Charging with Street Parking

[bellyer]

So, I garage my MME FE and have charging with my Grizzl-E there, but I am looking to buy a F-150 Lightning in the very near future, which sadly will not fit in my old detached garage in the city of Chicago. Are there any options for running charging out to EVs that only have street parking available? I have about 30 feet from the house to the curb and I don't think I would be allowed to install a permaned charging set up along the street. I'm wondering what options I may have here...

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[Glen Boise]

Apparently, on street charging is common in Europe. They use chargers with separate cables that can be removed after charging. They have locks at each end to prevent theft. The chargers are at the curb to reduce the tripping hazard. (Remember the sidewalk is in the City Right of Way.)
Call the City Engineering or Street Department. They will probably say "no", but it does not hurt to ask. It is something they will see more demand for in the future as more BEV's are bought. Especially in older neighborhoods like yours. Also, after talking to the City, contact your City Councilperson or the Mayor's Office. Maybe they can help.

 

[HuntingPudel]

I park my MME in my driveway and run my charging cord under the garage door. Is it possible for you to park in your driveway? ??

 

[slimothyjames]

They sell up to 40ft J1772 extension cords. You can find them on Amazon.

I personally use a 20ft J1772 extension (no garage, long driveway with 1 vehicle parked in front of me). Grizzl-E unit is mounted on the side of the building. I modified a plastic ammo case that I can lock that houses the handle of my Grizzl-E charger connected to the extension port so nobody can just snatch the extension as easily and it protects it from the elements better.

This might work for you, as long as you don't have a sidewalk where someone could trip. If so, then it might be a pain, but you can lay down the yellow cable protector humps when it is in use; hopefully nobody steals it ?

 

[bellyer]

I park my MME in my driveway and run my charging cord under the garage door. Is it possible for you to park in your driveway? ??

Most of the houses here in Chicago, like mine have detached garages along alleys behind our houses. I have contemplated pulling up along side the garage as close as I can and running my cable out to charge the truck when needed, but I would partially block the alley, which is a no-no, even though other people do it all the time.

I am considering maybe having another 240v 14-50 NEMA outlet installed running to the front of my house and then just running an extension cable for RVs across the front yard to the street with one of those heavy duty plastic cable covers that are used at concerts and festivals to cover the cable on the sidewalk when I have to charge and/or precondition, but I'm not sure if there are any risks there. And that is something I would want to run by the city, as well, to make sure that it doesn't violate any laws of any sort.

 

[bellyer]

They sell up to 40ft J1772 extension cords. You can find them on Amazon.

I personally use a 20ft J1772 extension (no garage, long driveway with 1 vehicle parked in front of me). Grizzl-E unit is mounted on the side of the building. I modified a plastic ammo case that I can lock that houses the handle of my Grizzl-E charger connected to the extension port so nobody can just snatch the extension as easily and it protects it from the elements better.

This might work for you, as long as you don't have a sidewalk where someone could trip. If so, then it might be a pain, but you can lay down the yellow cable protector humps when it is in use; hopefully nobody steals it ?

Ha, you posted that just as I was posting my last comment. Seems we are kind of on the same page. I love the idea of the ammo case, as I had been wondering how to secure the cabling!

 

[ChasingCoral]

Two options:

Some municipalities are establishing regulations to place chargers at curbside locations. You could work with your local EV Association to get these established in your area.
https://pluginsites.org/montgomery-...-ev-charging-stations-on-public-right-of-way/

In the meantime, buy a J-1772 extension cord. $200-300 on Amazon.

 

[sukhoi_584th]

It's Chicago. Whatever you do will violate some code. Could you regularly DCFC?

 

[bellyer]

It's Chicago. Whatever you do will violate some code. Could you regularly DCFC?

Sure, that would be an option, a more expensive option in the long term, but an option nonetheless.

 

[RickMachE]

Anything crossing the sidewalk creates risk of tripping. That would clearly violate some law.

 

[slimothyjames]

Ha, you posted that just as I was posting my last comment. Seems we are kind of on the same page. I love the idea of the ammo case, as I had been wondering how to secure the cabling!

Haha great minds think alike. But yea, avoid using those RV/NEMA extension cords and stick with the J1772 extension. Some folks have posted issues on here while using them (they're not designed for constant load used for EV charging).

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