"Secured" charging

Phrozen

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I read this tip here some while back, about charging your car with the charging unit safely protected within the frunk at half-cock, and an extension cord running to an outlet (NEMA 5-15 only, obviously). Left the car like that at Fairbanks International for a few days... charging worked perfectly, even in the extreme cold we're currently having (down to -40F).

My plan was to "start" the car immediately upon landing, but... it won't remotely start with the frunk not fully closed.

Is there a way around this that anyone is aware of? Or is there another, better, way to secure your charger while the car will be unattended for a long time, and still remotely start?
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Phrozen

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Any ideas here? I really don't like the idea of my charger unit being stolen.
 

Devbloggs

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i had my charger stolen at a hotel a while back, the guy next to me had a good idea

He simply drove over a bundle of his cable for his charger with his front tire. His wasn't stolen when mine was and he was parked right beside me
 

dbsb3233

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I've never needed to use it since I haven't needed the mobile charger yet, but I got a 4' heavy duty security cable (like a bike lock but thicker), and a 3-pack of paddle locks with the elongated necks. The plan would be to loop the cable either through the wheel spokes, or on the ground around the tire footprint. Then slip both ends onto the lock along with the charger cord. The cable can't slip out because of the EVSE on one end and the handle on the other.

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Phrozen

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The bike lock is a good idea. I'll grab one of those--thanks!!
 


mateo

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I wonder if someone would steal the detachable plug just to be annoying...
 

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Any ideas here? I really don't like the idea of my charger unit being stolen.
For nine years I parked ON the cord when leaving my Leaf at the airport.
Worked great and never had any issues with the EVSE.

so what @Devbloggs saw - but actually used by my wife and myself when we left our Leaf at the airport.
 

dbsb3233

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i had my charger stolen at a hotel a while back, the guy next to me had a good idea

He simply drove over a bundle of his cable for his charger with his front tire. His wasn't stolen when mine was and he was parked right beside me
Some people say they just park on the charger cable, but I'm not fond of the idea of squeezing the cable with 1200 lbs of pressure.

If there's enough slack, just looping the charger cord around the tire and locking it to itself with a paddlelock would work too. I got the security cable to free up a few extra feet of slack just in case I can't park close to the outlet and need every foot of cable.
 

Polar

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I'm not fond of the idea of squeezing the cable with 1200 lbs of pressure.
The reason it works with out damaging the cable is that it’s no where near that much weight pressing on it.

That said - the cable lock is a solid idea as well.
 

dbsb3233

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The reason it works with out damaging the cable is that it’s no where near that much weight pressing on it.

That said - the cable lock is a solid idea as well.
Yeah I suppose the tire would flex around the cable and take a lot of the pressure off. But I still didn't wanna mess with a cable carrying 7000 watts.

Someone creative could make a little block/pad with a groove in it. Lay the cable in the groove to protect it, then drive the car onto it.

Probably more trouble than it's worth to make, I suppose.
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