The OP wants to precondition the car in winter. That's not going to happen to anyone's satisfaction with 110v based on my experience with a PHEV. It will be better than just remote starting since the energy used in those 15 or so minutes was already replaced during the day of charging, but the OP may find that the effort to set things up each day, especially in foul weather, exceeds the benefit received.

 

[Gullwingdmc]

On the other hand, workers w/o EV's can see this as you getting an unfair advantage...and then dwell on the other inequities they feel they suffer in life. And if you need to interact with these folks to get your job done, the $1 daily savings could end up really costing you. Plus they end up hating EV's and the drivers in them. Bad evangelism!

Thank you for all the advice, truly.

I did go back and forth on whether it was ok to charge there. Ultimately I decided it was ok for 2 reasons. One, the company OKd it, and others do it. Two, the outlets were originally installed in the 80s (since upgraded) to be used for diesel engine block heaters. So this new use is essentially the same thing. Except now it’s a battery heater.

 

[Gullwingdmc]

I'd actually vote for a heavy duty 25' extension cord. I used to charge my first Volt at open plugs all the time.

First disclaimer - doing this never caused a problem for me, but if you aren't careful your experiences could differ.

With a longer cord, you can run the extension cord from the wall into the open rear hatch on the car. You then plug in the portable charger but keep the charger itself in the rear area as well, and only run the output cable back out of the trunk area and plug that into the car.

Then you gently close the hatch with the 2 cords passing through until it catches in the latch but does not close fully tight. Do not damage the weatherstripping or the wires. the latch should lock closed even if it's not tight.

Now you can use your charger in a public location with no real concern that it will be stolen. Even if work is totally secure, you may find you want to start doing this in more places - parking garages - etc.

Now if you really want to do this a lot, you might get two more accessories. First you get the little yellow or orange electrical tester plug at Lowes that has the lights in it - when you first find a new plug to use, plug this in and see if it has power and is wired correctly. Much faster than setting everything up and then finding out there is no power. If it's dead you may be able to drive to another outlet. If it's wired backward, you wouldn't want to plug in your charger to it anyway.

The second accessory is a bit more involved - you need to make it yourself. You can use this to get the charger to safely work when there is power at an outlet but the ground is no good - more common than you would think, unfortunately. I tended to find these a lot because a few years ago an open outlet in a garage or similar would invite many drivers to try to plug in - but they would give up and drive to another floor if that outlet didn't seem to work. Lots of locations where nobody would try to charge at the outlet on level 3 because it didn't work right, so it was always available if you had this handy tool.

Insert all the disclaimers here - do this at your own risk - I take no responsibility for you doing this, etc.

Understand that in a standard 120V grounded electrical outlet that the ground wire is a redundant safety wore, but it is connected to the white common wire also running to one of the slots in the outlet. This connection happens at the circuit breaker panel, but if either wire is damaged or disconnected somewhere you charger will detect the fault - see that they are not connected together, and refuse to charge the car even if 1 of the 2 wires is still good.

One could go to Lowes and buy a 3 prong replacement plug to put onto the end of a cut wire - the kind where you remove the cover and you have screw terminals to hook up t the 2 blades and 1 more for the ground pin. Then someone might buy a heavy duty automotive fuse holder, it's a fuse socket with 12 gauge wire or so. They could wire one wire from the fuse holder to the common blade on the plug and the other wire to the ground pin, and reinstall the cover. A 25 amp fuse would then be installed into the fuse holder that hangs out of the back of the plug, creating another small device similar in size to the tester mentioned above - no wires running to anything else, just looping out of the back of the plug and back in.

When your outlet tester shows the power is good but there is no ground, someone could plug in this fused jumper into the second outlet on the box and suddenly everything should show as being cool on the tester.

Then you can unplug the tester and plug your extension cord going back to the trunk into one outlet on the receptacle, and leave the fused jumper plugged into the other plugin the receptacle while you are charging.

As others have said, this is a slow way to charge the car for sure, but for an 8-hour workday, you would get about 15-25 miles of range. If it's a parking garage for dinner and a movie, half that.

In general, you can probably do more by just driving 5mph slower and keeping the air pressure up in your tires than you can by charging for a couple of hours at a 120V outlet, but the 120v is better than nothing.

Before you hate - don't. This works if you are mindful and careful - if you aren't - don't do it. I expect everyone here is an adult and can make good decisions for themselves.

Thank you for your advice! One of the first things I bought for the car was an outlet tester to check for ground.
I have heard of people putting the EVSE in the frunk and leaving it partially latched, but I’ve never heard of it done in the back. I would be nervous doing either to be honest. Enclosed spaces and things that heat up make me nervous. ?

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