Charger Extension Station

[NewGuy]

We park two cars outside front to back. The charger is in front of the front car. With the standard 23’ cable that comes with the ChargePoint Home Flex, the Mach E has to be the first car in the driveway to be able to charge.

I thought for a long time about doing @markboris mod and swap the 23’ cable for a 40’ cable. @markboris was gracious enough to answer a bunch of questions but ultimately, I chickened out. It involves sacrificing both the cord that comes with the ChargePoint and a 40’ extension, which made me nervous.

I eventually just bought a 20’ extension cable. It worked fine, and I could easily reach the car regardless of where it was parked, but I didn’t like the connection point laying on the ground and managing both cords was always a bit tough; moving the two cords while they’re connected seemed to put a lot of stress on the connection point.

So, I made a stand to hold the extension. I built it at limits of the ChargePoint cable. It holds the extension cable, with the female J1772 port “built in” to a block of wood, making it easy to connect the two cables. No cables were hurt in the making of this and I can easily take remove the extension cable to take with me on a road trip if I want.

I also included a pic of the stand I built to house my ChargePoint Home Flex.

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[kirkus02]

That is very cool. I'm thinking of options for when we park in the garage or the driveway. Gonna use this as inspiration!

 

[JamieGeek]

Is there a slot at the back of the post where you slid in the extension cable prior to mounting the end or did you disassemble and re-assemble the extension to get it to mount?

Great idea and looks good.

 

[HondaRacer]

Nice work. I like how you have the option of just using the Chargepoint cable without extension if you park close rather than always dealing with a 40’ cable.

 

[NewGuy]

That is very cool. I'm thinking of options for when we park in the garage or the driveway. Gonna use this as inspiration!

Thanks! Post back pictures of whatever you make!

Is there a slot at the back of the post where you slid in the extension cable prior to mounting the end or did you disassemble and re-assemble the extension to get it to mount?

Great idea and looks good.

Slot.
So the face and the roof are 2x10. The post on the left is a 4x4 driven into the ground with a spike. The right side, where the female end of the extension is, is a 2x4. I drilled a 2 1/8” hole through the 2x4 with a hole saw. Then I cut a slot to allow the cord to pass through. The charger itself is held together with four bolts/nuts that stick out the back. I had to drill holes into the wood so those can be recessed. And then I routed out the square so that flange can sit flush. Note that I don’t actually have a router so I really just used a multi tool.

Here’s a pic of a profile of the female end, as well as the back of my creation. You’ll see the slot and you’ll also notice I had to notch the 4x4. The cord is very thick and not too pliable, so it couldn’t bend around the 4x4. This pic is just mocked up and not built yet, I just wanted to make sure my notch in the 4x4 was deep enough.

 

[vortix]

Can you share a link to the J1772 extension cord? Is it UL or ETL listed for safety?

 

[Mach-Lee]

Can you share a link to the J1772 extension cord? Is it UL or ETL listed for safety?

UL is not going to certify a J1772 extension cord, they consider that unsafe.

 

[vortix]

UL is not going to certify a J1772 extension cord, they consider that unsafe.

Excellent feedback, not viable for my home in that case!

 

[NewGuy]

Can you share a link to the J1772 extension cord? Is it UL or ETL listed for safety?

I’m using the 20‘ Lectron extension. I can’t speak to its listed status.

https://a.co/d/4SxfSCq

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